As a private music teacher, continually finding new students is essential to growing a successful music teaching business. While many marketing methods are available, hanging flyers on doors is a cost-effective and targeted way to reach potential students in specific neighborhoods. However, there are important considerations you must think about to avoid wasting time, money, or getting into trouble (there are some legal considerations). Done correctly, distributing door-hangers to showcase your services and qualifications as a music teacher, can introduce yourself to prospective students and generate new students for your music lesson business.
Advantages of Door-hanging Flyers
Cost-effective: Hanging door flyers is a cost-effective marketing method for private music teachers. Unlike other marketing methods that require postage costs, door-hanging flyers have no associated postage expenses. This makes them an affordable option if you are on a tight budget.
Highly targeted: Another significant advantage of hanging door flyers is that it is highly targeted marketing. You can walk or drive through specific neighborhoods and look at homes to decide whether or not to hang a flyer, allowing you to focus your marketing efforts on areas with a higher potential for finding new students.
Personal touch: Door-hanging flyers provide a personal touch. By hanging flyers on doors or in mailboxes, you can introduce yourself and your services to potential students personally and directly. This can be more effective than other forms of marketing that may come across as impersonal.
Building a mailing list: You can also write down addresses for a direct-mail mailing list as you hang the flyers. For example, if you’re canvassing a street, write the street name, and then write down the address numbers for each home on that street that you would like to target for a future direct mail campaign. This approach can be a great way to expand the marketing campaign’s reach beyond the distribution of flyers.
Exercise: We all need it! Hanging door flyers will help you get a lot of steps in, and it is a simple way to combine exercise and marketing. By walking or biking through targeted neighborhoods, you can stay healthy while promoting your music lesson studio.
Door-hanging flyers vs. direct mail
Private music teachers have many options to market their music lessons. Door-hanging flyers and direct mail are two traditional marketing strategies that many music teachers overlook. These two methods have some similarities, but there are also some differences to consider.
Standing out: Door hangers might stand out more than direct mail, helping them get a potential student’s attention. When flyers are hung on doors or in mailboxes, they aren’t mixed in with regular mail, so they have a better chance of catching someone’s eye. Direct mail usually requires many mailings to the same homes to get attention. Door hangers might get the job done with just one flyer.
Cost: Door-hanging flyers are typically less expensive than direct mail. However, they require more work since they need to be physically hung in the targeted neighborhoods.
Personal touch: Door-hanging flyers provide a personal touch that direct mail doesn’t offer. There’s something inspirational about someone willing to share their own business door-to-door. It’s also possible that you might run into people and chat about why you are there, providing an excellent opportunity to get new students.
Door-hanging flyers can complement direct mail, and most music teachers are better off incorporating both. In fact, you are probably better off doing both at the same time. When you do direct mail, you are likely sending postcards to the same neighborhoods multiple times over a few months. Canvassing the neighborhoods with door-hangers during that period increases the odds of the people becoming aware of who you are and what you are offering. By combining both methods, you can reach a wider audience and increase the chances of finding new students.
When to hang door flyers
The best time of year to hang door flyers for marketing music lessons can vary depending on weather, availability, and other factors.
The summer months, before school starts, can be an excellent time to hang door flyers for many regions. Parents often look for extracurricular activities for their children, and the end of summer is when they begin to plan for the upcoming school year. Additionally, the warmer weather and longer days make it easier to be outside, which can increase the chances of the flyers being seen by potential students.
This is also when you may encounter people outside and have the opportunity to hand them a flyer directly. Even if you’re uncomfortable talking to strangers, it’s worth doing. The people you meet may have already considered taking music lessons, and they could appreciate the convenience of not having to search for a music teacher on their own.
Preparing the Flyer
When preparing door-hanging flyers for marketing music lessons, you should consider the design, information to include, and printing options.
Identify your target market: Before designing your door-hanging flyers, know who you are targeting. Are you targeting children, teens, or adults? Are you targeting beginners or more advanced musicians? You likely provide lessons for all ages and skill levels, but your message needs to target a specific audience. In the book, The Brain Audit, the author says to think of your target market as the bulls-eye on a dart board. That’s what you are aiming for. You’ll likely get points other than the bulls-eye, but you need to have a specific target. For example, if you’re trying to get children who have never taken music lessons, your flyer should specifically target that niche. Don’t make the mistake of targeting every type of student because your message will be too watered down, cluttered, and generic, which won’t excite anyone.
Craft a compelling headline: The headline is the first thing people will notice on your flyer, and it’s essential to make it attention-grabbing and informative. A good strategy for a headline is to pose a question that addresses a specific problem. The question should grab the attention of the person reading it if that person fits who you’re targeting. For example, let’s assume your target is parents with young children who have never played piano; some ideas for headlines might be:
- Do you want your child to learn piano and have fun doing it?
- Do you want your child to learn piano but struggle to find time for lessons?
- Do you want your child to learn piano but don’t know if you can afford it?
You can only choose one headline. In other words, your flyer will have a specific audience and single out one specific problem your audience has.
Solve their problem: Directly underneath the headline (the problem), offer the solution. The solution is simply the inverse of the problem. For example:
- Problem: Do you want your child to learn piano and have fun doing it?
- Solution: I specialize in piano lessons for children, and I guarantee your children will love coming to piano lessons!
- Problem: Do you want your child to learn piano but struggle to find time for lessons?
- Solution: I specialize in piano lessons for children and can fit lessons into almost any busy parent’s schedule.
- Problem: Do you want your child to learn piano but don’t know if you can afford it?
- Solution: I’m an experienced piano teacher who loves teaching children. And I’m affordable, too!
Your solution should pique the reader’s curiosity and make them wonder how you do it. It should not delve into how you do it, though. They will find that out later when they contact you.
Flyer design: The flyer’s design should be eye-catching and grab people’s attention. The colors, graphics, and text should be chosen carefully to convey the music teacher’s message and brand. A simple, uncluttered design is often the most effective. Colors should be selected carefully to complement each other, and graphics should be relevant to the services offered. The text should be easy to read, with a concise message.
Other information to include: Most of the tips we presented about what to include are in our article about direct mail because the same concepts apply to door-hanging. Certainly include your name and studio name and your contact information (phone number, email address, and website). The lessons you offer should be clearly outlined, such as types of instruments, instruction levels, and other relevant information that differentiates you from other music teachers in the area.
Include a clear call to action: In addition to providing information about your teaching services, your flyer should also include a clear call to action that encourages people to take action. This could be as simple as “Call now to schedule your first lesson!” or “Visit our website to learn more and sign up. MusicTeacherNotes has an Availability Calendar that lets potential students view your availability and request their preferred lesson times. If you’re a MusicTeacherNotes member, your call to action could include the link to your Availability Calendar so you can capture their information and save time scheduling them, too.
Printing options: Printing options should also be considered. Professional printing is the most expensive option, but it can provide high-quality, professional flyers. Home printing is cheaper, but the quality may not be as good. Teachers should choose the printing option that best suits their budget and needs.
Selecting Neighborhoods
You’ll want to select suitable neighborhoods for your door-hanging efforts. Here are some considerations.
Logistics: You’ll want houses reasonably close to one another in a walkable area. Hilly neighborhoods, long driveways, and neighborhoods without sidewalks are probably not suitable for door hanging.
Demographics: Targeting neighborhoods with children might be more successful in promoting music lessons. The most common ages that people begin taking music lessons are between 4 and 7 years old because parents often want to expose their kids to music lessons.
Affordability: You also have to consider whether or not the people in the neighborhoods you advertise to can afford music lessons. It’s sad, but if people don’t have disposable income, they are unlikely to invest in music lessons.
Legalities: Once you’ve selected the neighborhoods you want to target, you must consider any legal requirements. Does the neighborhood have an HOA restricting solicitors or canvassers from hanging flyers? Depending on the location, hanging flyers on doors may require a permit. In some areas, it may not be legal at all. Therefore, checking the local laws and regulations before hanging the flyers is important. Also, note that it is illegal in the United States to attach flyers to mailboxes. Stick to doors.
Evaluating the success of the campaign
“If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.”
-Peter Drucker
Evaluating the success of door flyer campaigns is essential to maximize your marketing efforts. There are two simple ways to track the response rate of door flyers and determine whether they are generating new students.
Coupon codes: Adding a unique coupon code to the flyer lets you know if the student came explicitly from that flyer. This approach can be beneficial if targeting multiple neighborhoods or locations with different flyers. You might want to purchase a stamper to quickly stamp a coupon code on mass-produced flyers, rather than trying to print flyers with the codes pre-printed on them.
Ask: Ask students how they heard of you when they contact you for lessons. If a student mentions the door flyer, ask where they live to know which neighborhoods are responding to the flyers.
It’s important to remember that response rates can vary depending on a range of factors, including the flyer’s design, the targeted neighborhood, and the campaign’s timing. Continually evaluate the success of your marketing campaigns and make adjustments as needed.
Conclusion
In conclusion, door-hanging flyers can be a practical, affordable, and highly targeted marketing method for private music teachers to find new students. Door hangers are more cost-effective than direct mail, provide a personal touch, and offer a chance for teachers to get some exercise. However, door-hanging flyers have some legal considerations and require physical effort. While direct mail campaigns are more scalable and can reach a larger audience, door-hanging flyers offer a more personal touch and might get better attention. Marketing your music studio will likely require a multifaceted approach, and door hanging is a good marketing strategy worth looking into.
Do you want to get more students and grow your music teaching business?