Professional sport is a lucrative business with billions of avid football, soccer, and tennis fans worldwide. The top competitions are shown on television and through live streams to a global audience. Reports indicate the global sports market increased to $512 billion this year and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. It’s going from strength to strength, with this year already smashing all previous records for revenue and attendance.
Given its lucrative industry, it’ll come as no surprise to learn that a steady stream of entrepreneurs is working hard to secure a slice. From the leading stats apps to sportsbook sites like Bovada, many ways exist to break into professional sports. It may be a multi-billion-dollar industry, and the players may attract the kind of wages that make headlines, but there’s room for you, too, if you fancy getting involved.
There’s room for all
You don’t need to be a professional athlete to spot the potential earnings of working in the sports industry. There’s room for everyone, from digital journalists to web designers and even security guards. And who wouldn’t want to combine their career with a love of sport? It rarely feels like work when employed in a sector you’re passionate about and have followed for your entire life.
Creating a sports app is a popular way for fans to earn from their love. It could be related to one team, sport, or competition. It may be sportsbook gambling, predictions, or a simple fanzine site. If you have your finger on the pulse of professional sports, why not use the information and your knowledge to keep other fans involved in the action?
You could publish previews and reviews, promoting interviews and the latest injury news. There’s a real thirst for sports news, views, and opinions, with consumers desperate to be first with the stories that matter. For every reliable app, thousands push fake news and false information, so you must decide where you fit in and the service you wish to provide. Will your app follow the crowd or aim to do things differently, reinvigorating the tired sports blog format?
Experience pays
Our team has many years of experience helping to build, promote and improve sports sites and apps. We know what works, and our experience has shown us what doesn’t. We put our heads together, gather information and share the knowledge on what makes a successful sports app. We did so in the hope of helping inspire budding entrepreneurs and sports writers to take a leap of faith while avoiding the many pitfalls associated with sports sites.
Using examples of sports sites we’ve worked on in the past, our team of experts gives readers five features needed to make an app stand out in a seriously competitive market. Some features included are more expensive to add to your platform than others, with a few reserved for the most prominent names.
Select a few more affordable options, or try to add all five to your app to take the sports app world by storm.
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Employ great content writers
Your app is only as strong as its content, so you must ensure it’s better than the competition. Your app must be unique to break the mold and attract a fresh audience. There are many ways to achieve this: covering less popular sports or approaching the subjects differently. Find your niche and make it work for you.
There’s no point in launching an English Premier League preview or predictions app, as it has already been done too many times. Customers want freshness. If you’re a copywriter, ensure your views and writing style offer something unavailable online already. There’s no room for another run-of-the-mill sports app. And who wants to be ordinary, anyway. Be different and enjoy success.
If you are less talented at writing copy and more into the business’s SEO or web design side, you’ll need to hire copywriters. They can be freelance or in-house; it doesn’t matter. Remember what we said, your app is only as good as its copy, so choose your writers wisely and treat them well to ensure they do your brand justice.
Live streaming
Only the leading sports apps offer their visitors live streaming due to the expense, but if your company can afford it, the feature will set you apart.
Live streaming has changed over the last few years. Interruptions for loading or buffering no longer plague it. Today’s legal streams are HD-quality, boasting expert commentary, exciting camera angles, and live scores. That’s everything you need to enjoy the show.
Users can watch the top fixtures from the NBA, Premier League, NFL, and UFC anywhere using a Wi-Fi connection or data. If you offer your customers live streaming, you can promise they’ll never miss the chance to see their favorite team in action again.
Aim for honesty and transparency
If your app focuses on one team, being biased toward the outfit is terrific. But many sites rush to be first with the news, which comes at the expense of accuracy. ]
Be honest with your visitors, and always be transparent. Explain to them that although you might not always be first with the top news stories, you’ll always strive for accuracy. At a time when your competitors want to win the race to break the news, focus on winning the race to be a source of knowledge and truth.
Security
Whether you’re watching the game, reading a review, or following the predictions of sports experts, your visitors must feel secure. The web is an undeniable source of information, but your customers are more likely to hang around if they know their privacy and security are protected.
Spend on the latest online security measures, mainly if you accept payments. Secure Socket Layer technology and other encryption programs are popular at the top level.
Keep it simple
We have a generation of sports fans in a rush. They need more time to work through a messy, hectic, or complicated app and will likely exit at the first sign of resistance. Your sports app should be user-friendly, responsive, and captivating. You want visitors to find what they’re after fast. A simple layout will help you achieve that.