Skyline Sports - spring football and beyond

[BDizzle]

To respond to Kyle's comment.

2 things:

1. I am a paid subscriber. So while you are getting my $8 a month, I am not getting any new content on Griz football.

2. I am in sales and run a business. Your business plan is completely wrong. Well Skyline Sport's business plan, if you are just a paid employee. To bring in new subscribers you need to show them the value of signing up with Skyline Sports. My customers aren't going to sign up with me unless I show them the value I bring to the table. I can't say, pay me and I will start doing my job. I go to them and show them what they are missing out on by not signing up with me. To start a successful business you either have to have customers already signed up or financial backing from somebody. Looks like Skyline Sports didn't quite have it all thought out. Go to the bank and take out a business loan. Or find a private investor and borrow some funds. Skyline should have enough cash flow to operate for many months, even with zero subscribers. Start producing great content. And then start selling the hell out of yourselves and your content. Coming onto the football forum of eGriz and "begging" for subscribers when you haven't put out any new football content in months, while also comparing our fanbase to the cats isn't a good business model. I enjoy what you guys write and that is why i subscribed. But right now I get more information from Brint, who is doing it as a hobby. Another thing that isn't helping, is your website is slow. Maybe talk to a local expert, like Chris, about beefing up your servers.

I wish you the best going forward. I talk about Skyline Sports and promote your website. But that should be your job.

 

[dayday]

To respond to Kyle's comment.

2 things:

1. I am a paid subscriber. So while you are getting my $8 a month, I am not getting any new content on Griz football.

2. I am in sales and run a business. Your business plan is completely wrong. Well Skyline Sport's business plan, if you are just a paid employee. To bring in new subscribers you need to show them the value of signing up with Skyline Sports. My customers aren't going to sign up with me unless I show them the value I bring to the table. I can't say, pay me and I will start doing my job. I go to them and show them what they are missing out on by not signing up with me. To start a successful business you either have to have customers already signed up or financial backing from somebody. Looks like Skyline Sports didn't quite have it all thought out. Go to the bank and take out a business loan. Or find a private investor and borrow some funds. Skyline should have enough cash flow to operate for many months, even with zero subscribers. Start producing great content. And then start selling the hell out of yourselves and your content. Coming onto the football forum of eGriz and "begging" for subscribers when you haven't put out any new football content in months, while also comparing our fanbase to the cats isn't a good business model. I enjoy what you guys write and that is why i subscribed. But right now I get more information from Brint, who is doing it as a hobby. Another thing that isn't helping, is your website is slow. Maybe talk to a local expert, like Chris, about beefing up your servers.

I wish you the best going forward. I talk about Skyline Sports and promote your website. But that should be your job.

I think these are all legitimate points. Wish you the best but I question the business plan with Skyline.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Colter_Nuanez56]

To respond to Kyle's comment.

2 things:

1. I am a paid subscriber. So while you are getting my $8 a month, I am not getting any new content on Griz football.

2. I am in sales and run a business. Your business plan is completely wrong. Well Skyline Sport's business plan, if you are just a paid employee. To bring in new subscribers you need to show them the value of signing up with Skyline Sports. My customers aren't going to sign up with me unless I show them the value I bring to the table. I can't say, pay me and I will start doing my job. I go to them and show them what they are missing out on by not signing up with me. To start a successful business you either have to have customers already signed up or financial backing from somebody. Looks like Skyline Sports didn't quite have it all thought out. Go to the bank and take out a business loan. Or find a private investor and borrow some funds. Skyline should have enough cash flow to operate for many months, even with zero subscribers. Start producing great content. And then start selling the hell out of yourselves and your content. Coming onto the football forum of eGriz and "begging" for subscribers when you haven't put out any new football content in months, while also comparing our fanbase to the cats isn't a good business model. I enjoy what you guys write and that is why i subscribed. But right now I get more information from Brint, who is doing it as a hobby. Another thing that isn't helping, is your website is slow. Maybe talk to a local expert, like Chris, about beefing up your servers.

I wish you the best going forward. I talk about Skyline Sports and promote your website. But that should be your job.

I think these are all legitimate points. Wish you the best but I question the business plan with Skyline.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hiring Kyle was not in the business plan - one we have crafted over 4 years when I first started Bobcat Beat - until we were ready to do so. With his falling out at the Missoulian, he was on the market, needed a job, is one of my best friends and the No. 1 person I wanted to hire to cover the Griz in Missoula. Honestly, we hired him about a year earlier than we were ready to.

We have a full-fledged business plan. We have two major investors. We have taken out a loan from the bank. We have showed potential customers the value of the content we could provide covering specifically Montana State for two years at the Bozeman Daily Chronicle and two more years with Bobcat Beat. We operated for nearly two calendar years without much cash flow. We produced the best content in the state about Montana State and the rest of the Big Sky outside of the Griz.

Why? Because the Montana athletic department is the single least receptive to facilitating coverage of any in the Big Sky and it's not even close. We needed someone who already had sources within the athletic department to expand our business to Missoula. Sample is that guy. We had to hire him when he became available even if it was too early.

My brother, Brooks (former Griz player) and I have sold the hell out of ourselves for four full years. I have two radio shows in Bozeman and guest spots on 5 other stations around the state to promote what we do. We had a three years running print project, the Bobcat Football Review & Preview magazine that printed 30,000 copies annually from 2012-2014. I work 30 hours a week at the largest gym in Bozeman simply to market myself and our business in a place that has 12,000 active members, most of them interested in athletics.

We have a chicken and egg scenario currently but it is being remedied already and will be fixed in no time. We just reached a month-long stretch where we did not know the future in terms of Griz readership and were not able to pay Sample a full-time wage from signing day through the end of basketball so he focused just on hoops and has not produced football content since then. Also, it's almost impossible to produce content without access. I have unlimited access in Bozeman and around the league. That's not the case for any reporter with the Montana football program.

I don't want to ever seem like we are begging. We are just using all the avenues we can to make our dreams come to fruition. This is not some haphazard hobby blog. One of the chief business advisors at the UM business school helped us draft this business plan. We have two very substantial investors that believe in us. We have creditors from Wells Fargo who have provided us with small business loans. We are a registered LLC. Again, the timing was wrong. But the guy is right. That's the only thing we are trying to convey. Thank you for your feedback.

 

[HookedonGriz]

Colter, first and foremost there is no doubt whatsoever who puts out the best and most content in the state. It is you and your team hands down. Your content is awesome. A lot of inside sources, video, and up to date stories. You also made a perfect hire in Kyle for any and all Griz reporting. I am a subscriber, and I will remain one.

There is, however, some fair criticism in those other posts. Your coverage of the Cats is on a 100 to 1 ratio right now compared to Griz. Whether that's access, relationships, or other things it is a huge difference in coverage. It's probably why your Cat subscribers outnumber Griz subscribers 10 to 1. Cat fans would be dumb not to subscribe as your coverage there is incredible. Look at yesterday's coverage of their spring ball for an example. You had a bunch of stories, video content, and multiple interviews.

If the coverage for Griz athletics was similar I think you'd blow the top off here. I know that's where you're trying to go with Kyle and I think that you could eventually get there but I don't think you'll get the subscribers until you can prove that.

I sincerely hope you can find a way, and I am rooting for you guys because I would much rather follow your coverage than anyone else. Make it happen and best of luck!

 

[MrTitleist]

I sincerely hope you can find a way, and I am rooting for you guys because I would much rather follow your coverage than anyone else. Make it happen and best of luck!

Same! Colter, you know you can reach out if you need anything.

 

[mtgriz]

What is the difference between begging and marketing?

Especially in light of the fact that Skyline has provided access to a fair amount of its coverage to non-subscribers?

 

[Colter_Nuanez56]

This is the email/personal message I have sent to many of you for our current solution to take subscriptions:

At Skyline Sports, we have been having a collection of subscription and renewal problems with the back end of our website. We are taking all new or renewed subscriptions via mail until the end of April to ensure the issues are all fixed and no one misses out on spring football content.

If you have a registered user name or would like one, simply email me at [email protected]. I can look you up and grant you access or I can create you a user name and password with access.

The fastest way to go about paying for your subscription to send a check for your desired subscription length — $8 a month, $24 for 3 months, $45 for 6 months or $90 for a year — to:

Skyline Sports
3414 Laredo Drive
Bozeman, MT 59718

We will have the back end for electronic pay fixed as soon as possible. Thank you so much for your support of Skyline Sports!