So, you take over your new position, move into your new office and notice that you need a new printer cartridge. You call your predecessor and he tells you, "Just stop by the front office and Joe will give you a new one." You introduce yourself to Joe and ask for a new printer cartridge. Joe hands you a form and requires it being filled out in triplicate and submitted a week prior to your needing the order fulfilled.

Joe and your predecessor worked together for 8 years. Their kids went to school together and spend their summers together at the pool. Your predecessor knew Joe and Joe knew him. Their relationship was built upon trust and, for that reason, your predecessor was able to work more effectively.

This relationship is a microcosm of the relationship between you and your community of supporters. If you get pissed off because your fans don't show up in droves or donate their estate to your program, maybe it's you or at least the relationship between you and them.

Relationships are built on trust and trust is non-transferable from one person to the next. You build trust with your fans by being there for them... and I mean being there for them more than they are there for you (because sometimes, they won't be there for you... sorry, it's part of coaching. Parents, you can relate.). You build trust by pulling back the curtain and sharing behind-the-scenes content, such as video of your pre-game prep. You send tweets that show real emotion and are not filtered through your pre-wired mental-bureaucracy that has been installed by your institution. When your fans know you as well as Joe knows your predecessor, then you can expect better attendance, increased support and stronger fundraising.

You can put your head down and trudge forward with the belief that if you just teach your athletes better technique, you will be successful. Or you can build relationships, network with your community and open the doors to true, lasting success.

Take action today and build a lasting relationship with your supporters based on trust.

Download my free guide to to video marketing. Learn how to create an Youtube Channel and upload video as well as what you should share with fans and how to do it. Click here now and download it free!

I talk with coaches everyday. I visit the websites of high school and college sports teams and athletic departments. Unfortunately, I see so many team websites that are absolutely worthless. Is your website worthless? Here are a few characteristics of a worthless website.

• Out-of-date: If your website has no new information, it is worse than having no website at all. Think about when you go to a team website and see three month old information! I recommend starting a blog and linking it to your website (or, if your site has a blog feature, get posting!). Blogs are easy to update.
• No social media icons above the fold: You should have social media channels- Facebook and Twitter. You should have linked icons on your homepage. And they should be above the fold (visible without having to scroll). Vistors are looking for ways to stay connected to organizations in whom they are interested. Make it easy for them!
• Pics and Video: You should have some media other than text on your site. People absolutely love video (so does Google search if you're interested in SEO).

When your site is optimized (not worthless), you'll have more fans, increaes awareness and dramatically increase your fundraising.

Take action today. Get your website optimized for your fans!

Get access to our free Facebook Guide for sports teams.

Dr. David Hoch, CMAA, recently retired as the Athletic Director at Loch Raven High School in Baltimore County, Md. One of the nation's most highly respected athletic directors, he has published 360 articles in professional magazines and publications as well as presented dozens of times at various national and state conferences. He wrote a book titled "Blueprint for Better Coaching", a sort of coaching guidebook. I recently asked him a few questions about both the book as well as his views on the profession of coaching. Enjoy!

Jim: I recently hosted a webinar with David Jacobson of Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA). One of the PCA's tenets is that of the double-goal coach "whose first goal is winning, and whose second, more-important goal is teaching life lessons through sports." Beyond instructing athletes at their particular sport, what role do you see a coach playing in the lives of student-athletes?

David: Perhaps it is only a minor issue of semantics with respect to the Positive Coaching Alliance’s coaching goals, but I totally ascribe to the philosophy of education-based athletics. Education-based athletics is the foundation of the National Federation of High School Associations and National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association conceptual approach. As such, teaching life-long lessons doesn’t come second, it is just as important, if not more so than winning.

That being said, almost everyone can teach sport-specific skills. Coaches can attend clinics, work summer camps, read books, watch videos and go on-line in order to improve their knowledge, learn more about strategy, and expand their abilities conducting practice sessions and making substitutions during games.

More importantly, it is the major responsibility of athletic directors to find, hire and mentor
coaches of all ages and with varying levels of experience to provide the leadership for an
education-based athletic experience for the young people. When this is done, athletes can and should gain a wide-range of values, qualities and abilities through participation.

If we – administrators, athletic directors and coaches – are not helping young people gain
leadership skills, learn the value and importance of sportsmanship and get involved with
community service and so many other great outcomes, there is no reason to have athletic
programs in high schools.

In addition, from the moment that a coach is hired, he or she is a role model for young people – there is no choice! Being a role model is part of being a high school coach and it is a major responsibility!

High school administrators who simply hire and evaluate coaches based upon wins and
championships are being hypocritical, falling to the pressure of parents or the community, or are totally clueless. When coaches and administrators put the interests, development and well-being of the student-athletes first, you have a vital athletic program.

When an individual isn’t totally consumed with winning and adding to personal records, coaching can be one of the most important and rewarding professions. It may take several years – and in many cases, you may never know, but the impact that a coach has upon young people can be enormous and profound. But this only happens when a coach totally ascribes to education-based athletics.

Jim: What moved you to write a book? And can you tell us a bit about the book itself?

David: Since I totally believe in and am passionate about the concept of education-based athletics, it really was an easy and natural leap to tackle the project. Besides, several of my coaches often kidded that I should put the contents of many of my counseling, mentoring and educational sessions and efforts into a written form for other coaches.

The concept of the book existed for quite a while. Therefore, when Athletic Management asked if I would be interested and provided me with the opportunity, it was full steam ahead. As with a great deal of writing, the concept and ideas were easy. There were times, however, during the actual writing in which I struggled with wording, restructuring paragraphs and all of the technical aspects of the process. Producing a good, quality copy is hard work. But overall, it personally was a great experience and a labor of love.

The text is not a how to teach skills and it isn’t sport-specific. Blueprint for Better Coaching
offers coaches ideas and help with communication skills with athletes, parents, administrators
and the media. It covers areas of risk management, off-season responsibilities, the importance of planning and time management and many other aspects of coaching.

In the various chapters, there are numerous tie-ins and examples of the concept of education-based athletics. It covers the necessity of coaches serving as role models, instilling the importance of sportsmanship and using teachable moments with their athletes.

…And since Blueprint for Better Coaching has been well-received and I enjoyed the process, I’m well into writing the second one – to include topics and chapters not included in Blueprint.

Jim: What is one thing that you know now that you did not know when you began your career that you would share with a young coach or athletic director?

David: While this seems like a simple, straight-forward question, it is one that is almost impossible to concisely answer. It is quite natural for young, beginning coaches to enter the profession with enthusiasm, energy and chomping at the bit to create a winning team. Usually, the basis for their approach or coaching philosophy comes from what they did as a player – what they know, what they have done and what they are comfortable with. But is this fundamentally sound and good for the athlete?

Also as a young coach starts out, he or she quickly and suddenly is exposed to so many additional ideas, approaches, and individuals and soon realizes that coaching entails more than simply teaching sport-specific skills and strategy. He soon comes to a cross road – does he constantly look to learn more about the craft of coaching, improving his teaching and interpersonal skills or does he stubbornly, conceitedly forge ahead thinking that he already has all the answers.

Hopefully, a young coach embraces the former. The point is that there is always something more to learn, areas to improve upon in both coaching and athletic administration. Once you feel that you have all the answers, well … you’re in trouble.

One former principal, under whom I worked for several years as an athletic director, was fond of stating: Learning is a life-long journey and not a one-time destination. While this principal was obviously targeting students with this maxim, he occasionally reminded his teaching staff that it also applied to them. It also extended to coaches and athletic directors.

I absolutely love and have used Lee Iacocca’s, the former CEO of the Chrysler Corporation
during the 1980’s, quote throughout my career. Naturally, he was referring to the auto industry, but I honestly think that it applies to most avenues in life. “You are either moving forward or falling behind, because there is no such thing as remaining static.”

So … advice to a young coach or athletic director? Seek knowledge and wisdom from respected veterans, read, take courses and constantly challenge yourself to learn more and then to apply it. Oh, and listen! You learn so much more by keeping an open mind, gathering and processing information and ideas than you do from asserting that you have all the answers.

And what do I know now that I didn’t when I started? While I did have unbridled enthusiasm, energy and desire, in hindsight, I really didn’t know too much. I made mistakes and had a number of good people, who pulled me aside and helped mentor me. No one is perfect and you will make mistakes – learn from them and continue going forward. Always keep the primary goal in sight – all of your efforts should be directed at helping young people grow and develop – it’s not about how many wins that you amass.

And hopefully, I have more to learn!

What do fans want to know? What would they love to know? When you educate and inform your fans you will have a fan base that is ready to take action to support you (hence start a Riot!), buy tickets, and support your team fundraisers. Pull back the curtain and let them see the inner-workings of your team. Give them a sense that they are a community of fans who belong together by uniting them around a common cause- your team. Twitter is a great way to do this. I hear lots of coaches and administrators ask what they could post on Twitter. First, understand that you should not be a one-way pipeline of information. The beauty of Twitter is that you can engage with your fans in a way that is not otherwise possible. Other than that, fire away!

1. Post-game stats
2. Pre-game hype
3. Live in-game updates
4. Injury report for your team
5. Injury report for opposing team
6. Quotes from athletes
7. Quotes from coaches
8. How practice went last week
9. What you will do at today's practice
10. Report on popular alumni
11. Ask for fan feedback
12. Hotel info for roadtrips
13. Fundraising requests
14. Congrats to other teams at your school
15. Team superlatives
16. @mention super-fans
17. Retweet fans or even the competition
18. Share your team's hashtag (#)
19. Share a hashtag relevant to your sport, community or an event
20. Tweet or retweet info relevant to your sport
21. Pictures
22. Links to videos
23. Links to useful or interesting websites
24. Introduce fans to each other "@Fan1 meet @Fan 2  You're from the same city!"
25. A link to a Twitter list that your followers might want to follow
26. Alert fans to an interesting event
27. A link to your Facebook Page
28. A link to your email newsletter sign-up form
29. A link to your text message alerts sign-up form
30. A link to your mobile website
31. Flashbacks

The point is, the options are virtually limitless. This is a conversation. Take action today. Join the discussion on Twitter! Get access to our on-demand Twitter webinar.

I discovered a new term (and an interesting person in the process) the other day. Un-marketing. I'm not sure if Scott Stratten coined it or not but the term sums up what you need to do. If you want to drive ticket sales, get more members, maximize fundraising or increase attendance then you have to stop marketing and start engaging. That is possible now more than ever with the new communication channels available today.

Be interesting.
Write something I want to read.
Make my life easier.
Do something cool.
Exist where I already am.
And... talk to me.

Then I might buy, sign-up, donate or show up.

I recently wrote about how coaches can use networking skills to advance their program and securing sports sponsorships through social media. One of the things that helps when networking and selling is a little psychology. I recently read Small Message, Big Impact by Terry Sjodin.

She discusses how to serve the needs of decision-makers to get them to do what you want them to do. Here are a few pointers from the chapter on building a persuasive case.

1. Time: How will what you want save this person time?
2. Money: How will what you want save this person money (or make them money)?
3. Sanity: How will what you want save this person sanity? Make their life or job easier?
4. Security: How will what you want provide this person more security? Financially? Are you dependable? Will you be around tomorrow? Is this a safe partnership?
5. Fun: How are you going to make their life or job fun?
6. Ease of use: Is what you want done easy? Or can you make things easy for this person?

I've found that if you can satisfy one of these six needs, then your sale will be much easier, whether you are selling an athlete on training harder, a parent on volunteering or your athletic director on purchasing something.

Take action today. Determine what you need, how you can help someone that can help you,  then make the sale!

If you want to learn how to help your fans save time and make it easy for them to follow you, then register for our Mobile Marketing for Sports Teams webinar that takes place Wednesday, June 1, 2011 at 9 PM ET.

I was talking with the director of a large national organization recently. "We're doing the social media thing," he explained. "The challenge is keeping it up-to-date."
I will be working with him on a paradigm shift before we even begin to talk about strategy. Social media is not something that you have to keep up-to-date like a website or brochure. Social media is where you engage and where you offer value. What do I mean? Here are some examples:

* Respond to questions posted on Facebook or Twitter: like a handshake or a handwritten note, these encounters go a long way
* Ask questions of your followers and fans by soliciting feedback and crowdsourcing ideas: show them that they are valued
* Post good content: respect their time
* Offer discounts or specials for those in your community
* Enjoy it. I'm mean really enjoy your community. Like a smile over the phone, it comes through.

Coaches are technicians. They are the engineers of the sports world. They enjoy putting their heads down and plowing forward by training their team, teaching techniques and ensconcing themselves into the daily routine of athlete development. Unfortunately, that is a small part of preparing for overall program success.

I regularly preach the value of CEO skills for coaches. Networking is one of the most overlooked of them. Whether novice or experienced, every coach can improve his/her networking skills.

Contrary to popular belief, networking does not just mean getting to know someone. Just because you introduce yourself to a person in a key position that could open doors for you, does not mean that they will. Here is the most important piece of networking that you must remember if you want this skill to move your program forward.

Do something for them first without expectation of their being in your debt. Help them. Give them something of value. Make them feel special. Then, maybe, just maybe they will feel compelled to return the favor or, bettter yet, do something for you because they like you. 

Here are four examples of how you can use networking skills to advance your program and make your job easier:

• Potential sponsor: You have an ideal business in town that you think could sponsor your team. After you have done the first part of networking, which is introducing yourself (or having an introduction arranged), but before you make any type of ask, find a way to offer something of value to them. If they are a B2C business, mention on your team Facebook Page that you met the owner and include a link to his website. Give value first and do it with a genuine heart. Don't be surprised if in return, they volunteer their help, financially or otherwise. 
• Administrator: Having good relationships with our administration is key to getting things done. Make your athletic director feel special and recognized for her efforts. Invite her to practice so that you can introduce her directly to your team. Discuss the role of the AD in the success of your program. If you are an athletic director, bring the principal or vice-president "backstage" to experience behind-the-scenes at a special event.
• Unaccommodating teacher/professor: If there is a particular teacher or professor at your institution that seems to go out of his way to make life difficult for student-athletes, be sure to go out of your way to understand him first. Then, determine an appropriate way to bring him into the fold and help him develop a relationship with your athletes. Make him an "honorary coach" for a competition, for example.
• Uninterested Reporter: You likely want more media coverage for your team or athletic department. And you probably have that reporter in town that just will not give you the coverage that you want. Instead of expecting them to come to you, you should go to them. Call or email her to compliment her on a completely unrelated story. If she has a blog, comment on it. By making her feel important and valued, you are more likely to get what you need.

While some people are naturally more social, true networking skills are developed over time. Take some time today to go out of your way for someone that can be a strategic partner in your program's success.

Take action today. Network.

I'm not talking about selling cookies or coupon books.  I'm talking about raising real cash to make real progress.

1. Get emotional: The frustrating part about raising money is that logic doesn't work.  Appeal to donors' emotional side and they'll open their wallets.
2. Say Thank you: If you want them back and to donate more next time, you had better say thank you.
3. Communicate: Make it easy for your donor base to receive communication from you.  Let them know the human interest stories from within your program.
4.  Build personal relationships:  In addition to #3, contact large donors and prospects personally to build the relationship.
5. Immortalize donors: Put their name on a brick, a locker, a plaque or just your website. 
6. Get over it and make the ask:  You heard me.

Facebook Ads is a great way to buy fans. Actually, I shouldn't call it "buying fans". You are really just buying awareness. The fans (or prospective fans) decide if they want to "like" you. If you are doing any sort of marketing, you are already buying awareness by using the expensive currency that is your time. Facebook Ads just changes the currency.

If you are unfamiliar with Facebook Ads, they are the ads that appear on the right side of Facebook. They have four parts: a title, an image, the body and a destination URL. You are able to promote your website, your Facebook Page, or a Facebook Event (or an application but that is mostly irrelevant for our purposes here).

If you want to try Facebook Ads to promote your team, here is what I suggest:

1. Create an ad to promote your Facebook Page. When people like your page, then they will continue to get your news in their news feed. If you promote your website, they may visit once and never come back. (Plus, by clicking the like button on your ad, they do not have to leave the page that they are currently viewing).
2. In the body, use the wording "Click "like" to show your support for XYZ Team". Verbiage here is important.
3. Target your community. The ad creator is really simple. You just choose who you want to target by age, gender, location and interests. Tip: Older demographics are more expensive (because they have more money to spend) as are narrower niches.
4. Set your budget a few pennies above the lowest suggested bid. Or you can even go lower and see where that gets you. If it goes nowhere after a few days, bump up your bid.

If this sounds scary and like something that you could screw up, just set a maximum budget with which you are comfortable- $25 or $50. When your money runs out, go into the ads manager to review your metrics and see how you did. Did you get more likes? What were you paying for them? Personally, I think that $1 is way too much. I have had several campaigns for clients that got a CPC (cost-per-click) of less than $0.30/click.

Here's the real question: If you had 1,000 more likes what would that mean for your team?

There would be 1,000 more people that...

• Are aware of your team, your events, your fundraisers and your value to the community
• Might attend your events (buying tickets and concessions)
• You can leverage when talking with local businesses about the brand recognition that they will receive by sponsoring your team

Also, do not just think of the short-term value. When you bring fans together, educate them and engage them, there is a long-term benefit that will help your program be sustainable and successful in more ways that can be measured in dollars and cents.

Take action today. Start a Facebook Ads campaign.