Growing a dance school whilst Covid-19 looms over your shoulder

Last month I wrote/moaned to you all about the covid-19 lockdown wiping out over 50% of my student. I went into lockdown with 250 students enrolled for classes and came back to 120. Not going to lie to you, that hurt. However i'm sure i'm not the only one that this has happened to.

Over the course of October i have worked my butt off and grown to 182 students (YAY!). I am so proud of myself for fighting through and thought it would be fun to share some of the ways i have advertised my classes. Hopefully it will help you grow yours too.

Compassion

Covid has been hard on everyone so when sending emails and checking in with parents that haven't returned i've tried my hardest to not take it personally. When they have said we don't feel ready to return or its not in my budget at the moment, instead of writing them off i have replied offering a alternative payment schedule or have set myself an alert on my google calendar to message them again after half term or Christmas

Clarity

Everything is so uncertain at the moment and to be honest i don't think anyone really fully understands everything thats going on. So when it comes to marketing my class i have been as clear and simple as possible. So instead of have a 600 word email about Covid regulations in class, I sent a video saying our aim, as always, is to make every class a happy, fun and safe experience AND this is how we are going to do that. By keeping it short and to the point it so much easier to remember and there for follow.

In case you were wondering ours in a nut shell can be summed up as :

- Hand sanitizer and lots of cleaning

- Each child has a 2m box/ spot

- No parents allowed in apart from mummy and me classes.

Now when i first sent that out i was stressing that people would think we weren't taking it seriously enough but i realised these mums have already trusted you with the most important thing to them ... there child! They know you and your reputation. Plus most mums would have read the email whilst trying to pee with out an audience or find out where millie has hidden her left school shoe. So short and simply is definitely the way to go :)

Don't loose who you are

I have always said if given the choice between a student of mine being happier because of dancer or a principle ballerina I would choose happiness every single time. I was determined that my classes wouldn't loose the fun due to covid and its pushed me to be more creative and think outside the box.

So make sure you show who you are off in your adverts not just that your covid safe.

Be real

Is every dance or exercise going to look flawless.... No (especially the younger ages) Does this mean i shouldn't post it.... of course not. Dance is a journey you want to show it all. It can be really intimidating for a prospective parent to see 1000's of photos of perfectly polished dancers, they want to know its ok if my 2 year old spins round 30 times instead of the 2 choreographed!

And you want to know something amazing.... By documenting the journey you can get a clip of the same dancer at 3 & 6 and 10 years old and put it together in one awesome advert saying look how she's grown! These type of adverts have been AMAZING for me and my school.

P.s It also show you teach a wide range of ages :p

I hope these tips help you on your journey to grow your classes :)