Getting the Word Out About Your Yoga Practice

Once you have completed your yoga teacher training and found a great location to hold your classes, the next challenge is attracting potential students. There are many ways you can go about marketing yourself as a yoga teacher.

Fliers

One common way to market your classes is to create a flier or business card. Include on it information about yoga, an introduction to yourself as a yoga teacher and information about where and when you teach.

You can post your flier or card on car windshields, in mailboxes and on community bulletin boards in local restaurants, cafes and grocery stores. You can drop your fliers off at local hotel concierges and include handouts with your drop-in class schedule. Other good places to leave fliers and/or cards are the waiting rooms of chiropractors, bodyworkers and other complementary medicine practitioners.

Internet

The Internet is another great marketing tool. Consider creating a web site for yourself as a yoga teacher. WordPress, Blogger and Yahoo are just a few sites that provide webhosting at relatively inexpensive rates of $20 or less each month. If you prefer having your own domain name, you can visit GoDaddy.com to find out what is available.

If you have never created a website before and do not know how to start, consider bartering by teaching yoga to a designer who can help you build your site in exchange. Be sure to include plenty of information about yourself as a teacher, including your training, what yoga means to you, where and when you teach, your class descriptions and teaching philosophy.

It is helpful to include a mailing list sign-up on your website so that you can email people about your upcoming class, retreat and workshop offerings.

Social Networking Sites

Social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and Linked In are other great virtual places to advertise your class offerings quickly. These sites give others the opportunity to ask you questions regarding your classes and share the information with their friends and family members.

We discuss using social networking to promote a business on a different page – don’t miss it.

You can create a short video presentation on YouTube to distribute online and reach many people in a fairly short amount of time. It is a good idea to keep your video short, at 1 to 3 minutes maximum.

Local Media

You can also try contacting local media representatives with information and inspiring stories about yoga and health. Send the information to local newspapers, radio and television stations and follow up with phone calls to inform journalists that you would be happy to talk to them more about these stories.

Free Workshops

Another idea for attracting potential yoga students is to offer to provide a free workshop to organizations like nurses’ or teachers’ groups or parent teacher associations. You can volunteer to teach for free in your local library or hospital as a way to introduce new people to yoga and possibly build a following.

Referral Incentives

Word of mouth is a great way to advertise, so referral incentives and free classes for first-time students are another great way to attract new students. New yoga teachers can offer discounted or free classes to new students and those who refer others to them if they teach independently of a yoga studio. 

In Yoga Studios

For those working in a yoga studio, it can be helpful to attend other teachers’ classes as a way to keep yourself fresh and energized and have a chance to network and market yourself and your classes. The more students at your studio get to know you, the more likely they will be to attend your classes.

The next time you take a class of another teacher in your yoga studio, ask her to introduce you and your class offerings there. You can also see if you can assist one of the more popular teachers at your yoga studio as a way to expand your yoga teaching ability while giving current students the chance to get to know you.