If you haven’t read the two previous articles you might want to. It will help give context as to my approach, goals, and whatever else I end up talking about in this article
My sites have been about promoting the game of baseball beyond the MLB level that everyone already sees. It is about highlighting the JUCO, NAIA, NCAA D2 and D3 schools that often get overlooked by their hometown media. It is about giving exposure to high school, travel ball and legion players who love the game and have dreams of always wearing the uniform.
I’ve done this through photography, articles, interviews, videos, podcasting and more. The challenge now is figuring out what to continue doing, and maybe most importantly how to afford to do these things.
When I first started photographing games I didn’t charge for the photos. I just shared them with whomever wanted them. I was fine with that as a lot of parents would still pay me something as a thank you.
Over time though I needed to upgrade the sites to handle the load of photos I was taking, as well as allowing for more capabilities on the site. This came at a cost that I pay every year. With the start of the podcast came additional expenses. Add on costs for traveling to games, whether by car or plane (going down to Phoenix), my expenses have gone up to keep things going.
So a part of my planning centers on two things. First, what I want to do, and second how I’m going to afford it.
What I Want To Do
Photos have been the foundation of what I’ve done for 13 years and that isn’t changing. I’ve said it on the podcast before that I don’t have any photos of me playing baseball. I wish I had some. I don’t want any player today, especially with the technology we have, to not have photos of themselves playing. My goal is to get back out there taking pictures. I know that means I’ll have to hit the road often to get to games and that is okay.
I’m also hoping to be back in Washington next year for a tournament or showcase, and then get down to Phoenix for the Arizona Fall Classic.
Posting articles on the sites have also been a staple from the beginning and those will continue. On the NW Baseball Report and GP Baseball report sites the articles will depend on the time of the year. On 9 Inning Know It All I hope to get back to writing about anything everything I see. A lot of posts on the sites will also come from what I talk about next.
Podcasts and Youtube videos are a lot of fun and I really want to get these going again. Also to be completely honest I am more comfortable talking on a podcast then writing out articles.
Funding Everything
The success and continuation of the sites really comes down to this. It is hard to explain to my wife why I need to keep putting out $1,000 to $2,000 in order to keep the sites running, paying for subscriptions to do video and audio recording and hosting, and to travel to games in the region and occasionally around the country.
Although I will still be attending and photographing games I haven’t been hired to attend, photos will no longer be free. I need to at least have the potential of making money on games I cover or else I’m going to have to limit the games I go to. I’m still going to be available for hire to come and photograph for players and teams. Being hired ahead of time helps planning and support in a great way.
Sponsored articles are something that I’ve done a couple times in the past. I don’t get these offers very often but when I do I try to take advantage of them. For any businesses out there that would like to do a sponsored article please let me know.
Advertising on the sites, videos and podcasts is something I’ve done in the past and I hope after I get the sites up and running on a regular basis that I will get this going again. It would be great to have a business choose to advertise with me now to help get things up and running again, but as a business major myself I know that I need to show consistency and viewership/listeners to get advertising.
Selling merchandise is cool, but the only person who usually bought stuff was me, getting shirts to wear for when I cover games. This doesn’t really cost me anything so I don’t mind keeping this available and who knows, maybe the sites will take off and people will want to buy something.
Fan support is something I’ve toyed with in the past. I did Patreon and although I’m not opposed to something like this again I’m just not sure what I would do. If the sites and podcasts are free, I’m not sure what I would be able to offer fans. In Washington I tried to do photos but that won’t work here. So this would be completely based on just hoping people want to give money.
The last area of funding is just posting my Venmo link and hoping people want to support but this is pretty much the same as a Patreon.