How can you best promote a music class? I get the best results for my classes by publicizing them myself, so here are some of my methods. Certainly some of you will have your own and we would all appreciate your sharing them with us by adding a comment at the end of this post.
For me, very little help comes from the publicity (even the catalog) of the community music school where I teach most of my classes, or the publicity of the music store where I also teach. I could sit and blame them, or request reimbursement for my advertising expenses, but the truth is that I benefit more from just doing it and paying for it myself.
Below are some of the ways I publicize, and I have to admit that I only do what’s practical for me–I’m not a publicity machine. I’m going to discuss publicity ideas in this post, but in another post I will talk about curriculum, which is a way to populate classes by encouraging students to move up to another class or try a new class or workshop with a different angle. Also in another post I will discuss how I make flyers and what software I use – it’s not much publicized, so it’s pretty inexpensive but works brilliantly.
The most immediate response I’ve gotten from publicity for classes is via the radio. Our local community radio station, run by the state university, has many DJs playing a variety of music. Several of them have been open to doing interviews with me; one in particular has a standing invitation for me to drop in. Mostly I chat but I happen to also bring my fiddle with me and play a few tunes. I can also have them play a track from my CD. It’s fun, and I get to offer radio listeners contact information about learning an instrument, as well as get my own website or phone number out to the public. You can’t always gauge the impact of a radio appearance except that twice I’ve had two listeners sign up for a class the very same day I went on a mid-morning radio show.
Some of my students have told me of locations where they saw a flyer, so I try to post flyers in those and other locations: a popular pizza place, coffee shops with bulletin boards, a ferry terminal where people have time to kill so they look at posted flyers, a bookstore, laundromat, community college, art school. If they let you, post something at a cafeteria for a business.
A full-page flyer is common but a half-page sheet, if the lettering is easy to read, can be easier to post and less likely to be blocked by someone else’s flyer. A quarter-size sheet can be more cheaply copied and placed in small stacks on the counters or tables of some willing shops such as local coffeeshops or eateries. Depending on the location, it can be helpful to put up a flyer with tear-off strips that people can take with them to remind them of the class and contact info. I’ve seen this work well for some musicians but have not found it all that useful myself.
Another publicity idea is to email info about upcoming classes to local newspapers – ones where you live as well as papers where you teach, if different locations. Sometimes they will publish it as you send it in; if you do it regularly, they may decide at some point to come out and interview you. They’re always looking for material about local residents, businesses and activities.
If you perform, remember to mention that you teach, and put out some cards or flyers. I have to confess that just last night I did a show and completely forgot about this until someone asked me afterwards if I teach. It was probably because the place was so familiar that it felt like everybody knew me–but there are always people who don’t know you, so (do what I say, not what I do!) it’s worth mentioning your teaching and website, knowing that there are interested strangers present. It can also be helpful to leave a sheet out at the show for people to list their emails or phones so you can contact them. You can even include check boxes for them to indicate if they’re interested in lessons/classes or in upcoming performances, so you can distinguish who to contact about what.
Demonstrations at schools for a fee or for free, accompanied by flyers about you and your teaching, can be great for kids, and for you as well when they ask their parents for your class or lessons. Some schools require a fair number of copies in order for kids to take flyers home, and often school officials require flyers to only promote a nonprofit organization, which works if you teach at a community music school. However, many times if you yourself do a demonstration, the school doesn’t mind giving flyers to the kids who attended.
Finally (though there are many other ideas and again, I hope you’ll share some of yours below), I’ve created students for some classes by combining some private students or former students into a new class. This provides variety to you and the students, and is especially nice for the summer, or even for short periods during the year. Educationally it’s good for students to work with others. You might wonder about losing income by losing private students to a class, but keep in mind that first, students appreciate your willingness to look out for their best interest, saving them some money and providing a fun alternative or complement to private lessons – so the result might be longer-term students and more word-of-mouth publicity for you; and second, this can open up some key lesson times for more private students while earning you more per hour by teaching a group of students together in a class.
First of all, my best wishes for your music class. The tips you have provided are really useful. I liked the template too. Keep posting such stuff.
Ed- This is a great start. I receive hundreds of applications each month to work with us at takelessons.com and I often inquire to what is working with teachers so I can share it with our current teachers. A big opportunity is the local church people are a part of. It should definitely be on the list of org’s to work with.