Marketing is an important way to put yourself out there, and spread the word about your services. Without an audience, teachers have nobody to teach, so it’s important to learn how to market yourself so you can stand out and get discovered.

If you’ve never delved into the world of marketing before, the idea of marketing yourself can seem scary, but luckily, we’ve got you covered. 

Here are some self-marketing tips to help you create a social media presence, boost awareness and increase engagement.

How to get started
Ask yourself: what is my selling point?

 Before you can start marketing yourself, it’s important to define your niche. To do this, ask yourself some of the following questions:

• What sets my yoga business apart from others?
• What services do I offer?
• What do I specialise in?
• Why should someone attend my classes, and what will they gain from them?

Your niche will underpin your entire self-marketing strategy, so it’s important to come up with a solid explanation of what style of yoga you teach, why you teach it, and what you bring to the table. 

Laura Stupple

Define your target audience

Whilst targeting the biggest audience you possibly can may be tempting, realistically, there’s only ever going to be a select target audience who’ll be truly interested in your services. For example, it may sound great to target all women, but some women may not be interested in exercise, or some may only like team sports.

So, it’s important to narrow down a target audience, or in other words, decide on a group of people whose needs will best be met by your services. 

Having a defined target audience will help you devise a specific social media strategy to meet their needs. You’ll be able to capture the attention of the people who really matter, rather than spreading yourself too thin and targeting too broadly. 

Once you have a distinct audience, and get to know their likes, dislikes, hobbies and habits, you’ll be able to get the most out of your self-marketing strategy.

Create a website

Creating a website is the most important step when it comes to marketing yourself online. 

Your website will become the central hub of all of your marketing efforts, as:

• It displays your brand’s personality
• It’s usually the first impression visitors will get of your services 
• It’s the place where people find out more about you
• It answers any questions potential customers may have about your services
• It’s the place where your audience converts, or makes bookings
• It links to and from all of your other social media channels
• If you run any paid advertising campaigns, they will all lead back to pages on your website 

To make your website really stand out, it’s recommended that you enlist the help of an SEO content writing agency.  SEO content writers will help you engage your audience by bringing your brand voice to life. But most importantly, they’ll help people find your website by putting it on the front page of Google. If your website appears at the top of the Google search results relevant to your industry, then potential customers are much more likely to find you over your competitors. 

How to market yourself as a yoga teacher on social media
Tips for marketing on Instagram

1. Instagram is all about strong visuals and clear branding. It’s a good idea to design a logo, and choose some brand colours to carry through all of your posts. 
2. Interactive content performs the best. Use reels, ask questions to your followers in your captions, and use yes/no and question prompts in your stories. By conversing with your followers, you’ll be able to create deeper connections to them. Having high rates of engagement also pays off on Instagram, as it causes the algorithm to treat your account favourably. 
3. It’s important to post frequently. Start with a couple of posts a week, but ideally, work your way up to three posts a day.
4. Create an engaging bio with a concise description of your business. Make sure to also include a link to your website.
5. Show off your craft! Post short video reels of your yoga classes, or teach your audience some yoga tips.

Tips for marketing on YouTube

As a yoga teacher, YouTube is one of the most important platforms, as this is where you can really show off your work. Use your YouTube to:

• Post full-length yoga classes
• Answer commonly asked questions
• Provide tips 
• Introduce yourself and your business

YouTube gives you access to a large audience, which will help you build brand awareness and exposure. And if your YouTube blows up, you’ll be able to monetise your videos, using the platform as an additional source of income.

Tips for marketing on TikTok

TikTok is today’s trending platform, and its user-base is rapidly growing by the day.

It’s a smart idea to market yourself on TikTok, as it’s a great place for capturing niches and building communities. 

#Yogatok is a community that currently exists on TikTok, with the hashtag receiving over 137 million views to date. Creating videos with this hashtag is a great way to increase awareness for your brand. 

Videos to post on your TikTok:

• A branded trailer to show off your services
• Yoga tips and tricks
• The best yoga positions for back pain, headache, bloating, etc.

Host events and meetups, and post content from these events on your social media accounts

Events and meetups are a great way to bring your community together and build bonds with your clients. Meetups can be virtual or in person, and they can be filmed and posted on your social media channels. You can also invite influencers and opinion leaders in your field, as this will help you grow brand awareness.

Event and meetup ideas could include:

• Group yoga sessions
• PR yoga events to get your name out there

Now that you have all the self-marketing tools, it’s time to be brave and put yourself out there. Make some social media accounts, find yourself a content writer, and embark on your journey of success. 

Interested in becoming a yoga teacher? Check out our training programs.

If you would like to further information or more advice on which training is best for you please contact Byron Yoga Retreat Centre: 02 6685 8327 / admin@byronyoga.com / www.byronyoga.com 

The post How to market yourself as a yoga teacher appeared first on Byron Yoga.

Byron Yoga Centre, established in 1988, is one of Australia’s longest running yoga teacher training academies. We offer a wide range of trainings including several options for the popular Level 1 200 hour course. We can help you select the course that best suits your individual yoga path.

Level 1 Options

1) Complete Course: 20 Day residential at Byron Yoga Retreat Centre

With our 20-day Complete Course you will gain your certification on the successful completion of the residential intensive.

During this 20-day Complete Course you will be fully supported through your journey, from the foundations of teaching to feedback on practical teaching sessions. You will get extensive opportunity for teaching experience with real public classes, allowing you to build confidence.

We recommend this course as the best choice for all those that have the time and are ready to commit to being in Byron Bay for three weeks.

2) Concise Course: 12 Day residential at Byron Yoga Retreat Centre

Our 12-day Concise Course is for those who have less time for a stay in Byron Bay. It requires additional online and correspondence elements after the residential intensive. You will also need to arrange and record your own additional practical teaching experience.

It usually takes about six months to one year for students from the 12-day Level 1 to complete their assignments, teaching practice and journaling and to become certified teachers. So we recommend the 20-day Complete Course option to anyone who keen to get started on their yoga teaching career.

However, a significant number of our Level 1 students are not planning to teach immediately and are simply wanting to delve deeper into yoga in all its aspects. For these participants the 12-day option as the more cost effective, and less intense, option.

3) Flexible Learning Level 1: 12 Day or 20 Day residential at Byron Yoga Retreat Centre

This option is for those who are not ready to commit to dates for the residential course but are keen to get going on online elements of the training.

With Flexible Learning you can get started on the correspondence components and then book in for the intensive at a later point in time. This style of course is most suited to experienced yoga practitioners or those who have already been teaching informally, and who are confident, independent learners.

4) Part Time: 10 weeks non residential with 2 weekdays each week study days 

5) Part Time: 6 x non residential weekends in Melbourne or Sydney 

6) Part Time 6 x residential weekends at Byron Yoga Retreat Centre

For those living Sydney, Melbourne or Byron Bay who are unable to take time out to come for a residential intensive in Byron Bay, we now run part time options just for you! You can attend two weekdays each week for 10 consecutive weeks, or select the weekend course with dates spaced over a 5-6 month period attending one weekend each month at our partner studios. (The Yoga Room in Sydney and The Ashtanga Centre of Melbourne).

In Byron Bay at the Byron Yoga Retreat Centre you can take the option of a part time weekend residential course, staying at the tranquil eco centre from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon. This makes it accessible for those driving from Brisbane or the Sunshine Coast or from Coffs Harbour and beyond.

A part time course not only suite those who can’t join a 2-3 week intensive but also those who prefer to learn at a slower pace. You have time to fully integrate your leaning and if you complete the online and components between the weekend sessions you will gain your 200 hour certification at the successful completion of the final weekend.

If you would like to further information or more advice on which training is best for you please contact Byron Yoga Retreat Centre: 02 6685 8327 / admin@byronyoga.com / www.byronyoga.com 

The post Which Level 1 Yoga Teaching Training is right for you? appeared first on Byron Yoga.

You may have found that your practice has plateaued. Perhaps after experiencing a steady progression in your physical aptitude you start to feel that you are stagnating. It could time for a residential teacher training or perhaps a retreat.

As well as teacher trainings, Byron Yoga Centre offer 7 day, 5 day and 3 day yoga retreats at the tranquil Byron Yoga Retreat Centre. These programs combine three yoga classes a day (flow, alignment based and a restorative or yin class) with wellness sessions, meditation and yogic philosophy workshops. A retreat could be just what you need to reignite your sense of headway. If you are looking for a more intensive program, then consider a 12 day Level 1.

2) Tools to Establish a Home Practice

You are likely to have experienced the benefits of yoga that go beyond improving your strength and flexibility, like the subtle way that yoga permeates our mental and emotional layers. Most yoga practitioners would agree that a regular practice establishes a peace of mind, clarity and emotional balance.

To genuinely maintain a consistent practice and to maximise these benefits it becomes essential to establish a home practice. A Byron Yoga Centre training course teaches you how to instruct a yoga class = even if you are just choosing to only teach yourself!

The Level 1 course will guide you in correct alignment of key poses – plus the benefits and contraindications, You will also learn how to sequence a practice and how to modify poses for your level, and for your progression, of practice. This methodical and practical knowledge will enable and inspire you to create and maintain a home practice.

3) A Thirst For Knowledge

Your yoga teachers have probably introduced you to aspects of yoga beyond the asana poses, perhaps touching on philosophies such as the 8 Limbs of Yoga from the Yoga Sutras or guiding you in a meditation or a pranayama practice (breathing exercise). Maybe you are keen to better understand the anatomy of poses or the physiological benefits of yoga. A yoga teacher training is an amazing opportunity to delve into all aspects of yoga.

At Byron Yoga Centre the style of yoga taught on the trainings and retreats is called Purna Yoga. Purna is a Sanskrit word meaning ‘complete’ or ‘whole’. Byron Yoga Centre integrates philosophy, meditation, pranayama and asana into all classes.

4) A Life Change

You may have recently entered a new life stage or be looking to instigate a transformation. Perhaps you are looking for part time work around raising a family, or to move from a corporate job to a more holistic role. Maybe you are experiencing one of those pivotal points in life when we ask ourselves – ‘what next?’ Whether the answer is to train as a yoga teacher or just to create a space where you can get in touch with your intuition – a yoga teacher training course can offer you the tools and the time.

5) You Want to Share Yoga

Many of the participants in Byron Yoga Centre trainings say that their experience of the benefits of yoga has inspired them to want to share it with others. It is this passion that is the foundation of a good yoga teacher.

So Which Course to Choose

Byron Yoga Centre has trained over 3,000 teachers and now runs a whole range of trainings and retreats from its home at Byron Yoga Retreat Centre.

The minimum qualification required by studios and for insurance is a 200 Hour Level 1 training. Byron Yoga Centre offers this as a 20 day or a 12 day (with correspondence components) course. However, to cater to the growing number students looking for a more in-depth training Byron Yoga Centre also offer a 500 Hour 40-day training and a Certificate IV non residential 12-month part time course.

All the residential courses and retreats are a chance to enjoy delicious, healthy vegetarian food, the heated mineral salt pool and to explore Byron Bay town and the beautiful beaches.

The post Five Reasons to Join a Yoga Teacher Training Course appeared first on Byron Yoga.

For ten straight days a group of committed yogis lived and breathed ‘yoga therapy’ from six in the morning to half eight at night. During the meal breaks the intensity did not stop, with passionate discussions about yoga, natural health and healing often accompanying the dhal and chai. We started our 10 day Yoga Therapy Teacher Training intensive by work-shopping the philosophical guidelines for the principals and tools of yoga therapy. Very quickly, we established that yoga forms part of a bigger-picture of holistic healing and may be just one, albeit integral, part of the healing process. We also realised that that this healing can only take place when the yoga therapist has a clear, loving and non-judgmental intention. Already, I think we all knew we were in for a fascinating journey of delving into the body-mind connection in our clients, as well as within ourselves.

Eve Grzybowski adjusting shoulderstand

The group comprised committed and diverse health professionals – yoga teachers, two physiotherapists, a massage therapist, naturopath and a GP in-training – which meant that the knowledge bouncing between the walls of the Belongil Beach studio was broad-reaching and endlessly illuminating. Add to that some of Australia’ s most experienced and respected teachers, Eve Grzybowski, Judy Krupp, Maria Kirsten, Jacinta McEwen, and Stephan Kahlert, and I’m sure everyone would agree the path to becoming a yoga therapist was not only highly educational but sprinkled with the refreshing wisdom and humour unique to each of these wonderful yogis.

There was a wonderful feeling of exploration and discovery in the room as the group worked on both hypothetical and real case studies. The feedback being that this was a valuable way to integrate and consolidate the bucket-loads of information that was being shared.

Judy Krupp adjusting standing forward bend

Personally, I felt grateful for the opportunity to straddle the roles of teacher and student during this 10 day intensive. Even with 13 years of yoga teaching experience behind me, I realised, as always, what a ‘baby’ I am in yoga terms.

We all know that you never stop learning no matter how long you’ve been teaching. Yet at the same time, I felt gratified that much of the empirical and intuitive knowledge I have collected over the past two decades of teaching and practice was confirmed. To me, it was yet another useful reminder to follow the guru within (sat-guru) as well as the guru without.

So after an intense time of discussing, massaging, adjusting, and, releasing our psoas (thanks Judy!?), what is it that I gained the most from being involved with this course? In a nutshell, this little gem: there is a big difference between curing and healing.

Ana Davis is a Yoga Teacher Trainer for Byron Yoga Centre, specialising in women’s health and restorative yoga.

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