The first question that comes up a lot when we are helping our customers print sports programs is, “what is the difference between programs and pamphlets?” Well to tell the truth, there isn’t much difference. We might even use pamphlet as a synonym for program. The official definition says that a pamphlet is a small booklet that contains information about a single subject, while a program is a booklet or sheet that gives details of items or performers at an event or performance. So for sporting events, we usually use the term program, because sports programs usually allow more space for marketing and images.

The second question that comes up is “how do I make a sports program successful?” Well, this article will help you answer that question by giving you three mistakes to avoid.

Sports programs are essential for any sporting event.  Often, teams will do a season program with possible inserts for team rosters and other individual event information. Our sports careers don’t last forever. High school and college game day programs can become souvenirs to keep the team memories alive. It will become a memento that proud families, fans, and athletes will treasure for years to come.

With that in mind, the key to creating successful sports program printing is to think like a fan – what would they want to know? It’s easy to fill with information that an organizer wants attendees to know, but this may not always be relevant to fans. Fans and parents and family want to see pictures, and they don’t want their program to be crowded with text. Keep it short and sweet, with relevant information about the game or team. Most people look for the names of the players first, so consider putting that in the centerfold of your program, or on the back cover for easy access.

Not including advertisements from local sponsors is a missed opportunity at the very least. Asking for sponsors can be an easy way to get involved in the community and for the community to give back to its schools or sports organizations. When a local business donates to your program, they are not only helping you, the designer of the booklet, but they are utilizing cheap advertising. Though you should absolutely consider using the team or players for physical fundraisers like a car wash, not using local businesses means missing out on community involvement and a lot of free money for your team.

For smaller schools, who don’t have the sponsor base that larger cities do, consider creating one program for each season. For example, for fall you could combine football, soccer, wrestling, or band. For winter, basketball and possibly cheerleading. Spring can group together baseball, softball and lacrosse. Your program should encapsulate whatever fits your community and sponsor base. For multi-sport programs, you could print half of the program upside down giving you 2 front covers, and get two programs in one! (We offer free pre-designed booklet templates, making it easy to place your text and images. Or try our free design tool!)

The third mistake you might be making is not checking for typos. Parents and family will most likely throw a fit if they see their child’s name spelled incorrectly on a program that they had planned on holding on to forever. Just think if your little Johnny Appleseed got overlooked and became Jihnny Applesdee. It’s a bit frustrating, isn’t it? Double check, and then triple check all of the player names, and then go over all of your content so you don’t have any mistakes that some angry parents will try to rub in your face.

That’s it! Easy list right? Avoid these, and we are sure your Sports Program will be a success! No matter what sport you are designing for, be it Football, Baseball, Basketball, Soccer, Tennis, Wrestling, Swimming, Volleyball, Cheerleading, Track & Field, Hockey, Marching Band, Lacrosse, Softball, Roller Derby, Horse Shows,  Rodeos, Car Shows, Racing & more, we can handle your printing needs. Just head to our website or give us a call at 800.995.1555 to get started!

We also print posters, calendars, coloring books, and photo books! We got you covered for every sport, for every age!

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Taler Hill