Learning how to attract new guitar students whether you're just starting out as a guitar teacher or looking at growing your student base is extremely important. Many tutors still think that paying for advertising in the local paper is the best way to attract new guitar students. The truth is an ad in the local paper is possibly the worst possible strategy. In this short post we will look at three effective ways you can attract new students right now.
Leverage the power of Facebook and other social media
If you're already on Facebook then you know how popular it is and how many people use it regularly. If you aren't on Facebook then you might be surprised to know that the number of active Facebook users is almost 1 billion (as at July 2012). This provides a massive opportunity for you as a guitar teacher. At any one time it is likely that somebody in your area is on Facebook and wants to find a guitar teacher. If you have a strong online presence then you have a very good chance of that person contacting you. You can use other social media such as Twitter, Google Plus, etc. but we have found Facebook is the most effective way to find new students.
So how can you use Facebook to attract new guitar students? We've created two detailed guides to help you leverage the power of Facebook and attract new students. BMK-06 About Facebook will explain Facebook in detail and how it can bring you new students. BMK-07 Facebook Marketing Strategies spells out two specific strategies you can implement straight away to attract students. The strategies are explained step by step with details on why they work.
Create your own website so people can find you
There's a powerful reason why every brand has their own website - it gives the brands the power to control their marketing material and attract new customers. You can have the same power.
Let's run a simple test - go to Google and search for "guitar lessons in 'xxxx'. If you live in San Diego you would search for 'guitar lessons in San Diego'. What shows up in the results? Are you in the top 10 results? 20? 30? If you teach guitar in San Diego and you aren't Paper Moon Music then you're going to have a really hard time finding new guitar students because anybody searching for lessons in San Diego are straight away going to click Paper Moon Music's link which will take the person straight to their site and not yours. If you knew how many thousands of searches like this one are done every month for your home city you would realize the importance of having your own website.
You don't need a complicated site with all the bells and whistles - all you need is something for people to find you and contact you. If people can't find you then they won't contact you. It's as simple as that. Having your own website will greatly improve the odds that somebody searching for guitar lessons in your home city will bring them to your site and contact you.
As guitar teachers we understand how important it is to have your own website so every Live and Teach Guitar Member can set up their own website at no cost. We can also provide support to help you set the site up as well as assist you in promoting your site and find new guitar students.
Setting up your own website will help you attract new students for years and years at no extra cost.
Word of mouth is the most powerful marketing tool for guitar teachers
As a guitar teacher your most powerful marketing tool is word of mouth. If people hear that you're a great teacher they will be more likely to contact you for lessons or tell somebody else to contact you. If you do a good job with your current guitar students they will let other people know and spread the word. Alternatively, if you do a poor job with your current guitar students they will also spread the word - but this time it won't be positive. A guitar teacher who cuts lesson times short, wastes time during the lesson and teaches the student stuff they don't want to learn will soon gain a poor reputation. People will hear about it. So just remember in every lesson that it's very likely your student will tell others what they think of you. Make it a good impression.
There are specific ways you can spread the word and encourage word of mouth. We have written a detailed guide to help you use word of mouth effectively and included a case study to see how it works in action. Check out BMK-05 Word of mouth marketing strategies for effective strategies you can use straight away.
Get started and attract new guitar students now
The best part about these strategies is that they take little effort to get started and almost no effort to continue over the years. Taking ten minutes to set up a website today can bring you new students for years. Compare that to spending money every week in a newspaper ad nobody will see. If you take the time to get these strategies started you will quickly see how effective they are in bringing you new guitar students and how they will continue to bring you new students again and again.
