Posts Tagged ‘Arts Marketing’

A Primer On Martial Arts Marketing In The Digital Age

New to online marketing? Don't worry, I've got you covered in this article.

Martial arts marketing has changed dramatically over the last several years – a fact I’ve pointed out over and over again on this site and my blog.

Without knowing how you need to market in these changing times, you’re sunk. No matter how much you long for the days when the yellow pages were king, those days are long gone.

So, what’s an old-school marketer to do?

Not to worry – I’ve got you covered. All you need to know is where to put those skills to use in today’s digital marketing age.

This article should serve as a primer to help those of you who are “old-school” to catch up with the young guns who grew up with a keyboard in their crib. Read on and see just how you can market your school using old-school techniques in the age of the internet… Read the rest of this entry »

“Work” – The Dirty Word in Martial Arts Marketing

Work.

It’s that dirty little four-letter word associated with martial arts marketing in all its varied forms. There’s no avoiding it, and no denying it.

Marketing your studio takes work.

Yet, without marketing you’re dead in the water. Just as a fisherman can’t catch fish without casting a net or line, you can’t expect to get leads and clients without doing any marketing.

And, just because it takes time and effort to market your school, that doesn’t give you an excuse to ignore or avoid it. In fact, if anything it should be the first thing you knock out every day, since it’s often the most time-intensive activity each day.

Why I Look Forward To Doing My Marketing

Yes, I actually look forward to doing the marketing for my martial arts business. Why? Because I’ve invested enough time and effort into it that I’m good at it, and because of that I know there’s a reward at the end of every successful campaign I invest my time and effort into.

Notice, I didn’t say, “Invest money into.” That’s because with today’s technology, it actually costs very little to market a small business… if you know what you’re doing.

Yet, I have coaching clients who are anything but marketing geniuses who are successfully using technologies like blogging, social media, and email to market their schools and studios – and to great effect.

In fact, if you check out the MASAI site updates that appear later in this article, you’ll find out how to market your school for around $60 a month. Seriously. Read the rest of this entry »

Selling The Intangible Benefits of Martial Arts Training

This month's martial arts marketing materials can be downloaded from the member's download area.

When marketing martial arts classes for children, you should be aware of what motivates parents to spend money on extracurricular activities for their children.

If you believe parents are motivated by the same motivating factors that get children interested in martial arts, you’re way off base.

In fact, parents motivations for enrolling their children in martial arts are often the exact opposite of that of their children.

Let’s examine these motivations in brief to help you better understand how to market your children’s programs to the greatest effect. Read the rest of this entry »

…And It’s When You’re On Top Of Your Martial Arts School Marketing!

It’s a fact: in martial arts business, competition doesn’t matter if you’re marketing-savvy.

I have clients who have schools right across the street from them, or down the block, etc. Many times these styles and schools are very similar in what they teach.

However, if style mattered, then it would also follow that all the businesses in other industries that sell exactly the same thing would be putting each other out of business.

Think about it – when you have a McDonald’s on one corner, a Burger King on another, and a Jack in the Box on the third, why don’t they all fail?

It’s because competition can actually be a good thing. When the big chain school down the street advertises all over town, they are raising the awareness of your product in the community. And if you can ride on that wave, it can help you tremendously. Read the rest of this entry »

Understanding Lead Capture and Autoresponders for Online Marketing of Your Martial Art School

Martial arts marketing using autoresponders, email, and lead capture is easy when you understand how to use technology to get the most from your marketing. But what exactly is an autoresponder? And what is lead capture? For those of you who are new to online marketing for local businesses, “lead capture” refers to using an online form that provides an incentive for site visitors to subscribe to your newsletter or email list. And, an autoresponder is an automated service that uses a web-based software program to automatically send out follow-up messages to your captured leads (your email list). In addition to capturing leads and following up automatically, most paid email autoresponder services allow you to efficiently manage your contact lists and send out newsletters (called “broadcasts”) to your list with just a few clicks of the mouse. This is a useful and valuable feature that by itself makes paying $20 0r $30 a month for an autoresponder worthwhile.

Why Use Paid Services Instead of “Free” Solutions?

As I’ve often said, “free” isn’t free if it Read the rest of this entry »

Getting The Most From Your Referrals

This month's martial arts marketing ads can be found in the member's download area.

Valentine’s Day means a lot of different things to different people. For some, it’s time to start looking for a date for the 14th; for others, it’s time to book reservations for dinner with the significant other or spouse…

But for martial art school owners, it’s time to market your programs using guest pass referral cards.

It’s no secret that kids have to give out Valentine’s Day cards to their friends on Valentine’s Day. They’re in the mood to give stuff away anyway – why not give them a gift to place in their cards as well?

If you’ll look in the member’s download section, you’ll find a professionally designed card template that’s perfect for this purpose. Print them on full color card stock along with your school info, and provide them to parents to use in lieu of buying cards for Valentine’s Day for their kids.

So, now you know how to use those cards to get leads and trials… But how do you convert them and keep them coming back?

Here are some vital tips and tricks to make sure you get the most from your guest pass referrals – and not just during February, but all year long. Read the rest of this entry »

Using Testimonials in Your Martial Arts Marketing

Using testimonials correctly in your martial arts marketing can greatly increase your enrollments and income.

There are many ways to market your school, and providing potential clients and customers with testimonials is one of the best ways to super-charge your martial arts marketing.

The power of testimonials should never be underestimated. In this day and age, consumers will only purchase products or pay for services they trust; typically, this means that product or service has been referred to them by people they know.

Since this is something that the small business owner has no control over, he has to do the next best thing… which is to get testimonials from his past clients.

Benefits of Using Testimonials

There are many benefits to collecting and using testimonials in your marketing:
Read the rest of this entry »

How to Turn Resolutions Into Enrollments

This month's martial arts marketing ads are available in the member's download area.

The New Year is a great time for adult enrollments if you’re a martial art school owner.

The reason? People are making New Year’s resolutions to lose weight, get in shape, and start a regular exercise plan.

Many of these people have tried the big box gyms, workout DVDs, dieting, and other popular ways to lose weight or get in shape in the past, often with mixed results.

That means many people are open to trying something new. Maybe in the past they got bored, lost interest, or needed someone to help them stay motivated to stick with their program.

And, that’s what makes martial arts training the perfect answer for people who want to stay active by doing an activity that will keep their interest.

Your job is to get that marketing message across to local consumers during the month of January. We’ve designed the ad for this month to be in lock-step with the message that martial arts training offers a great workout that is never dull. That means step #1 of marketing fitness in the New Year has already been done for you.

So what’s step number 2?
Read the rest of this entry »

Not Following The Monthly Marketing System To The “T”? Reading The Following May Change Your Mind…

Recently I coached one of our members on setting up a marketing system. Check out this video to see the results of him implementing the system:

Just the other day, Tony posted his final results for the MASAI 30-Day Challenge in the forums:

Well, I hit it and a few over. I’m sitting on 34 this month. This is the crazys month ever. I have got around 36 infos this month. I have had some busy months before but I don’t think any like this. Thanks for your help!

Hmmm… from 3 or 4 enrollments a month to 34 in one month. There must be some amazing secret, right? I bet you’re wondering, what was this mysterious system we implemented?
Read the rest of this entry »

The Holidays are Coming Up, So We’re Advertising… Fitness?

This month's martial arts marketing ads and fliers can be downloaded in the member's area.

There’s a good reason why we’re marketing fitness this month, and why this month’s ad is designed the way it is.

I know, I know – October to December is when everyone eats a lot of turkey and ham, watches a lot of sports on TV, eats a lot of junk food, is caught up with traveling to see relatives and attending parties, goes off their diet…

Hmmm… are you starting to see the wisdom of positioning your school as a fun place for people to get fit NOW before folks pack on those holiday pounds?

That’s right – by advertising fitness now, not only will you enroll some adults in your classes immediately, you’ll also be “priming the pump” for this January when everyone and their cousin is looking for cool, non-boring ways to keep their New Year resolutions to lose weight and get in shape. Read the rest of this entry »

Easy Online Martial Arts Marketing Methods You May Have Overlooked

All your online marketing and activity should be a sign pointing customers to your martial art school.

There has never been a better time for martial arts marketing, because it’s never been easier to get the word out about your school. Online marketing and modern technology can take the grunt work out of promoting your programs.

Still, I know that many of you may not be leveraging the internet as well as you might to market your school. With all the different ways you can market your school online, it’s easy to get caught up with the more obvious marketing methods, and overlook the subtler and simpler ways to promote your school that are sitting right under your nose.

So, with that in mind here are several relatively quick and easy ways to boost your online marketing while barely lifting a finger (well, except to hit a few keys).
Read the rest of this entry »

As part of the MASAI 30 Students in 30 Days Challenge, I’ll be posting some special martial arts marketing articles specifically geared toward the quickest ways I know to get students and grow your school.

Today’s article is geared specifically on how to get to the top of the local search listings… FAST!

MASAI 30 Students in 30 Days Coaching Article #1: How to Get to the Top of Google Fast

Getting to the top of the Google listings is powerful, powerful stuff. And, this is the fastest way I know to get to the top of the Google search engine results, for free.

(Of course, Google Adwords will get your site seen quickly, but it takes a bit more search engine marketing technical know-how, and it costs money. Do both if you have the budget, but start with this method, first.)

It’s not hard, it just takes some work… but you can easily knock this out in an afternoon.

Here’s what you need to do:

Read the rest of this entry »

Summer Programs For Adults

Can you sell summer programs to adults? Sure you can!

Any seasonal change or event can be a reason for adults to be open to new experiences and activities, and summer is no exception. Although many parents may find they are busier during summer since their children are out of school, don’t let that keep you from marketing your programs to adults as well.

In my experience, interest in my adult programs actually tends to increase as summer draws near. This is in part due to adults wanting to get in better shape for summer.

Remember, you should also co-advertise your kid’s classes in a starburst in the corner of this month’s ad. Speak with your ad exec at your local paper, or your printer about modifying the ad with this sort of custom information.

Current Month’s Marketing Plan: Adult Summer Martial Arts Classes!

Marketing Plan for the Months of May – June 2010 Read the rest of this entry »

How to Create a Lead Generating Machine In Under 90 Days… (Almost) For Free!

Most everyone asks me about martial arts marketing; or more specifically, how to get more students into their school. This seems to be a universal problem for school owners across the country.

For the majority of school owners, the main challenge with regards to getting more students is getting your programs in front of enough people (in other words, lead generation).

This is typically due to one of two issues:

1. A lack of or inadequate amount of marketing -
2. Ineffective marketing -

More often than not, with new school owners they aren’t marketing enough due to lack of funds with which to do so. Ten years ago, I’d have told any such school owner to get out and do some flyering and door hangers, an extremely time-intensive (but usually very effective) task.

Thankfully, we now live in an internet age where everyone has a world of potential customers at their fingertips. The question is, how do you reach them?

Well, that’s what this article is going to explain. Read the rest of this entry »

How To Become A Top School By Focusing On The “Big Five” Principles of Martial Arts School Management

Just like learning martial arts, launching and growing a school simply requires focusing on the correct "technique"

Running a martial arts school successfully is really pretty simple – it’s getting your school off the ground that is the hard part. Even so, the same principles that allow you to manage a school effectively are the very same principles needed to get you through your launch period.

Think it’s complicated? It’s really not… launching and growing your school is really just a matter of staying focused on the “Big Five” areas of martial arts school management.

No matter where you are in the business life-cycle, I recommend that every month you should review your current operations as they relate to each of the “Big Five” management principles, then pick one crucial thing to implement/improve upon in each area, and then repeat this process every month thereafter.

By the way, the “Big Five” areas are: Read the rest of this entry »