Posts Tagged ‘Effective Marketing’

First, if you haven’t read the manual yet, then read the following article before you start implementing this marketing plan.

“Marketing Basics for Martial Arts School Owners”

What follows is a marketing plan I wrote for July, but it will give you a good idea of how to write your own 5 x 15 plans throughout the year.

Once you read it, it should be painfully obvious that you don’t need a billing or consulting company to do this for you. You can easily come up with a workable, effective marketing plan that is customized to your needs, just by setting aside 30 minutes once a month to do so.

5 x 15 Marketing Plan: July, 20__: Read the rest of this entry »

Don’t Get Too Comfortable With Your Success – A Small Amount of Worry Is A Healthy Thing

"Do it now!" is Brian Tracy's favorite maxim, and mine as well. And, I would also add, "Plan for it now!" - read this article to find out why.

One of the most difficult truths to convey to instructors is the fact that complacency will destroy your business.

I very nearly learned this lesson the hard way a few years after opening my first school. When I opened that school, the main challenge I faced was overcoming the negative impressions previous schools had left on the local community.

However, after about six months I was able to develop a positive reputation as an honest school that provided quality martial arts instruction. I enjoyed a period of a few years in which I was the sole full-time school in the area.

Yet, this period was to be short-lived as two chains (one local, one national) opened branch locations in my town in the following years. And, it caught me completely by surprise.

Ah, complacency. It can sneak up and hamstring you if you’re not careful. Let’s examine what we need to do to stay on our toes without going crazy with worry.
Read the rest of this entry »

Current Month’s Marketing Plan

A Few General Notes on Effective Online and Offline Marketing For Martial Arts Schools

It's back-to-school time... do you know where your kids are?

For those of you who weren’t members last month, read the article on Becoming an Expert Marketer so you understand the concepts behind this marketing plan. Pay particular attention to the “Marketing Base” concept, and keep it in mind as you implement this marketing plan.

As a standard goal for your monthly marketing activities, you should be generating at least 25-30 leads a month. If not, you need to first EXPAND your marketing by implementing the marketing plans provided to you on this site each month. And, not just some of it… do all of it. That’s the first step in achieving effective marketing for your school.

Expected Results And Trouble-Shooting Your Marketing… Read the rest of this entry »

“Are You Nuts? You Want Me To Give Away Free Classes?”

It's easy to get focused on your current students and forget you need to attract new ones. Using guest referral passes is the second most effective marketing method among martial art school owners.

In the recent survey I posted on my blog and in the member forums, guest passes (sometimes called VIP passes) came in at number two as the most effective form of advertisement and marketing for martial art school owners. This doesn’t surprise me a bit, as I’ve been using guest passes as an effective form of marketing since I was first introduced to them in the late 90′s.

Of course, my first reaction to using them was probably similar to that of most instructors. “What? You want me to give away free classes? Are you nuts?” The thing is, I was networking with some very successful instructors at the time, and I was able to verify the effectiveness of guest pass programs firsthand by observing their results. And, soon after I learned how to effectively implement them in my own school, we found they were in fact a great way to get new students.

Basic Concepts For Using Guest Passes Effectively

A few key points about using guest passes that will greatly enhance their effectiveness as a marketing method for your school… Read the rest of this entry »