The majority of music teachers are not using emails to sell music lessons.

Or if they are, it's very basic and it's not where they'd like it to be.

Email marketing is important for music teachers because it's so underutilized. Chances are, other music teachers in your town aren't using email marketing either.

We get it. We've been there.

You get caught up with email subject lines.

You can't stay organized or get ahead.

But the one complaint about email marketing that we hear most from music teachers is that they have NO clue what to write about.

What if we told you that it's SUPER EASY for music teachers to come up with email marketing content?

We're going to help you come up with a year's worth of email marketing.

1. Music teachers need to look at frequently asked questions from parents.

Go back through your old emails, social media messages, and social media comments.

What are parents asking? What questions keep coming up?

Most music teachers are frequently asked things like:

- How much are lessons?
- Who is the teacher?
- What age do you start lessons?

There's three email subjects right there!

You could write an email about all of the value kids and parents get from your lessons and tell them how much lessons cost.

You could do a whole email telling parents about the different teachers you have in your studio. (Fun things, not just their accomplishments and degrees!)

You could write a whole email on what age your studio starts lessons and why you choose to work with that age range.

2. Music teachers need to check their reviews.

Go to your Facebook and/or Google reviews.

Read through them and look for some keywords or themes that keep coming up.

One of our Studio Challenge Members, Whitney Maxwell, has a TON Of reviews where people mention her Musical Therapy Dogs Charlie and Henry. The parents in her studio clearly value her Musical Therapy Dogs and that gives her an entire email subject to market her music lessons.


3. Music teachers can use some of these questions to help them brainstorm ideas for email marketing...

What do you want to talk about, teach, share?

What do you stand for in business and in life?

What difference are you trying to make for your customers, community, or the world?

What do you find valuable or worthy of having a deeper conversation about?

What do you want to spotlight in your industry or your own story?

What results do parents want for their child?

How can you help your parents and students?

What frustrates parents about extra-curricular activities?

What do parents need to understand that they don't know to ask about?

What information would help parents?

What are some fears that parent's might have about music lessons?

These are all great questions to brainstorm when trying to come up with email marketing subjects. Read through them and really sit with each one. Just remember to think of this as your ideal parent, not what YOU think the parent wants to hear about.


4. Make a list of every idea that pops up.

As you go through the first three steps, make a list of any and every idea that comes to mind. This is part of the creative process. Write it ALL down, no matter how silly they might seem. The goal is to come up with 40-50 ideas.

After you've come up with about 40-50 ideas, circle 12 of the best ones.

Ideas that you know you can write a lot about and you can provide valuable information about.
Congratulations! You now have one email per month for your new email marketing campaign!

This is a great start for music teachers who are just getting into email marketing.

Now it's time to get to work writing those emails! Write your emails and get them scheduled on your favorite email marketing program. Then, if you're feeling like it, you can start adding more.

We've made a cool printable for you to organize your email marketing subject ideas as you go through this blog post.

Get it here.
​
We've also created a list of A Year's Worth of Email Marketing Subjects for Music Teachers you can grab here.

P.S. If you need more help with copywriting, marketing, and growing your music lesson studio, Music Teacher Bootcamp is now open!

Go sign up!

You're probably thinking,

"I'm a music teacher! I don't need TikTok!"

Guess what...

All of the other music teachers in your area are thinking the EXACT. SAME. THING.

What if I told you we think that all music teachers should be jumping on TikTok?

TikTok is a new social media platform where users can make short-form videos that are 15-60 seconds long. The music teachers that are actually using TikTok are CRUSHING it.

We're going to give you 3 reasons why music teachers should be on TikTok.


1. Music Teachers Aren't Using TikTok


Almost every music teacher we've talking to hasn't tried using TikTok for their music studios.
That means your competitors probably aren't using it either.
Heck, most businesses in your town probably aren't even using it yet. It's not just music teachers!
This is the number one reason why music teachers should be using TikTok.
It will make you stand out from your competition and show parents that you're current on today's trends.


2. TikTok is easy to use for creatives like music teachers.


A lot of people are afraid to use TikTok because it means putting yourself out there in video format.
OR, they don't know what to post and how to use it (keep reading, we're helping music teachers with all of that too!)
But you guys are musicians!
You're natural performers. This app was MADE for you!
Just find a trend on TikTok and start creating!



3. TikTok expands music teacher's audience.


With paid Facebook or Instagram ads, the wider your audience is, the more money you have to spend. To reach people nationwide, you have to spend a LOT of money.
Not with TikTok.
With TikTok, music teachers can advertise to people all over the world for FREE!


​
We understand music teacher's hesitation to start using TikTok though.

How do I set up my TikTok account?
What kind of content should I post?
Which hashtags should I use?
Where do I even start?


Start with our TikTok Masterclass.

One of our members, Matt Johnson more than DOUBLED his music school in just 3 months using TikTok.

He will be showing music teachers:

- What TikTok is

- Why music teachers should use it

- How to set up your account

- How to create content

- And more TikTok tricks!

Click here to register for our TikTok Masterclass for Music Teachers!

Hey Music Teachers,

Do you find yourself writing the same emails over and over again?


"Hi Parent,
Our make up policy states..."


"Hello! 
Thanks for contacting us about lessons! In our piano classes..."


You know what I'm talking about here.

Most parents have the same questions about lessons that you have to frequently answer. 

Unfortunately, we also live in a world where people don't read things so we have to re-answer questions from time to time (while trying not to sound annoyed). 


STOP the madness! It's time for all of us Music Teachers and Studio Owners to stop wasting time repeating ourselves to parents and students. 

You don't need to rewrite the same emails for generic responses.

FAQ, Makeups, Policy, Payments, etc.

All of these can have a stock email written for them that you (or an admin) can send without crafting a personal message each time. 

Here's what we're going to do...


1. Make a list of all the questions you get about how you teach Music Lessons. 

What questions do parents have about your private lessons? Group lessons? Piano labs?

What types of emails do you get from your current students about scheduling make ups? Dropping lessons? 

Go through your emails and find all of those commonalities. 



2. Start with your most common emailed question about Music Lessons.

Look through some emails to see what you get asked the most. 

Is it about make ups?

Some other policy?

Something random?

Find it and pull up your last 3 responses.

There's probably a lot of similarity already.

Use that and write out a template to create a stock email!



3. Wash. Rinse. Repeat with all of the other repeated questions you receive as a Music Teacher about lessons. 

Move on to your next most common email and do the same until you've got them all done. 



4. Get organized Music Teachers! Save your stock emails and organize them through Trello or similar.

I took a screenshot of the Trello Board I created for all of my stock email responses.

What I love about this is not only can you just copy and paste your draft responses to save time on emailing students and parents, but you can also let a manager or admin for your music school use these to respond to emails on your behalf! 

BOOM. What a time saver! 

It may be a little extra work in the beginning, but if you are an overworked music teacher, this is going to SIMPLIFY your workload immensely!


In summary,

1. You don't need to waste time rewriting the SAME emails. 
2. Make a list. Check it twice.
3. Start with your most common questions. 
4. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.


So, what are the most frequent emails you receive?
​
What's your stock response?

Join the Music Teacher Bootcamp! 


In 6 weeks, we're going to get your studio streamlined so you:


​
1. Stress Less
2. Make More
3. Gain Time

You'll receive personalized help from Shane and Shauna, as well as lifetime access to a community of music teachers who are on a similar journey as you.

Sign up NOW....
​
​The first 10 sign ups receive 50% off!!

So, what do you do? 

How do you know when to raise rates and by how much?

Start by researching the going rate for lessons in your area from other teachers and music schools. 

You don't need to be grossly undercharging for your area. 

What if you want to set your pricing low as a ministry? 

Let's talk about this one, because I hear it a lot. 

Before I opened my studio I was working as a worship leader while also giving lessons in a local church. I received $20/ lesson. 

My original goal was to max out my schedule so I could pay my bills.

But once I maxed out my personal schedule at 70 students (not exaggerating here!) I was BARELY making enough to pay my bills.

And my students? 

Some had the luxury (and my personal disadvantage) of taking Summers off to spend the season at their beach homes. 

My 8- 10 year old students received the newest ipads and iphones for Christmas while I was just proud to receive new strings for my guitar. 

I even offered scholarships to students who said they couldn't afford lessons, then later found out they were still going on Summer vacations while I was struggling to buy groceries! 

The truth is, I lived in an affluent area and $20/ lesson was a STEAL for my students.

It might as well been a minimum wage job for me. 

KNOW your area and the type of students you teach and KNOW YOUR WORTH! 

And hey, if you charge a fair rate that fits both you and your students' budget, then you can save money and GIVE scholarships to those students who really need it! ;)


Once you figure out what your music lesson rates should be, it's time to set a date to raise rates. 

Do it sooner rather than later! I always suggest going for the next term of lessons.

​But if you can't pay your bills and are about to have to shut down your studio, you need to do it ASAP. 

Either way select a date. Then, set a routine rate raise for future dates! 

(Inflation guys.) 

Raising rates at about 5% a year is a good base to start with. 

Being in the business of teaching music lessons is NOT easy guys!

You have to get students.

Then the hardest part:

You have to figure out how to keep current students while you work on getting more students to fill your schedule.


To get students to stick around, you need to give them a REASON to stick around.


After they've learned the basics, why should they continue doing lessons?


Students need a path to follow, like Karate.

Karate students typically stick around for YEARS... even the younger kids ages 4 - 6!

We enrolled our son Josiah in Karate when he was 4 and he stuck with it until we was 6.
​(We left when first lockdown happened last year.)

To be honest, we didn't feel the owner was great at the business side of running the karate studio. Josiah liked going, but he didn't LOVE it.

But we kept him in there because we KNEW they had a plan for him and we could clearly see what he was going to accomplish!


THIS is why Karate is so successful at keeping students for YEARS...

There is a CLEAR path for Karate students!

You memorize a move or two, then graduate into the next belt where you learn a new move.


Music Teachers and Studio Owners:
You need the same for your students.

You probably already have some sort of graduation path mentally noted for your students.

But you need a way to SHOW THEM that path and a way to motivate them to follow through to graduation.

If your students don't know the goals they are working toward, they WILL QUIT.

Before we laid out our level system at our studio, we had the problem of guitar students quitting after they learned 4 chords.

Piano students quit after they finished their first piano books.

It drove us crazy! And we'd verbally tell them there was SO MUCH MORE for them to accomplish, but they wouldn't listen.

We didn't have a way to celebrate their wins and SHOW them their path!


Once we put it on paper and started "graduating" them into levels our retention went through the roof!


Creating a graduation path also sets you apart from your competition! ;)


So, how can you create a path or graduation system for your studio?

1. Sit down and write out what you want your students to accomplish.
2. Divide those accomplishments up into "levels."
3. Get swag for each "level" and certificates, rewards, etc to celebrate your students' wins!

We put a color to each level and gave students a checklist they could follow along with.
They knew EXACTLY what they needed to accomplish in order to graduate into the next level.
When they graduated, they received a different color wrist band, certificate, and we'd take them out into the lobby and celebrate them in front of everyone as soon as they finished a level.

It cost us almost nothing, but was HUGE for our students.

Want some examples of what fellow music teachers are doing for their graduation levels?

So, what is your student path going to be?

Let's talk about this productivity tip for music teachers...

As I sit and type this I am a few minutes into a Pomodoro. 

My whole family does them together.

​We'll ask Alexa to set the timer for 25 minutes and we'll all get to work.

Currently I am working on new content for The Studio Challenge.

My 6 year old son is in the next room doing homeschool work.

We set the timer and we work.

No interruptions.

No distractions.

Just 25 minutes of getting work done.

Can you imagine that? 

Can you imagine at 6 year old being productive and NOT interrupting and asking questions every 90 seconds?

It can be done.
​
Trust me.

My son is EVERY bit of an average 6 year old full of wonder, noise, and strange messes.

But for 25 minutes at a time the entire family is completely focused. 

My dachshund, Flops, is even sitting here next to me napping. He's REALLY good at this. 

Ok, let's talk about how this productivity trick works and a little history. 

The Pomodoro Technique was developed by Francesco Cirillo in the 1980s. Pomodoro is Italian for 'tomato' and is named after the tomato shaped timer Cirillo used when creating the method. 


There are six steps in the original technique:

1. Decide on the task to be done.
2. Set the Pomodoro timer (traditionally to 25 minutes).
3. Work on the task.
4. End work when the timer rings and put a checkmark on a piece of paper.
5. If you have fewer than four checkmarks, take a short break (3–5 minutes), then go to step 2.
6. After four Pomodoros, take a longer break (15–30 minutes), reset your checkmark count to zero, then go to step 1.
   
   

That's it. But, it can be a bit complex still and seems to rely on the fact that you are sitting down for hours at a time getting something done. Like typical office work. 

But what we do is FAR from typical office work with typical office hours.

Music Teachers:

If you're anything like me, it's rare to have 2-4 hours of time to sit down and get work done before you have to teach lessons. 

We're artists.
We're creatives.
And we have weird schedules.
So, most often, work comes in spurts. 


Here's my adaption of The Pomodoro Method:

1. Decide on task to be done. 
2. Set the Pomodoro timer for 25 minutes. 
3. Work on the task and end when the timer rings. 
4. Take a break and restart when you're ready. 

I like simplicity and this fits my schedule a little better. 


Things to remember:
1. You need to set a timer and stick to it. That 25 minute window is important. 
2. When the timer goes off it is time to stop. Just like the "Pencils Down!" tests when you were in high school. You don't get 'one more minute' to wrap it up. Stop and take a break. 
3. Get rid of distractions BEFORE they happen. We had to keep our 5 year old occupied so he does his own version with us. Put your phone away. Close your browser. No Facebook notifications. No texts or phone calls. Seriously, the world isn't going to implode in 25 minutes. Whatever it is can wait. 
4. The breaks are important. Crucial even. Take some time away to relax and recharge. Grab a snack. Go for a walk. Play with your kids. Do something fun that takes you out of work mode. This will help you to come back refreshed. 


...Hang on...My timer just went off! 

...ok, I'm back.


Seriously, those timers are for real! 
​

For reference, there was about 20 minutes between those Pomodoros.

We checked out my son's work, my wife cleaned the house a bit, and I jumped into the Facebook group to hang out with some of you fine folks. And now we're all back in it. 
I simplified the system to work for me.

And you can make adaptations to work for you.

Just make sure that you stay uninterrupted and that you set a timer and take breaks.

I think those are the cornerstone elements. 

Do I do these every day? 

Nope. Because my life doesn't really fit organized, scheduled systems, remember?
Yours probably doesn't either. 

What I love about these is that we can fill a whole afternoon with 3-4 Pomodoro Sessions or we can just randomly grab one if we need to knock something out really quick. 

It only took about a week to get into the habit of it and it is working really well for my family and for me. 


Music Teacher friends:

​Can you use the Pomodoro Method to better serve your studio?

Being productive is hard.
But it's not because you're lazy. Far from it. 

As a music teacher and small business owner, you probably work longer and harder than most people that you know. 

But you don't get to 'clock out' and your brain doesn't just turn off. 

There is always something to do and something that needs to be done. Always. 
 
So you work...

You have to reschedule students and try to collect payments.

You have to prep for lessons. 

You see a post about new groups or classes so you start researching how to add it to your studio.

Someone mentioned a Facebook ad doing well, so you should do that too, right? 

You start projects but never really get around to finishing them.
 
In short...you're flailing! 

It’s like you got dropped in the middle of the ocean. 

You know that there’s land somewhere but can’t see it.

So you start swimming.

But you aren’t sure if it’s the right direction. So you change course and swim the other way.

Over and over. With no land in sight. 

Aren’t your arms tired by now?

So let's change it. 

You need a plan. You need direction.


I was reading a cool story a few days ago.

A group conducted an experiment and dropped several people in a forest or desert and asked them to walk in a straight line. 

When the sun or moon was visible or they had a reference point (like a mountain or large tree) they could do a pretty decent job of walking in a straight line. 

But when no reference point was available they would walk in circles.

But they didn't realize they were walking in circles. 

They were convinced that they were walking in a straight line.

Some of them walked in circles so tight that they didn't surpass 50 yards.

They walked in a 50 yard circle! 

For reference, that's like trying to walk from one sideline of a football field to the other and never making it.

Just a continuous circle.

And i'm talking about the WIDTH of a football field...not the length! 

People don't even know that they're lost.

They feel like they are right on track.
They are working JUST as hard as if the were walking in a straight line...

After all a step is a step whether it is in a straight line or a circle...
but they were never getting anywhere. 

All of that work and nothing to show for it. 

But if they were able to fix their eyes on a target, everything changed. 

You need a target and a destination.

Let's talk about how you can be productive and stop walking in circles... 
 
1. Stop worrying about what everyone else is doing. 
 
You are unique and awesome. So is your studio. 
You KNOW what makes you special and awesome. 
Why are you chasing other people's success?
Keep focused on you.

No one can make your studio successful except for YOU, and your success will look different than theirs. 

What works for other people may or may not work for your studio. Just because you see someone doing something new or hear about something that works incredibly well, it doesn't mean that you have to suddenly change direction and chart a new course. 

***SHINY OBJECT SYNDROME is a REAL THING.
Do not get distracted by every new shiny thing that comes along.
Set a plan and follow it.

Here's another big one...

There is no SILVER BULLET.

No MAGIC thing to find that is suddenly going to make everything work for you.
But most advertising is geared towards this instant gratification.

There is no instant gratification when you're building a successful business.

There is healthy growth.

There is planning.

There is hard work.

Then there is success. 

Don't look for the easy way. You're better than that. Look for the RIGHT way. 

Stop looking for Shiny Objects, Silver Bullets, and Easy Solutions and focus on you and what makes you amazing.

Use others for inspiration and encouragement, NOT DIRECTION. 

I love the amazing resources that are out there for music teachers these days.
There was basically none of that when I started teaching 15+ years ago.

But, like any social media, it's easy to start comparing yourself and lose focus. 

Be inspired. Be encouraged. Get excited.

Then get to work. 
 

2. Brain Dump
 
One of the first things to do is find a place to get everything out of your head.

As a musician and a creative you likely have a lot of ideas in your head.
They don't come at opportune times.
They don't come when it's convenient. 

So, one of two things likely happens:

1. You never actually get any of these things done because you either forget them or you're too busy.
 
OR

2. You jump ship and chase after every idea like a fat kid behind an Ice Cream Truck. 

Like the Fat Kid....you're never going to get that treat.
And, even if you do...you'll just see another truck heading in the other direction. 

You need a way to harness all of these amazing ideas that you come across.

You can organize and categorize and strategize them later.

Right now we just need to capture them.  

Could be a sheet of paper, app on your phone, or something like Trello.

It just needs to be something that you will ALWAYS have with you so that you can jot down an idea and then move on. 

The idea here is to clear your head.
There are only so many things that you can carry around and think about.
It's time to lighten the load. It's time to focus. 

This is free-writing. No editing or organizing.
Just get it out as it pops into your head.

Just write. Get it all out.
No matter how it sounds.

This is JUST FOR YOU. 

 
3. Get Systems and Help
 
Don’t reinvent the wheel.
If you can find something that makes your life easier, just grab it and move on. 

Trust me, I'm the DIY type.
I like to do things myself.
Sometimes to save money.
Sometimes just to prove that I can do it. 

But time = money. Actually...it's worse than that. 

You can make more money. 
But you cannot make more time.

Grab something like My Music Staff for scheduling and billing.

Try LessonMate to fix your makeup and cancellation problems. 

Don't waste your time chasing payments and juggling endless Google Docs. 


You can bang your head against the wall or find ways to make what you need to do simpler. 

But BE SPECIFIC.

What problem do you want to solve? 

Don't let this become Shiny Object Syndrome. Don't chase solutions.

But if you have a problem, find a tool that fixes that problem for you and make it happen. 
 
 
4. Unplug
 
You have to stop sometimes. You have to unplug.

The problem many people make is assuming that if they just keep working harder that eventually everything will work out and it will get easier.

It won't.

Not unless you make it that way.
You can't outwork this.
Unplug sometimes. 

First, take some time off from studio work.

Find a hobby that is not studio related.

Even if you love it, find something else.

Trust me on this one.

Can you pick up a new sport or hang out with friends?

Spend some time with the family?

Just walk away for a while. 

Secondly, take time to UNPLUG from technology.

Go on a walk.

Just spend some time with family or friends.

Get away from your phone for a while.

Your mind needs the break from being always on.

Go and allow yourself to get bored for a while.

It's worth it. 


How are you going to be more productive this week? 

Sometimes life will be amazing.

You'll be signing up new students, birds will be singing, you will feel fantastic, all of your studio families will love you and have no problems, and everything will be right with the world. 

But life doesn't always work that way. 

We find ourselves with plans laid out assuming that we will feel amazing and have the time to get everything done. 

But sometimes you're busy. 

Or just not feeling it. 

Or it seems like the ENTIRE world has conspired against you. 

So, what do you do then? ​