Opening a studio can be a pathway for a yoga instructor to build a solid business that will carry him through to retirement. Plenty of yoga entrepreneurs have built successful businesses throughout the U.S. But there is always a nagging question for the new studio owner: how do I get more students?
Students are the key to any yoga studio. Without them, there are no classes. And without classes, there is no revenue. Succeeding means finding a way to reach prospective students with your message in such a way as to convince them to visit. Once they visit, the main task is to ensure they come back again.
Fortunately, there are a number of proven strategies that can help virtually any yoga entrepreneur get more students into the studio. Here are just some of them:
1. Entice With an Introductory Offer
Getting students to step foot inside the door is often the biggest challenge of running a yoga studio. Get them in and it is easier to win them over. But how do you do that? An introductory offer can be enticing.
Today’s fitness centers take advantage of introductory offers all the time. They work. A yoga instructor can do the same thing. An introductory offer could be something like 30 days of free classes or a significant discount on a one-off class. The key to the introductory offer is to make sure it gives prospective students enough opportunity to really get a feel for the studio.
2. Establish a Referral Program
Nothing markets more effectively than happy customers. Even if a new yoga studio only serves a few dozen regular students, those students can be enticed to tell others with a referral program that makes doing so worth their while.
Referral programs are easy enough to set up. For example, the studio owner can invite current students to bring friends and family to a couple of free classes. Existing students can be offered class discounts or free memberships for referring others.
Happy students are willing to talk about the studio. They just need a bit of encouragement to do so. That is what referral programs are about.
3. Invest in Traditional Marketing
It’s nearly impossible to succeed in business today without effective marketing. But as international yoga educator and mindfulness business mentor Scott Moore explains, it is not abnormal for new yoga entrepreneurs to think of traditional marketing as somewhat sleazy.
Marketing is a centuries-old practice and one that serves businesses well. It is all about effective messaging. And like it or not, no business will succeed without getting its message out. Think of it this way: a studio owner cannot get new students in the door if they don’t know his studio exists.
4. Engage With the Community
Engaging with the community is a fantastic way to get a studio’s name out there. Community engagement takes many forms, beginning with participating in local events as a vendor. Just a studio owner’s presence alone can help a great deal. But actually taking the time to speak with festival attendees and answer their questions makes an enormous difference.
A studio can also engage with the community through sponsorships, community advertising, and even volunteerism. The more a studio owner connects with others on a personal level, the more effective his voice will be.
Getting students in the door is the foundation of building a strong yoga studio. Students are a studio’s bread and butter. So anyone embarking on the journey of becoming a successful studio owner needs to be prepared to go out and get them.