How To Get Violin Students
If you're a violin teacher or private studio teacher, you're in the business of getting new students, especially violin students. Today, I want to share four tips on increasing your violin studio and getting more income into your pocket.
1) Change Your Mindset
You have to make sure you're adjusting your mindset because the reason why you might not be getting students is because you might be the problem. Not because your personality is not good or anything, but you cannot expect parents and students to flock over to your violin studio.
The fact is, is that there are a lot of violin teachers out there with a lot of great reputations. So you need to change your mindset. You kind of have to adapt to how you're going to get the students. Are you going to be teaching online are going to be teaching in person?
Also, you have to make sure that you are constantly reaching out to different people to help expand your studio. Whether they are parents, friends of parents, by changing your mindset you're going to have a better chance of getting more students by actually trying to find those students.
2) Think Local
Right now, the students that you've probably been teaching have been online. The trend is to be able to teach online lessons with pretty much anyone around the world. You can have someone from the other side of the world to get lessons with you in a different time zone.
However, I truly believe that for you to increase your income and for you to get a better chance of retaining, keeping students and expanding your student studio is to think local.
And if you're just starting out, see if there's a way for you to get in touch with local high schools, local middle schools, local elementary schools in your area. Because they might not have a music program, but you could be the solution to a problem where teachers, parents are looking for violin teachers and music teachers in their area. YOU could be that solution.
ACTION ITEM
My action item for you. Find teachers, local teachers, elementary school, middle school. High school teachers, or even programs or music programs who are in need of violin teachers, because that is going to help you expand your studio. I would also think of some options to collaborate with the schools so that way you can retain, and you can keep them as your student. By teaching locally, you will have that advantage of having that community.
3) Define Your Niche
I'm a classical violinist. If someone contacts me to give them fiddle lessons, I just simply can't provide fiddle lessons just because of the fact that I cannot play, you know, fiddle music. I can play classical music, western classical music to be specific, but I can't play the fiddle as well as other fiddle teachers can.
So you have to be able to define your niche. You have to make sure that you are also promoting your specific niche.
You don't want to scatter yourself in terms of the genres. If you're trying to be everything you'll end up serving no one, if you think you can teach jazz fiddle classical, you're actually providing a disservice to you because you can't be too many things at once.
See if you can specialize in one genre. Whether it's western classical music, bluegrass fiddle, or jazz violin, see if you can define your niche and then you will have a better idea of what your demographic is in your area and how you're going to get more students coming to your studio.
Because that way you will have finally defined your target audience. And if you say I'm going to be teaching this kind of violin style, or say, "This is the result that you can expect from taking lessons with me", then you finally have created your target audience.
So you cannot be too much of everything. If you try to serve everybody, you'll serve no one. You want to serve a niche that you are passionate about and a niche that you are good at. The students are going to come to you. The parents are going to start reaching out to you to get more violin lessons.
4) HM30s
Last, but not least in terms of getting violin students and also creating an income for violin students, I want you to think about reaching out to HM30s. What are HM30s?
This is a term that I learned back when I was selling knives.
I was selling this kitchen cutlery and they used this terms HM30s. What does that mean?
It means Homeowners their thirties. Homeowners in the thirties are generally family people. They have a house, they have kids and they probably research what kind of activities they want for their children. One of them could be violin lessons.
You want to make sure you're reaching out to certain different community centers. Or different places where HM30s hang out.
Do they hang out at the grocery store?
Do they hang out at the violin shop?
Do they hang out at the elementary schools or at the soccer games, you know, you want to make sure that you are reaching out to that specific audience, because that way you can have a more guaranteed income, as well as keeping those students and retaining those students.
Subscribe to my YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/user/emrugala?sub_confirmation=1
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/eric.mrugala
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/erictheviolinist
Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/ericmrugala