The stat that shocked Cejih 😳
Good morning. CG Sports, what's your favorite color?
We are bringing you full Buddy the Elf energy today. And it's not just because the holidays are this week, but because we've been doing some end-of-the-year data dives and we are STOKED.
To make a long story short, we have been working really hard to make this newsletter a combination of updates, upcoming events, cool (to us) news, and other random topics that I (Taylor) find both entertaining and enlightening to write about.
February 2021 saw our newsletter open rates sitting around 13%. That number may seem low, but with the national average at 17.38% for marketing newsletters and 24.57% for sports newsletters, we weren't complaining. We just knew that we wanted to improve it.
Last week's newsletter? It had an open rate of 44.1%. This is how Cejih reacted when I told him...
Needless to say, there are no angry elves here. Just a bunch of people who are really proud of the work we produce week after week.
Next week is a big week as we break down 2021 for CG Sports (including what we did to get such a dope newsletter open rate). Until then, Happy Holidays from all of us at CG Sports!
Other big news this week:
Catch up with Mandy Marquardt on "The People of Penn State" podcast.
Hagen Kearney notched an 11th place snowboarcross finish at the World Cup stop in Cervinia, Italy.
Curious about the history of women's cross-country skiing in America? Trail to Gold: The Journey of 53 Women Skiers has got you covered!
P.S. Nervous about missing upcoming news from CG Sports? Follow us on Instagram (@cgsportsco), Facebook (CG Sports Management), and, of course, our weekly newsletter.
WHAT'S HOT
A roundup of the CG Sports Teams' favorite weekly content from the most 🔥 athletes in the biz.
The 2021 FINA SC World Championships have concluded and, wow, are we impressed! Just a few months after the Olympics and athletes from around the world are lowering World and National records alike! Among those representing Team USA and collecting medals were CG Sports' own Paige Madden & Kieran Smith.
Paige added a bronze medal in the individual 200 free, as well as a silver medal in the 800 free relay. While Kieran collected a gold medal and an American Record in the 800 free relay.
Stateside, McKenzie Coan competed in the 2021 U.S. Paralympics Swimming National Championships. McKenzie collected two gold medals over the course of the weekend in the 400 free S7 and mixed 400 free relay.
CEJIH EXPLAINS
IG Tip: End of Year Post Ideas
With less than 2 weeks left in 2021, it’s a great time to sit back and reflect on your wins, lessons learned, funny stories and goals for 2022. Here’s a cool data point: Did you know that “2021 Wrapped”, “Year in Review” or “What I learned in 2021” type posts get some of the highest engagement, re-shares and new followers? Well now you know. Boom, roasted.
Let me stop you right here, because I already know what you’re going to say: “I really should do this, but coming up with new content takes too much time.” Have no fear, your Uncle Yung is here. Below are a handful of ideas you can use for a fire end of year post, while putting time back in your day. POW!
8 End of the Year Posts for any Athlete (or any brand really):
Thank your community for their support in 2021.
Share your goals for 2022.
Gift guide
Lessons learned
How it started vs how it's going
Biggest wins of 2021
Give a shoutout to your team
Sneak peak: what's coming in 2022
Read the rest of Cejih Explains (including bullet point breakdowns) online.
DEMAND YOUR BRAND
Branding vs. Marketing
I saw this post this week and thought it perfectly addresses some of the questions we receive about branding versus marketing. One of the largest being the difference between building loyalty and building response.
Brand loyalty results in a consistent market and predictable interactions. Marketing increases the reach you have. While you can have great marketing, you need a developed brand in place to back it up and increase responses. This build your branding-marketing cycle to increase your customer base or following, increase product sales, and overall engagement. A great product will then build loyal customers to share your brand.
SPONSOR
Is there really anything we can say about Google that hasn't been said? Since 1998, Google has been providing us with answers to all of our burning questions, recommendations for the best restaurants in our area, necessary photos for all of our school projects, and so much more.
Want to see something really cool? A few months ago, Google and Alex Massialas paired up to bring fencing to life in Augmented Reality. Check it out for yourself!
PHOTO OF THE WEEK
Bright sun. Fresh powder. Mountains for days.
Just another work day for Erin Mielzynski!
ARTICLES YOU MIGHT WANT TO READ
A collection of the CG Sports Teams' favorite random news of the week. 📚
Chinese tennis star, Peng Shuai, stated that her sexual assault accusations have been misunderstood.
The Phoenix Suns silenced skeptics last year and are posed to be an even more dangerous team this year.
The omicron variant has thrown the world of professional sports into disarray and many games are being postponed/cancelled throughout the holiday season.
PODCASTS
Champion's Mojo: Episode 135, "Steve Mellor: Pursuing the Optimal Version of Yourself"
Are you coachable in life?
Being able to level up and live your life’s true purpose takes focused listening, vulnerability and self-reflection, according to performance coach and former D1 swim coach Steve Mellor. He joins the podcast to talk about his recent switch in careers, how therapy improved his outlook and continues to improve his life, and why incorporating a life coach is so valuable.
Catch up on EVERY episode at ChampionsMojo.com.
