Are you a yoga teacher running a yoga studio and you need marketing ideas? If YES, here are 20 smart tips on how to increase your yoga classes attendance. As a yoga teacher or studio owner in this modern era, you surely understand what numbers mean to the success and revenue of your business. It is a fact especially in modern yoga that if you wish to teach or provide a space for yoga classes, then the number of people in your class matters.
If there are not enough students coming through the doors, no one gets paid. Studios depend on the revenue generated from dedicated students to pay the rent, and teachers must have students in their classes in order to be paid. Building yoga classes isn’t easy, and attendance is dependent upon several variables.
There are many things a teacher can do to either encourage – or discourage – people from showing up for class. The challenge is similar whether you are a studio owner or teacher. Once you establish a permanent class schedule, you must take the new class seriously and begin the process of relationship building with your students.
There are many variables to consider when aiming to increase and maintain the number of members attending classes at your private studio. Below are 20 super tips to help you.
20 Tips on How to Increase Private Yoga Classes Attendance
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Offer An Early Bird Discount
To encourage interested people to buy a ticket to your class or workshop sooner, you should consider offering an early bird discount. Note that this reduced price ticket works efficiently when it is available for a short time period (like the first few weeks of your on-sale) and has a limited number available (the first 20 tickets bought, for instance). The words “sold out” are like gold for your class or workshop ticket sales.
With this strategy, you will motivate class attendees to come earlier and also heighten their perceived value of your private yoga class. Once people see that your early bird tickets are snatched up, they will rush to grab remaining tickets before they are gone. Ultimately, that means you will sell more tickets and increase your class or workshop attendance.
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Always Be Personable
Right before class begins, introduce yourself to new students. Take your time to know their injuries and make yourself both available and personable. It means coming to class at least 20 minutes early and probably staying at least 10 to 15 minutes after.
Also know their names and make yourself available to answer questions both before and after each class. Don’t forget to maintain student-teacher boundaries, but don’t let those students interfere with your ability to circulate amongst your students and share your presence with everyone.
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Grow Your Local Search Results
Private Yoga classes face a challenge when trying to rank in search results: Your class or workshop happens at a specific time and place. To rank locally for a timely event like this, you need a local SEO (search engine optimization) strategy.
Local SEO emphasizes an immediate neighbourhood, city, or region. For example, an individual looking for a carpentry class in Nevada won’t be interested in similar events happening in Chicago. So, Google will filter out classes happening outside the Nevada region.
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Grow Your Talent And Experience
Expert yoga teachers make the exercise seem so simple and fluid that you wonder if perhaps they were simply born to do it. Adequate experience and genuine talent keep students coming back for more from their favourite teachers.
If you have got the gift, then augment it with getting as much teaching experience as possible – and then sharing that with your students. If anatomy is your forte, share it in a way that is helpful and informative for your students. Their practice will grow, and they will value your instruction that much more.
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Segment Your Email List
Instead of blasting emails all around without any specific benefit, instead segment your email lists into categories: people who have bought tickets in the past versus those who haven’t, or different demographics within your target audience. Then create email campaigns that speak to those smaller groups with specific messages.
For instance, your classes probably cover a wide variety of topics. Instead of an email blast listing all your upcoming offerings, you can segment your email list by interest and send more personalized, relevant offerings. This is called email targeting, and it is made easier with the use of email marketing platforms.
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Offer Discounts, Vouchers and Coupons
You will find out there are students who want to try your yoga class and then decide they want to join or not. Consider offering discounts on your yoga classes. Distribute vouchers or coupons, like a happy hour voucher for Wednesday or Sunday. Seek the help of nearby shops especially the grocery stores where people come to buy their daily needs or a cafeteria around.
Request them to place your vouchers or coupons at their reception and distribute them when they visit the desk for billing. You should personally distribute vouchers and coupons to whoever approaches near your studio or at local shops nearby. Giving 10 percent discount for the next five classes is no harm to increase your yoga class attendance.
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Be Creative About Online Advertising
For your advertising strategies to work for your classes, you don’t just spend more money. Get strategic with advertising tools that help you zero in on the right people. Using algorithms and A/B testing, some of these tools constantly hone and refine your social media and Google ads so only those interested in your class or workshop will see them.
This automated process ensures you get the most bangs for your marketing buck. As the deadline to register approaches switch to ad retargeting. This tactic lets you remind interested class attendees who weren’t ready to make a ticket purchase the first time to act before it sells out.
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Be Compassionate (Toward Yourself!)
Never be discouraged if your class attendance swerves. Class attendance swerves for every teacher – new and experienced – so try not to take class enrolment too personally. Know that the time of the year, holidays, tax season, school schedules, etc…all impact class levels and you will experience a normal up and down in attendance. It generally takes a year or longer to build a class so cultivate patience, compassion, and steadiness as you begin.
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Make Your Private Class “Official” On Facebook
If you are not promoting your classes or workshops on Facebook, then you are probably missing out. Over 650 million people use Facebook Events each month, making it a powerful way to grow attendance. Facebook Official
Events appear on your Facebook page’s Events tab and contain important details — like event date, time, venue, and a link to buy tickets. They are also more likely to show up on search and News Feed recommendations where people are spending most of their time.
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Maintain Palpable Passion
It is well known that passion is contagious on the mat – and students want to leave feeling positively influenced and inspired. Have it in mind that the ability to pass a message that is seamlessly threaded throughout the class, by sharing your own passion, will keep students thinking about their yoga flow long after the class is over.
Sharing your passion transforms your class from an hour of exercise to an hour of learning, growth, and transformation. Sustain your passion for teaching yoga by cultivating your own yoga practice and knowledge.
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Look At Attendance Reports
Although this might seem like a total waste of time, but it is worth mentioning. If you want to increase attendance to your classes, you have to know what current attendance patterns look like. Which classes are most popular? Which have slowly been losing members?
Taking the time to look over attendance reports can help you stay informed. If a class is consistently popular, that is a good indication you may be able to offer that class more often during the day or week. Or if a class is consistently low, you may want to rethink that type of class or timing.
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Balance Dynamism And Accessibility
It is advisable that you keep your classes both accessible and dynamic. It totally kills to feel like you can’t do one damn pose in the sequence. But it is also a deterrent to go to class and leave feeling like you weren’t challenged at all. Consider offering a balanced mix of challenges along with modifications and plenty of reminders to take breaks and add on or back off as each student sees fit.
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Invite Well Known Instructors
One crucial fact attendance reports can tell you is which of your team members are bringing in the most people. It could be the trainer just happens to run one of your most popular classes during peak hours, but if a specific trainer consistently sees high attendance at different times of day, consider leveraging them even more. Getting more people to class could be as easy as giving them more opportunities to work out with their favourite instructor.
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Bring Out Something New
Not everyone likes beer, some like wine. So bring something new to your class. If you are feeling like your growth is stunted, and you are having a hard time reaching new students and filling your classes, it might be time to grow your teaching toolbox and learn a new offering. You can take weekend training in meditation, Restorative yoga, or even yoga Nidra. Much training only takes a few days and when you are done you are ready to teach a new style of class.
You can also create a collage at your yoga studio. Offer 10 minutes of mediation, 10 minutes chanting with music, 10 minutes group yoga class or hugging trees, running in the beach and introduce an outdoor session once a while to bring change and to add something new to your class.
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Offer a Deal
Almost all yoga studios have off-peak hours where attendance is generally lower. Grow those numbers with a deal! You can offer a lower price on classes with less attendance or highlight “happy hour” prices on in-studio food and drinks during slower times.
Shoot members a message Friday afternoon offering 10 percent any classes booked for the next 48 hours. A direct, urgent message can motivate members to act fast and try out a class they may not otherwise have attended.
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Be Consistent And Proactive
At first when you start teaching, do not sub out your classes. You must show consistency and earn the loyalty of both your students and the studio you are teaching at. Understand that you might have to delay time off or vacations in your first few years of teaching in order to build your classes and sustain momentum.
You can take additional steps to meet new students by taking other classes at the studio, introducing yourself to all of the teachers, and being involved with the studio’s social networks (for instance, Facebook) and their community events (for example, charity events, workshops, or kirtans). These are great strategies for meeting new students, becoming a familiar face in the community, and becoming an integral part of the studio culture.
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Leverage Social Media
Making adequate use of social media shouldn’t just be about posting class times and special events to keep members informed. You can also use a little social media magic to shine classes in a different light and get people excited about checking them out.
Try adding a live video from a new class to showcase what it is all about, or posting a photo of happy members after a great yoga session can get members interested in coming next time. Short social media updates are the best way, studies have shown, for brands to interact with their consumers.
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Always Be A Team Player
Always remember that another wonderful way to build your classes is by continuing to sub. No matter how long you have been teaching, subbing is a great way to support your fellow teachers while meeting potential new students. When you take the time to sub, it also shows studio management that you are a team player.
Never offer to substitute classes you are not ready to teach or do not have adequate training to teach. Only offer to sub classes that fit your level of knowledge and experience.
When you sub a class, be sure to teach to the level advertised on that particular class even if it is a different level than you are used to teaching. At the end of the class, make sure to share your regular class schedule with the attending students.
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Make It Easier For Members To Signup
Note that if you make it easy for members to sign up for your class, they are more likely to show up. And your members want to be able to reserve appointments or classes online. According to reports, over 34 percent of appointments are booked online outside of office hours for certain industries, so make sure your studio allows for booking through your website and mobile app to attract more sign-ups.
Allowing a member to reserve their spot within your studio’s app or even with a simple Google search will increase the likelihood they will show up to class. If they haven’t made a commitment to attend class – i.e. making a reservation ahead of time – they may change their mind at the last minute.
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Know How To Use Your Words
Always take your time to explain how to get into a pose. Merely calling out a pose for anyone who has it in their practice doesn’t give students an opportunity to learn. This may sound obvious, but it happens all the time. Provide cues that are as helpful and descriptive as possible.
Once you notice a student still struggling, reword the cue so they understand. Don’t hesitate to demonstrate more challenging transitions or poses, and also get comfortable with offering physical adjustments as needed. In short, be sure you are teaching in a way that sets each student up for success.
Enormous amount of time, energy, and effort go into creating a truly fantastic private yoga class. And it never stops. Building your yoga class is an ongoing, never-ending pursuit, just like your own practice. Leverage the above 20 tips and also keep learning. It will always do more good to stay ahead of industry trends.