Do you rely on word on mouth to spread the word about your services? Word of mouth does work over time, but only when your students, friends, and family who spread that word understand what it is that you do and how it is different from others. To be able to communicate our message of yoga effectively and authentically, we need to be clear to ourselves about who we are as teachers, what is our unique approach to yoga, and what we are ultimately working toward.
These are the questions that any yoga teacher or yoga therapist needs to have clarity on, yet oftentimes, you simply do not have enough time or bandwidth to sit down and chart your yoga course. We would love to help you with that. We address these questions and many others in our series, CHART THE COURSE FOR YOUR YOGA BUSINESS.
In this series, you will hear from yoga professionals who either have formal education in business and marketing or have figured out effective strategies on their own and would like to share them with you.
You will be able to:
– Watch recorded videos from live webinars;
– Complete assignments to apply those lessons to your specific situation;
– Discuss strategies with other teachers in work groups;
– Implement the lessons you learn in your own life.
Chart the Course for Your Yoga Business series is free for Sequence Wiz members (learn more about Sequence Wiz membership).
Join the Chart the Course for Your Yoga Business discussion group to participate!
Many yoga teachers/therapists find delving into the world of marketing quite overwhelming. For others, the thought of promoting their services can present with some unease. However, to create a successful yoga career, marketing becomes essential. The people you are trying to help must realize that your services exist! But how does one connect the desire to help and the services that can make a difference, to those who have the greatest need? This is where marketing steps in. Marita Greenidge outlines the foundational aspects of your yoga business in the first video, “Defining Your Purpose: Building a Vision of Success.”
Chapter 1 covers the following topics:
Join Sequence Wiz today (learn more about Sequence Wiz membership) to get free access to the series videos and assignments!
Marita Greenidge is the Marketing & Communications Manager at the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT). She has spent over ten years in the corporate world in the sales and marketing space, focused on brand management, sales management, and strategic marketing. Marita has a BSc. in Economics & Management (First Class Honours) from The University of West Indies Cave Hill Campus (UWI) and an MBA in Marketing & Entrepreneurship from The Simon Graduate School of Business, University of Rochester. Marita is the Executive Director of Variety—The Children’s Charity, a non-profit focused on assisting disadvantaged children, and she is a certified yoga instructor (200hr YTT) with over five years of experience. Marita is the owner of Ekam Wellness, where she teaches hatha vinyasa classes and retails yoga, fitness, and wellness accessories.
In the introduction Marita invites us to reflect on our attitudes toward marketing because those attitudes deeply affect our strategy and the outcomes we get from our marketing efforts.
In the second part, Marita asks you to reflect on who you are as a person and as a yoga professional because your reasons for teaching yoga and your core values become the heart of your yoga brand
In the third part, Marita asks you to reflect on who your unique gifts help the most. She invites you to narrow it down in some way: by age group, gender, type of condition, income, life circumstances, etc., and ask yourself if there is a match between what that group of potential students needs and what you have to offer.
In the fourth part, Marita shows you how to bring the three important points (your why, your gifts, and your desired audience) together to craft your mission statement.
In the fifth part, Marita invites you to reflect on what it would take for you to feel successful and why what you do matters. She encourages you to dream big, while also being practical and realistic about what’s happening in your chosen market.
In the sixth and final part, Marita invites you to reflect on how your values and your vision are communicated to the world in your brand name, colors, logo, fonts, and the language you use. Do they all communicate the same message and is it reflective of who you are and the students you want to work with?
Use the worksheet on Sequence Wiz site to reflect on your strengths, special talents, professional experience, and personal story. What are you best at? Did you overcome adversity? Which of your achievements are you most proud of? Your unique gifts give meaning to your business and help you connect to your audience.
Use the worksheet on Sequence Wiz site to find out who your students are and what motivates them to seek your services. Start by making a few portraits of your specific current students who already appreciate your offerings. Who would you like to work with? Create a few portraits of your future ideal students to begin to identify your niche and ways of reaching those potential students.
Your core values reflect your identity, help you define your vision, and provide guidance when important decisions are made. Use a handy worksheet on Sequence Wiz site to choose your core values. Narrow it down to two that you hold most important. Once you are clear about them, you can work on aligning your intentions, choices, messaging, language, and behaviors with those beliefs.
Once you have clarity about your ideal student and your core values, you can choose visuals for your brand identity. Think about the visuals that represent your values and would resonate with your ideal student. Use the worksheet on Sequence Wiz site to reflect on your business name, font, and color palette. How do you want your potential students to see you?
Chart the Course for Your Yoga Business series is available for free to Sequence Wiz members (learn more about Sequence Wiz membership).
The four Ps form the foundation of any marketing strategy. To be able to clearly explain to your potential students what it is you do and how it is different from others, you need to have a clear understanding of your product, price, place, and promotion. The four Ps encompass a range of factors that are considered when marketing your services, including what your ideal students need, how the service that you offer meets or fails to meet those needs, how your service is perceived by your potential students, and how it is different from everything else out there.
In this part, Marita explained the 4 Ps of marketing (product, price, place, and promotion), how they apply to yoga teachers and therapists, and what we can do to maximize the effectiveness of our marketing strategy. She covered the following questions:
These are the types of questions that require careful reflection.
Join Sequence Wiz today (learn more about Sequence Wiz membership) to get free access to the series videos and assignments for the course!
In this short video, Marita asks you to consider your skill sets and reflect on what you can create with them in the yoga space. How many types of yoga services can you realistically develop, advertise, and perfect? This video also includes a short reflection that invites you to think creatively about the potential passive sources of income that you can establish to support your in-person yoga services.
In this short video, Marita asks you to consider what would be a fair price for your unique yoga services. She describes several different pricing strategies that you can use to set the prices for your services and ensure that they are competitive, fair to you, and affordable to your students.
In this short video, Marita asks you to reflect on your distribution channels. How can you get the right product to your audience in the right place at the right time? She invites you to find out if your audience would be more likely to find you online or at a physical location, and whether you have access to the places where your audience is likely to spend time.
In this in-depth video, Marita focuses on promotion. She describes eight main modes of communication that you can choose from when developing your marketing plan and the types of marketing channels you can use. Marita encourages you to pick channels that align with your natural strengths and affinities, stick to them consistently, and monitor their effectiveness. She also answers several questions from the audience about marketing strategy.
There are many ways to teach yoga and practice yoga therapy; which ones appeal most to you? It makes sense to diversify your offerings and narrow them down so that you could deliver exceptional service and promote all of them consistently. Do you have to be present for all of them? Is there a way to establish passive sources of income that, over time, could supplement your income without ongoing active involvement? Use this handy worksheet to make a conscious selection of the services you want to offer your students.
How do you decide what to charge for your services? You can start by finding out what other yoga teachers and therapists with similar experience charge for their services in your area. Then, you can figure out how many hours per week you can teach and what you can expect to earn at your rates. Use this handy worksheet to make these simple projections and reflect on discounts you can offer to attract new customers.
Where are your potential yoga students more likely to find you? Walking by your storefront? At a clinic where they see their doctor? Or when they google their ailments online? Brainstorm the pros and cons of different potential physical and online locations where you can offer your products and services. Will your target audience be able to find you there? Do you have access to that location? Is it cost-effective for you at the moment? Use this handy worksheet to make your choices.
There are many ways to communicate with your students about your services; which ones will you choose? Start by reflecting on your own skills and things you don’t mind doing often. Then, note which communication modes align best with your skills and preferences. Use this handy worksheet to decide which communication modes and marketing channels will be effective in reaching your audience, as well as enjoyable and cost-effective for you.
