Sales & Support! 1.877.291.7838 x103|sportstvguide@thedailyrail.com
FacebookXInstagramLinkedIn

About Justin Aucoin

Justin Aucoin is the Content Director for the SportsTV Guide, The Rail Media and NextRestaurants. He oversees the day-to-day content creation operations of all three websites. When not writing about the restaurant industry, he enjoys fencing and writing historical adventure tales.
LinkedInEmail

How Your Sports Bar Can Prep for Football Now

Is your sports bar prepping for football already? Yea we know; it’s July. We just had the summer solstice. Why the hell would you think of autumn sports now? Because it’ll be September in a blink of an eye and it’s a lot better to get ahead of your marketing planning instead of playing from behind.Now’s the time to start prepping for how you’re going to leverage and market football (both the NFL and NCAA) to your guests. Some prep now will make your life a lot easier later. So, let’s look at some ideas to consider this season.What Marketing Programs Will You Offer? First up is figuring out what you want to offer. What have you tried in the past that has worked and what didn’t work? What new ideas can you and your team come up with? [...]

By |2026-07-17T13:53:21-04:00June 28th, 2023|Sports Bar Marketing|0 Comments
Read More

How to Get the Most Out of Your SportsTV Guide Subscription

Even at its most basic element, the SportsTV Guide was built to make you and your staff’s work shift easier. It’s built to take both a mental and physical workload off of your shoulders, so you can get back to serving guests and running your business. When a guest asks for a particular game, no longer does your staff have to fumble with the remote and crawl through hundreds of stations to find it. They can find the game quickly and easily, so your guests can enjoy the game and your staff can get back to more important tasks. But are you getting as much as you can out of your STVG subscription? We’re gonna go over eight STVG features that’ll further customize your guide, communicate with your staff, and market to guests. Pick Your Favorite Teams and Sports [...]

By |2024-11-05T13:30:23-05:00June 9th, 2023|Sports Bar Management, Sports Bar Marketing, Sports Bar Technology|0 Comments
Read More

Prepping Your Sports Bar for Outdoor Entertainment

Summer is here – finally! And with that comes warmer weather and increased interest in hanging outdoors. Having an outdoor seating area is great for any restaurant, but it can a truly unique experience for sports bars. Who doesn’t like the idea of sitting outside, enjoying their favorite beer or frozen drink, while watching the big summertime games with friends? An outdoor sports bar area can make for a unique and memorable experience for your guests, but it does take a little extra legwork than your run-of-the-mill outdoor restaurant patio. You’re not just seating guests and dropping off their food and drinks; you’re trying to create a magical place to watch sports. Here are some things to consider as you prep your sports bar’s patio for outdoor entertainment. You Need Plenty of TVs We’re starting with the no-brainer. [...]

By |2023-05-25T10:36:18-04:00May 25th, 2023|Guest Management, Sports Bar Management, Sports Bar Technology|0 Comments
Read More

3 Things to Include in Your Sports Bar’s Marketing Emails

Email is one of your sports bar’s most powerful marketing tools. While social media can bury your posts in their complex algorithms and code, your emails will hit your reader’s inbox. That means you’re getting eyes on your brand. And while you do need a captivating subject line to get folks to open your email, you also need to include items that will grab attention, excite them to come visit, and stick in their minds long after they close your email. Here are three things to include in your sports bar’s marketing emails to drive fans into your seats. Upcoming Game TV Schedule We harp on this a lot but the number one reason why guests visit your sports bar is to watch sports. So why not let them know what games you plan on showing during the week? List [...]

By |2026-08-27T15:51:34-04:00May 17th, 2023|Sports Bar Marketing|0 Comments
Read More

Modern In-House Marketing Tips for Sports Bars

A lot of sports bar operators spend most of their marketing efforts on trying to get new guests through their doors. And while it’s super important for growth, as an industry we sometimes forget that the best people to market to are the ones already in our seats. In fact, studies suggest that, depending on your industry, acquiring a new customer can cost five to seven times more than retaining an old one. So, it’s economical to put some energy into keeping guests coming back. If they’re enjoying your venue, other folks will hear about it. Your current guests are your most captivated audience. They’re already in your seats, enjoying your drinks, dishes, and atmosphere. Now’s the best time to market your sports bar’s upcoming events, specials, social media, or anything else you think is noteworthy. Let’s take a [...]

By |2023-05-02T10:52:45-04:00May 2nd, 2023|Sports Bar Marketing, Sports Bar Technology|0 Comments
Read More

WANTED: STVG HQ Beta Testers

Join our beta-testing team and get free emailing marketing for a whole year! We’ve been saying it for years – email is your sports bar’s best marketing tool. You own those addresses and, unlike social media, no third-party is able to suppress you from your guests’ inbox. But a lot of email marketing services out there just don’t understand the restaurant and sports bar industry. We think sports bar operators deserve something more tailored and specific to their marketing needs. So, we’ve created the SportsTV Guide HQ (STVG HQ), our email marketing service built specifically for sports bars and restaurants. And we’re looking for some beta testers to give it a spin, so we can get it primed for a wider launch. STVG HQ Beta Features The STVG HQ is built to cover all your sports [...]

By |2023-04-06T12:34:50-04:00April 6th, 2023|Sports Bar Marketing|0 Comments
Read More

So, Who are Baseball’s Biggest Fans?

Last week, the 2023 MLB season began with new rules for players and new hope for fans everywhere. Many of these fans will be your sports bar’s main source of guests during the slower summer sports season, especially after the NBA and NHL playoffs wind down. But just who are these baseball fans and how can sports bars market and cater to them? Recently, Statista published several reports on the MLB and baseball fans. Let’s take a quick trot around the diamond to see who the average US baseball fan is. Baseball Fans are Old & Aging Fans of America’s pastime are old and only getting older, which might create a bit of a problem for the MLB down the road. As the following chart shows, Baby Boomers are, by far, the biggest baseball fans in the US. 65% of [...]

By |2023-04-03T10:53:42-04:00April 3rd, 2023|Guest Management, Sports Bar Marketing|0 Comments
Read More

Download the 2023 March Madness TV Schedule

It's the most wonderful time of the year -- March Madness! The NCAA basketball tournament is one of the best three-week periods for any bar or restaurant who shows sports on their TVs. A total of 72 teams vying for supremacy in a one & done tournament format. On the men's side, the action starts on Tuesday, March 14th as Southeast Missouri State takes on Texas A&M, and Pittsburgh takes on Mississippi State in the first Play to Get In rounds. Fairleigh Dickinson faces Texas Southern, and Nevada against Arizona State for the two remaining Play-In spots. All four of those games take place on truTV. For the women's tourney, their Play to Get In games start on Wednesday March 15th with Mississippi State vs. Illinois, and Sacred Heart against Southern. Both on ESPNU. Then on Wednesday, St. John's takes [...]

By |2023-03-14T15:12:46-04:00March 13th, 2023|Sports TV Schedule|0 Comments
Read More

3 Undervalued Sports Your Sports Bar Should Be Showing

The NFL. NBA. MLB. NCAA. The NHL and even the MLS. We’re pretty sure your sports bar has these leagues in heavy rotation on your TVs. And so does every other sports bar around the country. So, what makes your bar stand out from the rest? One way is to show sports and games your competitors either are incapable of showing or not willing to show. There’s a myriad of other professional leagues out there, and the increased ability of streaming games online has made it even easier for sports bars to give their guests something unique to watch. Here are three leagues and sports we think sports bars should start showing on their TVs on the regular. It’s by no means an exhaustive list, but hopefully it’ll start as a springboard for elevating your business to something more than [...]

By |2024-01-09T12:22:12-05:00March 6th, 2023|Alternate Sports Programming, Sports Bar Marketing|0 Comments
Read More

Overview of the ERTC for Sports Bars

To say the restaurant industry took a wallop during the sweeping COVID-19 shutdowns is putting it lightly. That may be doubly so for sports bars who had no games to show, no guests to entertain, and were less likely to have a pre-existing delivery program already in place. We felt the strain and no doubt you felt it, too. So, if you’re still open and operating, congrats! You weathered one helluva storm. And you deserve a little help and reward for navigating those rough seas. And, amazingly, the Federal government agrees, which is why they implemented the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) program. GET YOUR FREE CONSULT What is the ERTC? https://youtu.be/yYEcC8RgK88 The ERTC is a refundable credit that businesses can claim on qualified wages, including certain health insurance costs, paid to employees. It was designed to incentivize companies to [...]

By |2023-02-24T13:53:39-05:00February 24th, 2023|Sports Bar Management|0 Comments
Read More

Tips for Cross Promoting Events at Your Sports Bar

Be it a watch party, eSports event, or just showing the local, big games, for it to be successful you need bodies in your seats. And like anything, folks can’t come to it if they don’t know it’s happening. With upheaval in social media recently making getting the message out there dicey, sports bar operators should expand how they’re promoting their bar and events. One way is to cross-promote your events. In this context, cross-promotion is getting the word out about one event you’re running through another event you’re already running and have an audience for. This way you don’t need to build interest from a standstill but can take the momentum from event into the next. Here are a few ideas to get you going. It Starts with Your Email Email is one of your sports bar’s most powerful [...]

By |2022-11-08T09:11:39-05:00November 8th, 2022|Guest Management, Sports Bar Marketing|0 Comments
Read More

6 Alternative Ways to Market Your Sports Bar

According to one report, there are 70,000 bars in the US, and more than 1,200 label themselves as a sports bar. But make no mistake, any bar is a sports bar as long as they’re showing sports on their TVs. And that makes them a direct competitor to you. Great service and a fantastic fan-friendly atmosphere are obvious ways of winning over fans and guests in the long-term. But, short-term, you still need a plan to get new bodies at your bar tops before you can turn them into regulars. The key to that is marketing. And while you should continue to work through your digital marketing campaigns, operators should also try to think of creative, outside-the-box ways of promoting their business and getting in new guests. To get you started, here are six alternative ways of marketing your sports [...]

By |2022-10-18T09:58:11-04:00October 18th, 2022|Sports Bar Marketing|0 Comments
Read More
Go to Top