How to bring in more students to the dojo?

Question

I have a Aikido Dojo and currently have 6 studnets. There is a TKD Dojang down the street that has over 50 students. I put out flyers and thing of that nature but nothing happens. my classes are Mon. & Wed. kids class 5pm-6pm adults class 6:30pm - 8pm price $40.00 monh
The TKD is $25.00 month 1 day a week for 1 hour I dont know whats wrong lol.

I have no mark up on gi's what so ever I get them for 40 i sale them to the student for that,family member dscount's, up to 2 40 min priv. classes a month, no test fees,web site address,2 free weeks,I tell them if they work nights then I'll be there when the can train meaning im there for them. ect...

I have no mark up on gi's what so ever I get them for 40 i sale them for 40,family member discount's, up to two 40 min priv. classes a month, no test fees,web site address,2 free weeks of class,team jackets,I tell them if they work nights then I'll be there when they can train meaning im there for them.

well i did have class 4 days a week and i gave the students a choice of the two days they wanted to practice. most of them went with mon. & wed.. The other two students wanted tue. and thur. and they just stopped coming to class i after about 4 months, so i went back to mon. and wed.

Answer 1

You need to advertise. Handing out fliers doesn't work well anymore, as you have already learned. I can recommend a few things that can help right away.

1. Buy a print ad in your local paper. Sunday edition is best. Try to get a quarter page ad near the Entertainment section. In the add offer a trial class, with the words "call now". Turn every single phone call into an appointment. Advertise the results a person will get. Keep the ads simple.

2. Make up guest passes and have your students hand them out to friends. Offer some sort of reward for those who bring in friends who eventually join.

3. Contact your local high school, private schools, and any colleges in your area. Offer a free demonstration of your art, and give out guest passes. Those under 18 should bring a parent with them.

4. Contact your local law enforcement office. Offer them a nice discount if they want to train at your dojo.

5. Contact your local Women's Center or any sort of Garden Club. Set up a demonstration and stress the self-defense aspects of your art.

6. Contact the largest employer in your area and offer a corporate discount. You can create a flier highlighting physical fitness and stress management. Negotiate an offer where you give the group discount in exchange for them either allowing an on site demo or adding your brochure to the employee pay check envelope.

7. Network with everyone you meet. Your goal is to get them into your dojo.

Answer 2

Bob and archer there are right. Most parents don't get home from work in time to get their children there by 5 PM. Adjust the class time to 5:45 PM or 6 PM and for the adult class shorten it to an hour or seventy-five minutes. Most adults don't have that kind of free time like they did forty years ago when I started karate and classes were ninety minutes long. I would also increase the number of nights that you offer classes. Children and adults are busy on some nights with other activities like baseball, soccer, volleyball and basketball. You can't make full time money having only part time hours and you are not only competing against the TKD guy for students but also all those other activities.

Also the fact that you are teaching Aikido makes it a little tougher. It is not thought of as a style for children so you need to promote your business and at the same time educate the public about your art a little. Emphasize the quality of your program and its standards. Aikido is one of the few martial arts still out there that has held to their high standards with respect to promotions. Make sure you tell people that when they inquire about classes. I would also make sure that I had at least a line listing in the yellow pages. Encourage your students to bring a guest or friend to class twice a month to watch class.

I have seen many good schools and instructors put out of business by the diploma mills out there or because they were not good businessmen along with being good instructors. In order to survive in this day and age you have to be both and be able to compete with all the othe activities that are out there for children and teens to do as well as get those adults to take some of their valuable free time and give it to you each month along with their check.

Answer 3

Captain Boz has your answer, really. But I did notice something: You offer classes twice a week, Monday and Wednesday, with the kids' classes at 5 pm to 6 pm, and adult classes at 6:30 pm to 8 pm... Perhaps you should re-think that schedule.

Maybe Friday/Sunday, at times people would not be thinking about other things. Monday-Thursday, most folks are thinking about getting dinner eaten and realaxing before bed-time...and most kids are probably thinking about after-school activities such as football/baseball practice - or beating that computer game - at 5 pm. Some teens even have a job to get to right after school.

Americans are a Service-Oriented Society - the faster and the more convenient the service, the happier we are. We do not always go for the least expensive, no matter how good it may be.

Answer 4

Hi! I started a dojo about one year ago. In your question I don't remember seeing a website mentioned. If you don't have one, I recommend getting one set up. If you do have one, maybe work on expanding it. I set mine up through Freeservers and it cost only $50.00 per year. I can view statistics to see where my hits are coming from.

Go to the internet and search for martial arts dojos in your area. That should give you a good idea of where dojos are listed. List yourself on any free site that will let you list your service.

I don't recommend a newspaper ad. Focus your efforts on everything free or low cost.

Since you have students, enlist their help in postering or referals.

Classes: the more the better. Your dojo can only expand to the amount of classes you have.

Cost: low is not always the best. There is a price point for what you do. If a price is too low people will think it is cheap. If someone was offering a gallon of milk for .25 cents, would you buy it? Survey other martial arts schools. You can always offer discounts. I don't recommend raising the price for your current students, though.

Keep doing things! Try to have one marketing event or do something new each month. There is no known way to market. It is trial and error, one thing will work one month and not the next.

Demo or open house, that is a good idea. Market that on sites that will allow you to post your ad for free. If craigs list is available, that can be a good option. Search the 'net for demos and see where people are posting them. Of course, poster locally.


Like someone said, keep letting people know you are out there. Posters are easy enough to do, but have not been very effective for me thus far. On the other hand, somone could see one and decide to drop by that day who could be with you for the next twenty years.

Try to aim for one event each month, be it a demo, talking to a company about offering a free employee seminar, or having a demo at a local high school. Word will get around.

Work on retention too. Have events with your dojo. Pizza night, etc...

Continue to survey students to find out how they found out about you.

For more ideas, I think the Martial Arts Teachers Association has some great tips. Aikido is a great sport. We just need to let people know that it is a great sport!

Answer 5

Hi There,

Long time no hear... good to hear that you have started a dojo. I too have a dream to do the same... still dream.

Firstly good job for getting it going secondly at least you have 6 students.

When I started training Aikido at the club I belong too it to started out with 6 student so don't worry...

Marketing with flyers is hard.... hit ratio can be low.

Suggestion:
- Have free trials...
- Have an open house... where ppl can come and check it out
- Have a demo...

Sell not just Aikido but sell the Spirit of Aikido and the values that you can bring this art into your daily life. As everybody out there is searching for balance in life. Aikido is one of the solution to this personal mastery.

Takecare and keep it up.
Mike

Answer 6

Well the problem is there isnt a whole lot of money in martial arts unless.

A: your a mcdojo .... do you really want to whore yourself out and your values just to make enough to get by. At the end my sensei did this and he went from a well recongized instructor to a laughing stock.

B: you live in a major city or the west coast.

C: you live in an untapped market

Now this being said. It usally takes a couple years to establish a good dojo by running on your values and not whoring yourself out ... Its a lot of hard work but when you get there you will be so much happier. And a lot more respected.

Yes, you will have to work your *** off to keep the dojo running probably for the first few years.

Answer 7

We paying $85 every month. Tue. & Thu . My son's class is 45min. About 20+ kids were start taking a class same time but now he is CKD blue belt and only one left) What they doing is listning what they want ( some times kids doesn't like other kids in the class or something they don't like) and work with them. You know, doing the "custermer is always right." Also he go to the local schools and showing self defence.( elementary and up) He often wear school T-shirt when he is out. He often do volanteer and sigh up town parade ( At parade, he is with his students and show demonstrat their skills and kids seems like showing off, too) etc to let his school's name out much as he can. Seems that is attracting a new students. When my son wanted take a class, we checked website to pick the school. I really hope you will do better because Aikido is from my country . Good luck!

Answer 8

I think they've said it all. One small thing though, Aikido is probably one of the most terrifying martial arts for the uninitiated to watch. I can see why parents may think TKD is safer, and a lot of adults too.

Seeing someone hurtling through the air like that is frightening. You might have to address those concerns. Remember that these people do not have the knowledge that you do. They need to know that it's safe. Lidy

Answer 9

The previous answers cover it. Advertise and if that don't work Advertise and so on. Offer free women's self defense seminars and make them convenient. Do the senior centers these folks have grandchildren. Don"t cut cost too much it makes your product seem cheap.
Good luck.

Answer 10

good to hear from you . we have a kickboxing dojo near us and he charges equivalent to $300 per month,signed up to a 12 month contract and he is bursting at the seams.there is a [clever] form of pschycology at work here and it is if you charge more people think that they are getting good value. think on those lines ,if you have more income you can market your club more efficiently and more positively.charge more for classes and reinvest money into the club improving equipment ,facilities etc.more exposure,more students.good luck