After you've got your yoga studio up and running, your next step is to start marketing it aggressively. You can take advantage of free sources of advertising as well as ads that vary in cost to get to your target market.
Instructions
1. Approach large businesses in your area to ask if you can do yoga classes during lunch break. Many big companies are focusing on having healthy, productive employees, and you may be able to help them with this by teaching relaxation yoga classes to the employees a couple times a week. Make sure to hand out information about your yoga studio while you're there.
2. Talk to apartment complex office staff and homeowner's associations and inquire about teaching your yoga classes at their community centers. If they don't have the space or desire for that, maybe they will allow you to come in and give a seminar about how yoga can help the residents. Give out coupons and information about your yoga studio at these events.
3. Organize a holistic health fair in your area. This will help you develop a rapport with other local business owners in the health, fitness and alternative medicine arenas as well as give you a chance to showcase your new yoga studio to prospective yoga clients.
4. Search the Internet for local publications such as coupon books, magazines, newspapers and newsletters that specialize in alternative health services, physical fitness and natural foods. Contact these publications, whether they are online or in print, to find out what their advertising rates are. These ads will reach your target audience, depending on the type of yoga studio you are running (holistic or fitness-oriented).
5. Create your own website. People are becoming more computer savvy and often look to the Internet first when searching for local services. Submit the website for your yoga studio to Google and other search engines for placement on their free local search directories.
6. Network with other business owners in your area. Many localities have groups of business owners looking to expand their business, so if you're willing to refer your yoga clients to others in the group, this can be an option for you. You can also get involved with your local Chamber of Commerce. If you live in a metropolitan area, there are most likely groups specializing in alternative medicine, mental health, physical fitness and healthy living, and this type of networking can benefit your greatly. Giving free sample yoga sessions to these professionals may win you some referrals.
7. Consider offering discounts or coupons to first-time yoga clients. To retain clients, you can offer package deals or frequent customer discounts.
8. Make flyers to put in other businesses that complement your yoga studio, like massage therapy clinics, fitness centers and vitamin shops. You can distribute flyers made from a quarter-sheet page with your logo, hours, location, phone number and a short list of services to these businesses for them to put out in their lobbies or give out to their customers. You may want to put a coupon on the flyer as well. If you have a healthy food delivery service in your area, see if they will give out your flyers with each delivery in exchange for a few free yoga sessions.
