16 Music School Marketing Strategies to Get More Students!

Finding new students as a private music teacher is crucial to growing your business. There are a variety of marketing strategies that you can use to reach potential students and showcase your skills and services. From utilizing traditional methods, such as direct mail, to leveraging the power of technology, such as search engine optimization, there are many ways to promote your music studio and attract new students effectively. Whether you focus on one strategy or a combination of several, creating a plan that works best for you and your business is essential. By implementing a well-thought-out marketing plan, you can increase your visibility and reach more students, helping you grow your business and succeed as a music teacher. Here are 16 killer strategies that can launch your music lesson business and take it to a new level!

Direct Mail

Direct mail is a powerful marketing tool for private music teachers looking to reach more students. According to the Direct Marketing Association, direct mail has a response rate of 4.4%, which is much higher than other marketing channels, such as email (0.12%) and social media (0.62%). This is because direct mail allows you to target a specific audience and offers a more personal and tangible way to reach potential students. By sending a well-designed and engaging direct mail piece to a targetted mailing list, you can introduce yourself, showcase your skills and services, and create a sense of trust and credibility with potential students. Two great places to start with a direct mail campaign are Vistaprint and PostcardMania. Direct mail is an effective way to stand out in a crowded market and attract more students to your music studio.

Door hanging flyers

Door-hanging flyers can be an effective way for private music teachers to reach more students and expand their client base. Door-hanging flyers are tangible and offer a personal touch, which can help establish trust and credibility with potential students. The legality of hanging door-hangers can vary by location. In general, distributing flyers is considered a form of speech protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. However, some municipalities have regulations regarding the distribution of flyers, such as restrictions on when and where they can be hung or requirements for obtaining permits. It’s best to check your area’s specific laws and regulations to determine if door-hanging flyers are legal and what restrictions apply. Assuming it’s okay in your area, hanging flyers on doors in targeted neighborhoods can effectively help you reach many potential students while simultaneously getting some great exercise!

Google Ads

Google Ads (formerly Google AdWords) can be a powerful tool for private music teachers looking to reach more students and expand their client base. Google Ads allows you to place targeted ads in front of a large audience and generate leads. According to Google, businesses make an average of $2 in revenue for every $1 they spend on AdWords. Take that with a grain of salt. Google profits from ads, and learning as much as possible about Google Ads before diving in is essential. You need a well-crafted strategy to get the best results. It’s vital that you narrow the search area and focus on a specific demographic to maximize your Google Ad campaign’s effectiveness. Also, by using negative keywords, you can eliminate irrelevant clicks and ensure that your ads are only shown to individuals who are likely to be interested in your services. Entire books have been written about Google Ads, and many music teachers have poor luck with it because they jumped in without fully understanding it. With the right approach, Google Ads can be an incredible tool. The wrong approach can cost significant money with no new students to show for it.

Search Engine Optimization

SEO optimization can be a valuable tool for private music teachers looking to reach more students and expand their online presence. Optimizing your website and online content for search engines can increase your visibility, attract more visitors, and generate leads. According to Search Engine Land, the top result on Google’s first page gets 33% of search traffic, making SEO optimization a crucial part of any digital marketing strategy. However, it’s important to note that SEO optimization takes time and effort, and it’s a long-term strategy that requires ongoing attention. Nevertheless, the rewards can be substantial for private music teachers who understand and focus on SEO. One great strategy music teachers can use is creating a dedicated web page for every type of lesson they offer. For example, if you teach piano, guitar, and saxophone, have a page dedicated to your piano lessons, a second page to your guitar lessons, and a third page to your saxophone lessons. If you think about it, a potential student interested in saxophone lessons will type something like “saxophone lessons near me” in their search query, which is why you don’t want them to land on a page that seems to be a mix of several instruments. You want the page to target what they are likely searching for specifically. Each page should also list your location and answers to students’ common questions about those lessons. MusicTeacherNotes offers a free SEO audit for every new music teacher who joins the platform as a premium member, providing them with valuable insights and recommendations to help them optimize their online presence and reach more students.

Music Teacher Directory Listings

Music teacher directory listings can be a valuable tool for private music teachers looking to reach more students and increase their online visibility. Each directory listing provides an opportunity for your services to appear when a potential student uses a search engine to find a music teacher. This increases the likelihood that potential students will find you. For this reason, you should list yourself in as many directories as possible. This helps to broaden your online presence and reach a wider audience. MusicTeacherNotes has a music teacher directory that all teachers can list for free on, when they register a free MusicTeacherNotes account. By taking advantage of this opportunity, you can gain exposure to a large and growing audience of potential students, making it easier for you to reach more students and grow your business.

Word of Mouth

Word-of-mouth marketing is the most powerful advertising you can get. Going above and beyond as a music teacher does two things to help you grow your music lesson business: It helps you retain current students, and it motivates students to spread the word about their positive experiences to their friends and family. Satisfied students are often more than happy to share their enthusiasm for you with others. By providing high-quality, engaging lessons and building positive relationships with your students, you can encourage them to spread the word about your services. MusicTeacherNotes helps teachers get more word-of-mouth advertising via its Testimonial Autopilot feature. Facilitating word of mouth from current students is one of the most effective ways for you to reach more new students.

Unique curriculum (Niche Marketing)

A unique curriculum can be a profitable strategy for music teachers looking to get more students. By targetting a niche area of expertise, you can differentiate yourself from your competition and appeal to a targeted audience. Focusing on a specific area of music, such as early childhood music education or a particular instrument, lets you position yourself as an expert in that area and attract students looking for specialized instruction. For example, a music teacher specializing in early childhood music education might offer music classes and workshops designed specifically for young children and their parents. By focusing on a specific niche, music teachers can differentiate themselves from other teachers and attract students looking for specialized instruction in this area. Niche marketing can be highly effective. As the saying goes, “the riches are in the niches!”

Social Media

Social media can be a valuable tool for music teachers looking to promote their music studio and reach more students. With the widespread use of social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok, music teachers have many opportunities to connect with potential students and promote their services. To get started, you should consider creating profiles on the most common social media platforms and sharing a variety of content, including photos and videos of your students in action, updates on upcoming events and workshops, and testimonials from your satisfied students. Additionally, you can use social media to share information about your curriculum, philosophy, and teaching style, helping to build awareness. Social media can help promote your music studio and reach more potential students by engaging with your followers and regularly posting fresh, relevant content.

Local Search

Music teachers can significantly benefit from using Google My Business (GMB) and local search to reach more students. Local search results typically appear at the top of a search engine results page (SERP), making them highly visible to potential students searching for music teachers in their area. By setting up and optimizing your GMB profile, you can showcase your business information, including location, hours of operation, and contact information, making it easier for potential students to find and contact you. Additionally, you can use local search keywords and phrases in your website content and GMB listing to rank higher in local search results, increasing your visibility and helping you reach more students. Testimonials are crucial to performing well via local search. When a potential student sees a teacher with many positive reviews, it’s almost as effective as word-of-mouth advertising. The MusicTeacherNotes Testimonial Autopilot feature helps music teachers get more reviews and testimonials.

Groupon

Groupon is a daily deal website that offers discounts and promotions on local businesses and services. Groupon can be a great way to reach new students and grow your music lesson studio. You can offer a discount on a set of music lessons, for example, to introduce yourself to new students and provide them with an opportunity to try out lessons at a reduced cost. This can be a great way to get new students in the door. Offering a few reduced-cost lessons is cheap when a single new student can provide a music teacher with over $1000 per year in revenue. To maximize success on Groupon offers, you should focus on creating a compelling deal that provides value to the potential student, such as a package of lessons at a discounted rate or a limited-time offer for first-time students. Some creative Groupon examples might be a deal for group lessons at a time when you typically have no students. Additionally, you could offer several free online lessons during your off-peak times at a completely different timezone than the one you live in, helping you fill your off-peak times. You can leverage Groupon to reach new students and grow your business without spending advertising money by offering a compelling deal and showcasing your expertise and value as a music teacher.

Craigslist

Craigslist can be an excellent resource for finding new music students. Craigslist is an online platform for buying and selling goods and services, including music lessons. Maybe you thought Craigslist was dead? Just because it isn’t getting the hype it once did doesn’t mean it’s dead. Craigslist still gets over 100 million monthly visitors. Many potential students look for private music teachers locally, making Craigslist an excellent resource for advertising your music lesson services. Craigslist allows you to post your ads anytime to reach potential students 24/7. You can customize your ads on Craigslist to make them more appealing to potential students. You can include pictures, videos, detailed qualifications, and teaching style information in your Craigslist Ad. Craigslist is a free tool that any private music teacher trying to market their music lesson on a budget should use.

Flexible Scheduling

Flexible scheduling can be a major factor in attracting more students to a music teacher’s studio. By offering lessons during various times, including reduced prices for off-peak times, you can cater to the schedules of a broader range of students. As many young students need lessons after school, filling these time slots with individual lessons can quickly increase your student load. However, if these slots are already filled, offering group lessons during peak times can help combine several students into a group lesson if they cannot find a better time slot. Additionally, utilizing a tool like the MusicTeacherNotes Availability Calendar, which allows students to pick the best time slot for music lessons, can ensure that they are more likely to find a time slot they like, making the process easier for both you and the student.

Group Lessons

Continuing on the subject of group lessons, not only do they allow teachers to serve multiple students at once, but they can also make lessons more affordable for families and accessible to a broader range of students. Group lessons can also create a supportive and collaborative learning environment, as students can learn from each other. Group lessons can also help differentiate your music business’s offerings, making your services a more appealing choice for prospective students and families. Group lessons might be a fun way to get adults into an instrument. For example, you might have a day where you offer a 1-hour group piano lesson in the evening where similar-aged students get to meet other students. You could have a singles group lesson, a couples group lesson, a women’s group lesson, a men’s group lesson, a children’s group lesson, or whatever else you can conjure up.

Online Lessons

Teachers can reach a larger audience by offering online lessons, as geography is no longer a limiting factor. For example, you could focus on students in different time zones and potentially find after-school students in New York when it’s only 1 pm in California. You could even fill time slots by marketing to online students from other countries. This strategy not only helps you grow your student load but also allows you to provide more flexible and convenient options for your students. Online music lessons through platforms like Zoom or other online meeting apps can significantly benefit you in reaching more students. With the rise of remote learning, offering online lessons has become an increasingly popular option for teachers and students.

Collaborate with other teachers

Networking and collaborating with other music teachers is a great way to expand your reach and attract new students. By working together, you can offer prospective students a more comprehensive range of options and help each other fill in time slots or find the right teacher for specific student needs. This can help create a strong network of teachers who can refer students to each other as needed. Doing so increases the chances of students finding a teacher that fits their needs and being referred to you when the need arises. This referral system can provide a steady stream of new students for your music studio and help you grow your student load over time.

Text Messaging and Email Marketing

Text messaging and email marketing can be valuable strategies for local music studios to convert leads into new students. When potential students contact music teachers, they may not sign up for lessons immediately and often leave with questions or hesitation. Without follow-up, it’s unlikely that they will schedule a lesson. Staying in touch with potential students through email and text messaging is essential.

A real-life example illustrates this point. A teacher received a call from a potential student who expressed interest but wanted time to consider it. The teacher sent several text messages and emails over the following months to check in and remind the student about lessons. The messages were variations of the following:

Hi [Name of student],

I just wanted to see how things are going and if you’ve made a decision yet? I hope everything is going well with you and your family.

Take care,

[Name of teacher]

While some messages were ignored, after several months, the student finally began taking lessons.

It’s essential to understand that people have busy lives, and music lessons may not be their top priority. By reminding potential students periodically, music teachers can encourage them to take action. If a potential student decides not to take lessons, teachers can ask them to refer friends or let them know to contact them if they change their mind in the future.

To implement email and text messaging marketing, music teachers must collect potential students’ email and phone numbers when potential students first contact them about lessons. 

Conclusion

You can attract new students and grow your business in many ways. Create a plan that works best for your business and focus on what will give you the best results. Don’t worry whether you might fail. You’re better off trying something, learning from it, and refining your marketing approach. The worst thing you can do is doing nothing at all. When you find the right approach, there is no reason you won’t be able to grow your music teaching business.