Last week I wrote about
different ways to get a racing license, this week I am going to focus on
creating a brand for oneself. I think it is VERY important to come up with a
brand for yourself in the racing industry and even in everyday life. I
have come up with some ideas on how to create your own brand with some of my
own examples.
1. Ask your friends, family, or even on Facebook to
name off a few adjectives that describe you.
Example of some of the adjectives I got: smart, badass,
friendly, happy, and pretty
2.
Perception is huge! How
do you want others to perceive you?
I want to be perceived as strong, unique, educated, fast leaner, smart, and passionate (I want to inspire the next generation of women)
I want to be perceived as strong, unique, educated, fast leaner, smart, and passionate (I want to inspire the next generation of women)
3. What are your goals? Don't create impossible
goals like winning a F1 race your first time on the track. What do you
want to accomplish in racing? What type of car do you want to race? Do you need
to win races? Maybe you will begin racing a car that is only capable of running
mid-pack during the first few years. After gaining experience, you may plan to
purchase another car capable of being a front-runner, or work on further
preparing the car you have been racing to its full potential. For example:
·
What is my 6 month goal? Complete
NASA HPDE program
·
What is my 1 year
goal? Obtain racing license
·
What is my 5 year
goal? Become a part of a racing team and become a professional race car
driver
·
What is my 10 year
goal? Win a Championship
4.
Tell everyone what
skills you have, boast a little. I admit I am not the best at this, it can be a
bit uncomfortable to do. But think about the possibilities, let’s say you tell
your mom about your racing and how good you are getting at it. She may tell a
co-worker or friend that tells another friend. What if that leads to someone
writing a story about you? Or a fellow racer wanting to mentor you? Or maybe a
sponsorship? It never hurts to keep people up-to-date about your racing career.
5.
Network, network,
network. Attend racing events, conferences, get togethers, auto events, etc.
The more of these events you go to the more you will start to see the same
people, they may be car enthusiasts, racers, owners, etc. You never know
who you may meet. This helps build your network and create word-of-mouth
for yourself.
·
By
attending quite a few autocross events I get to know other people in my
club on a personal level. They tend to give me great advice on how to tweak my
car, which is always welcomed. Also people start to recognize and notice
how much I have improved over the last year.
6.
Who is your audience? Is
there a particular local or national racing team you want to join? Is there a
particular sponsor you would love to have on your side? If so, you need to
figure out how your brand would help boost their brand and help them get that
ROI (return on investment) they are looking for. You have to
give sponsors a very good reason why they should invest in you. You are
their marketing tool. What ROI can you give them? How are you going to get them
exposure?
Once you have figured
out all the answers and formulated your brand you can start by posting on
Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, etc. Always keep your brand in the back of your
head and revisit it frequently. Does your brand still represent you after a
year?
Hope this was helpful,
if anyone has more ideas please let me know, I always welcome feedback.
Next week I will write
about racing budgets.
Ciao!