Super Bowl XLVII is in the books and while Ravens fans are celebrating, sports betting affiliates are going into mourning. That’s because once the NFL season ends, US-facing sports betting all but grinds to a halt.
Besides choking off revenue, this slow season means that some, or a lot, of your players might drift away to other sports books. Here are a few tips for staying engaged with your NFL bettors now that the season is in the books.
Promoting the NCAA Basketball Tournament
Last year, over around $12 billion was bet on the NCAA Basketball Tournament in the US, and only about $100 million of that went to Las Vegas. The rest was split up between office pools and online bettors.
There’s more than a good chance that your NFL bettors will be laying money on the Tournament in office pools or online, even if they’re not NCAA basketball fans. Providing them with great picks and previews to help them with their brackets will help keep you on their radars.
NFL Draft, Combines & Futures
Over the past few years, the NFL Draft and NFL Scouting Combine have seriously grown in popularity and that’s great news for sports betting affiliates.
Today’s NFL bettors are increasingly sophisticated and are very hungry for draft information and analysis. This kind of content is also perfect for social media sites like Twitter.
Draft and Combine content is not only a great way to promote futures betting, it also keeps your site on your players’ horizon when football goes dark.
(The NFL Scouting Combine runs from February 20-26; the NFL Draft takes place April 25-27.)
E-mail Newsletters
E-mail newsletters aren’t super-sexy, but they’re very effective branding tools. Your e-mail newsletters keep your sites in front of NFL bettors, even when they’re not focused on football.
These e-mails don’t have to be anything fancy (just a few links and a current bonus offer should be plenty). The point is really just to keep your name in front of your NFL players faces until August rolls around.
Branch Out
The slow season might also be a good time to break out into new markets, like cricket or MMA Fighting or even, the other kind of football.
Remember, you’ve got options. It’s the end of football, not the end of the end of the world.
How are you keeping NFL bettors engaged during the off-season? Share your tips in the comments section below.