Yoga Teacher Training Forum » Yoga Teacher Training Forum (issues, concerns and questions for teachers) » Business and Marketing your Business
Cost effective advertising?
(28 posts) (19 voices)-
What is the most cost effective form of advertising or marketing my Yoga studio?Posted 7 years ago #
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There is no single magic method for marketing your Yoga studio, but here are two good ones with a nice return on investment.
1. Referrals: Encourage them with incentives, by teaching great classes, and having exceptional customer service. There is a myth - "you can't control word of mouth." This is a half truth because your satisfied students will spread the word with very little encouragement.
2. Create a Website: No matter how many times I talk to Yoga studio owners, it never ceases to amaze me how many have a poor web presence. For an investment of less than $200 USD per year, you can create a 24 hour sales person, who never complains, dsn't take days off, and completely informs the public about your Yoga business.Posted 7 years ago # -
I find a website is only cost effective if you have the time to put into promoting it. If you just put up a template website and hope it will do the promotion for you, it will never get seen and the domain name registry and server costs will probably cost more than the extra revenue it generates.
If you can invest a lot of time into your website, and can get it seen by the right people, it can become the most effective marketing tool in your repertoire. But you have to babysit it.
You can also look into more traditional forms of marketing for small businesses. Such as flyer campaigns, yellowpages/classified advertisements, billboards. These are generally cheap and can go a long way to raising awareness for your studio.Posted 7 years ago # -
It is agreed that flyers are inexpensive and most Yoga teachers do not have big budgets.
However, the rest of print media is quite another story. One of my Yoga teacher clients just got a quote from a paper in the Detroit area for $1700.00. This is for one advertisement on one day. How many prospective Yoga students read a newspaper cover to cover?
You cannot make changes to the Yellow Pages, once they are in print, and they are not cheap. Do you read the Yellow pages or look it services on the Internet? This is why there is no one single method for acquiring new Yoga students.
A website must be constantly looked after, but you can be in total control of your own marketing. There are affordable pay-per-click programs with adwords and Yahoo. You can set a daily ceiling and get a local match listing.Posted 7 years ago # -
I absolutely agree that search word advertising with Google Adwords is a cost-effective, simply because it works for us.
Using Adwords requires a lot of effort, like a website, especially when you are in the phase where you are exploring what adwords and ad copy works. But once you get it dialed in -- with much help from Google, I might add -- you are advertising almost exclusively to people looking for what you are offering.
As Paul pointed out, for most yoga instructors their best bet is to use regional Adword ads. "Yoga" is not a very expensive search term, and when you narrow it down to just your area you won't get any eye-popping bills from Google.Posted 7 years ago # -
Maybe this will help you advertise cheaply.
Get a Blog for free.
Happiness to all on your wonderful journey!
Posted 4 years ago # -
Namaskar Yogaist,
Thank you for this novel idea.
Putting your name out there with different directories is a low cost way to market your Yoga studio. It's a lot less money than newspaper advertising. All of you should do this, but do not spend money to be listed in a web directory. The reason is who will look into one of these directories for you or your studio? You will be lucky if you pull in one student per year from Yoga finder, Yogi seeker, and Yoga site combined. If you spend $37.50 per year for being listed in the top five Yoga directories that's only $187.50 per year for your listings.
Go ahead and try it for a year. If you see one student show up because of your listings, please come back here and tell me about it because I have yet to see a student from a listing and neither do any of the Yoga teachers I know. But a free listing is worth a try.
Om Shanti,
TomakoPosted 4 years ago # -
Yoga Journal estimates that 15 million U.S. residents practiced yoga last year, up almost 30% from the year before. The explosion hit a couple of years ago shortly after Gucci grabbed headlines with $850 yoga mats it no longer sells. While yoga appears to be still growing in popularity, other fitness trends, such as the body-conditioning Pilate, are now more explosive, says the IDEA Health & Fitness Association.
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kimrennin
edited by Admin: non-yoga-related link removed.Posted 4 years ago # -
Namaskar Kim,
Thank you for your back link and advertisement, which has nothing to do with this thread. You are practicing a creative low cost marketing strategy. For that you deserve praise. Fellow Yoginis should observe how you do this on every Yoga forum you visit.
About your Stats:
IDEA is a fitness organization that would like to move into Yoga, but is frustrated by Yoga studios who don't march in line with the health clubs. IDEA isn't impartial and any stats they give are swayed into their (fitness) favor.
If you go to any gym, Yoga is on the menu along with group fitness classes from A to Z. In comparison, how many step aerobic studios are there in comparison to Yoga studios? How many Pilates studios are there in comparison to Yoga studios?
About Gucci Yoga mats: We were waiting for them to go on sale for $20 at TJ Maxx. Maybe they could throw in a pair of glasses too. I have no idea what you are on about. Nevertheless, if anyone has one of those Gucci Yoga mats for cheap I'm interested.
Peace,
TomakoPosted 4 years ago # -
Namaste Tomako,
Do you think that leaving a backlink on this yoga forum and others will improve our visibility on the Internet? I ask because of spending on newspaper advertising that cost me a fortune and almost put me out of business. Luckily I was able to break a contract with the newspaper. I was spending $300 per week but lucky to see 4 new students per month from the ads. Flyers and my yoga website had the best results.
PeacePosted 4 years ago # -
Namaskar Starlight,
Sorry to read that you were a victim of newspaper advertising. The papers need help so they scam us with promises of exposure in papers that nobody reads.
Yes, back linking is beneficial for your page rank, especially if your links are on sites that have something to do with your site. For example - Yoga teachers should link to other Yoga related sites or a Yoga forum like this one.
However, in Kim's case she would improve her page rank by going to SEO forums and posting useful material there. I can't make progress by having my backlinks on sites unbrelated to Yoga.
Some of the backlinks are just content spam. Like "great site -thanks for the info," if you follow their link they are selling everything from soup to nuts. My suggestion is you create a signature in your profile that leads back to your yoga blog or website.
Paul is pulling in a lot of traffic on this high ranked forum, so why not capitalize on it. He won't mind and he would tell you the same.
Peace,
TomakoPosted 4 years ago # -
Hi everyone.
I'd like to back up Tomako's statement about the value of backlinks and in particular the importance of relevance when backlinking. If you teach yoga it doesn't help you to have a link on a pet-lover's website and vice versa. But relevant and related links will definitely help you.
For any member who wishes to promote their yoga-related website, Tomako's advice about creating a signature with a link is absolutely correct.
From an administrative perspective for the forum, it's important that such links be in your signature because they will be easily edited or modified from your user profile and that will update all of your posts containing your signature rather than having to edit every individual post.
This makes sense because website addresses often change, or the text and/or title you may wish to put along with your signature may need to be updated from time to time.
Note: I've edited kimrennin's post above to remove her promotional link which was not related to yoga.
Posted 4 years ago # -
Pranam,
I so love this forum and I love to read real expertise. The sites from Aura are top-notch. By the way, you could add your URL to blog posts too, but stick with the topic when you write a comment. Most blogs and forums pale in comparison to these, but you it won't cost you a penny to add backlinks to your yoga site.
Peace be with you.Posted 4 years ago # -
Hi Everybody,
Some great advice here. If you don't have a website or blog, what are you waiting for? You could get a free blog or my space site for nothing. If you are teaching Yoga in Anaconda, Montana you could focus on those keywords. Something like "Anaconda Yoga Blog" or mention the next town over (Butte).
There's plenty of room for creative marketing thought that dsn't cost money. With the Dow dipping another 161 points today it might be smart to focus on growing your yoga business. Depending on when you plan to retire, your yoga studio may end up being your retirement fund.
Sincerely,
ParellPosted 4 years ago # -
cancersurvivor wrote:By the way, you could add your URL to blog posts too, but stick with the topic when you write a comment. Most blogs and forums pale in comparison to these, but you it won't cost you a penny to add backlinks to your yoga site.
Hi, this is the administrator again (using my real name) and since I'm actually an SEO specialist when I'm not monitoring Paul's forum I thought I'd just throw in another 2 cents worth here...
Not all blogs are created equal - because most blogs have a spam deterrent built into their comments sections. It's a method of negating the link value of any links posted in comments by using a hidden attribute called "nofollow" and it's recognized by all the major search engines.
So, you can figure that 95% of blogs are using nofollow and that putting your link into blog comments will usually provide you with zero value.
You're much better off starting your own blog as Parell suggested. However, if you already have a website you should start the blog there instead of using a free blog service. It will help to generate fresh content (which search engines love) on your site rather than on some blog hosting company's site. That's a better result than simply having links from a hosted blog to your own site.
But if you don't own a site, or can't easily install one (in which case you should upgrade your hosting to one that will let you install one with a push of the button), then the free blog space is better than nothing.
Hope this helps,
JadePosted 4 years ago # -
Namaskar!
WOW! Thank you for the inside information. You have cleared a few mysteries up. We may teach yoga classes, but most of us are little more than computer literate. You are a big help.
Om Shanti,
Priyah
Posted 4 years ago # -
Priyah wrote:Namaskar Jade,
WOW! Thank you for the inside information. You have cleared a few mysteries up. We may teach yoga classes, but most of us are little more than computer literate. You are a big help.
Om Shanti,
Priyah
Hi Priyah,
You're quite welcome.
It seems that there's quite a bit of interest from members about websites, SEO and other online marketing methods.
So, I'm going to offer to provide some answers (where I can) to questions from members regarding their online marketing issues.
The only thing I ask is that people try to create new topics specifically for each issue.
For example, if a member is curious about link exchange strategies, they should start a new topic (thread) posing their specific question (ideally with a descriptive title too :-)
If a member is curious about PPC advertising (Pay-Per-Click) they should do the same with a new topic for that too.
The same would be true for every issue that members might question, such as Search Engine Optimization, Keyword targeting, Hosting Issues, and so on. Create a new topic (here in the "Business & Marketing" section of the forum).
This way we'll produce a series of threads that are highly focused on each issue and they can become a useful resource for all members.
I'll do my best to respond promptly and answer as best I can.
How does that sound?Posted 4 years ago # -
Yes, this is a great idea. I will start one thread tonight. Thank you for helping us.
Om Shanti,
PriyahPosted 4 years ago # -
This is a very useful thread for yoga studio owners who want to grow their web site and learn SEO strategy.Posted 3 years ago #
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Tomako wrote:What is the most cost effective form of advertising or marketing my Yoga studio?
Hello
There are few advertising technique available right now that are cost effective. Through Internet Marketing your business can achieve greater success especially if your clients are satisfied with the services you have rendered to them. And through internet you have a wider coverage and you are able to reach people anywhere as long they have access to the internet. But before you'll become successful of course you will have to properly deal with your customers. Customers are the best advertisers so might be better if we deal with them first and the rest will follow. Start by creating your own website, introduce your products and services in the simplest way. Have a customer service support so you can monitor your website's visitors and your clients. For example, a live support service company that can provide quality service to your customers every time somebody will visit your website and would like to purchase any product you might have.
It will not only help you boost sales but could also convert your prospect into constituents. You can check this blog I was recommended so you will gain more information about the importance of customer support software.
If you have other more comments or suggestions I'll highly appreciate if you post them here. Thank you!
Miley
Posted 3 years ago # -
Miley,
Your marketing speak sounds...........uh.............I don't get it. If I don't get it, neither will the other yogis who frequent this forum. Believe me, Internet marketing is a mystery to most yogis. Please translate: What are you talking about? That 24/7 site is just a 6 cents a minute chat line to nobody. Are you content spamming or are you an online marketer playing cloak and dagger games? Heck, you can go anywhere and chat for FREE. I agree the Internet is your best solution, but you're talking in riddles.Quote:"But before you'll become successful of course you will have to properly deal with your customers. Customers are the best advertisers so might be better if we deal with them first and the rest will follow."
When you say: "might be better if we deal with them first and the rest will follow." It sounds like a Sopranos episode. How do you deal with your customers and what is the rest that will follow? It sounds SCARY!
You call them customers, be we call them students or clients. In yoga the student teacher relationship is built on trust. We don't deal with them. And we don't deal them. But getting back to your way: How would a prospective "customer" be your best advertiser? They don't even know you yet. Give us some steak because your sizzle is starting to smoke this thread up and I can't get a clear picture.
GatorPosted 3 years ago # -
Hi Gator,
I love it!
Do you take candy from strangers? Maybe that post is real. Maybe it's Gator Bait! It got by forum security, but it smells spammy and the language is smoke and mirrors. Anyway, somebody who's using a blogger blog is a marketing novice. How's he going to help you make a yoga web site? A blogger blog is better than nothing. You can do what he did. Are you talking to nobody and paying 6 cents a minute to find out? You can pay me six cents a minute to listen to you. In the meantime, stop taking candy from strangers and talking to shadows. You're supposed to be a yoga teacher not a babe in the woods.
Peace,
ParellPosted 3 years ago # -
Namaskar!
About software for tracking yoga students, visitors, conversions or sales: Google Analytics is free software. It's easier to install than most. By the way, software that doesn't work is a common Internet scam. Once upon a time, I paid for software that didn't work. I was stuck with my purchase because it had a digital media return policy. All sales are final - no refund. Google Analytics is the best way to go.
Shanti,
PatelPosted 3 years ago # -
1) Website. Places like netfirms.com and myhosting.com have packages under $5.00 per month. It is a bit of work, but if you are a bit of a geek (or know one) it's not hard to setup. The real work is posting content. That's the most important part of a website. Putting something fresh out there on a regular basis.
If you are not ready for a website, create a FaceBook page and/or Twitter account and post messages about Yoga and where you are. You will attract followers!
2) Press Releases, especially for guest teachers or special workshops. There a few local papers in my area that will publish just about anything in their "Lifestyle" sections if you send it to them "PRESS RELEASE" style. Just make sure they know the "Who, What, When and Where"
3) Special workshops! - Host teachers from other schools. They do not have to be Yoga workshops. It could be a special meditation class, or perhaps eating healthy. Promote the workshops with press releases and flyers.
4) If there are any events in your town, setup a table and pass out flyers.
5) Find any Business-to-Business trade magazines. They are usually starved for content. Spoon feed them information about your studio, maybe they will do a piece on it.Posted 2 years ago # -
Every time I talk to a local paper or a trade publication, they want an arm and a leg. Guess I'm not assertive enough.Posted 2 years ago #
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Yoga Teacher Training - How to Find a Teaching Job
So you've got your fancy yoga teacher training certification; you've read the books, practiced the dialogue, and adjusted everyone in your social circle. How do you get a job teaching yoga? Never fear. This query has plagued many a yogi before you. The most important thing to remember is that where there is a will there is a way. There is no quick fix, short answer to the question but I can offer a few suggestions that have been known to be effective.
First off, you may want to visit and take a class or two at any studio you are considering working for. Sometimes, you'll find the vibe of the studio or the class does not suit you. Taking the class can save you the frustration of resigning the position after teaching a class or two. Another benefit of taking the class before applying is getting the opportunity to be seen by some of the instructors there and striking up a conversation after class. You never know who will be doing the interview or conducting the audition for a job.
Thinking outside the box can also be helpful when looking for teaching opportunities. Don't just apply at yoga studios. Gyms, fitness centers, spas, schools, athletic teams, nonprofit organizations, and corporate functions are all fertile ground for growing your yoga business.
One of the problems with inexperienced teachers is that, well, they don't have any experience. A simple remedy for this problem is to spend some time practicing karma yoga, teaching voluntarily on a weekly basis. It doesn't have to be a paid job to count as a teaching experience. This can help you shine up your resume.
You also want to do everything you can, within reason, to raise your profile and promote yourself amongst friends, families, co-workers, and the World Wide Web. Handing out business cards and allowing word of mouth to spread is still one of the most effective forms of advertisement.
The longer you stick with it and continue to work on your individual practice and teaching skills, the easier it will become to get a job. You will also gain the confidence you need to teach your own classes or open a studio. The latter can be an overwhelming task so you may want to spend a couple of years teaching before going forward with that step. You can always feel free to contact the studio where you completed your yoga teacher training and seek out further advice.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Two Tips for Boosting Your Yoga Business
Providing an excellent and beneficial service for your yoga business is vital for increasing its popularity. In a day and age where people are reluctant to spend money on things that may not be seen as a necessity, you really have to provide good service to secure more customers. There are a few ways in which you can really put your yoga business firmly on the map in your area and gather even better reputation. In this article, we shall take a look at a couple tips for boosting your yoga business.
Providing a satisfying and beneficial service to your yoga class clients is vital for building your reputation and gaining new customers. You have to remember that people are interested in your business only because they want to benefit from it in some way, not you. To ensure that your clients are benefitting from what you have to offer, you need to make sure that what you offer is top-notch practices and education. When your client leaves your establishment, they should feel the benefits of correct yoga postures, leaving them feeling excited about attending again and again. Keeping your clients happy is the best way to keep them - and the good word will soon spread around.
The one sure-fire way to lose customers is to provide incorrect information and techniques. Teaching the wrong type of methods, or methods that are too advanced, can lead to a person becoming injured. Once someone has had a bad experience from your yoga business, you will most likely lose them as a client, and then the bad word will soon spread around. Always remember to take into consideration the level in which a client is working at and don't rush them into anything too advanced.
Another good way for boosting your yoga business is to increase your reach of potential clients. You can achieve this by offering multiple levels of training. So you may want to offer yoga sessions for people who are beginners, intermediates and advanced practisers. However, if you are going to offer an advanced course, then you need to again make sure that your techniques and knowledge is advanced as well. Doing this will also allow people with no experience in yoga to begin at a steady pace and work their way up to your intimidate and advanced programs - making it a win-win situation for both you and your clients.
Providing multiple services and technically correct yoga sequences will ensure that your yoga business begins to grow at a steady pace. Once your clients are happy, they will spread the word to their family and friends about how much better they feel after attending your yoga class, which will help to grow your business to new levels.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I gone through full discussion and got much more information about promotion of yoga business with help of your yoga website. As other marketing mediums are too much expensive doing online promotion is good. I thank you all for information about yoga spreading reach to people by providing them advanced training.
Posted 1 year ago #
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