The New Wave of Marketing

When I first opened my yoga studio, I sent a monthly newsletter with our upcoming trainings and workshops and posted daily on social media about our class schedule. That was my marketing strategy.  I didn’t know what to write, how often to send emails, or what to post on social media.

For busy yoga studio owners marketing can easily fall by the wayside. It’s the thing you know you need to be doing to attract new clients, retain the ones you have and make sales –  but is the first thing on your to-do list that is put off.

And that’s because… \*You don’t have a plan  \*What do you write? \*Where should you post?  \*How often should you send an email to your list? \*You’re already writing monthly newsletters but it doesn’t seem to be converting to any sales..so why bother? If this sounds like you, I get it.  I’ve been there too. When I first opened my yoga studio, I sent a monthly newsletter with our upcoming trainings and workshops and posted daily on social media about our class schedule. That was my marketing strategy.  I didn’t know what to write, how often to send emails, or what to post on social media. I wasn’t leveraging social media to attract the right clients and nurture the relationship with my current members. I wasn’t using my email list to add value to my community and take warm leads and convert them to sales.  Not knowing what you are doing when it comes to marketing and not having a plan is the old way.  Imagine this… You sit down to write your content and know exactly what to write and feel confident that it will speak to your ideal student.  You are organized and prepared because you have a content plan with content templates and prompts. You have a schedule and know exactly what to post daily. You delegate this task to someone on your team so you can focus on what lights you up.  You are teaching a yoga class, your scheduled email is sent, and a sale comes in.  You are taking time for your practice and your scheduled social media post is posted and a sale comes in effortlessly.  This is possible for you. This is the new way.  Here are the 5 steps you need to take:  1. Get clear on your audience. *Who are they? What do they want to hear from you about? What keeps them up at night?*  Getting clear on your audience is important because you want to write content that speaks directly to them. When they read your content, your audience will think,  “yes, that is exactly what I was thinking. It’s like they are in my head and know what I need.” This is how you will create valuable content your audience wants to read. Even if at the end of an email or social media post you are offering a service, they will love reading your content because it adds value to their lives.  2. Map out what you need to market. What events, workshops or trainings do you have coming up that you want to market? Once you know what you need to promote, you can create a plan of how many pieces of content to write and where to post them. People need to see something 7-10 times before they buy so it’s okay and needed to post multiple times about an upcoming event.  3. Brainstorm titles and content ideas. The old way of marketing was making content that says, “come to my workshop/training”. The new way of content writing is speaking to the problem your audience has, relating to them, and offering them a solution. A scroll stopping piece of content starts with an eye catching title or subject line.  Here are some catchy title ideas:  **The “How to”** Prompt: How to __________  (get a result they want)  Example: How to find a consistent routine so you can calm your anxiety  Example: How to start yoga even if you can’t touch your toes **Call out their objections in the form of a question** Prompt: State their object in the form of a question  Example: Can I really do yoga if I can’t touch my toes? Example: Who else wants to try yoga without turning their body into a pretzel?  **Client Results**  Prompt: How (name) went from ______ (problem) to _______ (desired outcome)  Example: How Christine went from low back and shoulder pain to increased strength and flexibility  Example: How Kathleen went from stressed out working mama to finding “me” time  4. Create a content plan and calendar. Write out each day which piece of content you will post and where.  Now you are probably wondering how often you need to post on social media and how often should you be sending emails? I know you are concerned with overdoing it with sending too many emails and you fear being pushy, salesy, or spammy. But the truth is your people want to hear from you. They want to hear from you at least once a week via email. This is a good opportunity to remind you that when your content adds value to someones life they want to read it. When you content is talking about a problem your people face and offering a solution they want to read it.  I invite you to shift your mindset from “sending emails annoy my people” to “my people love to read my emails because they offer value and solve their problems.”  I’d recommend sending at least one email a week. If you want a few tips to keep your emails magical check out this blog: [​​https://nicoledandreaconsulting.com/blog/the-unsung-hero-of-marketing-email](https://nicoledandreaconsulting.com/blog/the-unsung-hero-of-marketing-email) As for social media, there are a few things I have to say. First, what is your intention on social media? Is it to nurture your current members? Or is it to attract new members?  Depending on your intention, your strategy will be different.  When it comes to posting on social media, consistency is key. Ask yourself, how many times can I (or my team) commit to posting consistently?  Then do that.  If social media isn’t your favorite thing, then maybe you commit to posting 2 times a week.  If you love social media, then maybe you commit to posting 5 times a week.  Everyone’s marketing strategy is unique.  5. Evaluate if your strategy is effective and adjust if needed.  It’s always important to check in with your strategy and evaluate what's working, what’s not working, and what can be improved.  If you get an email that has a high open rate and/or click rate, that’s feedback that is an effective piece of content. Congrats, all the work you’ve done to create content that adds value is working. The average open rate is between 15-20%.  If you notice most of your emails aren’t being opened, that might be a sign that you need to adjust your subject lines to speak directly to your ideal students.  And don’t worry if a few people unsubscribe every time you send an email, that’s normal. Don’t let that stop you from emailing your list at least one time a week. Make sure to check-in on your consistency to posting on social media. Were you able to sustain your consistency goal? If yes, great! Keep up the good work.  If no, either adjust your goal to be more reasonable or make a plan to hit your goal. BONUS TIP: Create a content tracker and reuse your content!! For my studio, I create a Google sheet called ‘Social Media Tracker’.  I would have a link to the piece of copy and the date I posted it on each platform. I’d reuse my content every 6 months. If I created an effective marketing campaign for Yoga Teacher Training or a special event, I’d use it again the next year.  Now that you have the 5 steps to market in the new way, remember that everyone’s marketing strategy is unique and different. The goal is to find a marketing strategy that is sustainable and effective for your studio. There is no one size fits all. It’s an exploration for you to figure out what works for your studio.  If you want to have your entire marketing plan done for 2023, then join Nicole for 365 Days of Marketing Magic. Not only will she walk you through how to do the 5 steps above, you will always get her eyes on your strategy and you will have the ability to ask her questions and receive feedback!