How To Reach New Yoga Students

Call me a fanatic, but I love looking at yoga flyers, those little postcards that advertise and market yoga studios.  In their most humble form they might have the name of the yoga studio and an address printed on a colored sheet of paper.

At the other end of the spectrum are elaborate pieces featuring truly beautiful people doing seemingly impossible poses.  They are glossy and colorful but often not worth the pricey paper they are printed on.

I always ask myself one question when I look at flyers, or any other yoga marketing piece, “Why Would I Want To Go Here?”

Sure if I see a beautiful person doing yoga I can appreciate the aesthetic, the lines, and their athleticism.  I’ve seen so many of these types of pieces that there most be an inherent belief in the inspirational value of the image.

Do some yoga studio owners believe that just by looking at such a photo students will come running to their studio?  Yes, the photos might seem to say, “Look at this beautiful body in this beautiful pose, wouldn’t you like to look like this to?  Come and let us show you how.”  Of course they just as readily say, “You are going to be surrounded by perfect bodies like this at this yoga studio,” which to a new student is VERY intimidating, to say the least.

Reality check here.  Your target market is probably female because 70% of the yoga population is.  As women, when we think of scary situations, getting dressed up in tight exercise wear, doing something we know nothing about, in front of amazing looking strangers, would rank right up there with giving birth in front of our co-workers.

If this is the case, why does so much advertising feature scantily clad beautiful women.  That’s easy, most (90%) of ad agency directors are male and their clients are predominantly male.  However, the customers they are trying to reach are overwhelmingly female.  This is not to say there aren’t men who understand women, but for many of them, they aren’t even aware of the difference.

As you evaluate your yoga marketing strategy, decide whom you are marketing to–new or existing students.  With existing students you know they “get yoga”, but most of them already practice at another studio and will need to a compelling reason to switch.

In America, in 2008, 15.8 million people were practicing yoga (according to the survey commissioned by the Yoga Journal).  Another 18.3 million said they are “very or extremely interested” in doing yoga, and 9.4 million of those plan to try yoga in the next year.  In other words, you have more non-practitioners extremely interested in doing yoga, than people who currently practice yoga.  Wow!

So how do you connect with these potential new students?  Here are some tips:

• Speak Directly to New Students If the “beautiful people flyer” might work with existing students, then what’s needed for beginner’s is Dove’s “Real Women” campaign.  Real women practicing yoga.
• Use Testimonials There’s a basic adage that says if you say something about your own business, it’s advertising.  If someone else says something it’s true.
• Inform and Educate This is one of the key purposes of having a great looking website with strong content.  We want to read, study and learn about your studio before we ever get there.  At the very least let students know what to bring, how to get to the studio and when to arrive.
• Make It Safe Ideally as a new, beginning student, I’d like to know there are other people like me in the class.  I also want to ensure I’m going to be able to do the practice somewhat and that I’ll feel welcomed.

As you apply these tips to your current marketing and advertising efforts don’t be surprised when more new students start finding your studio.

Tagged as: Branding