Esports — Elevate Your Game to the Next Level

The dirty little secret about being successful at Esports is that loving what you do isn’t enough. Talent, commitment and dedication are key to success.

And now you’ve decided to take your Esports Team to the next level and go professional. That sounds great! However, there’s a number of other factors to consider that will ultimately determine the success of your project. Just like in other business sectors, the same rules apply to starting a competitive Esports organization. They also apply to setting up a startup company.

Don’t forget, your entrepreneurial journey won’t be such a grind if you learn to take joy in your growth along the way.

First and foremost, your key to success relies on the cash and other assets you make available. Then, you need a well-balanced team structure, work ethic and astute management skills to drive your team’s development in the right direction.

That’s where this article comes in — I’ll help you find alternative solutions for financial funding, brand development, team management and social media implementation. Let’s focus on the essentials!

1. Financing

If you don’t have the financial backing of an organization yet, there are a number of sources you can tap into to make the cash flow:

· Web content that places ads on the video content you post will generate ad revenue when placed on your videos (YouTube etc.) or streams. If your website has a lot of traffic, allowing Google ads is bound to make money as well.

· Sponsorships are a vital key to your success. You can either go “all in” and target a single sponsor, or you can develop a portfolio to promote different aspects of your Esports team with several sponsors. What does a sponsorship look like? It’s a bit like a partnership. A sponsoring company would see potential to make money with you as their brand ambassador. Any advances of sponsors should be well considered as they can give your team that extra boost for biz. Be sure to put solid team management and a proven set of players in place. Community building is essential for the success of your team. Try to attract as many stream viewers, Twitter followers and Facebook fans as possible. Last but not least, don’t forget to promote your strategic parameters to let prospective sponsors in on positive trends and developments of your eSports team.

· Indirect sales can help you make money by selling your team logo or graphic designs epitomizing your Esports teams. Just open Spreadshop and sell your official and original merch.

2. Brand development

This important aspect is neglected by many, but it could be a vital factor to tip the scales. A solid brand image and a professional online presence are at the heart of the matter of any successful business. There’s certainly no shame if you’re lacking these skills — after all, you’re just starting. Let professionals take care of creating your brand visuals, and choose one of the many services to build your website. Some of them are even tailored to the needs of the Esports industry.

Let’s make some noise! It’s important to create authentic content and to cast a spotlighting on what makes your team great and unique. Feature the players and get the word out on your social media channels. It’s all about content, on content, on content. Produce micro-content all day long. Create a vlog, that starts from the making of an article, that is originally based off a video. That’s the best way to amplify your content, connect with the audiences and to build a successful online strategy.

3. Community

Next to doing well at tournaments, your second battle field is to rally your fans and get them on your side over other Esports teams. Play this game and try to make your community interact with you. Like I mentioned before, community is the backbone of every successful Esports team. Engage with them and make them feel like they’re a part of your team and its mission. Once you get the ball rolling, think of a plan to get people in your area to meet up (physically) by organizing local tournaments, events, pub meetings. You can even take a major Esports franchise as a source of inspiration. You could offer them fan T-shirts as an incentive for membership in your organization. Spreadshop offers an easy white label shop solution, that you can customize to your needs, where you can choose your own products and have your designs and even integrate with a plugin on your own website. All this with zero financial risk.

4. Team

To make your Esports team competitive, you need to do more than hire stream players or Youtube specialists. Ideally, you can make funds available to headhunt established players. If this is not an option, building a winning team for the future will rely even more on your abilities to scout the right talent. Make winning tournaments a priority! Nothing is as appealing as the winning side. Foster a winning mentality in your team, and get a structure in place to make it sustainable.

Set up an agenda to install a refined practice schedule. Send your players to as many tournaments as possible so they get accustomed to the pressure of playing in public. Analyze their performance and provide feedback to improve the structure.

5. Merchandise

Merchandising is in good means of generating indirect sales, connecting with your audience and to boost your brand. Even if you manage to snip up a serious sponsorship deal, selling merchandise will help you make some money on the side. The more popular your Esports team gets, the more merch you are bound to sell.

Spreadshop takes merchandising to a whole new level. Without having to pay for anything upfront, you can just upload your graphics, and let us take care of everything else.

Our solution, an exclusive Esports shop for your team. Upload your own logos, sponsor art and designs, and create an entire line of team and fan gear. You can customize your shop to match your team’s colors and logo. Embed your team shop directly into your existing team site, which will give you instant merch capabilities. You can print your product assortment on more than 100 types of apparel and accessories.

And if that’s not enough, Spreadshop even offers a professional design service to cater your needs.

With all this said, what are you still waiting for? Step up your Esports game and push your team to success. Invest in your brand and don’t forget, growing a community starts with your product and the time you invest in it.

Now go and be legendary!

I hope you can get some valuable input from this analysis. Get going as fast as possible and try to explore new avenues whenever possible make your team a success soon. With a broad scheme for positioning, efforts for sponsorship acquisition, brand awareness, community development and merchandising, you’ll be on your way.