Even after it’s been heavily affected by the global COVID-19 pandemic, the yoga industry is still worth more than $88 billion worldwide and is still expected to grow with a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 11.7% to reach $215 billion by 2025.
Yes, it’s definitely a good time to start a yoga business right now, but with the popularity of the industry, you should also expect tight competition. Just because you’ve started the perfect yoga business at the most ideal location, doesn’t mean you’ll achieve success immediately.
Your yoga business is doomed to fail if you can’t attract enough students. So, how you market your yoga business is just as, if not even more important than running the business itself.
With that being said, here are our top tips on how to market a yoga business.
- Pick a Niche and Target Your Ideal Audience
It’s no secret that the yoga industry has boomed dramatically over the past decade or so, and in the west, there are now so many different variations of yoga: restorative yoga, Hatha, Vinyasa, Kundalini, Ashtanga, just to name a few, meaning you have a lot of opportunities to find a niche and target a specific audience.
Do your market research and check whether there’s a unique type of yoga currently not being offered in your area, and assess the potential demands.
Once you’ve decided on a niche, then your next job is to identify who your ideal audience is and try to understand as much as you can about them.
The better you understand your ideal audience, and the narrower your focus, the better you can sculpt your marketing strategy to attract this audience.
- Build a Strong Brand Identity
With so many yoga businesses available in the market, it’s important to set yourself apart by establishing a strong brand.
Come up with a brand name that’s easy to pronounce and remember, and have a well-designed logo to support it.
The key to strong branding is consistency. Be cautious about every content you publish on your website, social media, or other publications, and maintain consistency and authenticity.
- Have a Well-Designed Professional Website
It’s crucial to have a well-designed and functional website, that will often be the first impression of your prospective clients with your brand.
Nowadays, there are various affordable platforms like Wix or Squarespace that can help you create a visually clean and functional website with ease. If you have a bit of programming knowledge and want more versatility, there’s also the free and handy WordPress.
Make sure your website is mobile-friendly and easy to navigate, and include relevant, engaging information on your website. Optimize the website with SEO to improve its presence.
- Enable 24/7 Online Booking
Today’s consumers simply expect to make their appointments online, straight from their mobile phones.
Also, consider the fact that more than 40% of online bookings happen outside business hours, so if you don’t offer 24/7 online booking function on your website, application, and on Google Maps listing via Rerserve With Google, you are potentially going to miss out on a lot of prospective clients.
Nowadays, adding online booking functionality is fortunately just as simple as integrating a yoga booking system to your website and application, so it’s just a matter of choosing the right solution according to your needs and budget.
Here are some key features to look for in a yoga scheduling software solution:
- Customizable interface and widget
- Easy integration and ease of use
- Automated notifications via email and SMS to minimize no-shows
- Integration with Reserve with Google so your clients can book your massage service directly from your Google Maps listing
- Automated calendar sync so your schedule always stays up to date
- Secure online payments integration covering popular payment options (credit card, PayPal, Stripe, etc.)
- Reliable and qualified customer support. Accidents do happen, and you’d want to have available help
- Data security features
- Effective Email Marketing
Email marketing remains one of the most effective marketing channels available with very high ROI, and it’s especially effective in retaining existing students.
However, it’s still important to do it right.
If you already have integrated a yoga scheduling solution, it should automatically collect your clients’ email addresses as they book your service online, and you can use these email addresses to start building an email list.
Then, it’s just a matter of sending the right message to the right people at the right time. Personalization and automation is key, and you can check this guide on email marketing that contains a lot of useful tips.
- Google Maps SEO
It’s no secret that nowadays, people rely on Google search in finding new businesses they’d visit, and it’s no different with yoga classes.
Your prospective students may use search queries like “yoga class near me” or “yoga studio in (city name)” when they look for yoga classes to attend, and if your business doesn’t appear on the results, practically you don’t exist to these clients.
This is why you should perform Google Maps SEO in just four simple steps:
- Claim and verify your Google My Business listing
- Optimize your listing, focus on providing complete, accurate information for your target clients
- Build local citations by listing your yoga business on relevant online directories
- Get more positive reviews from students, especially on your Google Maps listing, but also on other relevant sites and platforms
- Showcase Social Proof
We can’t underestimate the importance of (positive) reviews in this social media age.
People will read reviews before they decide to do business with you, including when deciding whether they should attend your yoga classes.
Encourage your students to leave reviews on your Google Map listing, your website, social media profileds, and other relevant platforms. Sometimes all it takes is just to ask them at the right time, but you might also want to offer incentives (discounts, freebies) in exchange for their positive reviews.
Also, feature testimonials in the form of interviews or even just simple quotes on your website and social media. This can be extremely valuable if the testimonial comes from relevant influencers in your area.
Wrapping Up
While the marketing ideas we’ve listed above are definitely not exhaustive, the 7 actionable marketing tips we’ve shared above can be a solid foundation you can use in building a comprehensive marketing strategy for your yoga business.
