As many of you know, last year around this time I launched Blue Water Running, which is committed to highlighting and celebrating the achievements and accomplishments of high school and collegiate cross country and track and field athletes from the Blue Water Area. In March, the Blue Water Running Podcast got its start as well. Through 70+ athlete/meet articles and reports, close to 20 episodes of the podcast, and all the photos and videos via the site and social media channels, it's been a busy but amazingly rewarding year and I'm so excited for what the future holds.
Blue Water Running came from a place of love for the sport, a desire to see athletes’ achievements recognized, and is 100% not-for-profit. My goal from the beginning was to keep the content free - especially for the athletes - as long as logistically possible while covering costs and continually improving the quality and depth of coverage.
Now for reality...while I enjoy every minute of this opportunity and it truly is my passion, the fact is it takes A LOT of time and a significant amount of money. I write, photograph, create, and post content in my free time outside of my full-time job. I'm also a wife and mom of three kids. Along with the time commitment, there are significant expenses that come out of my pocket, like website and podcast site hosting fees, event travel and photography, etc. I've estimated I've spent about 1000+ hours working and over $1000 to host the site and podcast. As the site grew (which is a great problem!), so did the costs for additional storage, features, equipment, expanding email limits, etc. To put it simply, while we all love free stuff, I have to pay the bills, and there are two ways to do that: ad revenue or charging subscription fees (unless any of you know an independently wealthy patron who wants to support local running coverage).
Therefore, I’d love to partner with local businesses in the Blue Water Area as advertisers on the site, bringing awareness to their services while supporting the mission of celebrating our student-athletes.
Blue Water Running followers are incredibly enthusiastic and supportive of local coverage of their athletic achievements, which translates into potential customer loyalty for a business. I want to feature brands and businesses that serve our community and are authentically invested in the Blue Water Area, benefitting all mutual parties.
If you’re interested in advertising or know a business that would be, there are several ways to do so, as you can see on the options sheet. As you each know your communities best, perhaps you have a suggestion for a great partnership. Even if you're not a business, you're still welcome to personally advertise or publicize through any of these options. I can customize or combine any ad in any format(s) to fit your preferences and budget, provide one-time or recurring weekly/monthly advertisements or seasonal/sponsorship ads, and personalized invoices.
If you’d like more information or to discuss partnering with Blue Water Running, feel free to contact me via email, the website contact form, or a social media message. There is also a sign-up form linked below for convenience. If you know a business that would be a great partner, please pass on this information or let me know and I can reach out. I greatly appreciate your time and consideration and look forward to what the future brings for our amazing area athletes! Thank you so much for being part of Blue Water Running.
With gratitude and appreciation,
Meran
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