111 - Building Your Marketing Budget Like a Funnel: Awareness to Action
Apr 26, 2025
Discover how to optimize your marketing budget for ticket sales. Learn the importance of building an owned audience before investing in expensive tactics. Explore low-cost, high-impact tools for awareness, including creative billboard campaigns. Understand how smart list buying can significantly boost your ROI, particularly for group sales. The podcast emphasizes a strategic approach, treating your budget like a sales funnel—moving from awareness to conversion. Maximize your marketing dollars by effectively segmenting your audience and retargeting those most likely to engage.
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volunteer_activism ADVICE
Build Your Owned Email List First
Prioritize building your own email list before investing heavily in other marketing tactics.
Use contests, giveaways, opt-ins, and community events to grow your email list effectively.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Chamber List Mailer Success Story
A team bought a local Chamber of Commerce list for under $2,000 and mailed postcards for $1,000.
They generated $40,000+ in sponsorship and group sales from that campaign.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Use Targeted Meta Ads Economically
Start social media ads at a low daily budget targeting people who visited your website or watched videos.
Retarget higher-intent audiences who already know your team to boost ticket sales efficiently.
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Summary In this episode of the Sports Marketing Machine podcast, host Jeremy Neisser discusses how to strategically plan your marketing budget to maximize ticket sales. Whether you're just starting out with a small email list or you have a $20K marketing budget, Jeremy walks you through exactly where to invest at each stage. You'll learn why building your owned audience first is crucial, where display ads and Meta campaigns fit in, why smart list buying beats random ad spending, and how to stretch every marketing dollar for maximum ROI.
✅ Takeaways
Match your marketing spend to your stage of growth.
Focus on building your email list before jumping into higher-cost tactics like texting.
Think about your marketing budget like a sales funnel: Awareness ➔ Interest ➔ Conversion.
Invest in low-cost, high-impact awareness tools like Awarity and Blip billboards.
Smart list buying (e.g., Chamber of Commerce lists) can deliver great ROI for group sales and hospitality packages.
Always stretch every dollar by segmenting audiences and retargeting high-intent fans.
🎧 Sound Bites
"Build a strong owned audience first."
"Buying a chamber list is a great ROI."
"Low-cost awareness always wins."
📖 Chapters 00:00 — Introduction: Maximizing Your Marketing Dollars 01:12 — Building a Strong Owned Audience First 03:59 — Smart Budget Allocation for $20K Teams 07:22 — Advanced Tactics: YouTube, Spotify, CTV 10:30 — Why Awareness & Retargeting Should Dominate 12:52 — Final Key Takeaways
🚀 Episode Outline
Stage 1: Foundation First (Small Email List Teams)
Prioritize building your database (email over texting).
Start Meta ads for lead generation.
Layer in low-cost digital display (like Awarity).
“You wouldn’t build a house on quicksand — same thing here.”
Interest (40%) ➔ Meta ads (Landing Page Views, Lookalikes).
Conversion (20%) ➔ Direct mail to a bought Chamber list.
“Buying 1,000 mailers for $2K can drive real group sales and sponsorship ROI.”
Optional Upgrades for Bigger Budgets
YouTube Pre-Roll Ads (great if you have game day hype content).
Spotify Audio Ads (for big promotions).
Connected TV (for major pushes like Opening Night).
SMS Marketing (ONLY if you’ve built a good opt-in list).
Summary
Build the base first.
Think like a funnel.
Stretch every dollar.
Invest smartly based on your current stage and goals.
🎧 Don’t forget: If you found this helpful, please subscribe, rate, and share the Sports Marketing Machine podcast to help others grow their fan base and sell more tickets too!
Sports Marketing Machine Podcast