Which methods of advertising worked for you?

[rebeccapiano]

Dear all,

I've just opened the doors to my new studio and I'm starting from scratch, looking for my own students (rather than working in a shared space where I was already given a few students). I'd love to here which methods of advertising were most effective in your experience.

[lilla]

Targeted post card mailing.  You can get postcards from vista print online.  I targeted the neighborhood closest to the local elementary school and received several new students.  I did some random advertising - church bulletin, school pocket folders and got a few students from that. From then on, student referrals has kept my schedule full, but it took several years to get to that point.

[Bob]

Word of mouth is best.  You get the ad plus an endorsement from someone who knows someone.

Performing.  Mention or have it listed somewhere that you're a teacher. 

[dinulip]

My daughter designed a simple, yet very nice website for me.  I made sure that the name of my 'school' (which is really my dining room  ) would include the name of my neighbourhood and the words 'piano school'.  Most people living nearby who look for a piano teacher on the internet type in the words 'piano lessons' and our  ;Dneighbourhood's name.  Result : they fall inevitably onto my link!   

Apart from that, I post some attractive glossy cards (size of a postcard) stating my credentials on various billboards in my neighbourhood, and I advertise daily on our local Kijiji (under 'music lessons') and Craigslist websites.

There is also that piano teacher who found my website and sent me 3 or 4 students (she was moving out of town) early this year. 

I now have 40 students -- which is pretty good, I think, after only two years in the business! 

[green]

40 students! Im always amazed when i hear those numbers, how on earth do you manage that?

[florentin]

Two words: schools and churches.
Everybody wins.

[nosilla]

Yes.  Schools and Churches.  At one point I carried 78 students per week while also working part time for the school and this was ongoing for quite a while.  No advertising (outright anyway), just word of mouth and school faculty and parent endorsements. I gained on average 13 new students a year... don't know why, just it happened that way.  I started with 7 students and it just kept going up from there. 

Yes, again, schools and churches... and performing.

[Bob]

Yes, just call and ask to be included on a list if anyone asks to have a music teacher.  Some school teachers have lists of local teachers.  When someone asks for a teacher on _____ instrument, they pull out the list.

[dinulip]

40 students! Im always amazed when i hear those numbers, how on earth do you manage that?

I know -- it used to amaze me as well!  It is, however, quite simple : approximately half of them are young children who take only 30-minute lessons.  Then, I have about 8 students who take 45-minute lessons, and the rest, one hour.  I work from Monday to Friday between 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. or 9:00 p.m., and on Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

How many students do you have?

[green]

16