Thread: Seasonal Class Enrollment Trends?

I had a slump in class attendance this winter, but I've had a lot more students sign up in the last couple of weeks. At first, I thought that was just a seasonal issue, since enrollment perked up around the same time that the weather improved. But then I discovered that I had accidentally done a big marketing push. I ran an adwords campaign with a high cost-per-day for my intro workshop, and set the wrong end date.


So now I need to figure out if the improvement came from the campaign (i.e., if I should keep throwing money at it), or if it's just that students are coming out of hibernation.

I started my class last spring, so I don't have any sense of how much seasonal variation is normal.

Has anyone else seen the same trends in enrollment?

Enrollment was way up after the holidays, but a new session just started 2 weeks ago and it is really down. I'm having to push really hard just to get at least 4 people to come so my Sunday class doesn't get canceled. I've been running Google Adwords this whole time (Nov-present), so I don't think it caused the bump or the slump.

Our school has four terms for our level one classes, which correspond to the school terms. First one starts end of January/early February, last one ends first week of December. Now bear in mind that January is summer for us and June is the dead of winter.

Term one and term three are historically *always* the ones with the larger enrolments. So, late summer and just coming into spring, pretty much.

Originally Posted by zumarrad

Our school has four terms for our level one classes, which correspond to the school terms. First one starts end of January/early February, last one ends first week of December. Now bear in mind that January is summer for us and June is the dead of winter.

Term one and term three are historically *always* the ones with the larger enrolments. So, late summer and just coming into spring, pretty much.

Thanks, you two.

Zum: so midsummer and midwinter are your high enrollment periods? Do those coincide with school or typical vacation times in NZ? (Sorry; I'm pretty ignorant of the southern hemisphere.)

i just had a large enrollement - larger than after new years! and i think its bc people are feeling more motivated to get healthy now that spring (and eventually summer) are coming. my enrollement ussually drops off to NOBODY after this session though - they all go out to play in the sun and my classes take a break for the summer

For me, summer and Christmas are dead, because people are so busy and/or travelling so they don't want to sign up for six week sessions. In September and January I get big bursts...all the people who put it off during those seasons sign up together.

Spring and fall are just steady, usually, with moderate enrollment.

Oh, and I seem to get a big burst right before a show (even a little show, like a hafla) and have a dead spell afterward.

I do google adwords, but I don't get enough people from it to make a big difference. Actually, I'm thinking of quitting it since if anyone googles bellydance and my town, they're going to find me anyway!

I have given up trying to find a pattern in regards to season, class location, advertising, etc. Other than Dec/Jan being reliably dead, I never can predict whether and of my classes will be full with a waiting list or canceled due to low enrollment.

This is going to sound a little weird, but I'm convinced that the new interest in getting healthy at this point in the year is directly related to the Obamas.

Hear me out for a minute <grin>

I plan road races and we have record enrollment for our race that is going on in 2 weeks...we've already registered 12,000 runners for the event...we're anticipating having 20,000 runners on race day based on historical trends for last minute registration. We normally have around 13,500.

Every fitness instructor I know is telling me that they didn't get a good push in January after NYE like they normally do (new year's resolutions), but all of a sudden March is where its at...and its just getting better. I'm seeing the same thing at my studio. Hardly any new students in January and then had 20 new ones show up for my tuesday night class alone last week. A friend who manages a gym is reporting the same trend with their memberships.

So here is my theory (at least for the United States): The Obamas are healthy people and are public about being healthy.

This is the first time probably since the Kennedys were in the White House that the popular media has covered a president and his family this way. When was the last time our President was on the cover of a magazine like People? And Michelle Obama has been on the cover of Vogue already. And the Obamas are healthy. They run and workout. They eat right. Did you hear that Michelle Obama is having them plant a veggie garden on the South Lawn of the White House so they can raise their own veggies? A friend who sells raised garden boxes specifically meant for raising veggies at home saw a massive pump in business after that was reported by the media.

I think that you will always see a bit of a jump in the Spring as people try new things for the new year. And then you will see another jump in the Fall when the kids go back to school and lives get back to normal. But I'm convinced that the Obamas are making a positive impact on health and fitness for the US...and that their interests in things like organic gardening, etc are making "alternative fitness" like belly dance more mainstream and acceptable. I could totally see Michelle Obama in a belly dance class.

I also think that is has to do with people starting to get more confident about the economy again. Despite the media still banging the "the economy sucks and we're all going to die" drum, everyone that I know feels much more confident about it because they feel like Obama has got the reins. The common consensus seems to be that he's gonna make mistakes and its not going to be an overnight fix...but at least he's got the reigns.

I think that we're all going to continue to see an upward trend in enrollment as a result. People are getting more health conscious and starting to relax again. Its a good thing.

Originally Posted by aasiyah

i just had a large enrollement - larger than after new years! and i think its bc people are feeling more motivated to get healthy now that spring (and eventually summer) are coming. my enrollement ussually drops off to NOBODY after this session though - they all go out to play in the sun and my classes take a break for the summer

I am seeing the same exact thing! my Winter session was full with a waiting list. My spring session is filling up but not as fast. I am only doing workshops for the summer - regular classes will start in the fall.

Let's hope Michelle Obama (or perhaps Barak) take up bellydancing!

Originally Posted by jewelbellydance

Let's hope Michelle Obama (or perhaps Barak) take up bellydancing!

I vote for Sasha and Malia. Couldn't you picture them in little beledy dresses?