A little about me and why I am writing this
For us eSports fanatics the past two years have been the “Golden Age”. We have had the pleasure of watching unprecedented growth of our love and passion. It has brought us out of our caves and other assorted hiding places to hold up our champions with pride and bond over our common interests. Now, as the scene is approaching the critical mass needed for mainstream production, entrepreneurs (most of whom are mega-fans like us) are pushing forward into the new market/frontier. So as a marketer (and small-biz addict) by trade I was curious as to how I could lend my skills and help the growth of eSports. I decided the best thing I could do would be to offer my expertise in marketing to budding eSports businesses across the globe in the form of this blog. So thank you for reading and feel free to comment if you want to talk.
Why Now?
With little in the way of marketing the eSports community has exploded, so why is it so important now? Well, in marketing we have a very simple little chart that demonstrates the general life-cycle of a product (aptly named “The Product Life-Cycle”). For the purposes of this post we can apply these same principles to the emergence and growth of a market. Above is your standard life-cycle chart that shows growth (in terms of popular interest in eSports) in relation to time. In the early two stages (development and introduction) the growth is relatively slow, but eventually the market will cross what is ominously known to entrepreneurs as “The Chasm”. The chasm refers to the gap between early adoption of a product/market and the acceptance by the general public; unfortunately it spells the end for many trends that didn’t get the momentum needed to cross it.
This brings me to where the eSports community is now. In my opinion, we are nearing the end of the chasm and are gearing up to move into unprecedented growth. However, in order to support increasing player and viewer numbers, eSports has to be able to attract business. It needs to be a better investment than all of the other potential markets that sponsors pursue. Marketing is a large piece of the solution to this puzzle, and more eSports businesses are becoming aware of it. So, if you want to compete in this arena, you are going to have to start fine-tuning your marketing efforts and that is going to require a lot of testing.
Better Living Through Data
Ok, so to close up my introductory post I want to include at least one real piece of advice for small businesses. Data is the most important piece of marketing. Contrary to popular belief, us marketers are not all about rainbows and unicorns. The most successful campaigns are those that were devised and researched through the analysis of data.
So as a small eSports businesses, where should you start getting your data?
- To begin, if you don’t already, get analytics software installed on your site right now. If you are not tracking visitors then you are losing value. Each individual visit shows another viewpoint of how you are seen publicly.Google Analytics is free and easy to install.
- Next, consider your business goals and then get them implemented on your analytics software (each one has a goals setting). If you are a retailer, set your thank-you or check-out page as a goal and start tracking how many users are actually converting. For a blog, set goals for pageviews and visit duration. What your goals are really depends on what you are trying to do as a business.
- Once you have your goals set, establish some funnels. You need to know how visitors move through your site and why. If they are leaving, figure out where and why. Perhaps there is a broken page or link that is causing negative reactions. Whatever the case, you need to know about it, so get funneling.
- Build your keywords. Most small businesses should have a list of applicable keywords anywhere from 20-40 words long. Having these will help you focus your SEO efforts and build your rankings. With a group as internet savvy as eSports fans, you better believe SEO is going to be critical for driving traffic, do not ignore it.
- If you are expecting a big traffic spike, or even if you aren’t, get some heatmap monitoring systems. Knowing where users are clicking on your page can help you to build a kickass interface and improve your user experience. Here is a good heatmapping tool.
- Correlation does not equal causation. This is a mistake that marketers make way too often. Optmization vs. Analytics explains this better than I could.
- This one is more of a vanity issue, but social media is not a place for you to promote deals (most of the time). The whole point of social media is to be social, engage in conversation with your followers. Constant brand messaging sucks and, especially for a passionate crowd like eSports, really turns off most people who see it (provided they don’t just tune it out). So get active in the trends and start talking to people.
Going forward, my posts will be much more focused on one specific piece of data and how to utilize it in your eSports business. Today was just to lay out that marketing and business in eSports are becoming more and more important. However, this is not a bad thing by any means and, if done right, can only mean good things for our community. Once again please comment if you have any points you would like to discuss. Thanks for reading!
About Tom Swanson:
Tom is the resident marketing and data nerd at Iheartesports. A zerg player at heart, his goal is to combine his love for people and marketing with his passion for eSports. He writes to help eSports businesses and fans alike to spread the word and make eSports a truly global phenomenon.
exclusive eSports player sticker available only at IPL4
Are you going to Las Vegas this weekend to attend IPL4? If so we have a special surprise waiting for you! We teamed up with team Millenium and photographer Quentin Caffier to create an exclusive player sticker that will be available only to IPL4 attendees. Oh, and the best part? It’s FREE!
By exclusive we mean exclusive. This sticker will never be sold and once all 1500 are handed out then POOF! they’re gone. To score one be sure to ask for one at the registration table. We only have 1500 so be sure to arrive early.
“One thing I love about huge gaming and tech conferences like ComicCon and Blizzcon is that companies would develop special swag just for that event” says Jason Tugman, Product Manager at iHearteSports.com. “We wanted to bring that same exclusive swag to IPL. When I first saw Quentin’s amazing photo of Stephano I knew I wanted to use it for something. I am stoked to be able to use his work for this awesome sticker. As far as I know this is the first time someone has developed exclusive swag for a single eSports event.“
Looking to round out your collection or snag some stickers for autographs? We will be vending our entire line of stickers at IPL! Assisted by the awesome Conrad “QuantumPope” Janzen we will have all our stickers for sale on the show floor all weekend.
Huge thanks to the team at IPL, Millenium and the awsome photographic work of Quentin Caffier for making this swag possible. It is going to be an awesome weekend so come find us and say hi!
For more awesome stickers visit us online at www.iHearteSports.com and get stickers from team StarTale, comPlexity, WhiteRa, viOlet and more!
Join the iHearteSports team! We are currently seeking a barcraft community manager.
In the past, iHearteSports has supported numerous barcrafts all around the world, and now we want to take that support to the next level. We have several barcraft-specific products about to launch as well as a special Creative Commons barcraft logo initiative on the near horizon. We are looking for a deeply motivated individual who can take the reins of our barcraft efforts.
The barcraft community manager will be the primary organizer, contact point, and liaison to barcrafts around the world. While we have specific goals and metrics in mind, we need a leader who can mastermind this effort. We need someone who can truly take ownership of this project, someone who can have fun with this opportunity, someone who can offer scrappy creativity to bringing the iHearteSports brand to barcrafts across the planet.
We are a very small team, so we’re looking for doers and initiative takers. We need people with ideas and the skills to execute them. You will be given a [small budget and 10,000 stickers (literally), with a single mission in mind: Get our stickers in the hands of every barcraft on the planet, and inspire their patrons to become rabid fans of iHearteSports.
Since iHearteSports is a startup, it’s important that you realize we’re looking for a team member. We need you to be a part of the company, not just a cog in the wheel. Jumping in, helping out, taking initiative, and loving our customers is expected.
We are looking for a scrappy, entrepreneurial person. We need someone who can do a lot with a little. We need someone who understands we’re building a business, and that to build a successful eSports business, you must love your customer and love the community.
Position FAQ:
Will I need to ship out stickers?
We will mail out all the packages from D.C., so you will not be asked to do that.
Does the position pay?
Sorry, no. At this time, we cannot offer any cash compensation. No one at iHearteSports is paid right now. We all work because we dig what we’re doing. If our products go gangbusters, then we may start looking into paying our staff, but we’re not there yet.
How much time will be required?
This is a community leadership position. We are currently in discussions with several large eSports companies regarding potential partnerships. Your ideas, input, and community insights will drive several of these emerging conversations. Assume this will require dedication.
Attending a weekly Skype meeting is required, so please ensure you have a microphone set up.
What experience do I need?
You don’t need experience. You need creativity, drive, and determination, along with a heavy dose of mad skillz to execute. Entrepreneurial experience is a definite plus. If you know who Eric Reese or, better yet, Noah Kagan is, you are off to a great start. Don’t be surprised if I give you a copy of REWORK by Jason Fried as a welcome gift. :)
I already work for an eSports organization and/or a barcraft can I still apply?
We will be asking you to represent our company so please be sure you can do so. If you run a single barcraft then that should not be a problem however, if you work for an company/organization that runs barcrafts or other large eSports events that may be a conflict. If you have questions please email me jason@iheartesports.com.
How do I apply?
Click here and fill out this form. I, Jason, will review it and then reach out to you. We will be scheduling Skype chats soon.
Note: Please do not e-mail me your application. If you have questions, please ask, but all applications need to go through the Google Docs form.
Today is a very good day in the world of eSports merchandise. With our line of collectible eSports team stickers we set out to do something no one has every done before; to create affordable, collectible merchandise that would allow fans to connect directly with their favorite teams. We set out with a goal of releasing 30 players from a dozen teams by the end of February. Today, through our new partnership, I believe we will be able to exceed that goal. We have partnered with IGN Pro League and they have given iHearteSports full access to their massive digital library of player photos. Having access to these high-quality photos will allow us the ability to partner with even more teams and release even more collectible stickers.
“What is so awesome about an organization like IPL is that when I first told them about the idea of doing collectible team stickers they immediately got what we were trying to do and asked what they could do to help out” says Jason Tugman, Product Manager at iHearteSports.com.”My longterm goal for our collectible stickers is to represent every team that has a player finish in the RO32 in a major tournament and I want to do this every year. I know this is an ambitious goal and I know it is going to take some time before we are in a position to truly execute on these plans but having the support of an organization like IPL gets us much closer to being able to meet such an ambitious goal.”
Click here to check out our current releases of ReIGN, compLexity, viOlet and White Ra and stay tuned tomorrow for our newest release!
About iHearteSports:
iHearteSports is working to provide affordable merchandise to the eSports community. We work with artists and photographers from the community to create and sell awesome stickers. Product Manager, Jason Tugman is a lifelong gamer and has worked in entertainment for over 15 years. He has worked for Oprah Winfrey, he toured with a circus for 6 years and he once ate a gumball he found on the floor.
viOlet aka 7up Zerg aka the hardest working player in SC2 has just been acquired by Team Empire! I’ve been a huge fan of viOlet’s for some time now. He streams literally 8 hours a day, he competes in every tournament there is and he is a consumate sportsman. His joining Team Empire today truly does show what hard work and determination can do. Still…that does leave us here at iHearteSports.com with an important question; does this make our very first ‘rare’ sticker? Time will tell :)
Again, a huge congrats to viOlet and to CSN TC for believing in him enough to keep him playing, streaming and competing.
Catz, DongReaGu, TriMaster and Drewbie
Click here to Pre-Order today!
Washington, DC
January 10, 2012
Player cards have long been a part of professional sports and provide an excellent way for fans to connect with their favorite teams and players. Through our licensing agreements with each team, our collectible stickers also provide additional merchandising revenue for each of our partner teams.
“This is a first of its kind product for the eSports community that has been many months in the making. I am so excited to release these stickers just in time for the 2012 eSports ‘season’”, said Jason Tugman, Product Manager for iHearteSports.com. “One thing I am really excited about with player stickers is that they are small and light- this makes them very accessible to the global eSports community. Australia, Denmark and Germany are huge markets for eSports. Making a product that we could ship internationally and not have to charge our customers ridiculous postal fees for was really important to me. Being able to create a product that fans want, being able to make that product affordable all while supporting the eSports eco-system is, to me, a win-win-win situation.”
To pre-order the compLexity series visit http://iHearteSports.com.
Fans can sign up for new release notifications by going to http://unbouncepages.com/esports/ or following us on Twitter @iHearteSports.
If you are a team and want to become a product partner you can email Jason@iHearteSports.com.
About iHearteSports:
iHearteSports is working to provide affordable merchandise to the eSports community. We work with artists and photographers from the community to create and sell awesome stickers. Product Manager, Jason Tugman is a lifelong gamer and has worked in entertainment for over 15 years. He has worked for Oprah Winfrey, he toured with a circus for 6 years and he once ate a gumball he found on the floor.
About compLexity Gaming:
Complexity Gaming® is the premier competitive gaming brand in the Americas. Owned and operated by some of the finest minds in the industry, Complexity has a long heritage of championship caliber teams, superstar players, news reporting and gaming entertainment ventures. Complexity’s gamers have been featured by numerous mainstream media outlets like Sports Illustrated, New York Post, Los Angeles Times and the Wall Street Journal. They have also appeared on live television programs such as CBS’ 60 Minutes and the Championship Gaming Series, have been featured in film documentaries and were a focus of the book “Game Boys.” The company’s online properties Noobflicks.com and MyGamerFeed.com have ensured that Complexity remains a premier destination for media content in the gaming sector.
Free sticker packs until these holiday stamps are gone!
UPDATE: Congratulations! We have given away just over 30 sticker packs which is just under 150 stickers in total, woot! Technically we ended the contest about an hour ago but since my silly phone wouldn’t let me log in to my WordPress account I wasn’t able to update this post so instead EVERYONE who tweeted @ihearteSports up to this moment will receive a free sticker pack :)
I’m in the process of doubling checking my tweets to be sure I didn’t miss anyone. If you sent a tweet prior to 4:03pm EST then you win! Thanks for the awesome response everyone. This has been a lot of fun. This wasn’t really a planned giveaway I was just bored this morning because the SWTOR servers were down – yep, I know, I’m pathetic. Oh well, my non-life is your gain! Hope you all enjoy the stickers.
GG,
Jason
—-
Call me a Grinch but when as I walked into the office this morning to send today’s orders I noticed that we have a few holiday stamps left over. Look, I like the holidays just as much as the next guy but I am also the dude in the neighborhood that is first to take his lights down. So, in an effort to clear the decks and prep for 2012 I will be giving away free sticker packs to the first people (U.S. only see below) that follow @iHearteSports and tweet “@iHearteSports I want some holiday stamped stickers!”
Rules:
- U.S. only. Sorry, these stamps are U.S. postage stamps not the international ones.
- You must follow us on Twitter! You need to follow us so we can DM you and get your mailing address. You can unfollow us later if you want to make elves cry.
- You must tweet “@iHearteSports I want some holiday stamped stickers!”
OK, that is it. GLHF!
Jason
BossFight.TV is not killing eSports.
BossFight.TV literally takes over Spamantha's living room
Josh “AntiPro” Engel and Mike “Mohawk Mike” Bisson created a new weekly eSports talkshow called BossFight.TV. Josh is an MLG Photographer and Mike is a former GotFrag contributor covering Quake 4 and various other pew-pew games. What we love about BossFight.TV is that they set out to create an awesome weekly show, with a full set and production support and do it all without a big time studio. They literally took over one of their staffers apartments (props to Spamantha) and build a set right in her living room. This, to us, is just down right awesome. Once we saw this we knew we needed to get involved and do what we could to support them.
Our opportunity came with their very first episode; it was…rough and what’s more they knew it! Instead of trashing everything and either calling it a day or reshooting they posted the episode, warts and all, and opened up to community for feedback. From that one episode we were able to chat with Josh and offer some production advise. After just a few chats it was very evident that Josh and crew were determined to put on the best weekly possible. We were sold.
We are now very happy to say we are an official sponsor of BossFight.TV. We’ll be supplying production support and equipment to help them in any way we can to create the best damned weekly possible. Bossfight.tv FTW.
GoSC’s Athena’s Weekly is an all-girl weekly tournament that happens every Sunday afternoon. iHearteSports is proud to be able to show our support to the Girls of Starcraft by offering the top two finishers some free iHearteSports merch. The event happens every Sunday and is streamed on Twitch.tv on IccupTesla’s channel. Athena’s Weekly is open to all girls of any level, to enter click here and signup.
We believe that small, independently run tournaments such as this are vital to the eSports eco-system and we excited to be able to show our support. While we cannot, yet, offer prize pool sponsorship’s to events we are happy that we are in a place to be able to offer what we can to show our support to Athena’s Weekly and events like it.
Check out the Athena Weekly’s TL thread here.
About GoSC:
“GoSC, unofficially known as the “Girls of StarCraft”* is a group which formed in June of 2011, with the purpose of allowing girls who love gaming, and in this case, mainly, but not limited to StarCraft®, to come together and share in a supportive and friendly community of other female gamers. But it doesn’t just stop at ‘gamers’.
Our members include ladies who rank on the ladder from ‘casual observer’ to GrandMaster. We are streamers, supporters, casters (a.k.a. castresses), fans, event organizers, promoters, bloggers, artists, all things BW/SC2, and beyond. We have diverse members from around the world – some of whom are well-known in the communities, and some who wish to quietly partake, and contribute under the cloak of invisibility. We practice together. We coach each other. We support each other. We stick up for each other. We laugh and cry together. And – very importantly – we learn from each other.
At events, we do make ourselves visible, but we are not there for public attention. Our goal is to become recognized by other female gamers (and we use that term loosely) who would have otherwise thought they were the “only one”, which is something we hear a lot at events. We hope to change that.”
One of our favorite things about Cyber-Sports.net is that they are working to make competitive play accessible to everyone. CSN’s weekly New School Monday cup is a great example of how they are allowing Starcraft 2 players of all levels the ability to compete. Today we are very pleased to announce that iHearteSports will begin sponsoring New School Monday!
‘This is our first sponsorship with Cyber-Sports.net and as someone who bounces between bronze and silver, myself I love what New School Monday is all about; giving everyone a chance to compete. CSN is an organization that is dedicated to the community of eSports and, as such, it is just the kind of company we want to support in any way possible.’ says iHearteSports’ Product Manager Jason Tugman.
This is just the beginning of our relationship with Cyber-Sports.net. Over the coming weeks we will be announcing even more awesome-ness but in the meantime head over to New School Monday and sign up!
About New School Monday:
This is a cup for the Cyber Sports Network with the focus on the ‘base’ of StarCraft II. What makes SC2 as popular as it is, is just as much about the thousands of Bronze to Gold players out there that help support the interest that SC2 has garnered. CSN would like to offer the ‘base’ a tournament of their own.
This event will be the first event that is sponsored by iheartesports. The top 3 finishers of the event will all receive a full pack of the hot iheartesports stickers, along with the top 2 finishers receiving cash prizing. Another pack of the stickers will be given out to a random participant in the event that does the following:
This event is open to players in the Silver to Diamond leagues.
Matches will be played on the NA Bnet
Matches will be casted by CSN newcomers Favion and Barbarossa!
About iHearteSports:
iHearteSports creates and sells stickers around the competitive gaming community. iHearteSports is working with many teams, casters and personalities to create custom stickers around their brands. These stickers not only allow the eSports community an opportunity to collect some awesome merch from their favorite teams but also offers those teams a much needed alternative revenue stream.
