While in college, I would come home for the summer. I needed a job, and wanted to teach, but wondered how I could find students just for the summer! Anyone ever have a similar predicament?
I advertised a
lot (in ways such as
these) and was happy to end up with about twelve students - not too shabby!
I think that with a little creativity and with a good attitude, the summer months really can be ideal for building up your studio & recruiting new students. Even though a lot of people like to start up lessons in the fall with the beginning of school, and summer can be a really busy time for some families, I do think that it is possible to be successful in finding new students during these months. Here's what I did...
I made flyers advertising "SUMMER PIANO LESSONS" (because in my case, I would only be there for the summer months...I wasn't sure how many students I could actually get, and was pleasantly surprised with the response!). Here is what my flyer said:
SUMMER PIANO LESSONS
any age, any level, everyone welcome! (does this scream desperate or qualified? hmmm...not sure. hehe. and no, this part in parentheses was not on my flyer.)
Have you ever wanted to take piano lessons, but never had the time?
Have you had lessons in the past, and would like a refresher course?
Is your child too busy during the school year, but would like to start piano?
Has your child been asking for piano lessons, and you'd like to give it a try?
By being a bit creative in the way I advertised and in the target audience I was advertising to (people who otherwise might not sign up for long-term lessons), I was able to get a pretty good-sized studio for the two summers I was home from college. I had a wonderful mix of ages and levels, including young beginners, older beginners, adults, teenagers, and transfer students of various ages. Sadly, I had to leave my students at the end of the summer to go back to school, but they knew that would happen all along, because that is how I advertised it! (Luckily I also have younger siblings who also teach, so I was able to pass on a few of my students to them!) We had an end-of-summer recital, and I think the students/parents were all pleased with the progress made in those short few months. Here is one of my cute little beginners who started lessons that summer - definitely one of the students I was sorry to leave!
So my point - you can see either see summer as a tough time to get new students (which it can be), OR you can work hard, use a little creativity in your advertising, and have a great summer teaching your new students.
Labels: Getting Started, Ideas for Summer Teaching, Jenny Boster, Piano Lesson Flyer, Setting Up Your Studio: Finding Students
