How One $0 Marketing Effort Yielded Over $5,000 Tuition

In the summer of 2013, two years into my studio, I started offering classes through our city’s Parks and Recreation Department to help grow and market my studio. Several people had mentioned it to me when I first opened, but I pushed the idea aside – silly me. I don’t remember what made me finally try it, but I haven’t regretted it.

I’m going to share with you first a little about the logistics of holding these classes and then will share my lesson plan, materials, and photos from one of the classes, Tot Music Time.

Next week, I will post information and photos from the other classes.

The Low-Down

Our city’s Parks Department offers programming throughout the summer. Anyone can offer a class. All you have to do is send in the class title, description, date, time, and if there will be any charge. They do all the advertising and registrations and simply send me a class list a few days prior. I send them the offerings in January so they are ready for the printing of publicity.

I run the classes either the week of Memorial Day (if I know schools will be out early) or the very first week of June to allow for student sign-ups for any summer classes I might hold. I hold two classes a day: 11:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. (I have them fill up the 11:00 first in case there aren’t enough sign-ups for the second class; then I don’t have to come in as early!)

Each class has a set minimum and maximum. This is based on the “move-around” space in my studio, the number of keyboards I have, and lastly, the amount that I need to stay sane (I don’t do large groups well!) 🙂

The classes are broken down into ages:

Day 1 – “Tot Music Time” (ages 3-4) – 40 min – min 4/max 6
Day 2 – “Preschool Play & Discovery” (ages 5-6) – 50 min – min 3/max 5
Day 3 – “Meet the Piano” Class (ages 7-8) – 50 min – min 3/max 5
Day 3 – “Meet the Piano” Class (ages 9-10) – 50 min – min 3/max 5

I tried 2-3 year olds the first year for the toddler time, and they were too young. Forty minutes is perfect, as they’re usually just starting to get antsy, even with changing activities every few minutes. Sometimes, even 3-year-olds are too young, but it works. Parents are required to stay with the 3-6 year old students.

The first year, I also opened up to age 11 or 12 but never had any sign-ups, so I keep the ages tight, and I find they work well together. I never have a lot of 9-10-year-olds, so I always just offer one time for that class and do it on the same day as the 7-8-year-olds.

Holding all the classes in the morning allows them to not conflict with my afternoon teaching schedule.

I used to charge $5 per student for the two older classes, but last year, I decided to make them all free. At first, I thought it would “keep out” those who just wanted a free activity, but making it free didn’t change the number of students who registered at all, and it just kept it simple.

I tried offering a one-week teen summer piano boot camp for $150, but there were no takers, so I dropped the offering.

What’s the Benefit?

The Parks Department has over 5,000 people who follow their Facebook Page. That’s a much bigger reach than I will ever have through my Studio Page without paying for a Facebook Ad. Even if you only have four students attend each class, imagine how many moms they know!?

Sometimes visibility isn’t about being in front of your customers but in front of someone who will recommend you to your customers!

On average, I see around 25 different students each summer for this short week of classes, and five students have registered for lessons since the start. I estimate these five students’ cumulative tuition to be around $5,800! Three of them took for one year, one of them has taken for three years, and the last one just started.

My advertising investment was $0.

Initial cost of materials is $200. (Descriptions on what I use below)

Even if you were to consider the cost of my time (8 hours each year) teaching the classes, even at $50 / hour for my time, that’s $1,600.

+$5,800 Cumulative tuition
-$200 Initial Expenses
-$1,600 Cost of my time
=$4,000 Return on my investment

Holding these classes doesn’t keep me from the summer hours I would normally teach, so I don’t even consider the cost of my time because it’s not taking me away from making more money by teaching during those hours. Does that make sense?

So, really, we’re talking about $200 in materials, and a few hours each year made me $5,600 in tuition.

Tot Music Time

Today, I held two Tot Music Time classes. Sometimes, I get classes that are more active than others. The first class was very responsive and engaged, and the second was not as much. Unfortunately, I didn’t take photos in the first class, so all the photos are from the second. Thanks to the mom who took these – she got some great shots!

Since these classes are a one-off experience, my objective is simply to give them a good music experience and to represent my teaching and my studio well.

When I was exploring the possibility of offering piano lessons for preschoolers several years ago, I researched a lot of methods out there, including several general music curricula. Since I have a music education background, I explored the possibility of teaching early childhood music classes. I decided not to pursue doing these classes but found materials that have been very useful not only for these classes but even for preschool piano lessons.

I spent one summer observing a local music teacher teach music classes using John Feierabend’s First Steps in Music curriculum and fell in love immediately. I think it’s the best publication out there, and I am using many of his materials. (B.T.W. observing her was another way of marketing myself as she announced my presence to the parents in the classes and what I did – Score!)

Download my lesson plan.

Welcome – Movement for Form and Expression – Song tales

Students enter and choose a Piano Made Fun Rug Time Piano Dot to sit on. (www.Piano Made Fun.com >Click on “Other Printables”)

We start with something they’re familiar with – Eensey Weensy Spider (Feierabend)

Chop Chop Chippity Chop – taking turns adding vegetables to the pot and “chopping” each one using arm motions (Feierabend)

Download my Cutouts

Had a Little Rooster using my Art Posters. (Feierabend)

Aiken Drum: “There was a man who lived on the moon, and his name was Aiken Drum.” Students sing along and pat each part of the body they’re singing about. In this one we’re singing his “mouth was made of a rainbow.” (Feierabend)

Download my Art Posters for Aiken Drum

Constructing our own Aiken Drum using all the fruits and vegetable pictures. (Feierabend)

Download my Aiken Drum Cutouts

Vocal Exploration

Slide whistle with body movement. This and the next one got lots of giggles! (Feierabend)

Vocal exploration with scarves (Feierabend)

Pitch Exploration Story – Ice Cream Sundae (Feierabend)

Potato Head assembly – Who knows the alphabet? Any student who sings it gets to put a piece on Mr. Potato Head. Repeat the full alphabet for each student. If shy ones, double up.

Piano Exporation

Piano uses the alphabet! Art posters from Theory Made Fun Sing-Along Book

Have students stand in front of piano in a half-circle

Point to each letter on the art poster and have them say the musical alphabet

Sing The Musical Alphabet song (Theory Made Fun)

Take each of their hands and play along with song as you move up the piano – one octave or two per student.

What color are the keys? What animal is black and white?

The Black Keys song with Art Poster (Theory Made Fun)

Help each student play on black keys, like before, one or two octaves each.

Students get to play on grand piano freely (don’t do prior to the alphabet song-hard to get them to stop playing)

Open up piano and show them strings

Students get to play on grand piano freely (again)

Movement Exploration

Move It! Video #1 (Feierabend): These videos are excellent for group classes for young students, and kids love them.

Rhythm / Instrument EXPLORATION

Demonstrate instruments and pass them around one at a time. I just have small Band in a Box instruments.

Beat song, each student with an instrument; repeat to allow all students to play each instrument—pass to the left. Use the Art Poster from Theory Made Fun.