15 ways to get more clients for your yoga studio

As a yoga instructor or a yoga studio owner, having a steady stream of yoga students is crucial to maintain one’s business. There is no shortage of yoga clients—more than 31 million Americans practice yoga across more than 40,000 yoga and pilates studios in the U.S. as of 2023. 

The challenge is how to get more yoga clients. The key is to promote the benefits of yoga and how it can significantly impact people’s lives. This guide lists several marketing practices you can start applying immediately.

There are a number of ways you can market your yoga studio and attract new clients. No matter what marketing techniques you use, it’s important to focus on the benefits of yoga and how your studio can help clients achieve their goals. By promoting the positive impact that yoga can have on people

From some marketing tips to get your name out into the community to how you can easily build a rapport with new yoga clients and use your yoga studio software to help you, this guide walks you through some simple steps and show you how to get yoga clients flocking your yoga studio week after week.

Best tips to sign more clients for your yoga studio

Focus on your clients

It is easy to get wrapped up in trying to advertise to anyone and everyone. But the first thing you need to do is take a step back and know your clients.

Who is your ideal student? What are the personas of your current clients? Zone in on their gender, ages, location, hobbies, and any information that can help you get to know them better.

If you need clarification on what you know, ask them directly. Chat with your students after yoga class. Ask for feedback. This way, you will know what interests them, such as the classes and preferred times they want to visit your studio.

From there, you will understand what your clients (and prospective clients) want and look for in a yoga teacher and studio. You can start creating your marketing strategy and be able to promote better.

Connect and engage with your yogi clients

One way to stand out from other yoga instructors is to connect and engage with your clients. It is a surefire way to attract new ones. You don’t have to do anything that isn’t you—just make your current clients feel special, appreciated, and valued. Your students will recommend you to their friends and family in no time.

Some ways to foster connection with your students outside class include greeting them on their birthdays, following up with them when you know they have a big event (or a bad day), and praising a student’s progress in class.

Create your signature style

Piggybacking on our first tip (focusing on your clients), to keep them from returning for more classes, make your sessions unique so you will be memorable and stand out from the other yoga instructors they might have tried.

We like to call it creating a signature style. For example, diffusing a particular scent during class ties that to you and your class. Or you can have a signature quirky, fun, or out-of-the-box greeting. It can be something thoughtful, like handing out self-affirmation cards at the end of each session or starting each class with a theme or a quote for motivation. The list is endless!

Over time, your students will remember those things. Just let it come naturally, and let your style speak for itself.

Upskill or learn something new

Look inwards, too. If you notice that you have reached a plateau—either you feel burned out or stagnant, or you have difficulty filling your classes even with client engagement, it might be time to freshen up your offerings by learning something new.

Try learning a different type of yoga from the kind you teach. Or learn something that complements your current offering. When deciding which one to learn, check your area to see what’s missing so that you can bring something new.

Create a welcoming environment in your yoga studio

Nothing beats a warm and welcoming environment when people walk into your studio for the first time. Make sure your studio is clean and inviting, and your staff (if you have one) is friendly yet professional. 

Launch a VIP loyalty program

You’ve probably heard this often—it is easier to make customers stay than to attract new ones, so cherish your clients. Let them know you appreciate their loyalty by launching a VIP program. Similar to a rewards program in retail stores, you can format it so that they get a free class once they sign up and attend a dozen classes.

Finally, make sure you are rewarding those who are sharing your work. You can do this in a few ways. Send an email out to your email list asking them to leave a review in exchange for a reward, such as a free class pass or a discount code. Or give everyone who shares a post on social media a free guest pass to bring a friend to class. You will also want to make sure you thank anyone who is spreading the word and helping you to grow your audience.

Create a referral program 

Similar to a rewards or loyalty program, a referral program can encourage your yoga clients to spread the word about your classes. Word-of-mouth advertising brings a lot of revenue; better yet, it is free.

Offer incentives for both your student and their referral. For example, if a student brings a friend to class, they can get a discount or freebie. To motivate your students further, give them rewards like a free class or yoga apparel if they refer to three or more (the number depends on your decision).

Host special events

Host special events in your studio to help bring in more clients. Don’t limit yourself to just running yoga classes in your studio. You can run a workshop, host a book club meeting, tarot reading, and more. 

Don’t limit yourself to your studio, though. You can host an outdoor class in a park and teach grounding principles. Some yoga teachers even host travel retreats! 

Support a cause or advocacy program

Consumers are more likely to support a business that aligns with their values. Know your values, and don’t be ashamed to support non-profits that support these values. Then, don’t shy away from making it known to other people.

Once people learn you are giving back to the community or donating to a worthy cause, you open up to connecting with people who share the same interests and might be interested in yoga.

Run a time-based challenge

Challenges are a great way to bring hype to your yoga studio. Launch a time-based challenge (start with a week, at most). This can motivate your students and attract new ones to join.

You can do it online or in person. For example, run a 7-day challenge demonstrating yoga poses they have learned. They’d need to post it on Instagram, tag your social account, and use a hashtag. It’s also an indirect way of promoting your brand (brand awareness). 

Get involved in your local area

There’s no better way to get more people to sign up for your classes than to get involved in your local community. There are many ways to do this—from hosting events (as mentioned in #7) to partnering with other small businesses.

Partner with local businesses

Consider what businesses in your local community you could partner with. Maybe the senior home would love a weekly pilates session or a stretching class now and then.

Or perhaps a nearby school could benefit from a talk about wellness and meditation. Keep your eyes open—there are plenty of opportunities!

Collaborate with other health and wellness experts

Expand your reach by partnering with other wellness professionals to promote the benefits of yoga. For example, physical therapists can recommend yoga classes for stretching. Or a psychologist or life coach can endorse yoga to mediate the effects of stress in one’s body. 

Reach out to local practitioners and see what happens. You might surprise yourself!

Contact local media

When everything has gone online, there are still a few timeless things—like a feature article in a newspaper. Reach out to publications in your area to inquire if they feature local businesses regularly, and let them know you are willing to have your yoga business featured.

Be prepared to explain why they should feature you, so be ready with proof of how your yoga practice benefits their readers.

Be creative with your marketing collaterals

Since you will be aiming for a lot of exposure in-person due to partnerships with local businesses and features in local papers, you need to be ready with marketing materials. Get creative and ensure everything reflects your branding—brochures, flyers, and posters.

Don’t underestimate the impact of handing out business cards too! Make them stand out and ensure your information, especially your online platforms, are listed correctly. Eye-catching marketing materials make you stand out from the competition.

Get listed on online directories
 

Since you have covered in–person promotion, now it’s time to get your business listed online. Nowadays, people go online first when they want to search for something. So, make sure that your business is listed in an online directory.

Google My Business, Facebook Business, Apple Maps, and Yelp are important business directories. Yellow pages and Groupon sites are also nice options. Register your business and keep it up-to-date if you are an accredited member of any health-related organizations.

Ask for reviews online

Once you register your yoga business, ask your regular students to leave reviews on your business listings. These reviews increase your credibility and make you appear as a trustworthy business. Prospective students will naturally check what others say about their experience with your sessions.

Promote online

It’s time to market yourself (and your business) online once you get yourself listed in directories. The next thing people search for when trying to look your business up online are the following:

Update your website

Note that even freelance yoga instructors need to have their websites, more so if you own a yoga studio. That should be a no-brainer. Prospective students would always check out your online presence before signing up for anything, so make sure your website reflects the following information:

• Your location and contact information

• Current health protocols 

• Class offerings, including full descriptions and schedules

• Pricing information

• Refund and cancellation policies

• Pictures of your studio—and even some class sessions

• Teachers’ information—bios and headshots

• What to expect and bring during yoga sessions—basic Instructions as to what they should bring, what’s available, and what extra amenities you provide (like cooling clothes or showers)

• Announcements

Those mentioned above are essential information that is expected to be there. Regularly update your website and consider a revamp if you haven’t. It’s vital to keep your online presence consistent with your current offerings. So if your studio got a redesign recently, make sure it reflects in your website too.

Engage in social media

Chances are, you are already on social media. If you aren’t, claim your business’ social accounts. It’s natural and easy to advertise your classes on social platforms, but here are a few tips:

• While it’s advisable to have accounts in all social channels, choose only one or two to be purposefully active in, determine where your students (and prospective clients) are most engaged, and go there.
  

• Don’t just promote and sell. If you do this all the time without anything else, your followers will unfollow you. People want authenticity and sincerity in social media, not just advertisements.
  

• That being said, plan your content carefully. Some common themes you can see among wellness professionals are tips, demos, success stories, motivational quotes, and behind-the-scenes of their businesses (even scenes from their day-to-day lives). They appear more “human” and relatable that way. As you can see, education and awareness play a big role in content creation. As a yoga teacher, your primary role is to “teach,” and you can undoubtedly do it even on social media!
  

• Videos are a great idea! If you are uncomfortable posting videos, try posting short videos first, then as you get more comfortable being around the camera, gradually increase the time and demonstrate a yoga pose. Pretty soon, you will be doing a live broadcast on Instagram and answering questions!

Send emails

A best practice you need to implement with your clients is to get their email addresses. While you can certainly post announcements on social media, a faster and more personalized way is to send an email. Some people prefer email to text, anyway.

Start now if you haven’t gathered your current clients' email addresses. You can do so using a sign-in sheet at the beginning of class. Capture email addresses from your website visitors too! You can entice them with an exclusive video lesson, ebook, or even a discount code when they give their email address.

Offer online classes to expand your reach 

You can take your classes online to expand your reach. You can do this manually by collecting payments individually and sending Zoom links to their emails every time. Still, a better way is to invest in yoga studio software to help your business automate and thrive. 

And you don’t have to exert that much effort for this—you can broadcast your in-person classes in real-time and have your online students join you. Hybrid classes are all the norm these days.

Expanding your reach to people who don’t live near your yoga studio ensures better business revenue. You don’t have to be limited to people around your community.

Launch on-demand classes

Since hybrid classes may be limiting to some because of their schedule, offering on-demand yoga classes can add another revenue stream. You can record yoga teaching sessions, edit them a bit, upload them using business management software, and have them accessible to clients whenever they want.

The advantage of on-demand classes for you as a teacher is that you don’t have to do live sessions repeatedly. Just record yourself once—and students just purchase the same class over and over again. It’s a potentially substantial passive income earner!

Mix it up and get flexible

Finally, get flexible. If there is one thing yoga has taught us, we must be flexible to reach our highest potential. Don’t be afraid to mix our ideas and sprinkle your own. Employ a mix of traditional and online marketing strategies to maximize your promotions. 

In the end, you know yourself and your business best. By being strategic, authentic, and consistent, you can keep your clients returning to your yoga studio for more classes. 

Frequently asked questions on getting more clients for your yoga studio

What are some effective marketing strategies for yoga studios?

Employing a mix of traditional and online marketing strategies works best. Taking a more indirect approach to selling, such as educating people, partnering and collaborating with other businesses, and supporting worthwhile causes, seems to resonate more with prospective clients.

How can I get more clients for my yoga studio?

To get more clients for your yoga studio, start by asking for referrals from your current students. Run special offers such as free or discounted classes. Get involved with your local community and partner with other local businesses and wellness professionals. Get listed in online directories and market yourself online. Employ a healthy mix of traditional and online marketing strategies.

How can I attract more yoga clients?

To attract more yoga clients, you can use various marketing strategies, such as

• Utilizing social media platforms to promote your yoga services

• Offering special deals and promotions

• Hosting yoga events and workshops

• Networking with other fitness professionals and health organizations

• Creating a referral program for your existing clients

• Building a strong online presence through a website and positive customer reviews

What are some ways to retain yoga clients?

To retain yoga clients, you can:

• Provide excellent customer service and support

• Create a welcoming and inclusive environment

• Offer variety in your yoga classes and personalized attention to each client

• Continuously educate and inspire your clients with new techniques and practices

• Foster a strong sense of community among your clients through social events and group activities

How can I increase my income as a yoga instructor?

To increase your income as a yoga instructor, you can:

• Offer private or semi-private yoga sessions

• Expand your services to corporate clients and private events

• Offer workshops, retreats, and teacher training programs

• Cross-promote complementary services such as massage therapy or nutrition counseling

• Utilize online platforms to reach a wider audience and offer virtual classes.