Many people have different views on their take of 2020, for some, it was their worst year yet while for others it was mediocre. For me however, it was the best year of my life so far, filled with so much joy and love spent at home with my loved ones. I know this isn’t typical answer and it could be shocking to you, but it opened my eyes in so many ways to what is truly important in life. Parts of it felt heavy, but it was also necessary to move forward and continue growing.
2020 was the host of another championship-winning season, announcing my retirement to focus on my family, getting married to the love of my life, and finding out that we are expecting our first child in August of 2021! (Surprise – you’re the first to know!!) I got to witness my best friend get married, learned how to mountain bike, and almost double my income from 2019 by expanding my business and offering online education about social media and sponsorships. Despite all of this positivity, the hardest hit that I took last year was losing my best friend of 5 years, my cat Okie. It still hurts to not have him around anymore, sitting on my lap while I worked and did video calls, but the good lord brought another cat into our lives who thankfully loved Okie as much as we did and took on some of his personality traits.
Above all else, I’m looking forward to a fresh take on life as I enter a brand-new season of not racing. Most of you know that I’ve been in this sport for my entire life – ever since day 1. So, it’ll be a big transition for me to watch as my family leaves with the rig to travel the country following the NHRA tour, as I stay home and cheer them on virtually. I’m looking forward to this new lifestyle without the stressful traveling, worrying about points, drama with my competitors, and always being on the edge.
Below are the 3 things I learned in 2020, and what I’m not bringing with me into 2021:
What got you here, won’t get you there
This quote comes from my mentor who I invested big money into in the Summer of 2020. After creating the Driven by Social e-Course in the Spring, I knew that I needed more education on how to scale the program to reach the next level. I had to shift my marketing or else it wouldn’t reach more racers, which meant hiring not one, but five contracted (four female and one male) employees who have helped taken tasks off of my plate so I can focus more on education and serving my students. Last year I invested a lot into education about different online marketing tactics and am happy to say I’ve earned my money back twofold!
Family and health over everything
With the scare of COVID-19, I looked into my eating habits with a microscope to see what I can do better to make sure I don’t get sick and become vulnerable to the virus. I started working with a nutritionist from Total Nutrition Technologies, TNT, who offers free consultations. I chose this company because it is owned by a good friend of mine that is an influencer in drag racing, and they work with many professional athletes, especially in motorsports, so I knew they would understand my unique situation with my job. We worked together on a wedding diet and I’ve been able to maintain the directions and guidelines I received from my nutritionist. I’m happy to say that I didn’t get sick once in 2020! I also prioritized spending time with my family, especially my new hubby, with the time off from racing. This was a blessing in disguise, I got to be part of more family events that I would normally miss out on. I am looking forward to spending almost every single day of 2021 with my growing family!
Repurpose content
This one was huge for me – working smarter, not harder. I’ve wasted so much time trying to create new content to post on social media and in my newsletters, that I was quickly getting burned out on creativity. With help from my mentor, I mapped out content guidelines to change the way I use social media to be more productive and engaging. I now stagger my content, meaning I will post photo A on Instagram on day 1, while I post photo B on Facebook on the same day (but at different times). Then, I’ll post photo A on Facebook on day 2, then post photo C on Instagram, and so on. This style of staggering content has increased engagement on both platforms immensely, plus I’ve focused more on including a call to action in my captions to encourage my audience to like, comment, and share my posts. I will then take a race recap video that I created for Instagram, post it onto Facebook in a different format that fits the platform better, then share it in the race recap press release on the RMR website, then later on post a horizontal version to YouTube, and after that share that video onto Twitter, then I’ll share again onto LinkedIn. This way I’m reaching each different audience on each different platform, formatting my content to fit each different platform, and posting at different times and different days so it doesn’t reach the same person on the same day and bore them.
What I’m Leaving: Saying yes to everything
In the past, I’ve been so used to saying yes to every design project that came my way, whether it was fun and easy or outside of my skill set. I stopped doing hero cards and merchandise designs for other racers in 2020 because of the simple fact that we weren’t racing for a period of time, so nobody needed them. I had to transition my business and provide other services that were needed, which are social media marketing and sponsorships. I will still be offering to design t-shirts and hero cards for racers, as well as email newsletters, branding, and logo designs, but these will not be my primary offers in 2021 and I will narrow down the list of who I accept as a client to ensure I’m only working with my dream clientele.
2020 Business Overview
Two new offers: DBS students: 120 / F&F students: 33 + 16 beta
Facebook Followers: December 2019 31,582 / December 2020 86,053 = 172% growth!
Facebook Likes: December 2019 23,702 / December 2020 28,453 = 20% growth
Instagram Followers: December 2019 29,033 / December 2020 36,648 =26% growth
Total Instagram Impressions in 2020: 3.4 million!
Instagram top 9 posts:
1. WE DID IT!! 2X World Champs in the NGK TAD! https://www.instagram.com/p/CHEmqubDvA3/
2. Back-to-back Texas Champs!!! https://www.instagram.com/p/CGgQRyHjpLU/
3. Mr. and Mrs. Lingner https://www.instagram.com/p/CG2i5mJjxfU/
4.Back-to-back US Nats Champion!!! https://www.instagram.com/p/CE0NjrQDOxF/
5. Ceremony is about to start, big day is finally here!! https://www.instagram.com/p/CGyB1QOj8uj/
6. My final race, one last time suiting up https://www.instagram.com/p/CHBKA9PjChz/
7. Want a glimpse into why I do what I do? https://www.instagram.com/p/CI_paHaj0F_/
8. If you feel like you are spinning your wheels… https://www.instagram.com/p/CH3mhtFjAm4/
9. Back-to-back wins in Dallas! Wally #20 + brand new belt buckle https://www.instagram.com/p/CAjr7w3j0yk/
2021 Q1 Forecast
- Relaunching the Megan Meyer Racing brand with a completely new website
- Opening up enrollment for DBS round 3 in March
- Begin offering 1:1 coaching and social media management
- Continue logo and branding designs
- Keep showing up
2020 Racing Overview
Races attended: 11 (5 regionals/5 nationals/1 Jegs AllStars)
Results:
- Belle Rose, LA qualified: 7, eliminations: quarterfinals
- Dallas, TX qualified: 1, eliminations: winner
- Columbus, OH qualified: 1, eliminations: winner
- Topeka, KS qualified: 1, eliminations: quarterfinals
- Jegs AllStars qualified: 1, eliminations: quarterfinals
- U.S. Nationals qualified 4, eliminations: winner *NEW World Record 5.09 ET*
- Earlville, IA qualified: 8, eliminations: quarterfinals
- GatorNationals qualified: 4, eliminations: semi-finals
- Texas FallNationals qualified: 4, eliminations: winner
- SpringNationals qualified: 10, eliminations: first round (skipped first round to go get married!)
- NHRA Finals qualified: 1, eliminations: winner
Press in 2020:
Racer Magazine
National Dragster
NHRA.com
Drag Illustrated
Drag Racing Edge
Speed Sport
Motor Racing Press
Car Chix
908 Motor Magazine
RPM magazine
Competition Plus
SpeedFreeks.TV
Femcanic Garage Podcast
Cars Yeah
Racing Insiders Podcast
Ordinary to Badass Podcast
DragList Radio
KSHB 41 News
