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Matt Wolfson
20th July 2009, 20:10
Hello,
I have recently opened my dojo in Pittsburgh and am having trouble recruiting new students. I dont have a large budget to advertise and quite frankly dont want a large number of students. However i would like a handful of students (I have two regular adults and 6 regulars in the kids class) I would like four or five adults and 10 kids. How have some other more established schools gone about advertising for new students on a budget? I have spent the last four years remodeling my studio and now it is time to switch from building to more of a management role and am not the greatest manager. I like to build things and practice karate. Any advise for someone just starting out would be greatly appricated.
Link to my website with photos:
http://www.rivermartialarts.com


Matt Wolfson

Prince Loeffler
20th July 2009, 20:37
You have a beautiful dojo Wolfson San. Thanks for sharing the site !

futabachan
21st July 2009, 08:21
For starters, information about your style and your credentials would be a helpful addition to your website. "Okinawan kempo" is a little vague; could you be more specific?

Matt Wolfson
21st July 2009, 13:51
For starters, information about your style and your credentials would be a helpful addition to your website. "Okinawan kempo" is a little vague; could you be more specific?

The website is a work in progress. I will add the information shortly. I have been practicing kenpo for 18 years, under John Anderson for most of them. Mr. Anderson was a direct student of Seikichi Odo. here is a link to some information on him. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seikichi_Odo

Now back to the idea of how to advertise on a budget? Any marketing suggestions?

matt wolfson

Matt Wolfson
21st July 2009, 13:54
You have a beautiful dojo Wolfson San. Thanks for sharing the site !

thanks, I have put a lot of time and effort into the studio and really look forward to practicing there.
matt wolfson

Bill Haynes
21st July 2009, 15:46
Now back to the idea of how to advertise on a budget? Any marketing suggestions?

matt wolfson

here's some things you can do, maybe more guerilla than others:

1. make some handbills and stick them in books on martial arts at Barnes & Noble/Borders etc. you would be surprised how well this tactic works!

2. have a public demo at the school as a grand opening event.

3. host a free self-defense workshop for adults on a Saturday afternoon for a couple of hours.

4. host a community action meeting at your Dojo (local community groups are always doing those things, easy to contact them and arrange something)

5. do a public demo at a community festival or event.

6. put an ad in your local community paper (usually much cheaper than more mainstream papers)

7. ally with another martial arts school and do a group event in the spirit of Buyu.

basically you want people to know who you are with very little money to do so. I think many martial arts schools fail because they treat marketing/advertising as an afterthought. "well if we have enough money left over after the buildout, we'll put an ad in the paper". we call this "a failure pile served in a sadness bowl". lol. patton oswalt reference there. there is a saying, "spies are most active during times of inactivity". so when you don't have any business coming in the door, you should be the most active in your promoting the school and soliciting new students.

good luck, your school looks very nice.

Matt Wolfson
22nd July 2009, 14:57
here's some things you can do, maybe more guerilla than others:

1. make some handbills and stick them in books on martial arts at Barnes & Noble/Borders etc. you would be surprised how well this tactic works!

2. have a public demo at the school as a grand opening event.

3. host a free self-defense workshop for adults on a Saturday afternoon for a couple of hours.

4. host a community action meeting at your Dojo (local community groups are always doing those things, easy to contact them and arrange something)

5. do a public demo at a community festival or event.

6. put an ad in your local community paper (usually much cheaper than more mainstream papers)

7. ally with another martial arts school and do a group event in the spirit of Buyu.

basically you want people to know who you are with very little money to do so. I think many martial arts schools fail because they treat marketing/advertising as an afterthought. "well if we have enough money left over after the buildout, we'll put an ad in the paper". we call this "a failure pile served in a sadness bowl". lol. patton oswalt reference there. there is a saying, "spies are most active during times of inactivity". so when you don't have any business coming in the door, you should be the most active in your promoting the school and soliciting new students.

good luck, your school looks very nice.

Thanks for the tips. Most of those are ideas I hadn't even considered. Those are exactly the types of things I need to be doing.

Troy Ballantyne
26th July 2009, 00:19
I havn't got much to add, but thats a really nice looking Dojo!

Maybe one thing, a successful commercial Dojo I once trained at had a good responce from a sandwhich board which simply had 'beginners welcome! and an arrow.

Some new students said they always intended to go home and call to find out about begginner class, but just never got to it (I know, I know, how are they going to stick to training if not motivated enough to pick up the phone....but many did).

The sign was out any time the Dojo was unlocked.

Matt Wolfson
27th July 2009, 13:27
I havn't got much to add, but thats a really nice looking Dojo!

Maybe one thing, a successful commercial Dojo I once trained at had a good responce from a sandwhich board which simply had 'beginners welcome! and an arrow.

Some new students said they always intended to go home and call to find out about begginner class, but just never got to it (I know, I know, how are they going to stick to training if not motivated enough to pick up the phone....but many did).

The sign was out any time the Dojo was unlocked.

The sandwhich board is another great idea. Thanks for the complement on the studio.
matt

wmuromoto
14th August 2009, 20:07
I'm usually not one to post much, but I was quite taken by the photos of your dojo. It's quite beautifully and tastefully done. I wish you well.

I'm also not the best person to ask about gaining students. I have very few of my own and nobody should follow my example of publicizing a dojo if they want to break even or get into the black. However, I do recall finding my way to a tai chi teacher because I heard her on an interview at our local Public Radio station. It was free publicity for her and if you can wrangle it (offer up a unique angle, maybe your concept of traditionalism in the face of overwhelming commercialism, the beauty and tradition of your dojo, etc.), you might get some students. I listened to the tai chi teacher and was fascinated by her laughter and her personal stories about how she started and what tai chi meant to her. Soon after, I joined up!

Also try posting flyers at the local colleges and Universities, the nearby Whole Food outlet (stressing again your traditionalism and dojo architecture...Gads, it's beautiful). All, as another poster said, "guerrilla marketing."

Accentuate what makes you different from the usual run-of-the-mill martial arts school, in a positive way. And good luck.

Wayne Muromoto

Steven Baxter
14th August 2009, 22:02
I had very good luck using craigslist.com when I first started up last year. It is an effective, and free resource (just post in the "classes" section). Letting people know that you are offering a full free month of classes can be a great way to get people in the door, so if you decide to use craigslist, make sure you include that in the title. I'd highly recommend learning a little HTML code, so that you can spice up your ad with pics of your dojo.

You can also list your place of business at local.yahoo.com and maps.google.com, so that people will be able to see your dojo if they do a local search for martial arts schools.

I hope that helps. Good luck to you.

Matt Wolfson
19th August 2009, 21:02
I'm usually not one to post much, but I was quite taken by the photos of your dojo. It's quite beautifully and tastefully done. I wish you well.

I'm also not the best person to ask about gaining students. I have very few of my own and nobody should follow my example of publicizing a dojo if they want to break even or get into the black. However, I do recall finding my way to a tai chi teacher because I heard her on an interview at our local Public Radio station. It was free publicity for her and if you can wrangle it (offer up a unique angle, maybe your concept of traditionalism in the face of overwhelming commercialism, the beauty and tradition of your dojo, etc.), you might get some students. I listened to the tai chi teacher and was fascinated by her laughter and her personal stories about how she started and what tai chi meant to her. Soon after, I joined up!

Also try posting flyers at the local colleges and Universities, the nearby Whole Food outlet (stressing again your traditionalism and dojo architecture...Gads, it's beautiful). All, as another poster said, "guerrilla marketing."

Accentuate what makes you different from the usual run-of-the-mill martial arts school, in a positive way. And good luck.

Wayne Muromoto


thanks for the compliment. I really did spend alot of time and effort into making the studio a place that I would enjoy working out in and help foster the right environment for productive practice.
matt

Mark Tankosich
26th August 2009, 11:48
thanks for the compliment. I really did spend alot of time and effort into making the studio a place that I would enjoy working out in and help foster the right environment for productive practice.
matt

Huh. I go past there multiple times a day when I'm back in the US visiting folks!

Would you mind some (respectful) kengaku (observing) next time I'm home?

And congrats on the dojo.

Mark

Matt Wolfson
26th August 2009, 13:26
Huh. I go past there multiple times a day when I'm back in the US visiting folks!

Would you mind some (respectful) kengaku (observing) next time I'm home?

And congrats on the dojo.

Mark

Sure feel free to stop by. Your overseas now? where are you? which style do you train?

Mark Tankosich
27th August 2009, 02:06
Sure feel free to stop by. Your overseas now? where are you? which style do you train?

Thank you.

Probably easiest to just give you the link to my (somewhat amateurish) site:

http://marktankosich.com/

Hopefully, I'll be back in touch within the next year...

Best of luck with the dojo.

Matt Wolfson
31st August 2009, 19:04
Thank you.

Probably easiest to just give you the link to my (somewhat amateurish) site:

http://marktankosich.com/

Hopefully, I'll be back in touch within the next year...

Best of luck with the dojo.


I read your artilces on your website, thank you for sharing them. I liked reading several of them very much. I look forward to meeting you when you have a chance to stop by.
matt

Mark Tankosich
1st September 2009, 04:57
I read your artilces on your website, thank you for sharing them. I liked reading several of them very much. I look forward to meeting you when you have a chance to stop by.
matt

Thanks for the kind words.

I'll do my best to let you know when I'm going to be in "the 'Burgh.";)

Good luck with the school!

Mark

PictonMA
2nd September 2009, 17:13
Mr. Wolfson,

I love the look of your dojo - very tastefully done! Simple and aesthetically pleasing, I like it a lot.

A few things I have done and my opinions as I've built my dojo:

First and foremost I track every detail of how people heard about us, what brought them in to our dojo etc as I receive emails, phone calls and talk to people in person - I track all this information on spreadsheets and enter it into a database.

1. Newspaper advertising - a waste of money - for the cost, the return on investment is very low. A small ad in my area in a community based newspaper costs between $75 - $100 and often times we get no response, sometimes we get a few people.

2. Flyers / doorhangers distributed throughout the community - mixed results, better than newspapers but VERY labour intensive to distribute. I've found these work best in conjunction with demonstrations at fairs (community, seasonal, health and wellness), holiday celebrations, etc.

3. Car lettering - one of the best investments I made. For less than $200 I had our website address, phone number and the 'Bu' kanji put on the side of my car - five years later I still get people who come up to me at the bank, grocery store etc asking for information (make sure you keep flyers and / or business cards in the car....)

4. Business cards - don't just use them when people ask - I leave them with my tip in restaurants, drop some on the counters of local shops I frequent, pin them up on community billboards etc. A great use of resources, if used correctly.

5. Billboard advertising - in the community arena and local grocery store I have a small (18" x 44") ad with a picture of my 2 daughters (aged 4 and 5) in gi's with my wife and I - welcoming smiles, on the sign it simply lists what we teach and where we are located. Ther is also a brochure and business card holder on the plexiglass frame - I keep them stocked.

6. Brochures - I am a loyal patron of a number of locally owned businessess - coffee shops, pharmacy, department store, restaurant, book store, theatre etc - they allow me to place a brochure holder in their seating area / lounge and / or counter where people pay for their goods - very good visibility - very easy to maintain and low cost, again make sure you keep them stocked.

7. Sandwich board - plain white background, black and red lettering indicating what we teach and an arrow pointing in the direction of our building. I move them from directly in front of our property to the intersections closest so that they don't become something that people get too used to looking at. Make sure you check about municipal / town bylaws before you put them out or you may get a fine or have them removed / destroyed.

8. Word of mouth - the BEST advertising possible, encourage your students to bring friends and family in for classes and reward them for it. Once a year I do a promo month where I encourage students to bring friends for free classes and enter both the prospective student and the one who invited them into draws for gift certificates (for the dojo and other places) or prizes (dojo clothing, martial arts gear, gift baskets from local businesses etc). If students bring in friends / family who join outside of this promo period I make a point of thanking them and often time give them a gift card for a coffe shop / movie theatre etc etc. People knowing that their efforts to grow the dojo are appreciated and desired is a wonderful geasture.

9. I'm not much on public demonstrations but I will do them periodically, I stay away from gimicks and BS and simply demonstrate what we teach and do - preferably I have my students do the demo's - who cares about what I can do after a lifetime of training, it's more impressive and important that they see what my students can do after a few short months or years of training.

10. Website - keep it neat, keep it simple and keep it updated, for four plus years my website was an incredible tool and then I lost the ability to update it myself and it has been a headache for the last six months, I am in the process of having it redone and moved to another hosting solution, hopefully the move will be done soon.

Hopefully this is useful to you, good luck on your dojo. Treat it like a business if you want it to succeed and thrive but don't let it become about the money and compromise your ideals and teaching chasing a dollar.

Oniyama
7th September 2009, 08:33
Hello Matt,

First of all I must commend you on a very nice looking dojo and matching web site. Both have a good feel to them.

There have been some really good suggestions already made. To those I will add this. There are two books you really want to get :


Growing a Business
by Paul Hawken
http://www.amazon.com/Growing-Business-Paul-Hawken/dp/0671671642/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252308127&sr=8-1

Guerrilla Marketing
by Jay Conrad Levinson
http://www.amazon.com/Guerrilla-Marketing-4th-Inexpensive-SmallBusiness/dp/0618785914/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252308209&sr=1-1

For me have a consistent web presence has been the most effective marketing tool. I have done some of the other things that people have mentioned. Nothing has been a more powerful tool than my web site (www.roundrockbujinkan.com).

The other thing I would say is be patient. I have been steadily running my dojo for about six years. For the longest time I would only have about two or three regular students. Interestedingly, in the last nine months we've been seeing eight to ten students regularly. I am like you in that I am not looking to have a big school either. I think that you have to be in the market for a while before you can establish a core group of regular students.

I wish you the best of luck. i really like what you have done with your web site and your dojo.

Ganbatte!

Prospero
7th September 2009, 15:43
1. make some handbills and stick them in books on martial arts at Barnes & Noble/Borders etc. you would be surprised how well this tactic works!

Wouldn't the people working at the bookstores get mad at this? I am wondering. I used to work in a library and I don't think I would get mad if I found something like this in the books being checked out. But bookstores are about making money and might want a piece of the action. The idea of someone using their place for advertising without getting permission might anger them and cause trouble.

Does anyone know how bookstores feel about this? Because I probably would hesitate myself. I am curious as to whether they would care or not.

Bill Haynes
8th September 2009, 00:23
I have seen this done for years without a single negative response from the book stores. And even if they did have a problem with it, you could always say that you have an overly zealous student who went crazy with the handbills. It's really no big deal. You put the flyers in certain books that your target would pick up. Same goes for the public library too. It's guerilla marketing, not rocket science.

Matt Wolfson
9th September 2009, 20:43
hello,
I would like to thank everyone that responded. I am greatful that so many people have taken the time to give excellent advise based on there experience.
matt