Thanks for your interest sponsoring Jay Kumar’s BassBlaster! Hopefully this info will help you understand who I am, what we do at the BB, and how we do it.

Who Am I?

I’m a media guy. I’ve literally done every form of media: print (newspapers, newsletters, fiction and non-fiction books, wrote/shot/edited magazines), TV (talent and producer), data products (industry indices and data tools like BassGold.com) and of course all forms of digital. I’ve also had the good fortune to have had success in all of them. Here’s a brief list of the fishing stuff:

1990s: While running a publishing company in Washington, DC, became youngest senior writer ever for Bassmaster Magazine and B.A.S.S. Times.

2001: Launched BassFan.com and the BassFan World Rankings. First-ever coverage of pro bass fishing like a professional sport/sports page, first-ever stats for pro bass fishing, and many other firsts. At the time, BassFan’s traffic dwarfed Bassmaster.com’s and ESPN’s bass fishing page.

2005-06: Co-hosted with Mark Zona the weekly ESPN in-studio show “Loudmouth Bass,” which was like “Pardon the Interruption” meets “Saturday Night Live.” People still talk about that show….

 

2007: Sold OutdoorsFan Media (BassFan and a bunch more) to Intermedia Outdoors. OFM was 5 websites, 2 national bass tournaments and TV shows, the largest grassroots bass tournament membership base in the world, and an annual magazine.

2010: After my non-compete expired, launched the BassParade blog which quickly became the #1 blog in bass fishing.

2011: Folded BassParade to focus on mobile: Jay Kumar’s BassBlaster email. Also launched the BassGold.com bass-patterning app.

2014-2015: The BassBlaster became the #2 daily read in bass fishing behind Bassmaster.com.

Now: Right now my company produces the BassBlaster and co-owns the very similar Target Walleye/Ice (the #1 media platform in that market) and DeerBlaster emails.

Not a fan of talking about myself! But if you’re new to bass fishing I hope that helps you understand a bit about my media experience in bass fishing.

What’s the BassBlaster?

Jay Kumar’s BassBlaster is a mobile-focused digital media property – the flagship product is the email. It still is the ONLY mobile-focused media platform in bass fishing, and still is the #2 daily read in bass fishing behind Bassmaster.com. As you probably know already, the BassBlaster is:

> Funny/entertaining
> Has a distinct personality
> Insightful (from long experience as a fisherman, fan, media guy and personality)
> Educational (tips)
> Clean (rated PG at the most)

People read/watch/skim the BassBlaster to be entertained and informed. They look forward to it “every day,” which is what it seems like to them! Here’s what the reach looked like halfway through 2021 (97K+ as of Apr 2020):

 

> The average forwarding rate from a the audience was 4.1. In the above we assume that 30% do that.

Re: email open rates, we feel our opens are pretty near 100% because:

> The BB is highly vertical – if you aren’t a diehard bass fisherman, you don’t want it 2x a week and will unsubscribe.

> While our email sending service (Constant Contact) does list open rates by device type, they’ve told us that they CAN’T measure opens on virtually ALL mobile devices…which is where most emails are opened. I can give more context here if you’re curious, but the bottom line is that a low double-digit open rate is shown for all industries (B2C, B2B) in all sending services…which is impossible…which means it’s bad data, which Constant Contact acknowledged to us. Our CC-stated open rate is good, but it’s still bad data!

What I Do

The BassBlaster PUSHES fun, entertaining, fast-read digital content to diehard bass-heads using mostly the two major mobile delivery platforms: email and social media.

While we do produce some original content, most of what we do is “riff on” other people’s content, including your content. This means we find content that we as bass fishermen like, and make it fun and informative to read with a distinct personality and POV. This is why our readers – weekend warriors, kids, fishing industry folks and the country’s top pro anglers – literally love the BassBlaster. Few examples:

• I love the info as much as the zaniness. If that’s a word. Great job.
• Great variety of news articles that are quick, interesting, funny and informative. It’s my must-read each week.
• Really enjoy being able to keep up with the bass fishing in one place.
• The hilarious jokes, commentary and memes prove these email blasts are worked on very hard, the reason I don’t skip around and just read the picture captions.
• I get a smile on my face every time you send BB out. As I read thru it, the smile continues to grow. I appreciate it. You just make it FUN.
• Keep em coming. Great job and thank you.
• It is great!!!!

Content

As with all good media, CONTENT – good content – is primary.

> If your company produces good content – social content, videos, tips, etc. – we will use it and get more people to read it.  We “riff on” (have fun with) your content, or content that features your product(s) or sponsored anglers.  By making your content fun/entertaining in the distinct BassBlaster way, this ensures that it is read, viewed, etc.  We increase engagement.

> If you or your sponsored anglers don’t produce much content, or much good content, the BassBlaster might not be a match for you unless you can still benefit from the BB’s reach. A few newer companies have used the BB mostly for branding, but that is a rarity.

The BassBlaster is all about the content!

Banner Ads

1. Advertising is NOT the primary benefit of being a BassBlaster partner.

CONTENT is the primary benefit. Every BassBlaster issue has ads from all sponsors because most – but not all! – companies value them. Some also feel strongly about the branding and product awareness that ad space provides. But the value in the BassBlaster – and really any media – is NOT in ads…which is one reason I don’t have “advertisers!”

2. We do NOT sell click-throughs (CTRs)!

We don’t sell click-throughs because they don’t work and never have. I have been around the Internet since it started, and have never sold against click-throughs even going back to the first BassFan.com days in 2001. Because they have never worked! If you want to know more about this I am happy to discuss it with you, but the bottom line is: I’ve been in digital for 20 years and have tried everything.  If “clicks” worked, I’d be doing it because I want to serve you well. On the flip side, I’m not going to endorse something that won’t serve you or my audience.

I realize marketers like stats and measurement, which is one reason I send quarterly updates out to all sponsors. I also remain open to any ideas. Would love to help in other ways if I can.

How I Do Business: Relationship

The core of what I do is the relationship – with the readers/fans, and with you. It’s everything. I won’t jeopardize these realtionships.

The relationship with the fans/audience is paramount. They know me as being fair, transparent and a straight-shooter, which is why what I do is valuable to them and to sponsors (you!). So I do not run advertorial, do not blatantly promote, do not “test” ads/promotions/products, do not guarantee placements, do not have special sections, and do not mention sponsors’ products only. If I did that, I would be just another shill and wouldn’t have the audience, success and multi-decade following that I do.

Along the same lines, I only accept sponsors whose products or services I can endorse because the BB is just like a TV show: It’s a personal form of communication, so any sponsor brands and products that appear on it are viewed as personal endorsements from me.

For this reason and a couple others, I have turned down more BassBlaster sponsors than I have accepted.

I have to serve the fans, and you. Making sure the sponsor relationship is right starts before you become a sponsor. Meaning: Is the person-to-person relationship (me and you) right? Are the products right for the Blaster – what we do and how we do it? Is your media/content right for me to serve you using it? Do our expectations match up? Can I serve you well? I am not going to take your money if I can’t serve you well!

This is also why my rates are intentionally low. I know I can charge substantially more based on the BassBlaster’s reach and frequency, but this is about relationship, not money.

Communication is important in a relationship. Usually, staying in touch happens organically throughout the year, but to make sure it happens every quarter or so I send out a BassBlaster update to all sponsors.

That’s about it!

Thanks much for your interest in Jay Kumar’s BassBlaster. Hope this information helps you understand what I do and how I do it, and helps you decide whether you want to be a part of it. If you’re interested in being a BassBlaster sponsor, just hit me at bassblaster -AT- bassblaster.com and we’ll see what the Lord has in store!