Netflix: Are you still watching?

I was watching Netflix last night, binging the newest season of Sweet Tooth (highly recommend it, if you haven’t seen it yet!), when it prompted me with a question. “Are you still watching?” it asked. It got me thinking about why I was so invested in this show. I felt like I needed to know how it ended so badly that I couldn’t turn it off and step away. I felt like I knew the characters and like I was journeying with them through their hardships. I selected the “Yes, I’m still watching” option on the pop-up and settled in for another episode.

How can racers get their fans to answer “Yes, I’m still watching” after two or three or seven races that, at the surface, could all feel the same? How do we pull our fans in so closely that they feel like they know us and that they’re journeying with us? It all comes down to being able to tell a great story. Are you telling a story that will bring your fans along? Most of us aren’t.

Your race program is full of stories. You’re telling a 10-second story in every Instagram reel or Facebook post, a 30-second story when you get on the podium and give a speech, a 15-minute story when you climb into your race vehicle and hit the track, a months-long story throughout your race season, and a never-ending story as a culmination of all of these. These stories are out there and happening, it’s your job to take them from a snooze-fest to something your fans will be so invested in, they won’t be able to turn away. In this post, we’ll explore how to do just that.

Every great story has three things: A hero, a villain, and a resolution.  

The Hero

Think about the last movie you watched and really liked. Think about the hero in the movie and how much you knew about them that wasn’t actually important to the outcome of the plot. I just watched “The Do-Over” with Adam Sandler and David Spade for the first-time last weekend. The hero in this story is David Spade’s character and you learn early in the movie where he works, what his home life is like, where he lives, and you see his personality traits displayed in an amplified, obvious way. Most of this information has no bearing on the storyline, but it develops a character that the audience feels like they know.

You want your fans rooting for you, not just on the track, but in the ins-and-outs of your daily life and in everything you do. The more deeply you can build out your “character” in the story by giving your fans insights into who you are and what you stand for, the more they’ll root for you. We’ve talked, at length, about building an intentional brand, and positioning yourself as a hero is impossible to do without first defining your brand and leaning into it. Share your race life with your fans, of course, but share those things in your everyday life that deliver on your brand promise to your audience, too.

The Villain

A hero is only as good as his or her adversary. The badder the villain, the bigger the win. In short-course off-road racing in the Midwest, it’s not uncommon to see CJ Greaves out in front in the Pro4 field, and sometimes, to be honest, it gets a little boring seeing him effortlessly get out front in the first lap and stay there, without pressure from anyone. Sure, there are the folks that root for CJ because he’s a great driver and wins often, but there are more folks who root for CJ when he’s facing some pressure and steep competition. Look back to the race in Bark River, Michigan last year, when CJ and Henderson got into it in the Cemetery Turn. I’ve never heard so many people openly supporting CJ (or Henderson for that matter) as I did after that wild race. It’s really hard to ask your fans to stay tuned to your story when you’re not facing any adversity. So let’s give them a reason to root for you by highlighting a villain.

If you’ve got a fierce rivalry with another racer, that’s great, but I’m not saying that you should pick out a competitor and paint them as the bad guy. In fact, I don’t think the villain even has to be another person. Oftentimes, the villain in the story is a circumstance or a situation that is making it difficult to achieve your goals. Your goals should be more than winning each race, too. Everyone is telling the story about trying to win – what ELSE are you trying to accomplish? Maybe you’re aiming for a championship. Perhaps you’re laser-focused on landing a big sponsorship. You could be trying to reach 3000 followers on Instagram. Share your goals with your audience, then tell them who or what’s getting in your way. That’s your villain. The more your audience relates to you and your goals, the more they’re going to root for you to overcome your villain.

The Resolution

Have you ever followed a TV series for a few seasons, but it seemed to drag on after that, so you lost interest and never finished it? “Orange is the New Black” was that one for me. By season four or five, it felt like the characters were going through all the same motions and getting nowhere. The same tension from season 2 had carried all the way to season 5 and it hadn’t been resolved yet. It was boring, so I stopped watching it.

You can’t leave your fans hanging onto a story for too long without giving them some sort of resolution, either. Many racers fall short on resolving the tension in their stories. They give the same race recaps, weekend after weekend, and season after season – telling their fans how they finished, what went wrong, and when their next race is. Yawn. Instead, refer back to the villain in your story, talk about your goal and whether or not you achieved it, and invite your audience to feel the real emotion of the moment, whether you defeated your villain or not. There’s no emotion in saying “I started 4^th and finished 6^th,” but there’s a TON of emotion in “My goal for the weekend was to finish top-ten, but I had no idea how the car was going to handle after the consistent issues I’d been having trying to find traction with the new set-up. I was starting 4^th, and unless I found traction with the changes I made, I wasn’t going to have a chance against the points leaders I was up against. By the second lap, I knew we had done it. The traction was there, the car felt good, and I only gave up two spots as I learned how to drive through this new grip. I know a 6^th place finish isn’t much to some, but I might as well be holding a gold medal right now. I’m so glad I’ve got this set-up figured out.” And once you overcome (or are defeated by) one villain, set your next story up with another one. Set a new goal or identify a new obstacle and tell your audience about it. Take each of your stories from beginning to end, whether it’s a happy ending or not. You can’t leave your fans hanging.

Next time you make a post or step in front of a camera, think about the story you’re going to tell. Will you be intentional about setting yourself up as the hero, telling your audience about the villain, and following-up with a resolution? Or will you blend in with everyone else? When Netflix asks your fans “Are you still watching?” will they emphatically hit the “Yes” button, or will they be asleep on the couch?