What steps does everyone take beside the normal one's to bring new students? What do you do that ensure that the door is always bringing new people in?
What steps to attrack new students
- Thread starter terryl965
- Start date
ArmorOfGod
Senior Master
I have been giving LOTS of free self-defense seminars at local libraries. When I do those, I contact the newspaper to get them to list the event. Every time, they list it and show up to cover it. When they run the story a few days later, I get one or two more students and more requests from libraries to do more seminars.
Recently, I did one at a library that honestly is a little bit out of range for potential students, but it got newspaper coverage, which led to a sororiety at very prestigious African-American college calling me wanting me to host a women's self defense seminar on campus. Also, it led to 3 more library based seminars (at 2 different libraries).
I am doing two anti-bully seminars this summer, and they are already generating interest.
Other than that, I write lots of self-defense and exercise based editorials for 3 of the local newspapers. At the end of each thing I write, they put my phone number and website.
Basically, I am staying in one of the local papers at all times without ever spending a dime on advertising.
AoG
AoG
Recently, I did one at a library that honestly is a little bit out of range for potential students, but it got newspaper coverage, which led to a sororiety at very prestigious African-American college calling me wanting me to host a women's self defense seminar on campus. Also, it led to 3 more library based seminars (at 2 different libraries).
I am doing two anti-bully seminars this summer, and they are already generating interest.
Other than that, I write lots of self-defense and exercise based editorials for 3 of the local newspapers. At the end of each thing I write, they put my phone number and website.
Basically, I am staying in one of the local papers at all times without ever spending a dime on advertising.
AoG
AoG
AJPerry
Yellow Belt
If you teach kids classes then hold a Game Day on a weekend.
Get your existing students to invite friends to join in. The Game day should only run for a couple of hours and it is a great day to get the existing students and their parents involved.
Any friends that are brought along should be given a take-home pack with a certificate for attending and contact info for the parents if they wish to sign their kids up for your regular lessons.
Because they already know people in the class the success rate for adding new kids this way is very high. They also tend to stay as they bond quickly with the rest of the group.
I have written a Manual of Martial Games that are great to use if you want to run a Game Day.
Cheers
AJ
www.martialgames4kids.com
Get your existing students to invite friends to join in. The Game day should only run for a couple of hours and it is a great day to get the existing students and their parents involved.
Any friends that are brought along should be given a take-home pack with a certificate for attending and contact info for the parents if they wish to sign their kids up for your regular lessons.
Because they already know people in the class the success rate for adding new kids this way is very high. They also tend to stay as they bond quickly with the rest of the group.
I have written a Manual of Martial Games that are great to use if you want to run a Game Day.
Cheers
AJ
www.martialgames4kids.com
It is important to have a year round advertising plan... based on the months holidays and spring time summer time.. back to school.. and make you marketing fit in with the time of year.. it will show your school is in touch with your community ..
Glenn
Glenn
Sorry for the additional post I can't edit my posts lol
here is another thread with some good ideas in it
http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=59360
Glenn
here is another thread with some good ideas in it
http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=59360
Glenn
I dunno Terry, I generally try not to attack new students. 
j/k
The biggest thing that we do is just the follow up phone call. Nothing out of the ordinary. A lot of specialized one on one attention for the first few lessons. Bringing new students in the door....actually, our change of location is what did the best for that.
j/kThe biggest thing that we do is just the follow up phone call. Nothing out of the ordinary. A lot of specialized one on one attention for the first few lessons. Bringing new students in the door....actually, our change of location is what did the best for that.
OP
- Thread Starter
- #7
I dunno Terry, I generally try not to attack new students.
The biggest thing that we do is just the follow up phone call. Nothing out of the ordinary. A lot of specialized one on one attention for the first few lessons. Bringing new students in the door....actually, our change of location is what did the best for that.
What steps does everyone take beside the normal one's to bring new students? What do you do that ensure that the door is always bringing new people in?
I said bring not attrack where did you get that from :erg:
Sneaky sneaky. Unless I'm really just crazy! Oh...I just saw the "r." OOPS!!!
Getting them in the door is the hardest part unfortunately. Of course keeping them is a whole different story. At one of my schools, the yearly parade that we do brings in a few new people...basically just a walking demo, but they get to see the cool stuff and it is in the same town.
OH! I forgot. I just heard about a program that someone had. He runs it continuously (i.e. back to back programs). It is a 4-6 week program. Fairly short classes (kids only). Basically the parents pay a small charge and the kids get a fun time. It is mainly martial arts games kind of stuff. They get lots of recognition...awards, etc....it is also done in a location no where near the school. At the end of the class, they're invited to the school and many of them come and stay.
We've been doing some stuff with movies lately, like Kung Fu Panda & Star Wars. I did a post on what we did, works REALLY well! Here: http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=67035
thekuntawman
Purple Belt
theres some good books on marketing and business and sales you can get, my favorite ones by jay conrad levinson. you should look at some of them, they have lots of good ideas.
anyway, i think the best way to keep students coming to your place is to have a plan, which is lots of things (its not going to be one or two things to help your business, but its going to be a lot of things)
anyway, i think the best way to keep students coming to your place is to have a plan, which is lots of things (its not going to be one or two things to help your business, but its going to be a lot of things)
- you have to have a good website. me, i have five, and i have a guy who is making three more. one for each kind of student i want to bring in. check them out (www.angelfire.com/co2/gatdula, www.angelfire.com/wizard/typhoon, www.typhoonma.com, www.yubacitykarateschool.com, and im not going to post the last one for my own reason) im not an educated man, so i pay somebody to write them for me. my first website was made by a 13 year old, my little brother, and it made me thousands of dollars. my new web guy only charges $500 for a small website, and i love it. let me know if you want his email address, hes the best
- you always have to have flyers out there. i change my flyers all the time, and i have flyers for each class in my school, and i have flyers for each kind of students, even for the neighborhood im going to pass them in.
- i pay 3 homeless guys to stand on the corner to hold a "martial arts, 916-xxx-xxx" sign for me in different places. that only cost me $60 a day, but they made lots of new students for me.
- go and win a few tournaments. my first students when i came to sacramento were guys i beat in the tournaments, and now they are instructors under me. its good for your reputation, and keeps you in shape. we also have some ranked students that are on the circuit. your reputation is the number one thing for you as a teacher.
- buy 10 corrogated signs with your information (i get 18 x 24) and put them at busy lights on the grass. its about $200, but thousands people a day will see them.
- make sure everybody who knows you, knows you are a teacher. they call this the 6 foot rule, andybody standing 6 feet away from you should know who you are. last week, i was in peir 39 san francisco at a restaurant, and guess what, the waiter knows who i am (i paid with my typhoon credit card) thats good for business. another time, in a chinese restaurant, the owner of the restaurant asked me for a demonstration because he knew me. it was double ten (taiwan independant day) so it was packed. i did it, and got some students. you can find students anywhere.
- tell your students to bring their friends in, invite them to your tournaments, they will get excited and want to join.
- make special classes not just regular classes. i have a weight lost class at 8 a.m., 4 days a week, and its 200 a month. one of my guys already lost 35 pounds, and his firends want to train now. i have a "fight night" two times a month. its free if you just want to fight, but if i train you its going to be $75 for the class. every month we get visitors from another school, sometimes they join, sometimes they dont. but the word will spread. you can also do a special class just for one weapon or one form, or one technique.
- do flyers every week. i do thats why i'm never broke. its best to ask a store owner to tape it to his window instead of leaving a stack (save the flyers for cars and apartments)
- i recommend you read this two websites, http://www.marketingmartialarts.com/ and http://www.martialartsteachers.com/ they are two of the best places to learn business. i wish i had that when i open my first school almost 20 years ago. the second one you have to pay 25 bucks a month, but its worth it. they even give you flyers to use, the owners of the sites are genius.
a great post! and two great links, me thinks!
