How to Market your Yoga Business Offline

With the majority of businesses having to shift to online over the past two years, chances are you grew a little rusty when it comes to this whole offline thing. Teaching a jam-packed class in real life? Hosting a full retreat? The pressure! But with restrictions slowly easing up, it’s time to get back on your horse again. Putting your yoga business in the spotlight is absolutely possible without grabbing your phone or laptop. Are you ready for a little refresher course? These are my tips to grow your yoga business offline.  

Growing your business in real life

Ever heard the saying; any press is good press? The same goes for choosing online versus offline as your promotional platform. My best advice here is to do both. Find a happy medium. It’s important to have an online presence, but getting out there is just as important to hype up your yoga biz in the real world. 

Spent all your time getting the hang of TikTok dances and hosting live Zoom classes? No worries, here is a little reminder of how to do this whole ‘in real life’ thing.  

Tips to grow your yoga business offline

Reach out to your community

Ever thought about reaching out to your local library, that vintage shop around the corner, or your favourite neighbourhood coffee spot? Maybe they will allow you to hang up a flyer or leave some business cards, leading potential yogis to your studio. 

Of course, this works both ways: put up a community board at your studio to show people what’s going on in the neighbourhood. Additionally, see if you can take your collaborations a step further. Perhaps you can offer a class at the library once a week, or maybe you can give yogis that visit your studio a little discount at the local juice bar to fuel their bodies after practice. Get creative and think outside the box. 

It’s a great way to connect with a new group of yogis on a personal level, and it gives you a new project to advertise. 

Collaborate with like-minded people

Putting yourself out there can feel quite daunting. But here’s a little reminder that you’re not alone. Collaborations are a way to double your exposure. Reach out to like-minded people in similar, yet slightly different fields to create some magic together. 

A yoga class will attract yogis, no matter what. But pair it with a live musician and all of a sudden you have a much different crowd flocking your studio. Or what about a holistic health professional? Opening up your space for like-minded people, and working together, can give people an extra incentive to come and visit your studio, or take your class.  

Of course, you can also reach out to fellow teachers. Collaboration doesn’t necessarily have to be between people in different fields. Pairing up with another yoga teacher can be a way of offering a well-rounded class for a group of students. If you’d like to know more about collaborating with yoga teachers, here’s an article we’ve written about it. 

Teach private classes 

The word-of-mouth strategy has to be the oldest marketing strategy in the books, but it is still relevant. Be honest, would you rather buy something your social media algorithm pushes into your feed, or what your best friend tells you about? Chances are the latter, right? 

Teaching privates is a great way to get some word-of-mouth testimonials in. It’s also great to get some extra cash, sure. But first and foremost, it’s a unique opportunity to teach the power of yoga in an intimate setting. And if you do well, chances are you’ll be recommended to others, too. 

We are well aware that teaching a private class can be a bit daunting, and is a lot different from teaching a group of people. If you’re new to the private teaching game, here is an article that will help you get started. 

Print promotion 

Promoting your business online has the added benefit that it saves paper. But with the advanced algorithms social media platforms have, chances are your carefully curated content is overshadowed by about a million others. 

Giving someone a physical business card, or having a flyer put up at a local spot, can give yogis a little reminder to look you up or to book a class with you. Think of using ecologic paper, and add your business cards in rip-off form at the bottom of your flyer if you’re worried about using a lot of paper.  

In this day and age, you can find a lot of templates online that are free to use. This way, you don’t have to worry about spending hours finessing your design techniques. 

Offer a yoga retreat

Yoga retreats are a whole other branch of the vast and ever-expanding yoga business. Ever thought of venturing out? It’s a great way to connect with a new group of yogis on a personal level, and it gives you a new project to advertise. 

It doesn’t have to be an all-inclusive, fancy-schmancy retreat straight away. Maybe the local hostel is interested in co-hosting a long yoga weekend, for example. This way, you’ll only have to deal with what you know; teaching yoga. And they can do what they do best: help with bookings and hosting people. 

If a retreat sounds a little too full-on, a one-day clinic in which you dive deeper into a certain posture or a certain yoga style is a good alternative. 

Be mindful

The most important thing is to do what resonates with you. Find what works for you and your yoga business, rather than focusing on marketing techniques you don’t feel comfortable with. In the end, it’s your teaching style that will keep yogis coming back to you. 

Creating a balancing act between your online and offline presence isn’t easy. I hope these ideas to market your yoga business offline were helpful to you and gave you the inspiration to get out there. Good luck, you got this!