make sure they are good ambassadors for your school and they realise that if they are wearing your logo they are representing your school and should behave appropriately. Make them feel proud of the logo and of the name of your school.
If you have a website, which is a very important, place the site address on their clothing or bags with the logo and studio name, so interested parents and dancers can contact you. These days it is easier to remember a website address than a phone number, provided it is short and simple. Stickers can also be a great idea. Printing stickers for students to place on their cars can also provide free advertising. Make sure they are easy to read with large enough print to read from a rear car at the traffic lights.
Press – Create some news and let the media know
Press releases can be a great free way to promote your studio and receive valuable coverage in local newspapers, magazines and publications. If a publication decides to write about your studio or mention your studio and students, this can be much more reputable than just an advert. News about your studio can also create great word of mouth. Local papers are always looking for news about what’s going on in your area and Dance Informa is always keen to hear about your news. If you have an upcoming event, performance or competition, your studios win awards, you open new classes, or anything that is newsworthy, let us know! Send any news to info@danceinforma.com
Once you have a press release written, send it on to as many media outlets as you can, for example the local paper, the state paper, newsletters, arts and dance publications, etc. There are also many press sites on the internet where you can send in your news release, and they will send it onto media outlets for you, plus send it around the internet to be picked up by interested parties. So how do you go about writing a quality press release that will grab the attention of the media and your audience? Here are a few tips to help you succeed:
1) Pick a newsworthy angle.
Press releases are not an advertisement, but are designed to tell the media about your news. So make sure you have some news! If you don’t feel like you have any news, make some! Hold an event or free class, invite a special guest teacher, do something creative. The media want a story! Think to yourself, would this be something that I might read in a newspaper or magazine?
2) Make your press release direct and to the point.
Place the Who, What, When, Where and How in the very first paragraph, to grab the audience’s attention and let them know what your news is and who you are immediately. To grab attention quickly, use your most hard hitting information first rather than build to a climax. Then follow with the details that support your story or theme.
3) Provide Photos
Always send some great eye catching photos with the press release so the media don’t have to search around for photos themselves. The easier you make their job, the more likely they will run with your story.
4) Provide your contact details
Always finish your release with your contact details and website, so that journalists can research for further information and contact you with any questions.
Invite a Friend Promotions
An easy way to attract new students is through an ‘invite a friend’ promotion. Encourage your students to invite their friends to try a class for free. To provide an incentive offer the students a prize for doing so. This can be a percentage off their fees (although this is more of an incentive for parents) or can be in the form of a gift like a dance bag or merchandise, free tickets to a performance, or anything else you can get your hands on. Think about it, if each student just invited 1 friend, you could double your numbers!
Free Dance Class Coupons at Concerts
How many people attend your school concerts? How many of them are potential students? Most students invite siblings, cousins and friends, and many of them could be interested in trying a class, especially after the powerful advertisement of an amazing concert. At your performances you have a captive audience, so make the most of it! Offer free dance class coupons at your concerts to audience members so they can take their coupon to your studio and enjoy a free trial class. You could enjoy a nice after concert influx of students…
And don't forget School Find!
School Find is an effective and low cost marketing tool, brought to you by Dance Informa.
Reach dancers and parents in their schools, homes and workplaces and direct them to your website.
Click Here to view School Find.
School Find allows you to advertise a full business listing, with promotional blurb and logo, all acting as a direct link to your website. SCHOOL FIND is not just a list,it is a targeted description of your offering with direct hotlinks to your website and email. DANCE informa magazine directs an Australia wide readership with an interest in DANCE to SCHOOL FIND, plus building links for your site on reputable websites such as Dance Informa assists you to achieve a higher ranking in search engines and give internet goers further avenues to find your site.
Contact advertise@danceinforma.com to find out more about School Find.
It's inexpensive and effective! Quick and easy to set up!
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