Okay, so we covered the absolute basics in last week’s post – 6 Traits of Successful Yoga Entrpreneurs. If you need to review, go do it now. Those traits are non-negotiable, and you must have
them down before anything else I talk about here will grow your yoga business.
There are quite a few facets that go into making a truly successful, long-term yoga career. I’ll detail what all of those facets are in a later post, so make sure you keep up with the blog so you don’t miss it. Each facet is a piece of your Success Puzzle. Every single piece is important; if you leave even one out the picture is incomplete. But each piece is very different. Some pieces have to do with mindset. Some have to do with long-term planning. Some have to do with structuring your offerings. It’s the synergy of those pieces that really creates a whole that is much more significant than it’s parts.
In the next few weeks I’ll write more about this. Each piece takes brainstorming, planning, and consistent intention to step more fully and powerfully into who you are meant to be, so that you can serve those you need to serve. I’ve been meditating on a phrase for this process of stepping unapologetically into your power, and what I came up with was this: going from Fear to Fierce. You are going to be hearing a lot more about my concept – Fierce Feminine – in the future. It’s all about a no-excuses, no apologies approach to tapping into your authentic sacred feminine power and making a true mark on this world.
But back to this post. What I’ll be covering here are the very simple things you can do right now to start getting more people in the door. The Success Puzzle takes time – and you’ll need to set aside that time if you want the people who you get in the door to stick around. But sometimes you just need some concrete action items to attract warm bodies. Here they are!
Warm Body Attraction Magnets
1. When someone asks what you do, instead of saying “I’m a yoga teacher….um, nice sweater!” say “I’m a yoga teacher at this awesome studio, I would love for you to take a class to try it out!” The personal invite is the absolute easiest AND most effective thing you can do to get people in the door. And when said with authentic passion, your energy is contagious. What’s great about this is that there is no lying, no trickery, no twisting someone’s arm getting them to do something they don’t want to do. It’s quick and simple, and you are telling the truth – you love yoga, so you teach it, and you think most people need it and would love it too.
2. Change the name of your class from Vinyasa Yoga or Therapeutic Yoga or Pre-natal Yoga to Quittin’ Time, Melt’n Stress Yoga or Get the Boss Off Your Back Yoga if it’s at 5 or 6 pm. Kick the Pain Yoga. Mommy Needs a Break Yoga. You get the picture – get creative with your class names and make them more descriptive and catchy. That alone will prompt people looking at your schedule to want to try different classes. If you wanna get really crazy, after the name change send a press release to your local news station or paper. You just may get some coverage out of it – and a third party endorsement from the press will give you a blast of new students.
3. Get Wired. For real, people, it is the 21st century. A large percentage of your new students will find you through a Google search. That is a fact. A template website that lists your schedule and an About Me page with all of your certifications is the most boring flippin’ thing on the planet. An e-newsletter that reads like a grocery list of your upcoming classes and workshops will give you nearly zero return on time investment and does not cut it. A Facebook account that is only used to tell me about your next Beginner Yoga Workshop makes me yawn uncontrollably. I don’t have time to get down and dirty on all the ways that you can and MUST use the web to your advantage, but I do have time to use a cliché – this is the wave of the future and it is here to stay. Build relationships with your tribe through informative content and interesting conversations, not your boring, half ass sales-pitch-disguised-as-announcement-so-no-one-will-think-I’m-trying-to-sell-something. It’s harsh but needs saying.
4. Ask for referrals. From students in your classes, from your next door business neighbors, from other healers you trust like chiropractors or local doctors. Again, it’s about being honest about your love for yoga and your confidence that you are the teacher for them, their friends, and their clients. You won’t receive unless you ask, and do it genuinely. Why not make it fun and turn it into a contest with a fabulous prize for the most referrals?
5. Create a special offer for nearby businesses. Maybe you are next to a rockin’ hair salon where stylists are on their feet all day long. Make a flier touting the specific benefits of yoga for hairstylists and invite them to try a class. This idea worked for one of my coaching clients, whose studio was next to a busy building full of dentists. People who work hunched over somebody’s mouth all day really need yoga! Get creative here and have fun. Invite these folks for a specific day, and tailor that class to address their needs.
6. Throw a party! Have a relevant and timely theme, do fun things, have music and drinks, and invite everyone you know. Co-host it with the restaurant next door and have them provide the food and invite their guest list too. Create a special package just for guests at the party, have a raffle for charity, give gift bags with free stuff, get creative. Oh, and tell the press! :)
Marketing your passion should not feel like a chore, though I think so often we build it up in our minds to be. Just remember why you choose this career path, and think of all of the people you have helped and WILL help once they know about you. And get excited about it. Your authentic, in-person excitement does so much more to get people in the door than your snazzy ad in the paper ever will!
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Hi Valerie, I have just tapped into your blog today. Someone sent it to me. I just love this article. You sound very much like a contributing editor to my blog called Anita. Same humour, honesty and passion. I just adore it and will keep in touch. With many thanks.