With the turning leaves and cooling weather of fall, children start back to school. Teachers have had an all-important  break, and are refreshed and ready to face a new year and often times, a new set of students. Early childhood music studio owners and teachers often run classes year-round while teaching the same groups of children as they progress in music. However, Fall still presents an opportunity for educators to reinvigorate their children’s music programs. Four ways in which to do that include outbound marketing programs, refreshing teaching space, reviewing lesson plans, and stocking up on classroom materials.

Perform Outbound Marketing to Grow Your Studio

Children’s music studio owners know that in order to sustain and grow their business,

it’s important to feed new students into the program. The following outbound marketing programs can help grow the number of new music students, and in turn, revenues.

• Referral Programs – Provide incentives for parents to invite other parents to join your studio.
• Eblasts – Whether you are using your own internal email list, a purchased list based on your target demographics, or a list offered by local organizations, emails can be very effective.
• Direct Mail – Postcards or letters with incentives towards targeted demographics or neighborhoods are most helpful when repeated periodically.
• Organization/Group Opportunities – Organizations such as the PTA, Mommy’s Groups, Neighborhood Facebook pages, and other organizations for young parents offer sponsorship and outreach opportunities.
• Social Media – A fairly inexpensive way to reach out to potential customers while sharing your brand and benefits.

Refresh Your Teaching Space

Creating a space that is conducive for learning is very important for students’ cognitive performance. Here are just a few ideas for making your teaching space new and inviting to students:

• Provide ample space for each student – As your classes grow, so should your teaching space!
• Get organized to reduce clutter – A clean classroom helps students focus on the lesson and the teacher, not distractions.
• Add a splash of color – Having a colorful classroom, such as carpeting or wall hangings, adds excitement and gets kids excited to come to music class.

Review Lesson Plans

While many lesson plans are “tried and true,” reviewing and looking at them in a different way can be exciting for even the most experienced educators.

• Think if new world examples to explain established concepts – Explaining concepts with something students can relate to makes a better connection to the subject matter.
• Each review uncovers new revelations – We often read books and watch movies multiple times because of things we may have missed the last time around.
• Review aids recall – Just as with studying any subject, review always helps to recall information. Thorough knowledge of material gives teachers confidence.

Stock Up on Classroom Materials

Children’s music classrooms often have many more tactile materials than traditional classrooms, so having an ample and operable supply on hand is very important:

• Plan for growth – While you may be reluctant to carry inventory over your expected class size, you don’t want to turn a windfall of new students away because you don’t have the necessary materials.
• Wear and tear – Many materials, especially musical instruments, can experience the same wear and tear as children’s toys. Proper sound and tone are also important when teaching musical concepts.
• New edition – Written materials often go through various editions and may have subtle changes and corrected errors. Check with your publisher to make sure your materials are up to date.

The new school year presents a time for teachers and students to re-energize their love of learning. Taking some steps in the children’s music classroom can help create new growth in the program as well as nurture a positive learning environment.