Thread: Getting people to take their first class---Do you offer a free try out class? Why or why not?

I think it is a good idea to help people finding if they like bellydance or not, but then if there are free classes all the time they may procrastinate it until they forget....

is it then better to offer free try out classes on a specific day, once a month, so that they have to take the opportunity and start going earlier to classes? or do they forget the free day anyways?

Is it a must to offer free try outs classes or something to avoid because it is like working for free because some people may plan to take only one bellydance class in their lifes just to say they did it? Somewhere in the middle?

How much people return after the first class?

What other options/strategies are there to help students switch from "interested" to actually going to the studio?

Greetings,
Karina

For the longest time, I didn't offer free classes until recently when I moved to a community that had no belly dancing whatsoever. So I decided to offer the first two classes for free to encourage people to try something new. I used specific dates. The first class I had 8 students, but the second had 22! Some people forgot about the first date but remembered to come to the second. And people who took the first free class brought people to the second. But in the end only 2 students took the full course. A waste of time and money? Maybe. But considering I'm new in this town with no network, no clientele, and providing a service that is practically alien, I honestly think it's a good strategy.

It really just depends on your community and your student base. If your community is like mine, you may want to let new students try out one or two classes for free. Or you could always print up vouchers and distribute them in creative ways. Donate a couple as a door prize at a local event. Hand them out from a booth at a health fair. Etc. Or maybe instead of regularly offering free classes, do a free workshop and give the students a discount for the classes because they attended the workshop. It's always a gamble, but that's business. The key is finding a method that is most cost effective.

I hope this helps. Good Luck!

Interesting, 2 out of 22... What about charging them a very low price? That can be other option.

I agree, it depends on the place and other variables... right now I am giving free classes through the facebook page, so they have to check it often. My theory is that they will subscribe at least, read my posts once in a while and they will have me in mind in case they or their friends need some of my services... I'll let you know the results.

Other thing I have noticed is that when they come in groups the first time (even when they didn't know each other) they are more likely to continue with the classes.

Thank you TerraNovan!
Karina

I think you have to do a little more than just offer a freebie to try it out. It's easy to take a free class, love it, but drag your feet on it. Maybe you have to make something about taking the next step really tempting. Say they get their first class free, but then if they sign up for a block of classes they get a little gift so you've given them a little something more to tempt them to go through with it and sign up.

I was thinking about doing some free or discount classes for first timers. I have a few ideas, depending what I end up doing for classes. One thing I want to try is finding a good venue to hand out gift bags. Just inexpensive organza bags with a business card, flyer, maybe a coupon for a free or discounted class, and some bling like a pack of bindis or something. I was also thinking it would be fun to tell people if they sign up for the mailing list they will be entered to win a hip scarf. Maybe if they don't sign up for class right away they will see one of my emails down the road with some kind of tempting offer that catches their eye. Perhaps summer is coming up and they see I'm offering something like a "Shimmy into Summer" beginner session with $5 if they sign up early. Maybe they will finally take the plunge.

I think the Facebook offer is a great idea, Karina! I also really like Dima's idea mailing list drawing idea. Both give potential students an incentive to not ignore your advertising. I definitely would like to know how those turn out.

Another thing I forgot to mention was that in my old town student membership always increased after a steady string of performances. That's why free classes were never offered. I don't have any gigs set up in my new town, but now I'm curious if that'll be more effective.

Also Karina, you bring up an interesting point. When students are socially involved they have a strong incentive to continue. A little something extra like Dima mentioned. So that being said, what about something like "Bring a friend, and both of you get a class for free!"?

Or would it be more important to focus on building camaraderie in the first few classes? Without being obvious of course. Hmmm... I don't know. A mixture of everything, perhaps? Maybe that was what I should've done in my situation. I probably would have more than 2 students!

I have tried free classes in the past, albeit only once or twice, and didn't think it was worth it. I found that the people who came for free were not those who would be likely to sign up once they had to pay - certainly not those likely to take a whole course. I tend to think the most effective business strategy is making my classes visible to those people who already have an inclination to try bellydancing, rather than trying to plant the seed of 'Ooh, wouldn't bellydancing be a cool thing to try?' in someone's head from scratch. People seem to need quite a bit of self-motivation to start taking classes and to stick to them, and the 'freebie' attenders just don't follow through.

Having said that, I think it's good to do things that help overcome reticence some genuinely interested students may feel about attending their first class. To that end, I offer a 'trial' class, where a new student can pay for one individual class to start, before having to sign up for the rest of the term to continue. I charge a standard, not inflated fee for the trial class, so the student has little to lose by giving it a go (as opposed to paying for a full term before they're sure they'll like it). Then, I think it's a matter of pitching your marketing materials/website to address any queries or concerns people may have about their first class, and a friendly, encouraging & enthusiastic manner when answering enquiries.

www.ted.com%2Ftalks%2Fsimon_sinek_how_great_leader s_inspire_action.html&h=CAQDzfGdI

Look what I found!

Originally Posted by jewelbellydance

I found that the people who came for free were not those who would be likely to sign up once they had to pay - certainly not those likely to take a whole course. I tend to think the most effective business strategy is making my classes visible to those people who already have an inclination to try bellydancing, rather than trying to plant the seed of 'Ooh, wouldn't bellydancing be a cool thing to try?' in someone's head from scratch. People seem to need quite a bit of self-motivation to start taking classes and to stick to them, and the 'freebie' attenders just don't follow through.

Having said that, I think it's good to do things that help overcome reticence some genuinely interested students may feel about attending their first class. To that end, I offer a 'trial' class, where a new student can pay for one individual class to start, before having to sign up for the rest of the term to continue. I charge a standard, not inflated fee for the trial class, so the student has little to lose by giving it a go (as opposed to paying for a full term before they're sure they'll like it). Then, I think it's a matter of pitching your marketing materials/website to address any queries or concerns people may have about their first class, and a friendly, encouraging & enthusiastic manner when answering enquiries.

Freebie classes are not helpful, in my opinion. I agree with the above completely and have found the "trial" class to be useful and more likely to bring in/keep a potential new student (though I only offer this when someone asks me about it!). Also I think giving something out for free makes you look desperate, which is not great advertisement. On occasion I may offer a workshop for beginners with a low rate, but I already have a large student base and it gives them the opportunity to bring friends to "try" in a single workshop; it works, but I do not do it for free... and make sure I get paid enough (minimum number of students met) to do it!

I once signed up for a course in a non-dance activity that I thought I might be interested in. You had to pay for the whole session, which was about $80. Then I took the first class and found out it was really, really not for me -- and had lost $80. I totally respect instructors' reasons for wanting up-front payment for a full class series (guaranteeing enrollment/payment that's worth the time and effort of teaching, plus the opportunity to plan a course that builds from week to week). But whether you do a free class or a one-time drop in rate (and I wouldn't have minded paying for a one-class drop-in at all), I do think it's more fair not to make people commit to 6+ weeks of something that might not work out for them once they've tried it. Just my experience!

I'm not an instructor, but I've had teachers who have done the free-intro class. In my observation, many of the people who were brought in by the idea of a free class were there so they could get something for free, not because they really wanted to try it. The people who stuck with it were the people who didn't care if the first class was free.

Just another observation, but out of the numerous non-bellydance personal enrichment classes I’ve taken over the years, I can't think of any that offered a free starter class. Yoga (at multiple studios), African dance, modern dance, Odissi, horseback riding, sewing. None of them offered the free first class that a lot of bellydance teachers seem to think is necessary. Likewise, I wouldn't go to a massage therapist or hair stylist for the first time and expect a free service so that I could see whether I liked them or not.

Originally Posted by jillanna

Also I think giving something out for free makes you look desperate, which is not great advertisement.

I don't think you look desperate if you offer something the right way. Like a free hip scarf for new students who sign up for a session. It's more like a "thanks for signing up, here is something to make it even more fun!"

I like the idea of allowing trial classes if requested, just not advertising them. The option is still there and if someone is really hesitant they will most likely ask. That way you don't attract people looking to pick up a free class, and you weed out a lot of people who aren't serious about taking classes.

I agree with rachelw. I think it's more peculiar than not that we let potential students play this game of taking one freebie class and disappearing back into the woodwork. This is a physical activity that requires learning movements most bodies have never done before and amassing years of mental and physical experience to do really well. Taking only one class in it is like signing up for a one-hour Spanish class so you can learn how to answer "¿Habla usted español?" with "No." We're not a learn-how-to-make-a-bracelet-on-Saturday-morning-at-the-craft-store, no-skills-required, self-contained endeavor. We need longer than sixty minutes. When you compare us to other things that are similar in terms of being a hobby for most people and taking practice to master, aren't we as good as cake decorating, Bob Ross painting, ballroom dance, and Conversational Spanish 101 at a community college--all things that expect you to put out a chunk of money up front for a series of lessons ranging from a few weeks to a couple of months? Most of those programs offer some kind of out strategy if your schedule changes or you hate the material, but some won't refund if you don't complete the class. I don't understand why we can't ask students to pay for a series, especially if we offer the policy of getting a partial refund if it doesn't work out.

We're dealing with two problems here: getting students in the door, and retaining them after that initial class. A term's worth of tuition (especially if you only define your term as a couple of weeks) isn't that much to ask, and doing so has a lot of benefits. It gives the student a better taste of what staying with the dance is going to be like, because that first class can be pretty overwhelming (a feeling that usually starts to dissipate after a few weeks, as you get used to moving your body this way and hearing this unfamiliar music). A longer session gives time for students to develop a rapport with others and with the teacher. It helps form the habit of going to class on that night. And most students aren't going to ask for that refund or stop going to something they paid for. Your chances of keeping a student who's already invested a month of her time in your classes have to be higher than retaining someone who paid nothing for one evening.

I started teaching at my home studio in July and I do not offer free classes for the same reasons posted by the others. I found that offering short 4 week sessions is attracting first timers that are willing to try my class for a small investment. Because they pay for the session, they tend to finish it and I think they are more likely to continue than if they do a one time drop-in. I intend to offer longer sessions next year, but will continue with the 4 week plan until I get a larger percentage that re-register. If you have control of the duration of sessions or of the payment structure, another option would be to offer monthly passes, where they commit for one month a time.

Another idea that just occurred to me is a multiple class pass that could be shared. For example someone could buy a 4 class pass and take a couple of classes, decide they don't like it and give the pass to a friend that takes the next 2 classes. The friend may love it and stick with it.