How to Build a Sales Funnel for Your Yoga Studio
Here’s how to implement a successful sales funnel for your yoga studio. A sales funnel is a multi-step marketing strategy that takes a potential lead from having never heard of your business to being a loyal customer.
Remember Your Why
Do you remember when you first decided to open a yoga studio? Do you remember how you felt? What was your why? Did you imagine that your days would be filled with yoga and meditation? Did you imagine meaningful connections with your students and teachers in a beautiful space? Teaching classes full of students experiencing healing transformations?
Many yoga studio owners feel too busy to enjoy these moments. They open yoga studios to connect with their students. But they are so overwhelmed with the day-to-day tasks of running their business that their minds are always elsewhere.
A Strategic Marketing Plan
Owning a profitable yoga business is extremely difficult and requires implementing a strategic marketing plan. It is possible to own a thriving yoga studio and to have the lifestyle you desire – if you have the marketing piece in place. Many of us in the mindfulness community struggle to embrace marketing strategies because we may feel that they are not in alignment with our values. After all, part of what mindfulness teaches is to be grateful for what we already have and live with contentment. We may feel resistance coming up when it comes time to implement marketing strategies to attract more students. However, without marketing strategies, sales simply won't happen, and you will reach fewer people.
You have an important message to share with the world. You've built a beautiful, safe container and you want people to discover it and join your community. It's not enough to wait and see who shows up. You need to actively implement a sales funnel to bring new customers into your studio to grow a thriving business.
Does this sound like you?
You're struggling to pay the high rent for your yoga studio
You have unpredictable profits that fluctuate with the seasons
You’re constantly hustling
You’re not meeting your financial goals – maybe you're barely breaking even working 12 hours a day
You can't afford to hire a studio manager, so you're wearing too many hats
You're struggling to fill your classes with students,
You feel like you own a burnout machine
This is a common studio-owner experience. I’m here to tell you it doesn’t have to be this way. When you work with a copywriter and marketing strategist, you can streamline your business, delegate marketing tasks, and start seeing your business thrive.
There’s Another Way
It's possible to run your business another way. You need to “Work at your business, not in it,” according to doyou.com, a website devoted to marketing strategies for yoga studios. You started out as a yoga teacher, but now, you are – first and foremost – a business manager. You need to streamline your business. Delegate tasks so you can focus on managing your business. The yoga market is booming right now, and with some marketing knowledge, and the help of an expert copywriter, you can lead your business from surviving to thriving and beyond.
Is owning a yoga studio profitable?
“The short answer is yes; owning a yoga studio can be profitable. The yoga market is booming and is expected to reach $250.70 billion by 2032. While there isn't an exact salary that yoga studio owners bring in, the average profit margin can range from 15% to 30%. You can build a thriving yoga studio over time by selecting the right location and pricing, building a loyal customer base, and providing quality services in a welcoming and peaceful environment.” — A Step-by-Step Guide to Opening a Yoga Studio
To build that loyal customer base, let’s turn to marketing strategy.
Building a Yoga Studio Sales Funnel
Instead of waiting to see who finds your website online, let's implement a 3-part sales funnel. It’s called a “funnel” because at the beginning, you will reach out to lots of potential leads. But by the end of the sales funnel, only a small percentage of leads will make that big purchase. In our case, the purchase may be becoming a member at your studio or attending your big retreat.
Let's walk through the customer's journey through the sales funnel. This is the journey from having never heard of your brand to then opting in to your email list. The customer will find value in the content in your nurturing emails. These emails (along with your website content and your blogs) will start to establish you as an authority in the yoga niche, as well as build trust with these new leads.
After you nurture your relationship with these potential customers, a portion of them will feel comfortable enough with your brand to start making purchases. This may start with smaller purchases, like attending a drop-in class or buying a new student special membership.
As you continue to nurture your relationship by sending out emails and posting blog content, students may then purchase larger value items such as a studio membership or a spot in your next big retreat. The more potential leads you put in the top of your sales funnel, the more big-ticket purchases you will earn by the end.
The three parts of this sales funnel are: attract, nurture, and convert.
Attract
In the attract phase you want potential leads to know you exist. you're building brand awareness. Your building your email list. create a freebie (such as an eBook, a free yoga video, or a guide) to offer potential leads in exchange for their email address. This is what marketers call an opt-in.
You can help more people build brand-awarenss in several ways.
Facebook or Instagram ads
Post organically in Facebook groups where your ideal leads are hanging out
SEO optimized blogs to increase your authority on Google
Rewrite your website content to be SEO optimized so people can find you online
use paid ads
You're just trying to get your name out there and get people familiar with you. Another way to really establish your authority is to nail down a niche. Instead of trying to please all the people all the time, figure out what you really want to focus on. Is it a certain style of yoga or a certain philosophy? Is it a certain ideal customer (like new mothers, people experiencing chronic pain, or inclusive yoga for all body types)? It may seem counterintuitive to focus on one particular type of customer because you feel that you need to cast a wide net. However, focusing your sales funnel on a specific type of ideal lead will help you truly become an authority in your niche.
Nurture
Now that you've grown your email list, it's time to nurture those relationships. hire a copywriter to send out email sequences that build your authority in your niche. These emails also build customer trust in your brand. Another way to nurture your relationship with these new leads is to regularly post SEO-optimized blogs with valuable content. This will establish you as a thought leader and as an expert in your field. It will also help your website rank higher on Google.
Convert
By this step, you have already cultivated a large group of ideal customers who are not only familiar with your brand but who trust you and find value in your content. Because you have already given them so much value for free, reciprocity comes into play. They are now primed for you to ask them to make a larger purchase. This purchase might be a yoga membership, attending a workshop, or attending a destination retreat. But customers are not going to buy these things if they're not already familiar in some capacity with your brand.
Yoga Studio Sales Funnel Examples
Funnel A
Attract - Publish an ad on Facebook offering leads a free guide in exchange for an opt-in to your email list.
Nurture - Send out an automated welcome email sequence. The sequence is 5 emails, sent out over the course of a couple weeks. The sequence builds brand awareness and offers free value to leads.
Convert - Leads read valuable free content in the form of SEO blogs on your website. The 5th email in the sequence asks them to make a purchase now that we have built some trust in your brand.
Funnel B
Attract - Post organically in Facebook groups containing ideal clients. Offer your freebie in exchange for an opt-in to your email list.
Nurture - Post regular blogs with valuable free content on your website. Email leads to make them aware of the blogs and build trust.
Convert - Have a clear CTA on your website that makes it easy for leads to make that larger purchase.
What I Can Help You Do
An expert copywriter in the yoga niche, I can take these tasks off your plate. Not only can a copywriter provide you with a marketing strategy in the form of a personalized sales funnel, but we can also provide all the content along the way. I can provide:
Facebook ads
Paid ads
Email sequences with a CTA to drive sales
SEO optimized web content so your leads can find you online
SEO optimized blogs to nurture leads and keep your website visible
eBooks and other freebies you can offer in your opt-ins
As a yoga teacher myself, I am so proud of what you’re doing in the world. I believe in you and your message. And I’m here to help you with streamlining your marketing strategy so your voice can reach more people who need you!
I would be honored to schedule a call with you to discuss what I can help you achieve. Hannah Collins
Book a free 15-minute call with me here!
