Direct Mail Advertising?

[WaterGal]

I had two people come by this morning trying to sell me direct mail advertising (one from Clipper magazine and the other with postcards). Is this an effective way to advertise for a martial arts school? I've been doing a lot of online advertising, putting up flyers and we're in a good walk-by location, but we still only have a handful of students (we opened last month).

It seems kind of expensive - Clipper wanted $1050 for a half-page ad for 1 issue, and the postcard guy wanted $800 for 1000 postcards with a targeted mailing list - but if we get 10 or 20 students it'll be worth it. But if we don't, it'll be a big waste of money.

Does anybody have any experience (good or bad) with this kind of advertising? What would you recommend?

 

[1 TKD]

Your situation is very common. Most school owners only wind up advertising when someone shows up at their door trying to sell them something.

Before you decide what media you want to use to market you school, you should have a clear picture of who it is your are marketing to. When you are clear about the message you want to get across to people, and specifically who you want to see then you can discover what they read, where they go and what the best way to reach them is.

For example, with my school we have a very specific demographic we are looking for in students and we've discovered that they read certain magazines, trust certain monthly publications, take their kids to certain schools, and shop at certain places, etc. This knowledge dictates what kind of marketing we do, what schools we do programs and demos in and so on. We average 8-12 new students a month. My marketing mentor calls it the message, market, media match. When it all comes together, people be showing up ready to enroll!

I wish you the best of luck.

John Karstadt
1 TKD

 

[wingchun100]

$800 for 1000 cards? Wow. Have you tried looking online? There's one place that printed up some business cards for me VERY cheap. Everybody knows them, but ironically...their name JUST slipped my mind! Give me some time to think.

 

[Gnarlie]

I wouldn't bother with any kind of advertising that is a one off, e.g. mailshot or single page ad.

Look for something eyecatching and sustainable over time like a pre-trailer at the local cinema, a poster etc.

If you're good, people will come. Word of mouth is your best friend. Maybe organise a Facebook event where people invite friends, or even friends of friends. This works well with an open day or family day - remember to limit capacity on a first come first served basis.

Use the fact that there are a lot of weak instructors out there to your advantage - make sure your existing students are aware of exactly what they are getting and why it's the best. They are your best ambassadors and salespeople rolled into one.



Gnarlie

 

[Instructor]

I wouldn't bother with any kind of advertising that is a one off, e.g. mailshot or single page ad.

Look for something eyecatching and sustainable over time like a pre-trailer at the local cinema, a poster etc.

If you're good, people will come. Word of mouth is your best friend. Maybe organise a Facebook event where people invite friends, or even friends of friends. This works well with an open day or family day - remember to limit capacity on a first come first served basis.

Use the fact that there are a lot of weak instructors out there to your advantage - make sure your existing students are aware of exactly what they are getting and why it's the best. They are your best ambassadors and salespeople rolled into one.



Gnarlie

This is exactly right. I had a smattering of students and then one day they just starting bringing friends and saying you need to try this. Now I have about as many as I can responsibly handle. Didn't advertise beyond fliers and a website.

 

[rlobrecht]

Incentivize your students to bring their friends. Give them discounts when their friend signs up.

 

[WaterGal]

To follow up: ultimately, I didn't use the direct mail advertising. I did try postcards one time, from VistaPrint, and it didn't get me any students. Online advertising and signs have been the only advertising that's worked for us. I'm definitely moving more towards having community events and stuff like that.

 

[TwentyThree]

I do direct mail for a living. That being said, I'd rather see you make (nice) flyers and saturate the neighborhood around you for a one mile radius placing them on doors than do direct mail - it's too pricey for most schools.