Little did I know how much this blog would change my life.

This blog has influenced/contributed to everything I’ve ever done professionally. And it’s been great from a personal learning/networking standpoint as well.

I think the thing that may have got me my first job at a sports marketing/consulting agency was the fact that I had a blog and was very curious about new media/online opportunities.

I got my first consulting project because of this blog. The guy found my blog and contacted me to do some research on sports and social networking websites.

Every other project I’ve had or client I’ve worked with since then has been because of this blog–directly or indirectly (someone I met through the blog made an introduction for me).

Along the way, I’ve met and been in touch with some brilliant people who I would have probably never connected with if I hadn’t started this blog. Guys like Darren Heitner, Dan Beeman, Pat Coyle, Brian Gainor, Lewis Howes, Russell Scibetti…very smart people in the sports marketing world.

Having a blog has forced me to keep learning and writing, and that’s a good thing. And just because you start a blog and decide to write about something you’re passionate about doesn’t mean you can’t change. I started out writing about marketing/advertising in general, then moved to more sports business news, and now I write about sports and social media–two of my biggest interests and what I know the most about.

I would encourage any of you who don’t have a blog or personal website to seriously consider it. At least grab a domain name with your name in it, before someone else does. The future of the resume is your presence online. Do you want potential employers, partners or clients  to find your name, your accomplishments and easily get an accurate picture of what you do when they Google your name? Or do you want to be someone that people can’t find online and lose a chance to make an impact on them?

Having a blog has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. If you’d like to see how my writing has changed over the past three years, here are some posts from each year:

2006-2007

• Book Review – Emotional Branding
• Wikinomics
• P&G’s Social Networking
• Sports in Movie Theaters

2007-2008

• Guy Grocery Store Shoppers and Caveman Essentials
• Twitter – The New Stalker Tool
  
• 50 Sports Social Networking Websites
• Crown Plaza On Target With Golf Ads
• Is Fun The New Value That Will Drive Online Communities

2008-2009

• 5 Questions Teams Should Ask About Social Media
• Why Teams Should Get Involved With Social Media
• Using Free Social Media Tools To Connect With Fans And Save Money
• Social Networks Need To Provide Value Beyond Connecting

Blogging and connecting with people via social media are incredibly valuable if you put in the effort and time. They have changed my life for the better. Do you have a story on how blogging has changed your life? I’d love to hear it.

Lately I’ve stumbled upon some good blog posts about being open and transparent in business. One of the reasons why I’ve always thought blogging was good for businesses (not all, but many of them) is that it lets you showcase your knowledge and be seen as an expert by your customers. Being transparent in business takes this a few steps further and helps establish an even deeper connection with your customers. According to Court’s Internet Marketing School, being transparent has the following benefits:

• Your customers are more knowledgeable about you and your business
• You establish a sense of trust upfront by being transparent
• Others value your honesty and are drawn to you in the process

Back when I used to work for a sports agency/consultant I always wished we would blog. Many advertising agencies blog, so why are so many sports marketing agencies and businesses not doing it? We had a collection of some of the smartest individuals in the sports business industry but the fear was that blogging about what we do would give away valuable information to competitors. Now, I don’t really know any business that has a 100% transparency policy, but even if you do give away something of value, someone else still has to do the work. But blogging and showing that you can offer good insights and smart thinking can be the best form of PR or business development you can do. That said, I still understood the hesitation to jump into this, since no other competitor was really doing it, either.

So what if you’re scared that you’re giving away too many things? Social media legend Neil Patel said in a recent interview, “And the main key to my success was that I let everything out. Because sooner or later others are going to know what you know, so might as well be the one to tell them.” Also, you don’t have to always write about your business. You can write about notable events in the industry and what you see others doing right/wrong. If you don’t even want to write the blog, just hire me and I’ll write it for you – as long as we’re transparent about it

There are tons of sports blogs, but I’m still waiting for agencies in the sports business world to catch up with advertising in terms of taking advantage of blogs and social media to position an agency as an expert and spread influence. The only sports agency (that I know of) right now that is really involved with blogging is Dynasty Reps. Its founder, Darren Heitner, could probably tell you that he owes just about all of his success to blogging, being transparent, and using his blog to build his reputation.

I think there’s a huge opportunity for a sports marketing agency (or two or three) to start blogging and generate some buzz in the industry while building a reputation.

Why do you think the sports business world is behind advertising in terms of blogging? Is it just that sports marketers and agents aren’t around new technology as much as ad agency people? Do you think the lack of blogging by sports agencies will change soon? I’d love to hear what you think.