Ask Debbie: Word of Mouth versus Paid Advertising
Hi Debbie – I’ve heard a lot of people say that yoga is a word of mouth business, and that advertising dollars are wasted in print media and online ads. In your experience from owning and running multiple yoga studios, is this true? What do you think?
DEBBIE’S RESPONSE:
A lot of people are right! Yoga is a word of mouth business, meaning that most new traffic or sales come from direct referrals or invitations from YOU personally.
In fact, with many service based businesses (coaching, massage, reiki, online trainings, etc), this is the case.
While carefully placed and targeted ads can have an effect on your brand visibility and sales, in my business, for my programs & products, the three most effective marketing strategies are as follows:
(1) Personal Invites: Whenever possible, I look someone in the eye and invite them to join me, be it in Bali for a yoga retreat or for a workshop with Kellie and I online. Sometimes, that’s all someone needs to hear – that they are invited and that YOU believe they’ll have fun or get value from what you’re offering.
Never underestimate the power of the words, “I really think you should come.” They plant a seed.
(Email, text & Facebook invites also work, but nothing is more powerful than an in person invitation).
(2) Direct Referrals from Existing or Past Clients/Students: This is most relevant in the context of all of the yoga studios I have owned. Almost every person who walks through the door can name another person who currently practices with me as their inspiration for coming in that very first time.
(3) Posting on Facebook & Twitter & in my E-newsletter: I generally try to include fun content so that my pages have information or entertainment as well as sales. I get a lot of business from these two sites, and often enough the business does not come from my direct sales posts, but from the posts that show who I am personally.
Now, I DO invest in ads from time to time. I’ve worked with Yoga Journal, Facebook, Google, Instagram and some others.
However, the three sources above remain my greatest business builders with immediate and tangible sales. Number one remains the art of invitation.
INVITE everyone to join you in what you are passionate about, and your passion will become all at once irresistible and contagious.
It always helps if you really believe in what you do and understand how your work contributes to others. (Read “New Answers to an Age Old Question” for more thoughts on how understanding how you contribute can change your life & business).
If you have advertising dollars to spend, experiment with different mediums to see what works for you. I’ve found that Facebook & Google ads create a much faster return than print media, but I know others who have filled entire programs with ads in a magazine.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
If you’re interested in teaching yourself how online ads work, I highly recommend the following books. These will get you up to speed on how to create ads and use your analytics to tweak them so that you get the most bang for your buck every time.
This is Marketing: You Can’t Be Seen Until You Learn to See – Read this one to understand the psychology of marketing and why you’re probably not taking the best approach. If you read this first, your paid advertising attempts will be much more successful.
Ultimate Guide to Google Adwords: How to Access 100 Million People in 10 Minutes – This is my favorite book on getting started with Google Adwords.
Facebook Marketing All-in-One for Dummies – This is my favorite book on getting started with Facebook advertising.
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