You’re ready to get started with your music teaching studio but you’re not exactly sure how to advertise private music lessons. What you do know, however, is that students – ones that really want to learn – are an essential piece of the pie, so it’s important to give advertising some extra thought and to allot the money needed for good marketing.
How and where to market music lessons
Most people think about “ads” when they think about marketing any sort of business. Ads – short for advertisements – are certainly one way to go and a tried-and-true method for many who are marketing music lessons. But where do you place them and what should they include?
Print Advertising
If you are interested in print advertising, you can design your own ad with guidance from those who have experience doing it, like the experts at Music Profits. You might consider using a quality design program like Canva, which is quite user-friendly, even for beginners. Give careful thought to the message you wish to convey and, remember, you don’t need to give all the details in your ad, just enough to make them want to call or email you for more information.
Local Newspaper Advertising
If you believe advertising in a newspaper will be advantageous, you can speak with an ad representative at your local paper or other publication to determine what works best in regards to a music class advertisement option offered in print. The rep can educate you as to what ad size might be best and which would give you the most return on investment, whether or not to use graphics, and what text should be included in your ad. You can try placing an add for a short period of time when you’re starting out and consider extending it if it’s helping you acquire new students.
Newspapers, of course, aren’t the only spot for print ads and, in some areas, newspapers are very passé and not widely read. Many readers are going online to read their news.
Advertising In Community Newsletters
So, instead, consider trying something different. Do any of your local communities have homeowner’s associations that put out monthly newsletters? If so, they are the ideal place to advertise as the newsletters go to every household in the community, unlike most newspapers, which are for subscribers only. The cost of advertising in these publications is usually quite low and, usually, you can purchase a full-page ad or a portion of a page.
Advertising With Fliers
How about printing your ad on fliers or posters and hanging them on community bulletin boards in stores, churches, synagogues, or other places where people go for information about such things? You can attach business cards or provide pull-off strips at the bottom of the flier, which will include your contact information.
Advertising Music Lessons Online
Of course, ads don’t only come in print form these days. You can likely determine how to get more piano students (or whatever instrument you’re teaching) by making wise use of the internet.
So, suppose you want to place guitar lessons advertisements on a social media platform like Facebook. How do you do it? And how much should you spend?
Using Facebook Ads
Sites like Facebook offer plenty of guidance for designing music lesson ads and the site even helps you direct that ad to the people most likely to click on it and take action. Countless individuals and companies have had huge success with such ads, especially when they’re well-designed attention grabbers.
Have A Music Teacher’s Website For Your Studio
You’ll also need to build a website, which will allow prospective students to “take a look at you” before they sign up. Any ads you place should direct interested parties to this website. Be sure it is well-done and consider hiring a professional to design it if you’re having trouble producing an interesting and informative site.
On your music studio website, include personal information about you and your experience and some preliminary info about lessons. It’s not always a good idea to include your rates as potential students will only see a number and not how that number relates to the value and expertise you bring to the table.
Music Profits has experience in building successful websites for music teachers and can help you build a beautiful but affordable website that works extremely well in attracting your ideal students to book in for music lessons.
Designing a high-quality ad that works
So, how do you design guitar lessons advertisements or ads that will get more piano students to take action?
Information to include
First, think about what you’d like prospective students to know about you. For example, you might list bullet points that highlight your best attributes or other factors that will attract students, such as:
- 25 years’ experience playing guitar
- Public school teacher for 20 years
- Experience working with children (or adults)
- Has performed at the city’s top venues
- Flexible hours
- Competitive rates
- Conveniently located in ________
Don’t write long paragraphs! Ads should include short blurbs that are easy to read.
Include an image if it is relevant and engaging
A photo or other graphic is fine if you believe it’s pertinent to your success. For example, if you’re well-known as a performer in your area, you might include a picture. If you have a snappy graphic that’ll attract attention, use it. Just remember that it’s not necessary and your space might be better used for more text.
Again, don’t hesitate to call on experts that can help you come up with the best music class advertisement possible. These individuals know how to advertise private music lessons and other services and can certainly point you in the right direction as you ponder how you want your ad to look.
Using a strong “Call To Action” will help your ad succeed
However, you should be sure to include a “call to action” in the ad, one that will motivate prospective students to pick up the phone and contact you. Sentences such as “Call by Sept. 10 and receive a free lesson” or “Call this week and your lesson books are free” can really prompt students to make that phone call NOW rather than later.
How will they contact you?
Also, include contact information that will allow students to reach you in a timely manner. For example, don’t use your email for marketing music lessons if you seldom check your messages. No one likes to wait days to be answered when they send out a message of interest, and delaying your response is a good way to lose out on potential students.
Other ways to find private music students
While advertising has long been a successful way for marketing music lessons, there are other options as well.
Advertising at local schools
For example, if you’re wondering how to get more piano students in your local area, you can tap your current contacts (or make new ones) at nearby schools (public and private) and universities for names of potential students. Many schools compile lists of music teachers in the area and are eager to share them with parents of children and teens (though you may be subject to a background check first). Call the schools to see what it takes to get onto their approved list of private music teachers.
They may even have a school newsletter in which you can place an advertisement for music lessons. If you need to pay them a small fee to advertise in their newsletter, this may turn out to be a great investment into finding new music students!
Run introductory music classes for your instrument
A fun way for marketing music lessons and securing students is to offer a free group class (or classes) to the general public. (You might include info this in the above-mentioned ad you place online or in a newspaper.) Group classes (or master classes) offer basic info on the instrument you teach and also allows prospective students to meet you and observe your teaching methods, just to see if you’re a good match for them. You might also ask some of your current students to perform, but be sure they are ready for their public debut!
Word of mouth advertising is a powerful way of promoting your music lessons
Word-of-mouth is a great advertising method, but you could go one step further by inviting your current students to bring a prospective student (or two) to their lesson to observe. If you choose to do this, consider an incentive for your current student if their invitee signs up for lessons and sticks with it. For example, you can offer two free lessons for anyone who refers a student who stays for at least 6 months. You can also give an ongoing discount to the student who makes the referral, perhaps a percentage off their regular tuition.
As is evident, there are myriad ways to market your music teaching services. Some will work for you. Others won’t. Once you better understand how to advertise YOUR private music lessons, your schedule will be bursting at the seems in no time at all and you’ll be on your way to a profitable career in teaching music.