Are you a new yoga teacher! You soon will realise that nowadays to be a good teacher and attract new students, unfortunately, is not enough. Although, we surely still receive people by “word by mouth”, to thrive and attract new people to your website, becomes increasingly difficult and you need to have some marketing savvy (unless you are able to hire outside - I offer for a small fee some help, get in touch if needed).
Things we cover in my yoga teacher training are "How to write a yoga blog? How to design a good landing page on your website? How to stand out so you can thrive rather than just survive?" (for those who have done a yoga teacher training somewhere else and lack those skills, I offer a business course - see more on my website).
We are all excited to be teaching regular classes now, but nobody is coming to your new set up community class or you have to cancel the workshop that you have prepared with so much love and thoroughness? This does not have to be like this. Believe me, it has happened to me! I am not the person who has stayed at the same place, I am a travelling gipsy and have lived in so many places, so every place meant to me starting from scratch.
The first few years are really the most exciting when you start teaching. You have so much to give and it makes you so happy to see people being relaxed and grateful
So what you have to do? Writing regular content (it’s called content marketing) can help to drive traffic to your website and services. You have to make sure you use the right keywords to attract people. Just as you would search for something on Google or any other search engine you will only get found when your written content matches with that people are searching for.
Here a few tips firstly, what content marketing is and how to increase organic traffic from search engines (basically how to be seen and stand out).
In order to get more organic traffic from Google and other Search Engines
Step 1. Pick good Keywords.
Chose long-tail keywords. Long-tail keywords are three and four keyword phrases which are very specific to whatever you are selling. They are much easier to rank due to lower competition. Sometimes using questions like “how” “why” and “what” is a good start …
Be careful not to choose in the beginning highly competitive keywords, such as Yoga Bali or Yoga Class. The competition to be listed as number one here would be enormously difficult and seems to be preserved to a long-standing strong brand. So, with what else can you make people come to your website? What is your audience searching for? What is your unique selling point (USP)?
If you want to rank higher in Google… you first need to know what keywords your ideal customers are searching for! There are several paid and/or fee tools you could use to find out! One is Google itself.
Step 2. Matching Your Keywords to Pages
Once you’ve got a solid keyword list, the next step is to match up those keywords to your pages.
Step 3. Editing Your Webpages
Ensure you include your KW in page Title, page heading 1 (H1), a few times in the text and in your meta description.
Other general rules:
· Avoid broken links
· Check your website speed (especially on mobiles)
· Avoid duplicate Titles and descriptions
Types of posts you might want to consider are:
· Images – I believe that those pictures do not have to be complicated yoga postures. In fact, I am utterly bored of them myself and I almost yawn when I see another slim bikini body lifting in a handstand and the internet is full of them. If the picture tells something about you as a person, it can tell stories and that is what matters most.
· Videos – again the best Videos, in my opinion, are not about how amazing somebody can perform asanas or sequence, but the real value is a heartfelt value of having given a release in pain and suffering.
· Stories - here real-life redemption stories. You never know who you inspire with your lessons. The best stories are those that get people to start a conversation and engage and achieve long term transformation. Want to read my yoga journey stories! Sign up to receive regular updates.
· Sales – finally every here and again list your new class, retreat or workshop. People who do like you will look at your page and see if there is a new class that suits them. In general, it is said, that for every sales post, post 3 other posts too.
When you get recommended by friends, family etc. or people even post about you on their social media or may comment on their experiences to other people, this is the best marketing you can achieve. They say that a bad experience gets told to people double than the good one, so provide a good service being an ethical yoga teacher not only talking the talk but also walking the walk.
As a final word, it does not matter how many likes your post has got if it does not fulfil the criteria of engagement and converts at some stage in you being able to run retreats and holidays.
Bots
There are nowadays bots out there who like and respond with some silly comment. I usually ignore them. I find real engagement is visible and it will feel good.
Want me to do your SEO on your website? Do you want me to design a website? I have a real passion for this and can offer for a limited period some introductory offer!
Marketing for Yoga Teacher. Do you like to receive more updates like this? Sign up to self-practice mentorship. Read in the next blog, how to use Google Analytics and Google Webmaster Tools to track your efforts!
I also offer a business of yoga course over 2 days and all of this is covered in my unique teacher training program.