Where I teach, in Michigan, the winters are so cold that everyone saves their outside activities for summer. Most years, my student load reduces by about one-third this time of year. I used to teach in Florida, where it was the exact opposite — the summers are hot and the winters are beautiful. Kids have time, not being in school, and are used to sunny warm weather, so they start music lessons.
For the northern half of the country, once school starts and families get back into their routines, this is when we as music teachers get busy. So how do we tap into this music-teacher-searching frenzy? That is what this article is about.
Many of our old students do come back, and some of their friends sign up for lessons as well. Some people have seen our studios as well of course, but we want more! A lot of music teachers are musicians and have that mentality, but we also have to think like CEOs. Many teachers say that there are plenty of students out there, and they will eventually call. That is like wanting lobster for dinner, getting dressed up and sitting on the beach waiting for one to crawl onto your plate! There are plenty in the water.
First, all businesses have a budget or set aside some money for advertising and marketing. Think about big business — they spend millions each month in advertising, even if the business is doing poorly. (Think General Motors). They know a good marketing plan will make them more money. August and September are two of the most important months — do as much as you can afford.
The phone book is a great source, but most people don’t use it correctly. People pay to put just their name and phone number in the Yellow Pages. That is a waste of money! If there are other studios with bigger ads, why would someone call a little name and phone number? Imagine if your furnace goes out and you don’t have a company in mind you know that can fix it. Are you going to call the little name with just an address, or are you going to call a larger ad that says “serving the area for 30 years”? My point: don’t waste money. Buy the biggest ad that you can afford. Here’s another tip: In larger counties, AT&T will breakdown the Yellow Pages into areas. This makes it more affordable, AND you only need to be in your area’s phone book anyway!
I have also had a lot of success with direct mail. You can buy mailing lists for anyone in any area. Say you pick a zip code and want families that make over a certain amount of money and have kids ages 6 to 16, you can buy their names and addresses. I use infousa.com. Buy a bulk mailing permit from the post office as well — with that, any mailing over 250 currently reduces your cost from $.42 to $.216.
The key is frequency. Some people will call right away, but it may take 4 or 5 mailings for others to call.
You may also want to check out advertising in coupon books that get mailed out every month. Offer a free lesson — people go crazy for it. I find that daily newspapers are OK only if you can afford to put it in every day for August, September, and October or every Saturday or Sunday for 3 months. Otherwise, it can be a waste of money.
These are just some ways of advertising and marketing that have worked for me. They can be expensive, but if you run your studio like a business, it’s all worth it.
About the Author
Gary developed an interest in music in his early teens, and started his own music education through private lessons and group lessons taught at the local high school. Unsatisfied and wanting to continue his music education, Gary attended famed Berklee College of Music in Boston, where the musicality and quality of education was way more than he had ever experienced before. After studying performance and arranging, he focused his efforts in business. Upon graduation, Gary moved to Los Angeles to work at a major record label. He maintained his love for music education and started teaching students of all ages and levels in their homes. Gary then moved to Florida, where he taught private lessons, as well as group lessons at IMG sport academies, home of the famous Nick Bollettieri tennis academy. Seeing a need for standardized quality music education, Gary decided to make his love of music and his desire to share that with others a full time occupation, moving to the metro Detroit area and starting Sound Music Instruction (SMI.) SMI is now a fast growing music instruction business located in parts of the northern suburbs of Detroit, with plans on expansion to Seattle in the near future. You can visit SMI at http://www.soundmusicinstruction.com
