Medalist Athlete Branding Guide

Websites aren't just for Cristiano Ronaldo, Serena Williams and the elite athletes of the world. 

With the value of personal brands being at an all time high, athletes at every level can benefit from having their own website. And even more, websites these days are super affordable and easy to setup with website building software, such as yours truly at Medalist. For less than the price of a night out on the town in Miami, you can have your brand professionally represented online for a full year with a website. Still not convinced? Below are 7 reasons you need a website for your personal brand as an athlete

1. To Get Noticed

Have you heard of Google? How about Siri? 

Of course you have, these days people use an online search when they want to know anything about anyone. By having a website you make sure you control what people see the next time they Google your name. If you have a big competition or game coming up soon, then there is a good chance that someone, somewhere in the world will be searching your name. It could be a major executive looking to sponsor an athlete, or it could just be a random person that goes to the same gym as you. Either way, be ready with a website that represents you and your brand the way you want to be seen.

2. To Build a Lasting Brand

“Message me on ICQ”, “Friend me on MySpace”, “Join my Facebook page”

All of these are sentences that are either dead or quickly declining in popularity. A social media app like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tik Tok can become popular overnight, but it can also disappear overnight. By having your brand centralized on your website, you can easily adapt to changing social media channels, by redirecting your followers to your new accounts, and avoid the risk of tying your brand to a sinking ship like MySpace.

3. To Create a Money Making Machine

While a website is not actually a magic machine that produces money, it provides you with so many opportunities to earn that is not possible otherwise. Affiliate links, selling merchandise, public speaking fees, charitable donations, online mentoring and training; these are just some examples of how athletes are earning money with their personal websites.

4. To Be 'Official'

An athlete with a good looking website adds that ‘Wow’ factor to their personal brand. Similar to how a new business gets business cards or t-shirts made, by having a website you help others see that you are serious about your brand by making an investment in yourself. But be careful, if your website is poorly designed or seriously out of date it can devalue your brand.

5. To Truly Own Your Brand

Even if you never get a website, at the very least you should try and own the domain name, “YOURNAME.com”. There may (will) be one day when you crush your goals and go big, or maybe you already are big. And when you do you don't want some troll in their basement to buy "YOURNAME.com" before you and then and ask for thousands of dollars to sell it to you. Or even worse, imagine that troll created a website with your name and took advantage of it. A domain name only costs around $10 per year, a small investment in your brand. Use Namecheap.com or Godaddy.com for an easy way to search and buy your domain name today.

6. To Impress Sponsors

Being sponsored by a brand you love is a dream every athlete aspires to, but unfortunately sponsorships don't come easy and can take a lot of work to get. Thankfully almost every sponsor loves an athlete with a website for the following reasons; an athlete appears more professional and serious about their brand with a website, they know the official way to reach you with a simple google search and they love seeing their logo on good looking websites. Make the decision easy for prospective sponsors, and add value to your current ones, by having a strong online presence including a website.

7. For Your Biggest Fans

Your mom, grandmother, barista, etc. will absolutely love checking out your website and will definitely brag to all their friends that they know an athlete (you). And once they tell their friends to visit your website, they too will become fans, and so the cycle towards a strong fan base begins.

These reasons just scratch the surface of how a website can help your personal brand as an athlete, for both today and after your athletic career. Now that you know the importance of a website it's time to decide which is best for your brand. And while there are custom website developers you could hire, usually the best option most for athletes is a website that looks professional, takes little to no effort to maintain and one that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. 

Hands down the easiest website builder that can do this for you is the Medalist system - give it a try for free HERE