Meet the incredible Heather McClelland!
Hi, friend! Today I’m sitting down and talking to the incredible Heather McClelland. A New Yorker and yoga studio owner, Heather and I sit down today to chat about her mission and a special offering she has outside the studio. As a bonus, this interview also has a real consultation call where I give Heather some marketing tips and ideas for her latest out-of-studio offering! There are some great marketing tips here so be sure to watch the video at (12:00) to hear my recommendations of how Heather can market her latest passion project.
Let’s get to the special interview/consultation combo!
Amanda: Tell us about your studio, where you are located and what you offer to your students.
Heather: I own Mindful Yoga, located in Fayetteville, New York. We opened just over a year ago and we offer all types of yoga classes. From restorative to beginner and all the way up to more advanced. We specialize in people who are just now learning on the mat.
Amanda: I love how you say that yoga is for everyone but that you focus on beginners. I talk about this all the time. The idea of narrowing your focus and knowing who your ideal client is and catering to what they need. Because yoga is for everyone but it’s important to know exactly who you cater towards. It allows you to focus in and allows your marketing to come in way easier!
Heather: Yes! Knowing who you want to serve and who your target market is makes your marketing strategy come together so much easier.
Amanda: While I think we could talk about your incredible studio all day long, one thing that really intrigued me when we met is your unique offer of the at-home “mindful space”. I absolutely love when yoga teachers “think outside the studio” and it’s amazing to see a studio owner doing this as well. Can you talk to me a little about that, how you came up with the idea and what it’s all about?
Heather: This program that I offer to those in the community is called Mindful Space. Essentially what it is, I go into your home and create a space for you to either practice yoga or meditation. Maybe even something entirely different — a space to work creatively, to sit down and get projects done. I’m good at coming into your home, pulling from other places and organizing something that feels really special.
I hear people all the time say, “I would love to practice yoga at home”but it just doesn’t feel like a studio”. I can’t come in and create an entire studio but I can create a feeling in a nook of your house. Creating that space that’s calm and centered is possible!
Amanda: Yes! I’d love for you to come do this for me in my house. I’m curious, how did this come about?
Heather: One of my other hobbies is decorating homes. I love going in and organizing! I also love interior design and changing things around in people’s homes. That’s how it started — doing this in one friend’s home and then telling another friend about it. A friend reach out about wanting a podcasting space. I came into her home, gave her some ideas. Created a space for her in about 1.5 hours and she was so impressed. She told me I need to start doing this for other people. That’s how Mindful Space was created!
Start here for all things marketing tips!
Amanda: This offer is so unique and often times when I work with yoga studios, they are great at promoting classes but they sometimes don’t market the other offerings such as memberships, merchandise or unique offers like this. And since you and I have talked more on this, I want to share some ideas with you during this interview but before I do, have you found any marketing tactics that have worked well?
Heather: I’ve done very minimal social media. Maybe a few posts here and there but it’s mainly been word of mouth. If someone is mentioning to me that they want to practice at home and they’re having trouble, that’s when I bring up Mindful Space.
Amanda: Alright, here are some of my marketing ideas for your very special offer!
1. Telling current students it’s available! It’s always at the top of my list but can be the easiest to forget. I encourage you to mention it to people who haven’t mentioned anything to you! I could be in your class and thinking about wanting a space inside my home but not saying anything out loud.
2. Website! Highlight it a bit more on your website. Give it a special mention on your homepage — maybe your banner, a sidebar, a pop up.
3. Add your special offer to the pricing/schedule page!
4.If you’re writing a blog, mention your special offer! Either in it’s own dedicated blog post or link it any time you mention anything about it.
5. Of course, we can’t forget social media. Remember that not everyone is seeing your content. While it feels we’re saying the same thing over and over again — they’re seeing it 6% of the time! I recommend no less than twice a month to be pushing your special service. If you feel like you’re still not getting the traction, try to increase it. Visual is key — take a photo of a space you’ve worked on!
6. Email newsletters! Utilize your email list to share this idea with students.
7. Offer it virtually! I don’t live in New York but I want you to do this for me! I could send you pictures or a video of my home and ask you through that video any ideas you have to turn my closet or office into a Mindful Space.
Heather: I’m feeling very inspired by all this! I want to start working on all these ideas right now!
Amanda: When we spoke the first time you had some incredible ideas for marketing yourself as a brand new yoga teacher. Can you share some of these ideas?
Heather: Yes! Here are some of my top tips for new yoga teachers:
1. If your studio you’re working it as schedule cards or brochures, take them and highlight the times you teach! Hand those out when you meet people interested in yoga.
2. One I personally used was using my part time cafe job as a place to talk to people about yoga and my classes.
3. Encourage people to come and try our your classes. Just ask!
Amanda: Thanks so much for your time, Heather! I hope you have fun with your homework!
Until next time,
