Nobody knows you, like you.
You, your ambitions, your dreams, your competition. Your life goals, your career highs and your most memorable successes. There will never be anyone who could tell your story quite like you could – and that’s why having your very own personal platform is so important.
As an athlete, perhaps someone who has competed in several games and won many credible awards – by now, you are likely to be a name often searched on the internet. But are people really finding out who you are? Are they getting to understand the person behind the sport, or are you falling into a pool of athletes all competing for a limelight space on Wikipedia?
Having your own personal website isn’t a starting point for someone trying to source information, it is the wholepoint. It becomes a place where everything is centred around you and just you, and your story - in exactly the way you want it to be told.
There are so many beneficial reasons for having your own personal website, but we’ve summarised them into five important factors.
You’ll look professional and stand out from the crowd.
Having a personal space on the internet, will give you a steady pace forward in looking professional.
Just like any good brand is supported by exceptional marketing, you and your own personal brand should be doing the same. Your personal website should be the first click link on a quick google search, directing your familiar fans and new followers to the place where they can really find you.
If you’re a retired athlete and currently transitioning into new career paths, this creative, professional presence will also be a great way for you to engage with potential employers. A professional looking web-space platform could tell someone so much more than a traditional CV or impersonal LinkedIn profile, ever could. This is a perfect opportunity for you to put your own stamp on who you are. Even through small details such as the colour and font choice on your website, you can really experiment with your own individuality.
It’s a place to showcase your career.
It’s likely that if you’re an athlete with a cabinet of medals, a fast google search will provide this information to anyone looking. But that’s exactly all it does do. You, on your very own platform can really take this information to another level and expertly showcase your career achievements.
You’ve worked hard for every milestone you’ve reached, for every race you’ve won, for every medal you’ve clutched in your hand. Take credibility for the sweat and tears you’ve put into your exceptionally rewarding career and showcase your pride in all things you’ve achieved.
This can also be beneficial if you’re a retiring athlete looking at new prospects as it will show people your commitment to finding success and that you aren’t shy of hard work.
It’s a place to demonstrate your values and beliefs.
It’s easy for people to assume an elite athlete’s sporting career is everything. But it isn’t and you are so much more than ‘just a sportsperson’. You are an exceptional human being, with your own personal beliefs, morals and opinions. You are more than an athlete, you may be someone’s mother, someone’s father. You are somebody’s child. Perhaps you are a keen animal-rights activist, a food enthusiast, an excellent home cook. Maybe you’re an avid reader, a politics debater or a keen traveller. You may be many things and have views and opinions on all sorts of matters; your own personal website is the most perfect place for you to demonstrate all these individual traits that make up the very person that you are. This is a great way for people to start to really get to know you and just as good companies thrive from consumer familiarity, you’ll find you will benefit from your fans and follows feeling more familiar with you, too.
It’s a multi-faceted engagement opportunity.
Having your own personal website gives you a place to distribute your sponsorship materials, showcase your involvement with charities and organisations that are important or mean something to you. If you are open to guest-speaking or offer motivational speaking packages to businesses and schools, this is a perfect opportunity for you to advertise your services. Perhaps you want to offer your followers and fans a way of keeping up with the never-ending news updates of an elite athlete’s career by offering a subscription service to regular newsletters. You can also use your own personal webpage as a source of fan engagement for regularly uploaded interviews, podcasts and news articles you’ve perhaps featured in. The opportunities are endless.
Finally, it’s a platform for understanding your future plans.
We often live in the present, living for todays’ moments. But our future plans and what we want to achieve in the days, weeks, months and even years ahead of us are equally important.
Through your own personal website, you could choose to blog and post about your future aspirations, the things that are driving you forward to the next big thing. It’s a great place to talk about the next chapter in your life and how you plan to get there. It’s the journal entry of what lies ahead for you, both as an athlete and an individual person and often, something fans and followers will be very keen to read about. People have invested in you, they’ve celebrated your achievements with you, and you’ve inspired people to perhaps follow your same athletic path. Give yourself a place where you can dare to venture into the future – and take them with you for the ride!