In the age of social media, do racers still need their own websites? Yes. Yes times a million, in fact...
Why is this? Well, a website and strong social media presence go hand-in-hand – they help racers accomplish different, yet equally as important, things on the business side of motorsport.
A personal website is completely in your control, unlike a third party social media platform. Your website isn’t subject to algorithm changes or content constraints. Websites make it easier for fans, media members, and prospective sponsors to learn about you and your racing program.
Websites aren’t mere “checkboxes'' for those serious about career growth, either. With the right approach, they can help you stand out. If your goals involve growing your fanbase, finding sponsors, or establishing better relations with media members, a website is a critical tool in your marketing toolkit.
In this blog, we’ll explore five key elements of a racer's website and share tips to help your site's presentation shine.
Your bio should be more than packaged information – it presents a real opportunity to make yourself and your story much more compelling to fans, media and sponsors. Differentiating yourself from other racers is crucial when it comes to sticking in the minds of fans!
On-track accomplishments are certainly top-of-list items to include, but the most effective bios also lean into details about you as a person. They answer questions like, where did you grow up? What are your interests or hobbies outside of racing? What are you truly passionate about? Do you have your own business or passion project?
By weaving these elements together into a memorable and succinct driver bio, you can establish why fans and sponsors should invest their interest in following your racing.
Bob Varsha, the well-known motorsports journalist best known for his F1 and open wheel coverage, shared his perspective on the importance for racers to have a website in this SAFEisFAST YouTube video:
“It behooves a young driver to make getting to know him or her as easy as possible. Things like a website. If I can go to some place very quickly and find out about you, that makes my job (as a journalist) easier, and I’m more inclined to write or talk about you. I would definitely recommend (having) a website.”
Integrating photography and videos through your website creates a more visual experience that fosters better user engagement. Whether it’s an image gallery or video library, immerse your website visitors in your latest racing activities by centralizing your racing content.
Written content is also important for any website. It is worth considering where you will post press releases for new sponsor announcements or team partnerships. Some teams have entire website sections dedicated to brief race previews or weekend recap posts.
Depending on your website builder tool, you may be able to display your latest social media posts, like Instagram content or Tweets, through a sidebar or feed at the bottom of your page. I highly recommend this, as it displays your latest happenings on your website without requiring any manual site updates.
Websites are a logical place to feature your sponsors. However, your presentation of your sponsors absolutely matters.
It starts with a dedicated “sponsors” or “official partners” page. How exactly you arrange this page and their logos is up to you, but the next step is considering how you can make this page special? For example, can you link out to your sponsor’s social media profiles? Can you include a short bio for each sponsor, sharing more information about your specific partnership with them?
As you sign sponsors, you become a brand ambassador for each business that backs you financially. Thus, it’s very worthwhile to go the extra mile when presenting them on your personal website.
Collecting leads and email subscribers through your website is a more advanced strategy, but one worth understanding if you’re serious about audience engagement and sponsorship.
Publishing a regular email newsletter to your subscribers can help you engage with the most dedicated segment of your fanbase, directly. With email, you can send your subscribers news, team updates, and event post-event recaps created specifically for them.
On the audience building piece, over time and with a concentrated effort, your website’s email newsletter can become a valuable sponsorship asset that reaches an engaged audience for your sponsors.
When it comes to pitching and finding your own sponsors, don’t leave any potential avenue unturned; this includes how prospective sponsors can reach out to you, in the chance they would like to initiate a dialog.
Many driver websites have a “contact us” form for sponsorship inquiries, but that feature alone may not go far enough. Consider this: if you were a business owner interested in reaching out about a potential partnership with a racer; what would increase the probability that you submit an inquiry? For instance, what if there was:
Organizations like Chip Ganassi Racing use their website’s “partners” page to paint a very clear picture of the value propositions that come from partnership with their program. With a sponsorship page, you can show your domain expertise to a prospective sponsor before they even reach out to you.
A website should help racers achieve clear and defined goals. There are many small elements that can help take your driver website “up a notch,” but at the end of the day, your website needs to be usable and functional, period. It can be a simple website, so long as it has utility and the necessary information. There are other sections too, like a “shop” page for merchandise, which are entirely separate beasts ... but even if you don't sell merchandise, that shouldn't stop you from launching your own website.
With the above ideas, they are fantastic additions which you can weave into current sections of your website, or build out completely if you don’t yet have them. You can be creative and express yourself, so you may look to work with a designer who can help you (like us!) capture your vision.
