Best Practices to Find Private Music Students

This is part 4 of 7 from the blog and video series 7 Steps to Attract More Students and Grow Your Violin Studio (What I Wish I Knew When I Started My Studio 10 Years Ago). 

The entire series is available as a download in the Music for Young Violinist store.

STEP 4/7: AN INTERNET PRESENCE

WEBSITES - Teaching in 2018 and seeking more students requires a website. It is a mark of professionalism. You can make a website for free, with no fancy computer skills and in very little time (yes, honestly!) I can recommend Weebly which is how I create the Music for Young Violinists website and unless you are planning to sell things on your website, Weebly is free. There are other free website building services out these as well so feel free to explore your options.

There are 2 things to know moving forward with this or to be aware of even if you do have a website. Not taking action on these will set you back in your goal to attract more students. 

#1 - SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION - Having a website is not enough. The algorithms of the internet will not place your website in the search results until you have done search engine optimization also referred to as SEO. 

SEO helps people find you and increases your web search rankings. For example, if someone types in your city and violin lessons for children your website will only pop up in the results if you have these tags in your website. SEO is a much deeper subject than I can delve into here but it must be mentioned and researched further by you. Google searches for blogs on SEO and  youtube videos by people who specialize in this skill are easily accessed. 

I personally hired a professional because it was vital that I come up at the very top in my area for prospective students searching for violin lessons. SEO settings are easily available in Weebly and likely in whatever website you choose to build. Studies show that people rarely look beyond the first page of search engine results so consider this a priority to rank high in your area.

#2 - GOOGLE BUSINESS LISTING - If you do not yet have your violin studio listed in Google Business please take 8 minutes to get yourself listed on Google Business. This is how future students will find you. Google Business listings are free, easy and quick to set-up plus they will show up in search engines. Here is THE LINK to get you started.

I can not stress enough how important Google Business is and it may even be more important than having a website. Once you have your violin studio listed on Google Business, ask your current students to write reviews. Please have no fear and know that your current students work with you because they cherish, love and adore you. Students want nothing more than for you to flourish and will be happy to write glowing 5-star reviews for your teaching studio business.

REMEMBER - You can be the most extraordinary teacher in your area but if no one knows you are there then your future students have no way to find you. 

SOCIAL MEDIA - In my opinion, this is not necessary if you have a website. There has been a sharp downward trend in services like Facebook because people are finding it is a time sink. I went back and forth for years with my use of Facebook and my teaching studio. It never helped me gain any students but does create an online bulletin board to celebrate your studio’s offerings and disperse information which may be of value to someone investigating teachers in your area.

Social Media Tip - If you use social media, make sure your profile picture has you with your violin to let others know you are a musician.

Thank you for clicking on this blog and reading this!

Music for Young Violinists is a labor of love and I would love your support to help sponsor the cost of maintaining this website and contribute to future creative content. 

For a $20 donation you can receive a 26-page PDF download of the entire 7 part series: 7 Steps to Attract More Students & Grow Your Studio (What I Wish I Would Have Known When I Started My Studio 10 Years Ago) . 

You will also receive a $20 gift certificate to the online store - it's a great way to get involved and invest in your teaching.
Thanks!

---