Tom Turner

£300 a week would be a fair price to pay for a full time webmaster. By that I mean somebody who would take on the role of completely redesigning the website, designing a phone and tablet version of the website, updating facebook and twitter several times a day, interacting with fans throughout the day, editing and uploading photos and videos, creating competitions and generating hype across the internet. I am paid nearly double that for doing a very similar role, however my role does require a full time position and is in a completely different industry to speedway. It depends on how encompassing you would want your marketing campaign to be, if you simply wanted someone to update the website, Facebook and Twitter once or twice a day then you could probably find somebody who would be happy to do it just for free speedway tickets! Alternatively you could pay £300 a week for someone to do just that for all the clubs in one go, that would cost each club less than the price of 2 adult admissions per week.

I think that's where you are mistaken foamfence, they have not been tried before. Online marketing requires a sustained and commited approach and results do not happen over night. Going in to schools is all well and good but that is no way to show them speedway. Kid's are only going to be so interested in looking at a bike. Online marketing allows us to shove it in their faces every single day with exciting videos and pictures. It is more than worth a try, it is a tried and tested method that works. Why not? A dedicated 'website man' who know's what he's doing could easily bring in well over £15k a year! And if not, why not try someone part time at first and pay them just £100 a week? I'm sure you could find someone who would do an hour or so a day just for free speedway tickets every week. The results will speak for themselves.

Spot on. We really need to shout about this until somebody takes notice. It just goes to show that you need not spend very much to see a huge increase in attendances. The cost of hiring a full time "website man" who does nothing but update facebook, twitter, post pictures and videos online, interact with fans and hold competitions would easily pay for itself. It doesn't have to cost a lot, it just has to be modern and sustained. The ideal candidate must be familiar with web design, will be aged 20-30 and have a good understanding of social networking and online marketing. You could pay just £300 a week for a 9-5 "website" man. The measures taken by promoters to further weaken the "elite" league this year were not the way to go and will make any marketing campaign even harder.

You're completely right, who better to be the face of speedway than Nicki Pedersen? He has so many brilliant qualities it is hard to pick a favourite. What is your favourite quality in Nicki? Is it his swearing? spitting? aggressive behavior? track side tantrums? shouting at his own pit crew? helmet and goggle throwing? provocative attitude? dirty riding? Or do you just like his big hair dryer?

I just noticed that you are Nicki Pedersen's number 1 fan... explains a lot

I understand completely New Science. The point I am trying to make is a lot of these issues are caused by lack of finance. We will not find this extra finance through sponsors because they are not interested in a sport with so little publicity on offer. The only place we will find this extra finance is through higher attendances and they will only come with a modern and consistent marketing campaign. It does not have to be a lot, but at the moment it is non existant. With the extra finance generated through increased attendances we can focus our efforts on better track surfaces so that riders can race with confidence and better international riders who are more experienced and can provide a higher standard of racing. When we have these things in place the marketing side of things will get easier and easier and the financial situation will continue to improve. Then we can really focus on getting behind the Brit's and spending more money on support, training schemes and funding equipment who will in turn become the preferred choice over other international riders, not because they are cheaper but because they are better. I understand that some may be skeptical, but I cannot understand in any way how reducing the quality of the sport and failing to attract new audiences can ever help the sport grow? By reducing the quality further it becomes impossible to market.

I understand what you are saying but in this case it is the younger generation that are most valuable to the sport. Based on what I have seen on my various speedway visits it would appear obvious that audiences are overwhelmingly of an older generation. I guess the blunt way to put it is who will take over when this generation is too old to attend? Young people know what young people want. We know what appeals to them and we know how to pluck their strings. Online marketing and social networking has become a core part of every succesful public facing company business plan because it is tried and tested. It may not be the world everyone lives in, but it is the world that the youth of today live in, and the youth of today are the paying customers of tomorrow.

I have never failed a client. I have never walked away from a business without doing a great job. I take pride in my work and my track record speaks for itself. You are utterly clueless, no surprise you are no longer a promoter and glad you aren't promoting my club. The sport is doing a great job discrediting itself and certainly doesn't need my help on that front. If you are suggesting a few posts on a forum could damage that balance then you yourself are testifying to what an awful state it is in. So tell me, what was this £80,000 spent on? What did this marketing agency do for you? I think you were ripped off mate. I've not seen one iota of speedway marketing in play online, so explain to me where this £80,000 went? Because it clearly went to the wrong places didn't it. Wouldn't be surprised if it was lining the pockets of GSI's good pals. You are talking out of your backside. You are deluded in that you believe cutting costs and reducing the quality of the product will make it viable again. Wrong. The money that will be saved through cost cutting will be lost through the drop in attendance figures which you will see next season, and the season after that, and the season after that. This isn't rocket science, it's common sense

It makes me so sad to see things like this.

Tsunami I understand what you are saying but you are wrong. The "good days" are well within reach I promise you. My marketing ideas are not expensive, they can be done for as little as ZERO. If money were to be spent it need not be very much, a small monthly commitment from each club (clubs with higher attendances could commit more) could solve attendance issues within just a few seasons. I invite any promoter who see's the sense in what I say to contact me (I know they are reading this now) and I will show you just how much can be done without spending a single penny. What have you got to lose?

Hi Reliant Robin, Yes I have offered my services to every single club on an individual basis. Most importantly I have offered these services entirely free of charge, the success of the sport I love with a passion is far more rewarding than any financial gain. I have had some fantastic feedback from the likes of Chris Louis and several elite league promoters. I have also spoken to several riders who seem to think the promoters are beyond reason. I have spoken to many people working within speedway and the general feedback I have recieved is it is "their way, or no way". Anybody who knows me will know I love the sport with a passion and I speak out because of this. This sort of thing is how I make my living and I have seen many businesses go the same way as speedway, but equally I have seen many businesses excel beyond their wildest dreams by utilising social media and modern day marketing in the right way. I'm not here to argue a point and throw my toys out the pram, I would love more than anything to be proven wrong but I have seen this time and again and I fear that I am completely right. We are all here because we love the sport, but we must remember that above all speedway is a business within the entertainment industry and certain actions must be taken to remain relevant and survive. Survival is all about adapting to ever changing conditions. If you do not respond rapidly to changes in the world then you will not survive. I think we both know the answer to that one White Knight

So I was right then. Who will replace you in a years to come? Nobody. No, I didn't encourage anybody to stop supporting British Speedway, there is a distinct difference between abandoment and peaceful protest. I think you need to go back to school and sharpen up on your reading skills. It's time to wake up. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and at times like these actions seem to speak far louder than words. I have wasted a million words, many hours, and money from my own pocket trying to encourage real change within speedway but they have fallen upon deaf ears, with the exception of a few who have resoundingly agreed with me (a couple of promoters and many riders). I'm afraid the truth is it will not be an exciting and interesting season. Riding standards will drop immensly, tracks will fall into an even more abysmal, attendances will follow and you will be left with egg on your face and no decent speedway to watch. Keep on living in your dream world sport noun 1. an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment. compete verb 1. strive to gain or win something by defeating or establishing superiority over others. superior adjective 1. higher in rank, status, or quality. The plans offered by our promoters to dilute the sport futher are completely against the basic principles of the word "sport". Wake up.

I understand there was a lot of competition and mainstream will always win, but I don't understand how anybody in that list has done more than Tai? Tai has spent every spare hour he has in his garage cleaning, fixing, preparing and trialing his bikes, working on his mental and physical fitness every single day and pushing his limits day after day until he reached the top of the world. I don't see how that is any different to anybody on the list, but there you go.

How old are you? Too old to understand what I'm talking about right? You don't own a smartphone, you don't know what a tablet is and the internet is a scary and confusing world for you? Am I right? The sport has fallen on it's backside because people like you are in control of it. I am an expert in marketing, it is what I do and it is how I make my living. I know exactly what I'm talking about and if more people took note the sport wouldn't be in this sorry mess. People like you won't be happy until every match is a NL match with half a dozen fans in attendance. If you don't understand it you should make an effort to learn and embrace it, not resist it and become hostile towards change. I don't mean to cause any offense and I would be very upset if I had thought I had hurt or upset somebody on here. I don't mind if you or every single member on this forum think otherwise, as I have said before, it will be me who has the last laugh, albeit a very hollow and sadly avoidable one. At least I can find solace in knowing I tried my hardest while there was still time to change.

Foamfence you are so deluded. You have no idea what you are talking about.

I have watched a fair bit of Polish speedway, but not a lot of Swedish speedway. I have thoroughly enjoyed the product on offer in Poland and personally I do not believe next years British speedway will be anywhere near as good as Polish speedway. It is about £8 a meeting for an Adult in Poland. Spot on Elephantman. The promoters know they are in the rubbish but don't know how to pull themselves out of this nose dive. The solutions are there but they are too ignorant to explore them, instead they have diluted the product beyond any value in a last ditch attempt to retain a few of the current supporters. We need to show the promoters some tough love and show them we will not stand for this. There are far better options and they need to get on them before it's too late.

Doesn't that further emphasise my point that the product should not be diluted further? Who are these "plenty of people"? I have spoken to every friend I've made and every colleague I have worked with about speedway at one point or another and I don't recall a single one who had previously been to or heard of speedway. This exciting and thrilling speedway is on TV every week... but being on TV is not enough to drive attendances. Have you ever discovered a sport on TV and then converted into a regular attendee? Has a single person on this forum discovered speedway through Sky Sports? I don't think they have.

We already know enough to come to the conclusion it will be rubbish! Why do I assume it will be shockingly poor and boring? Because it is obvious! This post pretty much sums it all up: Anybody who truly believes our speedway will be anything near entertaining or even good value next season are out of their minds. Just go on YouTube now and look at some Polish Ekstraliga or Swedish Elitseriean and then tell me you still believe our speedway will be able to hold a candle to theirs? I don't care if you will attend no matter what, and I couldn't care less about "real fans" paying out hard earned money for a frankly insuperior product. The fact of the matter is there is only supposedly "real fans" left, and that's the reason why there is no money in the sport. Social Media won't give a toss about British riders, it will only respond to the best riders involved in the best action. We aren't trying to attract "real fans", we are trying to attract thousands of new attendees! Speedway need's to be run like a business, not a charity. Why is this so hard for some people to understand?

You cannot get more personality that Tai Woffinden! It would be a great shame if he isn't in the top 10. He has faced some tough challenges and came out as a world champion, what a man. Good luck Tai.

Exactly what I have been saying all along! They are completely out of touch and because they don't understand it they become hostile towards it. Typical old people. That is the reason speedway is on the decline and the changes agreed to at the AGM this year are the final nail in the coffin for British speedway. We can all pretend this isn't true (why not, the BSPA have been for the last 10 years), but it is, and the longer the promoters take to react to this, the harder it will be to pull speedway out of this nose dive they are responsible. This hits the nail on the head. We really need to scream and shout about this until somebody listens. We know you are reading this promoters, take note before it's too late. The product we had in 2012 was not ideal but it was marketable, and we could of built upon that. The product agreed to at this years AGM is completely unworkable and will be a shockingly poor and boring product, it is no different to a pub watering down it's drinks. The crowds will drop like flies! I know for a fact in 10 years time (maybe even 2 or 3) I will be saying "I told you so", but it will be a very hollow victory on my part indeed.

Are you unwell? I'm not saying anything like that.

How do you know this? Fact or speculation? £80,000 can go a very long way when it comes to online marketing but it does have to be in the right hands. I know you are reluctant to accept marketing but it is absolutely essential. Speedway is a fantastic and thrilling sport! There is nothing wrong with the product, there is simply not enough people who know about it.

WOW!!! Mind = blown.

I'd leave it alone!! The rule book is fine, the way the sport is presented to market is completely wrong. If I was given free range I would outsource the marketing aspect of speedway to a marketing agency or create a marketing team at the BSPA. And no, that doesn't mean high costs at all. Certainly a lot less than they stand to lose with these silly changes. Because this is a British speedway forum. See, it's a bit of a giveway in the forum bit. noun: forum; plural noun: forums; plural noun: fora 1. a meeting or medium where ideas and views on a particular issue can be exchanged Why on Earth should I, or any other supporter, support a club financially for an inferior product when my money is then wasted on awful business strategy that has been proven not to work? There is no point living with your head in the clouds, that is the very reason the sport is in this horrible mess.

Thank you, I certainly hope nobody took any offense to my comments. I bet you first went to speedway when you were between 10 and 20 right? That's the age range we need to be targeting most as they will become the foundations of speedway in years to come.