Learn how to quickly and effectively find new students fast
Are you in need of an extra 2-3 students quickly, but don’t have much money to spend?
We’ve all been there at one point in time and that is why we are here to help you find students fast with the essential music teacher marketing checklist.
This checklist is also valuable if you’ve recently moved to a new area and are (re)building your studio again from scratch.
One of the simplest ways to find students is by letting your current clients know you are looking to fill a few spots.
More than likely, they know a family member or have friends that may be interested in taking lessons. Letting your current families know you need the extra students will help push them to talk more about piano lessons.
To incentivize your clients, you can offer them a bonus/discount on lessons for referring a new student to the studio. You can even go a step further by giving a chocolate bar or even a bottle of wine with a lovely thank you note to the parents.
To make it easy for your current clients, give them a template they can share on social media, by email, or create gift cards they can hand out.
Sarah, on our TopMusic team had a great idea:
“Having something mentioning this where parents come in to pick up students is a great way to advertise your referral program. Parents (and students) always read whatever is where they sit and wait for their child (if it’s brief/easy to read quickly). This helps it feel less awkward to let current clients know you’re accepting new students.
Tara, on our TopMusic team, had this unconventional idea:
“Pay your students for referring their friends. I was able to fill my time slots by giving my students cash when their friends would sign up for music lessons.”
Think about it, kids know a lot of kids from school and other activities, and most kids love money. Why not incentivize our students to talk about piano lessons?
This was a wonderful motivator for my junior high and high school students.
This helped me find my ideal clients and create a wonderful community in the studio.
Related: TC289 How to Find Music Students for Your Studio Fast with Carly Walton
Teachers without an online presence are already being left behind. As a minimum, make sure you have a website, google map listings and key social media: Facebook and Instagram at the time of publication (likely to change).
Post and share in local Facebook groups. Facebook “moms” groups (or general community groups) can be great for quick referrals. Do some research, but ask before you post.
A wonderful way to find new students and get new referrals is by being an “expert” in local Facebook groups and local mom groups.
Make sure to pop into the groups a few times a week and answer questions others are asking in the group. This is a wonderful way to get to know your community, be involved, and create wonderful connections.
That way, when someone asks about lessons, others will recommend you and tag you in the post!
There are lots of things you can do in your local area, most of which are also free or inexpensive. Most importantly, try to build your in-person networks as much as possible.
Yes, we know it can be a little intimidating for some teachers, but it really is the most powerful way to build networks.
Connecting with local area school music teachers can have a BIG impact as they are the ones that parents will often ask about local private music tutors.
One of the easiest ways I’ve found to make local connections is by joining the local Chamber of Commerce.
Most chambers of commerce host various events throughout the month that will allow you to connect with other business owners in your area.
I’ve even hosted a business after-hours through our local chamber in our studio. This was a HUGE hit with other business owners. It brought over 150 people through our doors and I was able to not only talk about my passion for music education, but I was able to show them the studio, have some of our students perform, and sign up new students on the spot.
Success Story: Five years after my first Chamber of Commerce meeting, I received a phone call from a woman saying she met me at a meeting years ago and she wanted to sign up her daughter for music lessons.
Getting in front of your community is one of the best ways to find students. Not only will it help find students quickly but it will help find students long-term.
If you are looking for additional ways to find students fast, we’ve got you covered!
Download our Finding Students Fast Checklist which features 35 different ways to find students.
