By Doc Lehman
Any team that is actively seeking sponsorship needs to have some type of public relations program in place. And here’s the rub: Far too many equated ‘public relations’ with simply sending out a press release to the regional racing paper in their area and maybe to a couple news oriented websites or even a message board or two. Mission accomplished, right?
Wrong!
Public relations is far more complicated than that and has far too many variables to be covered by a team press release that only appears in a handful of places. Public relations work is time consuming and many faceted. It’s all about building a public image, building bridges between team and sponsor and the public through the media. (There are other important and necessary components to ‘public relations’ that we will get into in another installment). For this installment we’ll take a look at how drivers/teams can attain media coverage for their team and sponsors and what steps are necessary to be able to successful generate media coverage.
The first, and likely most important for a variety of reasons despite modern technology (i.e.; internet), media outlet that packs a punch in terms of satisfying sponsors (and potential sponsors) and their promotional and marketing departments is the old tried-and-true print format. It is still important, necessary, beneficial and packs one hell of a punch in front of a person in big business who controls the purse strings of the advertising and marketing budget.
So how does a driver or team ‘get them some ink’? There are a variety of ways but first and foremost remember that for the most part the media, whether it is racing or mainstream (your local and regional newspapers and publications) generally won’t come knocking on your door. For the racing media there are a variety of reasons, first and foremost that there are too damn many teams out there! And that is good! God love them all. However, there is not that many racing media people out there. In an average weekly racing publication the majority of the material you usually read comes from track p.r. directors sending out result stories and press releases, not staff members of the paper.
Another reason they won’t come knocking on your door is that, the columnists, to cite one example, are few in numbers. And then one must consider that there is a percentage of ‘columnists’ who are basically lazy and you couldn’t pry them out of the media box with a crow bar let alone have them actually speak (or even, heavens forbid, interview) to a driver, a crew member, car owner, promoter or sponsor in the pits on a hot, humid, sweaty, dusty day. Or any day.
So what a driver and team have to do is set themselves apart, take an active approach and actually seek out media coverage. It is not that difficult believe me, especially if you have a story that is unique, or a ‘hook’. And I’m a firm believer in that everyone has a story. So how does one go about getting coverage that is important exposure for the driver, team and sponsors? There a number of ways to do this and sometimes the simplest most basic approach will work.
Let me cite one example. One day I retrieved my mail at the post office and among it was a letter from one Bud Kile, a father of two sons who are dirt Late Model racers and a daughter who is the announcer at their local track in Iowa. In this letter Mr. Kile explained some background about his children, their accomplishments and his obvious pride in them. A friendly suggestion to consider a story on his daughter was included. So here we have a former racer, car owner, racing business owner with two sons who race dirt Late Models and an energetic, talented daughter who announces at West Liberty Speedway.
That’s a ‘hook’.
Within a week there was an interview with Katie Kile on my old Dirt America Online website and in the next Area Auto Racing News as well. Additionally, Bud, Katie and dirt Late Model drivers (and sons/brothers) Kurt and Kevin Kile all appeared for a near 50 minute segment on the national Dirt Nation radio show that had a show devoted to Thanksgiving and racing families.
Timing is everything.
So what do drivers/teams need to do to generate media coverage, especially with the print media (both racing and mainstream)? (First: Know how to write who, what, when, where, how in one paragraph.) We went to some experts who know because they call the shots. We sought out the advice from several editors, the ones with the final command of what does or does not get put in print and what driver or team (or track or series) a reporter/columnist/feature writer gets assigned to.
So, in basic terms, what can drivers and race teams do to solicit and attain more press coverage?
”Getting coverage in mainstream papers isn't easy because many papers don't have anyone on staff who understands racing,” commented Todd Turner some time ago. Turner is a former editor with National Dirt Digest and now editor of DirtOnDirt.com. “They don't have a good barometer to determine what's newsworthy, so sometimes they don't cover anything at all.”
”One way to get around this, especially for weekly newspapers or small dailies, is to get someone one your team to volunteer to send in results. That's obviously a lot of work, but it might smooth the way for the newspaper to begin providing more coverage.”
”Another thing is to make sure and let the media know if something newsworthy is going on. Perhaps your team won four races in a row or your driver went straight from his daughter's high school graduation to the racetrack and won, anything out of the ordinary might catch an editor's eye, particularly if it has a good people angle.”
”Be sure and don't badger editors too often, or they'll dismiss your requests. But if you call a couple of times of a year with story ideas, you'll probably get some attention. And don't just look out for your own team - let them know if there's another interesting story at the track. The more familiar they get with racing the more coverage you'll get.”
The editor of a former weekly racing newspaper also has some tips in that regard.
”Be professional and persistent,” advised Clint Elkins, the now former editor of Racing News. “We don’t use 80% of the weekly press releases we receive because of space, but there are times when we have extra space that we will put press releases in. So, in having someone that does a weekly press release or a monthly newsletter, the most important thing is persistence. Also, if a driver or a team runs in a particular series this is a very good way to receive coverage. Most series advertise with newspapers and magazines and when they submit an article there is a better chance it will make that weeks paper.”
Even though there are many similarities, the weekly and bi-weekly newspapers are a different animal from that of a monthly magazine’s needs and requirements. A monthly magazine shies away from hardcore results for the most part and concentrates on ‘feature’ articles and stories.
”For our magazine, all we're looking for is a good story,” stated Tim Lee. Lee is the editor of DIRT LATE MODEL magazine. “That can mean big wins, a breakout season, or just some unique aspect of a race team. Dry statistics rarely make good reading, but a new team or major change in program often does.”
“A driver such as Earl Pearson Jr., who's been on the verge of a breakout for so long, having a career season was another good example of what we're looking for. But it doesn't have to be on the national level. We recently ran a feature on Ray Guss Jr., a successful veteran, who has cut back on his program and gone back to racing locally. That kind of thing is interesting to most readers.”
”The human element is also important. There are few things more interesting to readers than a racer who has to overcome adversity in order to compete. The bottom line is: people are always more interesting than numbers.”
”If you're trying to draw attention to yourself, you should let people know when something interesting is going on. With a couple thousand or so Late Model teams out there, those of us in the press never know everything that's going on. Sometimes you just have to tell us. You'd be surprised how many stories are generated in our pages by a team member, friend or family member contacting me to tell me something interesting about some driver or team. It's generally that simple.”
So what would make an editor decide to give a driver and/or a team coverage or assign a reporter or columnist to cover the driver/team?
”Working for a racing publication, we're looking for interesting stories and angles that we haven't seen before,” bottom-lined Turner. “Obviously, we're going to cover the sport's top racers and the guys who are winning, but interesting stories, particularly an angle that involves non-racing people stories is what everyone wants to read.”
“Most nights at the track, we circulate and chat with whoever kinda fishing for such information. Even the littlest notion about something we get from talking to drivers or crewmembers or family members might turn into a neat story. That's the best stuff because few newspapers have the manpower and desire to chase the difficult stories.”
“So here's a tip: if something of interest is going on, make sure someone who's writing knows about it. Be familiar with local and racing media so you can chat and share information with them because drivers are sometimes oblivious to what a writer thinks is interesting.”
”It's not coincidence that the chattiest and most personable drivers - Bill Frye, Bob Pierce and others - often get good publicity. It's because they recognize an interesting story and know how to tell a good one, too.”
One important and useful tool many drivers and teams use are press releases and newsletters. The one thing that aggravates though is too many distribute them to too few media outlets. As stated before, a handful of message boards, a couple news websites and maybe a racing paper or two will not serve its purpose. It has to be mass distributed to all racing media (newspaper, magazines, radio shows, television) as well as mainstream (local/regional newspapers, magazines, radio stations sports departments, television station sport departments).
But as far as the how the press releases and newsletters are written and produced and distributed there are do’s and don’t’s involved that if adhered to, could result in more exposure, especially with the racing media. The editors were asked if they thought drivers and teams using press releases and newsletters were viable and important to their respective publications.
”I find them useful to supplement a race report, but I must admit I don't read through all of them every time,” said Turner. “One complaint I have is that some of the reports are three paragraphs regardless of what happened. In other words, just by glancing, you can't tell the difference between the week the driver dropped out with a 22nd-place finish or the week he won a $10,000 race.”
“My suggestion is to skip the weeks when there's nothing newsworthy. And when your driver does something noteworthy, file a lengthy report with quotes, details and notes that reporters won't get from the typical track report. That could spark an interview request or at least someone adding to a race story and bringing more publicity for the driver.”
“I would always encourage a race team to send out press releases,” added Elkins. “The more the media knows about someone and/or knows someone personally the better the chance is that there press release will be printed. Newsletters need to be sent to fans and sponsors more than the media. When someone walks up to your trailer to take a picture of your racecar or buy a t-shirt, ask them if they would like to receive a monthly newsletter. Keep a box in the trailer write down their name and addresses.”
Again, from the perspective of a monthly, features oriented publication, the material needs to be timely and newsworthy to be considered.
”To me, they are largely just another thing I have to delete from my email on a daily basis,” commented Lee. “It doesn't do me any good to know where Joe Schmoe is going to race this coming weekend. I understand that sponsors need to be kept in the loop, and that's where those things are probably most needed. I occasionally use bits from driver press releases for short news items, like usually the launching of a new website or something newsworthy like that. That being said I wouldn't discourage teams from using them, but I'd be careful about what I considered newsworthy perhaps.”
To create newsletters and press releases (as well as media kits, which will be discussed in another installment at length) one does not need a journalism major. Anyone who can type and has basic English skills can do it. If the driver isn’t inclined or doesn’t have the budget to hire a professional, find an enthusiastic college or high school kid who is interested in journalism, or just creative. Maybe a wife, girlfriend, son or daughter. Contact the journalism professor at your local college and see if there is any student interest in doing work of this nature.
And when you send them out, whether via snail mail and/or email, make sure as many receive them as possible. Saturate the racing media and your local media, but make sure all your sponsors get them with extra hard copies if requested. As for newsletters, print off a stack at your local Kinko’s or Staples and take a stack to each of your sponsors’ businesses for them to set out on the counter for their customers. You never know, one of their customers might be a businessperson with an interest in using motorsports to advertise and market through.
But it’s all about preparing them in a professional and concise a manner as possible and distribution! Do not forget mainstream media! Send your promotional material out to every daily and weekly newspaper (and the free ‘ad papers’) within a 50-75 mile radius. If you have a hook or a story, a professional press release or newsletter, or maybe you caught a sports editor on the right day, you may get a call. But they don’t know anything about you, and likely nothing about the sport of dirt racing, so educate them. Make them aware! Try to spark some interest.
It won’t get done unless you make some effort.
As for knowing how to get them to the media you will need to compile a media mailing list. The majority of your press releases, newsletters and other promotional material can be sent via email that in turn helps with your budget. As for the columnists you will need to go through the racing publications and compile their email addresses from the bottom of their columns.
To compile a list of racing media internet website email addresses visit: http://www.speedwaysonline.com/HTML/internetmedia.html
To compile a list if racing print media email addresses visit: http://www.speedwaysonline.com/HTML/printmedia.html
Mainstream publications are another matter. The easiest way to gather local and regional mainstream newspaper and magazine email and snail mail addresses beyond purchasing all of them is to visit:
The Internet Public Library - http://www.ipl.org/div/news
Walter Clinton Jackson Library News & Newspapers Online – http://www.library.uncg.edu/news
Newspaper Links - http://www.newspaperlinks.com/
NewsDirectory.com - http://www.newsdirectory.com/
(C)Doc Lehman/LMS
Any team that is actively seeking sponsorship needs to have some type of public relations program in place. And here’s the rub: Far too many equated ‘public relations’ with simply sending out a press release to the regional racing paper in their area and maybe to a couple news oriented websites or even a message board or two. Mission accomplished, right?
Wrong!
Public relations is far more complicated than that and has far too many variables to be covered by a team press release that only appears in a handful of places. Public relations work is time consuming and many faceted. It’s all about building a public image, building bridges between team and sponsor and the public through the media. (There are other important and necessary components to ‘public relations’ that we will get into in another installment). For this installment we’ll take a look at how drivers/teams can attain media coverage for their team and sponsors and what steps are necessary to be able to successful generate media coverage.
The first, and likely most important for a variety of reasons despite modern technology (i.e.; internet), media outlet that packs a punch in terms of satisfying sponsors (and potential sponsors) and their promotional and marketing departments is the old tried-and-true print format. It is still important, necessary, beneficial and packs one hell of a punch in front of a person in big business who controls the purse strings of the advertising and marketing budget.
So how does a driver or team ‘get them some ink’? There are a variety of ways but first and foremost remember that for the most part the media, whether it is racing or mainstream (your local and regional newspapers and publications) generally won’t come knocking on your door. For the racing media there are a variety of reasons, first and foremost that there are too damn many teams out there! And that is good! God love them all. However, there is not that many racing media people out there. In an average weekly racing publication the majority of the material you usually read comes from track p.r. directors sending out result stories and press releases, not staff members of the paper.
Another reason they won’t come knocking on your door is that, the columnists, to cite one example, are few in numbers. And then one must consider that there is a percentage of ‘columnists’ who are basically lazy and you couldn’t pry them out of the media box with a crow bar let alone have them actually speak (or even, heavens forbid, interview) to a driver, a crew member, car owner, promoter or sponsor in the pits on a hot, humid, sweaty, dusty day. Or any day.
So what a driver and team have to do is set themselves apart, take an active approach and actually seek out media coverage. It is not that difficult believe me, especially if you have a story that is unique, or a ‘hook’. And I’m a firm believer in that everyone has a story. So how does one go about getting coverage that is important exposure for the driver, team and sponsors? There a number of ways to do this and sometimes the simplest most basic approach will work.
Let me cite one example. One day I retrieved my mail at the post office and among it was a letter from one Bud Kile, a father of two sons who are dirt Late Model racers and a daughter who is the announcer at their local track in Iowa. In this letter Mr. Kile explained some background about his children, their accomplishments and his obvious pride in them. A friendly suggestion to consider a story on his daughter was included. So here we have a former racer, car owner, racing business owner with two sons who race dirt Late Models and an energetic, talented daughter who announces at West Liberty Speedway.
That’s a ‘hook’.
Within a week there was an interview with Katie Kile on my old Dirt America Online website and in the next Area Auto Racing News as well. Additionally, Bud, Katie and dirt Late Model drivers (and sons/brothers) Kurt and Kevin Kile all appeared for a near 50 minute segment on the national Dirt Nation radio show that had a show devoted to Thanksgiving and racing families.
Timing is everything.
So what do drivers/teams need to do to generate media coverage, especially with the print media (both racing and mainstream)? (First: Know how to write who, what, when, where, how in one paragraph.) We went to some experts who know because they call the shots. We sought out the advice from several editors, the ones with the final command of what does or does not get put in print and what driver or team (or track or series) a reporter/columnist/feature writer gets assigned to.
So, in basic terms, what can drivers and race teams do to solicit and attain more press coverage?
”Getting coverage in mainstream papers isn't easy because many papers don't have anyone on staff who understands racing,” commented Todd Turner some time ago. Turner is a former editor with National Dirt Digest and now editor of DirtOnDirt.com. “They don't have a good barometer to determine what's newsworthy, so sometimes they don't cover anything at all.”
”One way to get around this, especially for weekly newspapers or small dailies, is to get someone one your team to volunteer to send in results. That's obviously a lot of work, but it might smooth the way for the newspaper to begin providing more coverage.”
”Another thing is to make sure and let the media know if something newsworthy is going on. Perhaps your team won four races in a row or your driver went straight from his daughter's high school graduation to the racetrack and won, anything out of the ordinary might catch an editor's eye, particularly if it has a good people angle.”
”Be sure and don't badger editors too often, or they'll dismiss your requests. But if you call a couple of times of a year with story ideas, you'll probably get some attention. And don't just look out for your own team - let them know if there's another interesting story at the track. The more familiar they get with racing the more coverage you'll get.”
The editor of a former weekly racing newspaper also has some tips in that regard.
”Be professional and persistent,” advised Clint Elkins, the now former editor of Racing News. “We don’t use 80% of the weekly press releases we receive because of space, but there are times when we have extra space that we will put press releases in. So, in having someone that does a weekly press release or a monthly newsletter, the most important thing is persistence. Also, if a driver or a team runs in a particular series this is a very good way to receive coverage. Most series advertise with newspapers and magazines and when they submit an article there is a better chance it will make that weeks paper.”
Even though there are many similarities, the weekly and bi-weekly newspapers are a different animal from that of a monthly magazine’s needs and requirements. A monthly magazine shies away from hardcore results for the most part and concentrates on ‘feature’ articles and stories.
”For our magazine, all we're looking for is a good story,” stated Tim Lee. Lee is the editor of DIRT LATE MODEL magazine. “That can mean big wins, a breakout season, or just some unique aspect of a race team. Dry statistics rarely make good reading, but a new team or major change in program often does.”
“A driver such as Earl Pearson Jr., who's been on the verge of a breakout for so long, having a career season was another good example of what we're looking for. But it doesn't have to be on the national level. We recently ran a feature on Ray Guss Jr., a successful veteran, who has cut back on his program and gone back to racing locally. That kind of thing is interesting to most readers.”
”The human element is also important. There are few things more interesting to readers than a racer who has to overcome adversity in order to compete. The bottom line is: people are always more interesting than numbers.”
”If you're trying to draw attention to yourself, you should let people know when something interesting is going on. With a couple thousand or so Late Model teams out there, those of us in the press never know everything that's going on. Sometimes you just have to tell us. You'd be surprised how many stories are generated in our pages by a team member, friend or family member contacting me to tell me something interesting about some driver or team. It's generally that simple.”
So what would make an editor decide to give a driver and/or a team coverage or assign a reporter or columnist to cover the driver/team?
”Working for a racing publication, we're looking for interesting stories and angles that we haven't seen before,” bottom-lined Turner. “Obviously, we're going to cover the sport's top racers and the guys who are winning, but interesting stories, particularly an angle that involves non-racing people stories is what everyone wants to read.”
“Most nights at the track, we circulate and chat with whoever kinda fishing for such information. Even the littlest notion about something we get from talking to drivers or crewmembers or family members might turn into a neat story. That's the best stuff because few newspapers have the manpower and desire to chase the difficult stories.”
“So here's a tip: if something of interest is going on, make sure someone who's writing knows about it. Be familiar with local and racing media so you can chat and share information with them because drivers are sometimes oblivious to what a writer thinks is interesting.”
”It's not coincidence that the chattiest and most personable drivers - Bill Frye, Bob Pierce and others - often get good publicity. It's because they recognize an interesting story and know how to tell a good one, too.”
One important and useful tool many drivers and teams use are press releases and newsletters. The one thing that aggravates though is too many distribute them to too few media outlets. As stated before, a handful of message boards, a couple news websites and maybe a racing paper or two will not serve its purpose. It has to be mass distributed to all racing media (newspaper, magazines, radio shows, television) as well as mainstream (local/regional newspapers, magazines, radio stations sports departments, television station sport departments).
But as far as the how the press releases and newsletters are written and produced and distributed there are do’s and don’t’s involved that if adhered to, could result in more exposure, especially with the racing media. The editors were asked if they thought drivers and teams using press releases and newsletters were viable and important to their respective publications.
”I find them useful to supplement a race report, but I must admit I don't read through all of them every time,” said Turner. “One complaint I have is that some of the reports are three paragraphs regardless of what happened. In other words, just by glancing, you can't tell the difference between the week the driver dropped out with a 22nd-place finish or the week he won a $10,000 race.”
“My suggestion is to skip the weeks when there's nothing newsworthy. And when your driver does something noteworthy, file a lengthy report with quotes, details and notes that reporters won't get from the typical track report. That could spark an interview request or at least someone adding to a race story and bringing more publicity for the driver.”
“I would always encourage a race team to send out press releases,” added Elkins. “The more the media knows about someone and/or knows someone personally the better the chance is that there press release will be printed. Newsletters need to be sent to fans and sponsors more than the media. When someone walks up to your trailer to take a picture of your racecar or buy a t-shirt, ask them if they would like to receive a monthly newsletter. Keep a box in the trailer write down their name and addresses.”
Again, from the perspective of a monthly, features oriented publication, the material needs to be timely and newsworthy to be considered.
”To me, they are largely just another thing I have to delete from my email on a daily basis,” commented Lee. “It doesn't do me any good to know where Joe Schmoe is going to race this coming weekend. I understand that sponsors need to be kept in the loop, and that's where those things are probably most needed. I occasionally use bits from driver press releases for short news items, like usually the launching of a new website or something newsworthy like that. That being said I wouldn't discourage teams from using them, but I'd be careful about what I considered newsworthy perhaps.”
To create newsletters and press releases (as well as media kits, which will be discussed in another installment at length) one does not need a journalism major. Anyone who can type and has basic English skills can do it. If the driver isn’t inclined or doesn’t have the budget to hire a professional, find an enthusiastic college or high school kid who is interested in journalism, or just creative. Maybe a wife, girlfriend, son or daughter. Contact the journalism professor at your local college and see if there is any student interest in doing work of this nature.
And when you send them out, whether via snail mail and/or email, make sure as many receive them as possible. Saturate the racing media and your local media, but make sure all your sponsors get them with extra hard copies if requested. As for newsletters, print off a stack at your local Kinko’s or Staples and take a stack to each of your sponsors’ businesses for them to set out on the counter for their customers. You never know, one of their customers might be a businessperson with an interest in using motorsports to advertise and market through.
But it’s all about preparing them in a professional and concise a manner as possible and distribution! Do not forget mainstream media! Send your promotional material out to every daily and weekly newspaper (and the free ‘ad papers’) within a 50-75 mile radius. If you have a hook or a story, a professional press release or newsletter, or maybe you caught a sports editor on the right day, you may get a call. But they don’t know anything about you, and likely nothing about the sport of dirt racing, so educate them. Make them aware! Try to spark some interest.
It won’t get done unless you make some effort.
As for knowing how to get them to the media you will need to compile a media mailing list. The majority of your press releases, newsletters and other promotional material can be sent via email that in turn helps with your budget. As for the columnists you will need to go through the racing publications and compile their email addresses from the bottom of their columns.
To compile a list of racing media internet website email addresses visit: http://www.speedwaysonline.com/HTML/internetmedia.html
To compile a list if racing print media email addresses visit: http://www.speedwaysonline.com/HTML/printmedia.html
Mainstream publications are another matter. The easiest way to gather local and regional mainstream newspaper and magazine email and snail mail addresses beyond purchasing all of them is to visit:
The Internet Public Library - http://www.ipl.org/div/news
Walter Clinton Jackson Library News & Newspapers Online – http://www.library.uncg.edu/news
Newspaper Links - http://www.newspaperlinks.com/
NewsDirectory.com - http://www.newsdirectory.com/
(C)Doc Lehman/LMS
