Marketing Tips for Yoga Teachers: The Basics

Start as a yoga teacher

It can be daunting to know where to start your career as a yoga teacher, especially now that the UK is saturated with so many good teachers. Maybe you've just achieved your 200-hour teaching certificate and want to start sharing your gift right away, or you've been qualified for a while but ready to up your game with more classes. This blog series, written by Sarah Dean (Marketing Consultant and Yoga Instructor), aims to teach you the basics of marketing most relevant to the yoga industry.

Research your yoga market

A marketing strategy aims to raise awareness and then adapt it to your business. However, before you can start planning your activities, you need to decide who you are targeting and the best way to target them. This is called market research.

You can create basic profiles of the people living in your area using a quick Google search, which typically finds data aggregated from the most recent census or local surveys. For example, if I search for “market demographics of Southfields in London,” I can quickly see the average age of the 16,256 residents, who are 34 years old. This is very different to when I google a village in Buckinghamshire where the population is 400 and the average age is over 60. Both fields will have potential students, but the greatest opportunities in each will be different. Next, you can do this analysis in more detail by simply conducting your own local research. For example, are there many mother and baby groups in the area? In this case, it makes sense to assume that there is a separate market for pregnancy or postnatal yoga.

The next step is to research what your fellow jogis are already doing in the area. Who offers yoga classes and in which styles? At what price and at what times on what days? This will give you a good idea of ​​where the gap in the market is. Setting up a Vinyasa flow class on a Wednesday evening is harder to fill when there are already two to choose from in the area. However, on a Friday evening there may be a gap for slow flow vinyasa or yin for those who want to relax after a busy week. Try to figure out what needs you are meeting for the people in the community.

If you want to stick with your favorite style of yoga, there are always ways to find a niche in a busy market. For example, there are many Hatha classes in the area, but does anyone offer Hatha yoga for runners? This targets a portion of the market and may appeal to those who want something that specifically benefits them. Of course, you first need to make sure there is an appropriately sized running community in your area. Therefore, it is also important to look for local running clubs.

Finding such a niche or unique selling point (USP) can be an extremely helpful way to make your classes stand out. Is there anything else in life that could inform you about this? Even if you simply work in an office, you can adapt your lessons to people who spend a lot of time at a desk throughout the day.

If you have already run a few yoga classes and have a captive audience, this is invaluable and you should use it as a key source for your research. Set up your own questionnaire and send it via email for free Google Forms. This could easily be printed if you wanted to distribute the survey in person instead. Ask this audience what other classes they might be interested in and at what times. Maybe you could even ask them what workshops they would like to attend in the future and then use that information to help with your future plans.

Find a yoga class venue

Assuming you plan to start your own class instead of working in a studio, you'll need to find a venue. The venue can also become an asset for marketing itself if you can place advertisements on the noticeboards or even hang banners on the railings for passers-by to see.

Another option, especially in a crowded market, is to think a little outside the box. Yoga teachers these days teach classes on rooftops and in the most inventive spaces, all of which attract an audience because it turns it into an experience. I live in Tooting, where the Undercover Markets are a central hub for the community. full of small shops, lively bars and restaurants. Here, surrounded by local street art and fairy lights, I decided to start@market_yogaClasses – I received a lot of support from the wonderful local community there too. Is there a venue in your city that is particularly sought after and popular that you can use?

Whatever venue you choose, make sure you figure out how many people can fit in the class per week to make it profitable for you. How much the event fees will certainly influence how much you have to charge your students. How much the other local yogis charge and what stage you are in your career will also affect the cost. For more information, see our blog article “How can yoga teachers value their time?”

During the warmer months, it can be wonderful to host classes outside at a local park or together. This will save you some money on event fees and potentially attract more people, but it also comes with the added risk of cancellations due to unpredictable weather. Also remember that the outdoor space must be public, otherwise you may actually have to pay to use it for commercial purposes.

Define your yoga brand

Once you've decided on your classes (the product), it's time to think about how you're going to brand the class on all the possible marketing platforms you might use. Here you can simply choose a personal brand name like “Yoga with Sarah” or decide to set up something separate like that for a specific venue or project@market_yogaExample given previously.

If you plan on setting up a website and social media accounts, and I recommend doing so, then it's worth taking some photos so you have some images to start with. Think about the type of image you want to convey and its relevance to your customers. Getting started in Pincha Mayurasana (Feathered Peacock Pose) in your bedroom may not be the most accessible image to advertise a beginner's yoga class at the local park.

Finally, think about what type of content you want to create for your brand. You may be very line-oriented and focus on alignment or traditional versions of poses, or you may want your brand to be as personal and authentic as possible, throwing out the rule book of perfect posts and images. The possibilities are literally endless and you can be confident that whatever angle you choose will be fine.

Remember that it is absolutely normal to appeal to some people and not others. It's impossible to please everyone because we are all individuals with our own tastes and preferences - you probably have your own favorite yoga teachers that you go to often. Try to teach what you love, find out who likes it, and then build from there.