Beyond the Bow, Presented by ATA

In this preview episode of the 2023 Archery Industry Masterclass (January 10th - Indianapolis, IN), Kurt talks with Melissa and Michelle about the various methods brands and retail businesses interact with their customers. Each marketing channel is unique, but what remains the same is the need for a business to be authentic so customers can make a true connection no matter if they visit your website, social media pages, or brick and mortar business. Learn more about the Archery Industry Masterclass at archerytrade.org/masterclass.

Kurt talks with Aaron Ritter about the 60-30-10 principle and how it applies to mobile hunting, and specifically to those looking to start saddle hunting. Aaron also shares idea of how archery retailers can play a vital role in helping more people enjoy saddle hunting as it becomes an increasingly popular method of hunting big game with archery equipment. Don't miss Aaron's Coffee Talk at the #ATA2023 trade show on Friday January 13th at 11:00am in the MyATA Area.

In this episode, we chat with ATA's new president & CEO, Jeff Poole. Jeff shares some of his past experiences, what drew him to the archery industry, and what he sees as opportunities for the future of the ATA and its members.

Guy Krueger of USA Archery shares insights on how the last year has affected the landscape of coaching archery and how coaching can be a huge benefit to your business. This episode is a preview of more content to come in our 2022 Archery Industry Masterclass. Visit archerytrade.org to sign up for in-person or virtual sessions.

Mike Jasper is a current college football coach and former player in the National Football League. In this episode, he shares how being a black man living in the south has made his journey into bowhunting different than most...and how you might be able to learn from his experiences to improve your relationships with new customers.

Kurt speaks with fellow ATA staffer, Samantha Seaton, to discuss an upcoming segment of the Beyond the Bow podcast - The Draw. These special episodes, hosted by Seaton, will turn the focus to the customer. Archers and bowhunters are what make this industry, and each of them has a different story of what they shoot, how they hunt, and most importantly - the draw that keeps them behind the bow.

Korbin's Archery (Seminole, TX) has established itself as a successful archery pro shop. In this episode, hear from owner Korbin Williams as he shares some advice on what has brought about this success. Korbin also shares a crucial mistake that caused a major disruption for his business in hopes that fellow retailers can learn and avoid encountering a similar situation themselves.

Your ATA has established a great working relationship with the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies, and continues to participate in that organization's efforts to protect game populations and promote bowhunting. In this episode, ATA vice president & chief conservation officer Dan Forster joins Kurt to talk with Mark Tisa of the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife. We discuss some current projects funded by federal excise tax dollars paid on archery equipment, and also the emphasis on gathering hunter data from across the country so industry businesses and wildlife agencies can make informed decisions.

Growing archery participation has consistently ranked at the top of the list when ATA members are asked what is going to have the biggest impact on their business going forward. One of the most effective ways to grow participation is recruiting and retaining new archers, but to truly expand the reach of the industry we must look outside of our current circles. In this episode, Sam Seaton (ATA), Immanuel Salas (Texas Parks & Wildlife), and Mike Jasper (Bethel University) discuss their experiences in archery and how the ATA is working to not only identify areas in need of improvement, but also to create a plan to act upon them with the goal of a bigger, better, and more inclusive archery industry.

The NASP program has served as an introduction to archery for students throughout the country, but like most organizations has had to adapt its offerings to adhere to COVID-19 guidelines. In this episode, Kurt talks with Stephanie Rustad (NASP) and Lisa Frye (KY Fish & Wildlife) about where the NASP program started, how its currently adapting, and where there's more room for members of the archery industry to get connected to create new customers and move them along the pathway beyond NASP.

This podcast is a preview of the content available in the Archery Industry Masterclass. Presenter, Hank Yacek, gives insights on training your staff on the products carried in your store. In the age of the internet, it's not about memorizing facts and figures, but more about helping your customer find the right product to suit their needs and increase their enjoyment of archery. Visit archerytrade.org to learn how you can sign up for the Masterclass and access even more valuable content on business operations, coaching, marketing, and bow technician skills.

This episode is a preview of a virtual Coffee Talk to be held as part of ATA 2021 Online. Kurt and Troy Fowler talk about building heavier arrows with high forward of center to improve bow hunting success and how this type of product offering can give retailers one more way to better serve all types of customers.

Getting the most out of your employees means building a culture within your business that makes them feel valued while also encouraging collaboration and taking chances. It won't happen overnight, and it definitely won't happen by itself. In this episode, Rick Kinsey (Owner, Kinsey's Inc.) discusses his strategy for building a positive culture and the role leadership plays in moving the process forward.

Mitch Haifley and Jeff Miller of Vantage Point Archery (VPA) share how they have established and grown VPA through producing their own quality products and branching out into other manufacturing opportunities.

Recruitment, Retainment, and Reaction of archers and bowhunters...That's what the R3 movement is all about! This episode includes a recording from an R3 Coffee Talk held at the 2020 ATA Trade Show where panelists Dan Forster (ATA), Kristen Black (CAHSS), and Josh Gold (ATA) discuss how R3 programs are essential for the future of our industry and answer questions from ATA members in attendance.

Many small businesses in the archery industry took advantage of the Paycheck Protection Program to keep employees on payroll as they were forced to close or modify business operations. We are now nearing the end of the 8 week covered period, and the application for loan forgiveness has been released by the Small Business Administration. Nathan Fitzgerald of BKD CPAs & Advisors shares insights into the Paycheck Protection program and how ATA member companies can ensure they have all the necessary information to take advantage of loan forgiveness and tax credits.

Owning and operating an archery business during the COVID-19 pandemic is not easy. In this episode, TJ Hofhines, owner of Dead-On Archery is Boise, Idaho talks about how he has been proactive in understanding restrictions in his area and how he has found a way to keep pressing forward and serving customers.

Is your archery business meeting the needs of all types of customers? Countless individuals, both seasoned archers and new shooters, are gaining interest in simpler forms of archery - traditional recurves, longbows, and competition barebows. Many archery businesses are missing out on revenue because they simply don't have the equipment or expertise in this category. Matt Zirnsak (The Push Archery) and Frank McDonough (Grass Hollow Archery & The Barebow Project) share their perspectives on how people are getting involved and what the industry can do to serve them.

In this episode, recorded from the floor of the #ATA2020 Trade Show, Kurt talks with Heath and Julie of Young Guns Archery about their efforts to promote archery participation. Finding properly sized equipment can be challenging for youth archers, especially when they are competing at a high level. Young Guns helps retain more youth archers by allowing them to try a variety of appropriately sized bows in their mobile shooting trailer.

In this episode, Kurt sits down at SHOT show to talk with David Schuessler, National Director of Event Fundraising for Ducks Unlimited. David shares how DU has seen success with building opportunities for social interaction around wetlands conservation. We'll also talk about how DU is catering to hunters and anglers beyond waterfowl and how the upcoming DUX event will provide an opportunity for thousands of consumers to experience archery first hand.

Kurt & George talk about the upcoming summer Olympic & Paralympic Games that will shine the spotlight on archery, and how archery businesses can capitalize on this opportunity to serve new customers. George also shares his insights on where retailers may be leaving money on the table, and how his demonstration at #ATA2020 will help attendees generate more revenue.

S3DA's Jennie Richardson shares how this organization is growing youth participation in competition archery and bowhunting alike. Jennie also discusses how S3DA is working to bridge the gap between beginning archers and other archery organizations to keep kids in the sport longer.

Jeff Greer own Music City Archery in Franklin, TN - just outside of Nashville. In this episode, he shares how putting a focus on competitive archery and coaching has allowed his business to grow and remain steady throughout the year. Jeff and other ATA Retail Council members will be leading a Coffee Talk at #ATA2020 to share more ideas that are working in pro shops around the country. We look forward to seeing you there!

Kurt and Rod talk about areas where USA Archery is observing immense growth in competitive archery. Rod also shares perspectives on getting new participants involved in archery and how the industry can have a huge impact while also reaping the benefits of more archers.

The Amazon platform is a difference maker for many businesses in the archery industry. Jonathan discusses the inner workings of Amazon and how having more control on this platform can allow a brand to gain customers, be more profitable, and better serve their brick & mortar partners.

ATA senior director of marketing & communications, Allison Jasper, talks about the ATA consumer marketing campaign - how it came about, advertising channels, and the expected outcomes. Allison explains how this campaign will be a great asset in driving new customers to ATA members to get their first taste of archery.

In this episode, we talk with David Wilkins, owner of Wyvern Creations. David speaks about the role of crossbows in the archery industry, and how he has been successfully running a business that focusing almost solely on the crossbow category.

Allie and Nick of the Outdoors Allie social media channels sat down with us at the 2019 ATA Show in Louisville, KY to talk about how they got started in bowhunting and how they are helping get new people into the sport. Allie shares her journey from an observer to a bowhunting with a crossbow and later a compound bow.

Ryan Erickson, VP of sales for TrackStreet, explains how Minimum Advertised Pricing policies can play a vital role in maintaining brand value. Kurt and Ryan also discuss the importance of brands taking action to police and enforce their policies, and how they get started. No matter if you're a retailer or a brand who manufactures products, MAP policies can have a big impact on your profitability.

The Hunting Public YouTube channel, which focusing on hunting public lands and small pieces of property, has almost 100k subscribers. Kurt talks with Aaron & Ted about how they got into bowhunting and how they're getting new people into the sport. The insights shared by these guys are a perfect example of how the archery and bowhunting industry can adapt to meet the needs of today's consumer in a digital world.

Michelle Scheuermann of Bulletproof Communications is the editor of the Archery Wire and manages social media channels for several clients in the outdoor industry. In this episode, she'll share how she approaches the task of effectively managing a social media channel and gives some insights on how this can be accomplished by businesses of all sizes. Michelle will be hosting a round table discussion on this topic at the upcoming ATA Trade Show (January 11th at 4pm in the My ATA Area), so please stop by to hear from Michelle and share ideas with fellow ATA members!

Selling products is how most archery retailers generate the majority of their revenue, but the marketplace is getting more challenging every day. Wayne Piersol, owner of Archery Only in Newark, CA, shares how he is growing other aspects of his business to make up for flat sales and slimming margins. He discusses the idea that although he cannot control the price for which a product is sold online, he has absolute control over how much he charges for leagues, lessons, and other archery events at his store.

There are a bunch of initiatives out there to get new people involved in our sport...but they're not all successful. In this episode, we'll talk about how hunting for meat has been an effective method of creating new hunters and bowhunters. Charles Evans (Georgia Wildlife Foundation), Hank Forester (Quality Deer Management Association) and Samantha Pedder (Council to Advance Hunting & the Shooting Sports) will be presenting a seminar at the 2019 ATA Trade Show in Louisville, KY. This seminar is titled "Field to Fork" to Market and will talk about new ways these organizations are recruiting and retaining new bowhunters. Take a listen to get a preview and learn how you can get more insights at the Trade Show.

Kurt talks with Archery Headquarters owner, Randy Phillips, about how he has improved bow sales in his Chandler, AZ store through some creative inventory management strategies. We focus on the fall months when new compound bows start hitting the market. Randy's methods may not work in every situation, but take a listen and you might get an idea that can help your business grow!

Chief of Sport Performance, Mary Emmons, discusses her introduction into the world of archery and how USA Archery has expanded its efforts to bring more people into the sport. Mary gives some great insights into the growth in the organization and how everyone in the industry can benefit from the work of USA Archery and its partners.

Mark shares his personal journey into the archery industry and what has made Jay's Sporting Goods a successful independent retailer. We'll also discuss what's happening with the ATA and how retailers can make the most of their membership.

Ben talks with us about how his brands of TRU Ball and Axcel got to be where they are today. We also discuss some trends in the archery industry and get insights into what it's been like to serve on the ATA Board of Directors.