Innovative Advertising

Last week I took an online training course to become a certified teacher of a new music program at my studio.  A great deal of time was spent on marketing, and teachers from all over weighed in and gave fantastic, orginal ideas that have helped them grow their studio effectively.  Here’s a few ideas I learned that I thought were worth sharing as we begin advertising for “back to school” at our studios:

• Sample Classes-Set up a freebie class at your local library or community center for students to “sample” what you’re offering.  Bring enrollment forms and studio policy, and perhaps consider offering a one-time discount to families who sign up following the sample class.

• Bring a Friend to Class Day-Once each semester, invite students to bring a friend with them to their class.  My daughter’s ballet class does this and each semester, I noticed that at least one of the friends that was invited to class ended up enrolling in lessons.

• Branding-Pay to have a logo created for your studio, so that it becomes recognizable in the community.  Use it to make bumper stickers for your car, advertise in magazines and newspapers, and on brochures and flyers.  It will make your advertising more memorable to potential customers.

• Speaking Engagements-Contact your local branch of MOPS or MOMS Club.  Once a month they have meetings with speakers who discuss topics relevant to moms of young kids.  You could give a presentation on the importance of music or movement at a young age.  Bring along brochures for your studio and enrollments, and again, offer a one-time special for parents who enroll following your presentation.

• Collaborate-While you obviously wouldn’t want to advertise with someone selling the same services, you could advertise with someone offering similar services to help offset costs.  I teach piano and purchased a large ad in a parenting magazine last spring with a local guitar and Music Together teacher.  The opportunity to purchase a large ad was more affordable since three people were going in on it together.

• Event Booths-If your town has farmer’s markets, fairs, or festivals, consider setting up a booth with your materials.  Bring along rhythm instruments or a keyboard and lead them in a song or rhythm ensemble, or if you offer dance lessons perhaps have a few older students in costume give a short performance.  This would be another opportunity to collaborate with other studios in the area offering similar services to make your booth more exciting and interesting.

What about you?  Do you have any unique, effective advertising ideas you’d like to share?