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Episode Summary
Good written communication takes thought, intention, and practice. Let’s consider ways we can simplify our written communication with studio families. They will notice (and appreciate) when you make things easy!
Items Mentioned
Transcript:
Have you ever written something – whether it be a text, email, blog post, newsletter or whatever – and in the moment felt like it was intentionally thought out, clear, and well written, only to read it again an hour, a day, or even a year later and go…what the… Wow, that does not read nearly as well as I heard it in my head the first time.
This is something we’re all guilty of this at some time or another as it’s part of the craft of writing. Good communication in general, whether it be written, verbal, or even physical for that matter, takes thought, intention, and practice.
This past week, I experienced one of those moments. I was all set to craft my lesson startup email for the school year. Part of my workflow for recurring types of emails like this, is to pull up the email I wrote from the previous year. Since I know many of you are fascinated with the idea of producing email templates for this kind of thing, I think it’s important to share that rather than keeping a formal template saved somewhere, I simply rely on the powerful search capabilities of my email client.
Anyway, so the moment I looked at it, I thought oh my goodness, there is A LOT of information here to the point it made me think “my poor studio families.” I remember writing this and feeling like I was so intentional about being precise but wow, there was a lot more words than necessary.
Luckily my families did fine with it but quality communication is such an important part of running a good business, I wanted to improve both for the sake of myself and the business and as well as for creating an easy experience for all my families. They have enough craziness going on with school, sports, and other things, they will notice when we are not a source of that craziness.
In today’s episode, let’s consider some ways we can be more intentional about simplifying our written communication with our studio families.
Welcome to the Piano Pantry Podcast where together we live life as independent music teachers. I’m your host, Amy Chaplin. In this space we talk about all things teacher-life related from organizing our studios to getting dinner on the table and all that comes between. You’ll get loads of easily-actionable tips on organizing and managing your studio while balancing life and home.
When it comes to communication, there are really three type of information we end up relaying to studio families throughout the year:
- Logistical information such as registration, lesson time requests, performance sign-ups, group class sign-ups, and so forth.
- Bonus information such as tips and tricks for helping students practice, community-related arts events, a list of student birthdays, and more.
- Every-day communication such as lesson cancellations, reminders for upcoming events, reminders to bring a certain book to lessons, or quick little updates on student progress, wins, or struggles.
When considering these three types of communication we first have to determine what format is best for delivering whatever particular type of information you need to convey.
If you’re just sending a message about something the student did well in a lesson perhaps a simple text is enough rather than a sit-down email. If you’re sending a studio newsletter, texts in that case may not be the most appropriate – even if it’s just a link to a PDF or Google Doc.
About 3 years ago, I stopped sending monthly email newsletters to my studio families. They took a lot of time to compile and since I was using Mailchimp, I could see only 75-85% of families were opening them. While in email marketing world this is really good, for studio business world, the goal is that everyone reads it. It’s one thing if you send newsletters with just bonus content but if those emails also include important studio logistical information…hence the goal for everyone to read it.
Think about this from the consumer point of view. What if you were this information? How would YOU appreciate receiving it? When I considered this question myself, the answer I felt was that people aren’t interested in consuming newsletter format type of emails anymore. Why? There can be a lot of things going on. I mean, don’t take this wrong but I’m guessing the birthdays of other students in the studio is not need-to-know information for other studio families.
This is something I included for years but one day I thought…hmm…what is this extra information actually accomplishing?
When time is of the essence as it is in today’s world, I think we have to consider the importance of parents know if the communication they’re receiving is important information they absolutely need to know or just extra information they can consume if they so choose. It matters.
Not long after my evolution out of a formal email newsletter, Joy Morin wrote a blog post where she shared the evolution of her studio communication from printed old-style newspaper newsletter formats designed in programs like Microsoft Publisher to newsletter emails using an email service like Mailchimp, to good old basic emails straight from gmail. It’s the perfect example of evolving and simplifying our communication with the times. If you’d like to check out her blog post, I’ve included a link in the show notes.
As time goes on, it feels like less is more and simple is better. So, simplify your studio communication by choosing a delivery method that is first appropriate to the information that needs conveyed and then consider how you can segment out absolutely need to know information from bonus information.
For me that means that I’ve let go of the formal newsletter that combines time-sensitive action-based information with fluff bonus information and compiled email templates in Gmail for individual topics such as “wearing the piano parent hat” or “how to help your student practice” or “is your piano in tune?” that I might send out throughout the year – mostly to new studio families.
The second thing I think we can do to help simplify our communication is to label the communication and include clear action steps. So, when you send an email with need-to-know information, clearly state in the subject something like “important” or “action needed” in all caps. That way it draws attention. Then, in the opening statement, state the goal of the email.
This email includes details on signups for the Christmas recital.
At the end of the information, include bullet points outlining exact actions you need them to take such as:
action: by august 15 please fill out this schedule request form,
action: by september 1 register for the october enrichment class.
Don’t make them have to read it again to make sure they need to do what needs done. Make it very clear what you need from them and when.
A side note on the whole all caps and bold text thing. Just be very careful that you don’t get excessive on the exclamation points, all caps, underlines and bolds. Make sure your communication has clarity while remaining professional.
The third way we can simplify our communication is to not be hasty in hitting “send”. Walk way first. Prepare your communication far enough ahead of time you can step away from it for a period of time whether that be an hour, until the end of the day or the next day or for perhaps for more involved emails even a week. Go back and re-read it as if you were the person receiving it. Is it easy to read? Can you simplify any of your wording or clean it up by using some bullet points or bold text.
Just be careful when you walk away that you don’t go too crazy perfecting and tweaking because we all know how out of hand that can easily get. Eventually you just have to send!
When we communicate with others, whether it be in life or in our business think about how YOU would like to receive that communication. Look at it from the eyes of your clients. Put yourself in their shoes. What can you do to keep it simple.
Once again – determine what format best suits the information you need to convey, label the communication and state the goal, include clear action steps, and give yourself time to go back and re-read with fresh eyes before hitting send.
Whether you have 1 student or 51, you are running a business. Improving, simplifying, and streamlining communication is always a good goal.
Do you love listening to this podcast? If so, jump into the show notes for easy steps on how to rate and review the show. Your five stars will help other teachers are all the good stuff too! Follow me at piano pantry on facebook or amychaplinpiano on instagram – see you there!
OK so today’s fun fact is probably something you already may have figured out about me. I love getting things done. I’m a total checklist person. Turn and burn. I have always been an achiever and yes, if you’re an Enneagram person, I’m a 3. To be specific, I’m a 3 with a 2 wing. It can be hard to get things done sometimes though as a business owner when you’re being tugged in multiple directions. Multiply that 2 fold if you work from home and 3 fold if you have kids.
So, for all my teacher friends who want some help getting things done – especially as we gear up for the new school year – join me for a free power-hour session. It’s so simple. We commit to jumping on Zoom at the same time – 12:00-1:00pm EDT the first Wednesday of the month. The first one is coming up next week – Wednesday, August 3 but registration is open for both the August session and the next session on September 7. You can register for either one through the link in the show notes. Hope to see you there.
Next week, stay tuned for our 6th Teacher Talk episode as I have a chat with 3 special teachers who will be spending the next few days being pampered in my home while I help coach them through organizing our digital workspaces. I can’t wait!
