“Freakin’ nuts”, is what average school owners think when they hear about what most of the REALLY successful school owners are doing and (advocating other school owners do) during these wild economic times.

Let’s face it…

The ups and downs of the stock market and the constant bad news about our economy are wreaking havoc with the finances of many school owners.

Cash flow is shrinking, students are dropping off, and less prospective new students are calling.
And, for average school owners it’s SCARY. Rightly so.

Meanwhile, the members of the highest-earning bracket of school owners are loving life.
They’ve yet to see their businesses take any significant step backwards in cash flow. In fact, some have actually experienced growth in their cash flow, even with everything taking place on Wall Street.
So, what are these high-earning school owners doing within their martial arts schools that the average school owners aren’t.

Well, it’s not what they’re doing in their Martial Arts business that the average school owners aren’t. The better question is what are the school owners with the shrinking companies NOT doing that the wealthiest school owners are.

The answer…

Marketing, marketing and more martial arts marketing.

Aggressive marketing to be more specific.

You see, what the wealthiest, most successful school owners understand is that marketing for their schools is the lifeblood of their martial arts business.

It’s the engine that drives their company growth.

It’s THE thing that allows their martial arts business to survive and thrive. Nothing else.
And, because of that, your martial arts marketing should be the very last thing to ever get cut our of a budget.

“Marketing is muscle, not fat. Be careful about cutting it”, one journalist wrote.

Unfortunately, that’s exactly what so many struggling school owners have done – they’ve cut their marketing budget way back, if not eliminated it altogether.

What a MONSTROUS MISTAKE!
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Date:  Thursday, October 29, 2008
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In fact, a recent article in Business Week, “Five Don’ts for Marketing in Tough Times”, said it best…

“Just as the savviest investors view down markets as a time to buy when everybody else is selling, the savviest marketers know recessions are a great time to pick up market share. They understand that by maintaining their budgets (or even increasing them) they may not come out ahead during the down times, but they can pick up market share that will pay off in the long run.

Marketing dollars in a recession are like oxygen on Mt. Everest, the less there is in the surrounding environment, the more valuable the amount you possess becomes. Cutting your marketing spending is a sure way to give ground to competitors who may be more aggressive during the downturn.”

And ,if that wasn’t enough, here’s what John A. Quelch said in a recent HBS Newsletter:

“It is well documented that brands that increase advertising during a recession, when competitors are cutting back, can improve market share and return on investment at lower cost than during good economic times.”

Lastly, here’s what Business Maven, Laurie J. Storey-Manseau, had to say in the New Hampshire Business Review:

“When times are tough and business is slow, marketing is the very last thing that ought to be cut. Now, more than ever, companies must make themselves and their products known.”

But we recently came across a great quote from marketer Chris Lockhead of Mercury: “Go ahead. Cut your marketing budget when things get tough. I get it. That’s like saying ‘I’ll throw some logs on that fire when it warms up in here.”

It is critical to keep stoking the fire of your marketing campaign. And face it, keeping the fire burning now means you won’t have to rub two sticks together — starting from scratch! — when the “economy improves.”

Martial arts school owners make mistakes you see, when it comes to marketing their schools right now, the last thing school owners should be thinking about right now, is cutting back on their marketing.

No.

Instead, what you should be thinking about when it comes to your school marketing, is doing it more efficiently. effectively, and aggressively.

We believe martial arts marketing online is the best way to do that.

As we said, the key to surviving and even thriving in these tough economic times is improving your Martial arts school advertising efficiency and effectiveness.

While it is not a black box you can throw money into and expect great results, the web is a proven martial arts school marketing medium that can generate phenomenal returns for you.

Successful online school marketing campaigns can often take time, effort, and creativity; however, these efforts can certainly provide a substantial ROI (return on investment) when compared to pricey traditional offline marketing for schools.

The key, though, regardless of whether you do it online or offline, is that you continue marketing your school.
# Continue to invest money in generating new students.
# Continue to invest money in marketing to previous students.
# Continue to invest money in things that automate processes in your school.

Don’t stop. Don’t even slow down.

Let other competing school owners around you do that.

Let your competition make the potentially life-changing FATAL MISTAKE of thinking that in tough, trying-times the correct decision is to cut-off the ONE and ONLY activity that can fix a decline in cash flow and new customer flow.

And, while they do that, you continue doing your school marketing… and when all is said and done with this crazy economy… you’ll be the #1 school owner in your geographic area making some serious bank!

It happens all the time.  Just make sure you’re on the correct side.

Yours for a better school,
~Dunae and Dion

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Register Now For Thursday’s FREE Webinar! Only 23 spots left
Title: “How to set up Your Online Strategy”
Date:  Thursday, October 29, 2008
Time:  11:00 AM – 12:15 PM CST
Register now by clicking the link below:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/158466362 <==
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We believe there are a couple of martial arts marketing “tools” that will absolutely grow your school…

These “tools” are really more of “martial arts marketing methods” rather than anything. But, nonetheless, they are some of the most powerful and proven methods for getting new students and growing your school.

Let’s skip the fluff and get right to them:

Martial Arts Marketing Tool #1: PPC Martial Arts Marketing (Google Adwords)

PPC marketing is nothing more than advertising your martial arts school on the major search engines… with a cool twist.

With PPC marketing you DON’T pay when your ad is displayed. You ONLY pay when a prospective student sees your martial arts advertisement, clicks on your ad, and actually comes to your website.

But, it gets even better…

With PPC martial arts marketing, you get to choose EXACTLY when your ad is displayed on the major search engines, so you can target your advertisements strictly to the most qualified searchers of martial arts instruction online, display your ad just to them, and then only pay if they take an action and click on your ad. It’s actually the most targeted form of martial arts marketing in existence today.

Seriously. And, because of that, you end up only paying for traffic to your martial arts website that is ultra-targeted and highly-likely to convert into a paying students. It’s really incredible stuff! And, because of how effective this strategy is right now, We had to include it on the list of “martial arts tools that will absolutely grow your school”.

In fact you can listen to a free call we did with our very own personal Certified Google Adwords (PPC) Expert. Click HERE to get access to it.

Martial Arts Marketing Tool #2: Endorsed Offers

Endorsed offers are nothing more than having another local business owner or operator in your geographic area endorse you and your martial arts school to their customers, clients, patients, members, etc. When you set up this type of relationship, the percentage of prospective students that get converted into paying students for you in your school goes thru the roof.

Why? Because when another business owner or operator, who already has trust and goodwill built with their list of customers, endorses you and martial arts training at your school, the response is sometimes 20-30% higher than any other form of martial arts marketing.

Think of it like this…

Imagine a local school teacher talking to their students parents about the value of martial arts instruction with you, and why they recommend it. Or, imagine a local massage therapist or chiropractor talking to their clients about martial arts instruction with you. Again, because the trust and credibility is there already, the response is almost always much, much higher than typical “cold martial arts advertising”.

Why would another local business owner or operator endorse you and your school, you may be wondering?
Well, there are several reasons.

First, you can work on a barter arrangement with them. In other words, they endorse you and your school in exchange for complimentary martial arts training with you. Second, you can work out a co-endorsement arrangement where you endorse them to your parents and students in exchange for them endorsing you. The opportunities of the type of endorsed offer you arrange is only limited to your imagination.

Martial Arts Marketing Tool #3: Automated Martial Arts Marketing Via Email

Because email marketing can be set-up to work on autopilot perpetually… and because there’s no cost right now to use email marketing, it’s a great tool to follow-up with prospective students, educate existing students, generate referrals, and grow your school.

And, even more important, because martial arts email marketing is 4x more effective than most other forms of marketing (according to the Direct Marketing Association), it’s a must on the list of “martial arts tools that will absolutely grow your school”.

Think of it like this…

You can set up an email marketing campaign ONCE, and let it work over and over and over for you. You can do this for new students. You can do this to reactivate inactive students. You can do this for unconverted leads. You can do this to generate referrals every week. You can even do this for networking partners.

In fact we are going to show you how you can do it yourself this Thursday, October 29th on our FREE webinar.

***************************************************************
Register Now For Thursday’s FREE Webinar! Only 59 spots left
Title: “How to set up Your Online Strategy”
Date:  Thursday, October 29, 2008
Time:  11:00 AM – 12:15 PM CST
Register now by clicking the link below:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/158466362 <==
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If you’re not using email marketing in your school right now, you’re really missing out on an incredible school-building tool. Seriously. And if you are then GREAT congratulations to you. May be you just might pick up 1 or 2 things you’re not currently doing that could improve your results.

Register now by clicking the link below:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/158466362 <==

SPECIAL BONUS POST TODAY AT 2pm CENTRAL were we will cover Marketing for Martial Arts Schools – What To Do During a Brutal Economy.

Yours for a better school and life,

~Dion and Duane

Focus For The Martial Arts Business Owner

Focus is the one thing which sets apart a successful Martial Arts Business owner from those others who have not managed to make it. It can not be denied that any business, from start-up to those which are already established, that there seems to be a lot of things which must be done, covered and attended to in order to make it in any business. A day always seem to be filled with many issues and ideas which poses several trade-offs and impacts.

For some very lucky individuals, the trick to getting everything done is to have someone do it for them. However, not a lot of us are very fortunate to have individuals at our beck and call. Even those who have other people at their disposal would still agree that despite the disposal of resources and manpower, not everything gets done still as time may not always be on their side. Budget and time-constraints present to the individual an opportunity to make a choice and consider trade-offs.

This dilemma does present pressing questions among individuals. Pressing questions which makes the entrepreneur weigh all the matters which must be done which are presented on their plate. It can not be denied that while these matters are important, they are of different impact and effects; some may offer the possibility of more reward, while some may offer greater risks with maximum of benefits.

One of the most powerful piece of advice anyone can give to anyone about dilemmas like these is that the individual must focus on the one thing which they believe matters the most and divert their focus on the said thing. It must be understood that some priorities must be sacrificed in order to give in to other priorities which are of higher value. There are attachments and priorities which can be let go in order to attend to the one thing which matters the most.

Time and resources may not always be on one’s side as there may be things which must be done preferably prioritized over others. There are some questions which must be considered in order to determine the value of the things we have on our plate. These questions help to determine which must be prioritized and sacrificed in order to reach success.

Which item would prove to have the most significant impact? What will provide the most profits? Which can prove to be most successful? What is the most rewarding? What takes up most of your time and if done would help free your time? What will be the most strategical if done first?

These questions will succinctly address what is the most essential to your martial arts business success. These questions help one focus on the one thing which require attention as it yields the best and most profitable results. Focus on this one thing, and it will surely help you avoid being overwhelmed with having too much to do.

TRY School Owners Secrets Insiders Club for $1

Please comment on what the top 3 things you wished you did not focus onin the past  in your school…

Please help us: We want to know what area of Marketing your having the most trouble with.

Put your answer in the comment box below so we could produce some resources for you pronto.

Ciao,

Duane and Dion

PS Comment link is right under this post on the right side!

Click the links below to get started with Network Marketing

Network Marketing Manual Part 1

How To Create Powerful Strategic Alliances

These files are in a PDF format and you will need Adobe Reader to view them. If you do not have Adobe Reader click on the image to the right first and install it to your computer. It is FREE

I got this email from one of our school owner and he asked about the top ten things he ought to be focusing for his business.

So I’d like to share the list with you as well some of a few of these may apply to your business.

1. Make a clear and defined goal, write them down on the paper and focus on each one of them every day. You could find a book titled “Think and Grow Rich” to help you start with.

2. If some of your classes are not full, give away some 30 day trials for that class. Remember to collect their credit cards BEFORE they take the trial. Make it a condition of the trial. Say something like this…”In order to know that your fully serious about acheiving your desired outcome we require a credit card in order to activate your trial, however we will not charge it until the 30 day trial period is over, it’s risk free. Also you will be able to start getting results before you make any commitment. This WORKS like crazy!

3. Make your website a reality. Load it up with pictures of happy clients and Rave Reviews as part of your marketing and relationship building sites

4. Have your websites/ pages optimized always. Have your keywords placed  naturally within the content of the page and for the title tags insert your top one to three keywords used for your sites. Up to 63 characters or less.

5. Do link building to relevant to your websites. If you run a martial arts business, get links from health and fitness sites inside your city and outside or create your own mini net of sites. ( we will be covering mini nets in a future posts).

6. Use Craigslist in your daily marketing routine in systematic way. Meaning use good headlines, social media proof and strong call to actions. Your goal is to drive people to your sales page which is loaded withpersuasive copy, before and afters, testimonials and rave reviews of your school.

7. Read and adapt “How to Win Friends and Influence People” and use it in your business. People are the important audience.

8. Look for barter clients to outsource to work to. Referring students to your school. Make sure to be very clear that you want them to recruit and give them the tools to do their job. (We know this goes against most popularopinion but, it works like crazy and out of 5 people you do this for 1 will recruit 1 person a month and 1 will get 5 students a month). Also, be sure to do this on a trail basis, 3 months seems to be a good time to see who are your top recruiters.

9. Always be working on your systems. Get very proficient at documenting process and evaluating then tweaking them.

10. Always think on how you can improve your business by looking at your systems especially follow up.  Think of your business as flocks. then keep in touch with each flock and make steps to move them closer to you. Then for the ones that are under your care, think of ways to take better care of them. When you care for them they ALWAYS multiply!

Educate yourself daily on these tips and take massive action quickly. Don’t wait too long. Its already in your hands. Take action to gain results.