by Amanda Kingsmith | Nov 24, 2017 | Blog, Business
Your Facebook page is an extension of the community you work so hard to create in-person. It’s a place to celebrate your studio, your teachers, your owners, and especially your students.
Here are 10 ways a yoga studio can create a stronger Facebook page:
Give credit (be in integrity). There are so many beautiful quotes and graphics floating around. If you use one and it’s easy to credit the author or the source, do so. If you’re sharing a photo that a student took at your studio, ask them if you can share it and then give them credit too.
Post quality images. The best photos of our yogis and of our studio are taken during the day, when sun streams into the room. I almost exclusively take photos mid-day for this reason. The quality of your photos will impact (possibly unfairly) a potential customer’s impression on the quality of your studio. Don’t be afraid to delete old, blurry photos.
Show the studio (even the nooks). If someone who has never been to your studio is on your Facebook page, chances are they want to know what it looks like. Show off your studio through wide shots of the space, and don’t be afraid to include photos of your lobby and front desk. Also, avoid any potential confusion by making it a hard rule not to post photos of other studios. If you’re trying to highlight your incredible teaching staff, only post photos of them outside, or at your space.
Emphasize your point of differentiation. Often, your personality will come through naturally. If your yoga studio is more serene, that can be what you choose to capture in your images.
Be humble. Everyone who works for your studio — from the Energy Exchange, to the teachers, to the owners — are all human. Just because social media allows us to present picture-perfect versions of ourselves, doesn’t mean we have to. Speak with your audience, not down to them.
Have a personality. You’re a person interacting with your Facebook community. Post what you think they’ll want to see, and actually be excited about the things you’re sharing.
Please, don’t hide diversity. I say this as a student, as a teacher, as a advocate of men practicing yoga, and as a visible minority: If the only people you are posting images of are toned, white, females, you are going to intimidate potential customers, and possibly even alienate your current ones who don’t fit that mold. Being inclusive of everyone on your Facebook page will make your studio a more welcoming space.
Link to your Facebook page on your website. And tell people about it! I refer students to our Facebook page when they are looking for details on upcoming workshops and events.
Don’t flood your students with information. Be clear, and be intentional with your message. Try to keep the text of your post short enough that students won’t have to expand to see what you wrote. Provide a link to any secondary information.
Involve your students: After a busy class, I’ll sometimes ask if students want to stick around for a photo. Or, if I see a student practicing a pose after class, I’ll ask them if they would mind me taking a photo for our social media. Always get permission, and offer to tag them in the post. The key is to celebrate your students just as much as your teachers.
The books pictured at the top of this post are Baron Baptiste’s 40 Days to Personal Revolution and The Fruit Feast.
Laura Fraser is a yoga teacher, digital media specialist & hand-lettering artist. You can learn more about Laura here.
by Amanda Kingsmith | Nov 20, 2017 | Personal Development, Show Notes
Download the Episode or Subscribe on iTunes!
I am so excited to be joined by the founder of YogaBossBabe, Liz Nguyen. On this episode, Liz shares her journey as a yoga teacher, doing her YTT at Core Power Yoga and then completing a 2 year yoga therapy program from LMU. We talk about how she successfully started a corporate yoga business, and then became inspired to create YogaBossBabe, a monthly subscription service for yoga entrepreneurs.
We talk about everything from getting yourself out there as a new yoga teacher, to finding your teaching voice, to how to get corporate yoga gigs, advice for new yoga teachers, as well as what Liz has learned from creating YogaBossBabe.
Enjoy!
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by Amanda Kingsmith | Nov 17, 2017 | Blog, Business
As a rule, I try to be as honest as possible when it comes to my life as a yoga teacher. At every beginning stage of my teaching journey (while I was considering teacher training, during teacher training, and after teacher training), I had practical questions that I was afraid to ask. Teaching yoga is one of the most rewarding things I do and have done with my life, and I have learned a lot since becoming a teacher (knowing, of course, that I still have so much to learn).
Here’s a collection of honest advice for new yoga teachers, comprised of things I was told, and things I wish I had been told. It is by no means a comprehensive list. Together, what this list really boils down to is, “stay humble, value yourself, and keep learning” – with a few personal lessons thrown in.
Try everything, because you won’t know what you will like unless you try it.
Say yes to privates, say yes to 45 people classes. Teach classes to music, teach classes with no music at all. Teach at your own office, teach at studios, teach at homes. Not only will you be exposed to your favourite ways of teaching, but it will help you identify the types of classes you don’t enjoy teaching, which is just as important. You will make tons of meaningful connections outside of your regular yoga community, and it is all experience that will serve you in the long run.
Take other teachers’ classes.
We never stop being students. Taking a variety of classes exposes us to different flows, experiences, and languaging. My teaching is always more inspired when I am a student first, and a teacher second.
You can still “Be a Yes” by saying “No”.
It took me longer than it should have to realize that teaching at one particular studio made me unhappy and no longer served me. I’m grateful for my experience there, because it exposed me to a new teaching environment. I developed a lot as a teacher at that studio, but chose myself first by saying goodbye.
Teach your friends.
Before you start getting regular teaching opportunities, offer to teach free or cheap classes to your friends, your family, or your co-workers. Doing this helped me build confidence, gain some necessary experience, and keep my momentum post teaching training.
Remember that you are not entitled to anything.
Finishing teacher training does not equal a teaching job. No matter how hard you worked, it is not something you are owed. This was more or less said to us (perhaps in kinder words) during our teaching training and it was such a helpful reminder to stay humble, grounded, and out of the comparison game.
Value your time enough to be firm about money.
I am bewildered that someone pays me to do something that I enjoy as much as teaching yoga. That said, payment isn’t always something that is openly or comfortably talked about in the yoga community and I urge you to ask questions, to be clear about what you need to make a living, and to be willing to say no to jobs. Mistakes I have made include:
- Justifying being legally underpaid
- Not asking or confirming ahead of time how much I would make by agreeing to teach somewhere
- Not confirming when I could expect payment for classes subbed at other studios
Last year I took a workshop with Samara Zelniker, founder of Mindfulness Matters, where we talked about money, setting cancellation fees (there is an opportunity cost when you book a class), and taking your career as a teacher seriously enough to be firm about the value of your time. If she runs one again, I highly recommend it.
Be an observer of your own relationship with teaching.
Some people were born to teach full time. I was built to teach a few classes a week. In the beginning, sometimes I said yes to so many things that I became bitter about the lack of time left for my own practice. Backing off was the best thing I could do to keep my relationship with teaching healthy.
Another thing I learned about myself is that being paid by head (based on the number of students in the room) made it very difficult for me to stay out of comparison with other teachers, and made it challenging for me to fully enjoy teaching classes where only one or two students showed up. I am much more happy and present – regardless of class size – being paid a flat rate.
Above all, believe in abundance.
Nothing will make you feel richer than giving to others. Spend time with students after class, give back to your own yoga community, and bring yoga into places that don’t otherwise have access. Give to charities like Africa Yoga Project or New Leaf Yoga. Everyone has their own valuable way of being for others – make it your mission to find yours.
Laura Fraser is a yoga teacher, digital media specialist & hand-lettering artist. You can learn more about Laura here.
by Amanda Kingsmith | Nov 13, 2017 | Marketing & Branding, Show Notes
Download the Episode or Subscribe on iTunes!
On this episode of the podcast, I am joined by Arianne Traverso from Bizzy Yogi and the Yoga Expo in Miami. Arianne came to yoga from the graphic design and marketing world, and has been teaching yoga for over 15 years. On this episode, Arianne and I chat about her experience as a yoga teacher, a yoga studio owner, a mentor for yoga teachers, and the founder of Bizzy Yogi.
Arianne and I chat about the importance of sales funnels and how you can set up an effective sales funnel, the importance of digital marketing and how you can create an online presence, as well as why it’s important to have multiple revenue streams and how to create a side hustle that makes you money doing something that you love.
One of the big lessons that Arianne shares in this episode is to bring harmony into your business. Take what you learn on the mat and bring it into your life off the mat and into your business.
Enjoy!
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by Amanda Kingsmith | Nov 12, 2017 | Blog, Business
I’ve been working for The Yoga Lounge, based out of Canmore, AB for nearly 3 years. I’ve done a lot of different tasks as one of the three studio managers, and had the opportunity to work as the primary studio manager this past summer for 5 months. Throughout my time working for The Yoga Lounge, I’ve learned a lot.
Here’s are 6 important lessons I’ve learned about managing a yoga studio: (more…)
