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I'm certainly no expert, but I have developed a steady stream of dancers to my classes over the years and have included the following tips that will hopefully be helpful to you. I want your classes to be successful, too!
Good luck, and happy dancing!
- Shoshanna
1. BE PATIENT
- Creating a successful program is like starting a garden. You've worked hard at your craft and have honed your skills. Now you begin with a seed of inspiration and desire to share... it takes time and lots of nuturing to really make your garden grow and flourish.
2. PLAN OUT YOUR CLASS WELL
- Write a good title and clear description of your class.
- Know if you'll be teaching an ongoing class or a series of sessions.
- Make sure the time and location are appropriate for your class.
3. HAVE A MARKETING STRATEGY
- Who do you want to draw to your class? Kids? College Students? Adults? Seniors? Know who you want to target so you can do advertising that actually reaches the people you want.
- Take advantage of the many free and low-cost opportunities around, like listings on the studio website, use the studio bulletin board. Post flyers everywhere. Laundrimats are good for posting flyers that usually stay up for a very long time, and all sorts of people hang out there and crave things to read. Why not something about you? Coffee shops, the board at the Co-Op.... you get the idea.
- I've found the best advertising is in the phone book Yellow Pages, my listing in the Northcoast Journal workshop page ($8/issue), flyers I constantly put up all over the place, and the OH SO IMPORTANT word of mouth.
- Use Tribe.net, Craig's List, MySpace, Facebook... target local people.
- Advertising in programs for local performing arts events are great - it's a pretty targeted audience, ads are usually cheap, and they help support our artistic community.
- Collect info from your students and develop a database that you can send updated schedules to.
4. DO YOUR HOMEWORK (AND THE MATH) BEFOREHAND
- Who else is teaching similar classes to yours? How will you differentiate yourself? What makes you and your classes special? Why are they successful (or not)?
- Don't undercut other teachers! Find out what other teachers are charging and try to devise a similar structure. Finding just the right price is important.
5. KEEP REALLY GOOD RECORDS
- A good system of payment & recordkeeping will let you enjoy teaching without stressing over being able to pay the bills.
- Make all students sign a Liability Release. Also, collect Registration Info like address, phone, email, etc. (good for marketing, too).
- Keep a roll sheet, and use it every time. It's good to have #'s and payment notes there, so it's easy to see where everyone's at. Also, if you have numbers right there you can let people know if class is canceled.
- Keep track of expenses / income. You need to report the income, but you can also deduct the expenses (rent, insurance, teaching supplies, music, etc) so keep those receipts. Contact the Small Business Development Center for more info. Also, then you'll know if your classes are profitable.
6. BE REALISTIC ABOUT MONEY
- How much do you need to cover your investment of insurance, advertising, and rent? How much time do you have to put into advertising and promotion?
7. BE REACHABLE
- Be easy to reach by phone and email if you plan on posting flyers all about town to teach a class. Be careful with your personal information and if you give an address be sure it's a PO Box or the studio address. A cell phone with voice mail is an excellent tool.
8. BE PROFESSIONAL
- Always call people right back when they inquire about classes. Leave informative, brief messages when you get a machine. Same goes for email.
- Start and end your classes on time, being respectful of times rented by other teachers.
- Encourage your students to wait quietly before and leave quickly after your classes.
- Try to NOT cancel class without a really good reason. The break in continuity really loses students, especially if you don't let them know ahead of time.
9. THE PERSONAL TOUCH
- People are amazed and flattered if you remember their names. It's a skill that you can learn to do pretty easily enough. It's really valuable. If people feel that they're important enough to you that you know them and they also have a good class experience they really do come away with a positive feeling from the class. This is like gold to you. And it doesn't cost you extra!
10. GENERALLY...
- Love your students, teach them safely and well, ensure that they have a good time in class safe from negative energy, descrimination, etc., and be a professional all the time. It takes awhile, but you'll hopefully develop a great group of people happy to learn all you have to teach. Good luck!
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