I get asked all the time “Amanda, how do you know what I’m thinking?”
My answer = I have conversations with yoga teachers every day and I listen to the words you use. And not just to hear what you say but to really capture the actual words you say so I can better help you navigate the struggles you have with marketing.
And one way I’ve done this is through conversations with my friend and yoga teacher, Megan Spears. We’ve been having conversations like this for a few years now and we thought it would be fun to let you in on one of those conversations.
It’s a perfect follow up to last week’s podcast episode (#70) because Megan is emerging from a Maintenance Phase in her business and wanted to get my thoughts on how to come back after a break. She shares in this conversation that she’s really stepped back from marketing her business for the last 8 months due to….well, 2020. So much has happened and she knew she needed a minute.
But she’s ready to make her back into her marketing routine and we know that there are many other yoga teachers just like her. If you’re one of them, get ready because we’ve got lots of information for you. Let’s dig in!
How to come back from a Maintenance Phase
When you’ve taken a break from marketing (ex: emailing and posting to social media) it can feel a little overwhelming to make your entrance again. It’s like you’re emailing your list for the first time or sharing something super personal on social media.
“Come back slowly” - Amanda McKinney
Just like you would encourage one of your students to come back to their yoga practice after a long break, do this for yourself too. Take it slow and ease back into it.
Here are some ideas on how you can do this:
Schedule something in advance to look forward to it, that will get you stirred back up and excited
Work with a coach to get inspiration, they will give you a to-do list
Step away from your business day-to-day to create a strategy
Write gratitude letters to your clients
Share a social media post that shows something you do consistently in your day - this doesn’t need to be asana
Show your audience what self care looks like to you, they will love to see this
Why we don’t like the phrase “charge what you’re worth”
Another thing Megan and I talked about was something we both feel super passionate about and it’s that your worth is not tied to what you charge for your services.
“Your worth is not tied to any price. There is no money, no dollar signs assigned to a person’s worth. So for all things holy, please separate them.” - Megan Spears
I could really leave this with Megan’s comment because that’s 100% truth!
We need to do the best we can to separate the price we charge for a service from our personal worth because that’s not what it is.
Say it with us….
My worth is not tied to any price
My worth is not tied to any price
One more time for the people in the back…
My worth is not tied to any price
But we know that pricing can be super tough so we’ve got some suggestions for you there too. Let some simple math and market research help you out.
Do market research and see what others are charging for similar services in your area
Look at the amount of money you would like to make in a week and divide that by 40 (estimating you work 40 hours a week)
Allow this math and market research to help you dictate your hourly rate so you can then price everything else in your yoga business. And then it’s math that’s helping you determine these numbers, not tying the amount you make to your personal worth.
As you can tell I love talking with Megan and we have so much fun together and we both learn from one another. We are both students of each others (and paying clients!) so any time we talk, it’s market research and we learn so much.
Your next step
I would love to encourage you to start or continue to have conversations with your dream student. You won’t be friends like Megan and I are overnight but you can start to listen to your students words with a different context.
Because you heard Megan “correct” (for lack of a better word) me about calling the phase a Maintenance Phase. She said “that’s a really nice way of putting it but to me it felt like I was falling”.
Immediately when she said that I basically wrote a social media posts in my head and you better believe it will be the subject line of an email too. I take her words and allow them to help me speak to you in a more effective way.
So find your “Megan” and keep the conversation going so you can learn all you can!
Until next time give yourself permission to be in whatever phase you’re in right now and grace along the way. I’ll talk to you soon!
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This is the perfect place to get answers to your questions whether it's about taking a break from social media or anything else that comes up in your yoga business.
