9 Promotion Ideas that Bring in New Yoga Members

For a yoga studio, your members are your business. Without clientele, you have no income and therefore no studio. Many newer or struggling studios spend a lot of time developing ideas to get more people in the door. 

Do you need to run promotions to bring in new yoga members? Not necessarily, but they can be helpful. Promotions are any sales or marketing plan to increase sales or bring in more customers. Typically, these promotions run for short periods and you may run several promotions throughout the year. 

Many fitness businesses choose to use promotions in addition to their consistent marketing plans. Since they run for shorter periods, it can be easy to see how successful the promotions are. The goal is always to see an influx of new members during the promotion. 

9 Promotion Ideas for Your Yoga Studio

Like most marketing concepts, every idea might not work for your business. These promotion ideas are to help you drum up new business and increase your membership base.

1. Social Media Giveaway

You’ve probably seen these giveaways happening all over social media. Whether it is TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube, brands are frequently giving away products or services in exchange for engagement on their account. The benefits of these giveaways are an increase in followers, your product/service in front of more potential customers, and an increase in engagement with your posts. 

The best way to do this is to give away free classes. You could offer a week, a month, or a set number of classes. The people who enter the giveaway will be people local to your studio and people who are interested in taking yoga classes. One of the most common giveaway formats is to ask people to like a post, comment on the post by tagging a friend, and follow your studio’s account. This is simple and free for people to enter. 

After the giveaway, you also reach out to those who entered (with the assumption that they are already interested in taking yoga classes at your studio) and offer them a discounted rate since they didn’t win.

2. Themed Yoga Events

By now, you’ve definitely heard of goat yoga. This special event is more about goats and less about yoga, but you can see the appeal. Hop on this bandwagon and create themed yoga classes or events to bring in new customers. 

You could do a special event once a month or once a quarter. You can put on these events yourself, but partnering with another local business is usually easier. Think of holidays, local businesses you could partner with, and current pop culture. Some themed events could be:

• Chaturanga and Coffee – partnered with a local coffee shop
• Downward Dogs and Cats – partnered with an animal rescue
• Bendy and Boozy – partnered with a local wine bar or brewery
• Mantras and Muggles – Harry Potter-themed 

The key is to find a topic that people love or an organization that people would want to support (like an animal rescue). This can be a great way to get people into the studio that may not have considered yoga otherwise. Plus, these events are fun and typically lead to great photos for marketing and social media. 

Offer these events as a one-time cost. It is best if they can be booked online ahead of time. At the event, you can offer a discount for customers who sign up for new yoga memberships. 

3. Participate in Local Events

Local events can be an excellent way to get your business in front of a ton of potential customers. These events may be fundraisers, holiday events, farmer’s markets, etc. Your team can just volunteer or set up a booth for information. If it makes sense, you may even be able to offer short, free yoga classes. 

Giving back to the community is good for everyone. You can help out your friends and neighbors while promoting your business. This may not bring in direct income, but brand recognition goes a long way. 

4. Join ClassPass or Groupon

Groupon is a website and app where people can buy discounted experiences and products. Lots of fitness centers and yoga studios will offer a limited number of Groupon deals. This is usually a month of classes at a discounted rate. The goal is to get people in the door, show them how fantastic your studio and classes are, and then get them to sign up for continuing membership. 

ClassPass is a company that allows its members to book classes at a variety of fitness studios. Offering classes on their platform probably won’t bring in new members (since they are already ClassPass members), but it will bring in income for each class. Plus, the people who come in for a workout will be able to tell their friends and family how much they enjoyed taking yoga classes at your studio. 

5. Ask for Reviews

Reviews can make or break your ranking on sites like Google, Yelp, and TripAdvisor. Ask your members to leave a review to help boost the ranking of your studio. It is unethical (and against website guidelines) to offer an incentive in exchange for a good review, but you can let them know how helpful it is to the studio. Satisfied members will be more than happy to support your yoga studio in such an easy way. 

You may not see a quick influx of new members from reviews, but they are helpful in the long run. If you are consistently coming up as a top-ranked yoga studio in your area, potential customers are going to be more likely to come to your studio over other ones. 

6. Be Active on Social Media

Social media is a necessary evil for marketing any business these days. Regardless of which platforms you have accounts on, consistency will be rewarded. These platforms use an algorithm to determine how many and which people will see your posts. Posting frequently and engaging with your audience is the best way to improve your reach on social media. 

Post a variety of content. Many members will love seeing photos or videos of themselves that they can share on their own social media pages. (It is courteous to ask your members if they are okay with being posted on social media and respect their wishes if they decline.) Members reposting your content is a great form of passive marketing. 

You can also post clips of your yoga classes. This way potential new members can see what to expect when they join the studio. Show off how knowledgeable your yoga teachers are and how beautiful your studio is. 

7. Partner with Local Businesses

How you choose to partner with local businesses will depend on your location and other businesses around. Some yoga studios partner with Reiki consultants, massage therapists, and acupuncturists to offer their services at the studio during non-class times. A paddleboard vendor may want to partner for SUP yoga classes on a nearby lake. Basically, it is about finding local businesses with similar interests or a unique way to work together. 

You can also work with businesses to offer reciprocal discounts. For example, a juice or smoothie bar can provide discounts for your students and you can provide discounts for their loyalty members. 

8. Create a Loyalty Program

Loyalty programs can be highly effective for increasing member satisfaction for very little expense. New members are important, but retaining your current members is even more important. Plus, happy members are more likely to recommend your studio to their friends and family. 

You can set up your rewards program based on attendance, length of members, and/or goals and accomplishments. The rewards can be discounts, free classes, or merchandise. Loyalty programs can be as simple or involved as you would like. Since simpler programs are easy for your members to keep track of, they will stay more excited and involved with the program. 

9. Bring a Friend Offer

One of the easiest ways to get potential new members into the gym is to allow your current members to bring a guest to class. This shouldn’t be an unlimited offer though. Consider letting each member bring a guest one time per month. 

Most likely, your members are going to bring someone who they know enjoys yoga or may benefit from taking yoga classes. Basically, they are doing the marketing for you. Your members get to enjoy a class with a friend and you have the opportunity to sell a new membership. 

Final Thoughts

You don’t necessarily need to run special promotions for your yoga studio. If you have plenty of members and a steady stream of interested and new members, you are all set. For everyone else, including new studios or struggling studios, these promotion ideas can help boost your marketing and bring in new customers. Hosting a themed yoga event or allowing members to bring a friend to class can put a lot of new bodies into your studio. For long-term exposure, ask your members for online reviews and post consistently on social media. Most of these ideas involve very little upfront costs, but they can drastically increase your membership base.