MMA Entrepreneur? Use Online Marketing the Right Way!

Online marketing is leading the way and you have seen small businesses rise up because they benefitted from their decision of making use of it. But the thing is, online marketing really does wonders for a few startups while others only watch helplessly while their investment goes down the drain. If you are an MMA entrepreneur and are trying your hand at online marketing, read this post and learn how to do things the right way.

Have Infamous Measure Let You Down?

You probably checked off every social media website that you could think of from your list. You have made regular posts and updates, have tried interacting with prospective students and customers, and have done everything by the book but the results are still not to your liking.

There Are Just Too Many MMA Gyms Out There

The competition is tough and brewing, what with all the Mixed Martial Arts gyms brimming with kids after they scored a champion who trained with them. But is that all that it takes to attract students? Not really, it is a little more complicated than that.

The stats show that there are other factors that dominate the reasons why one chooses a place to train for physical fitness. And surprise, the pointer that has topped that list is: finding a place to train close by. Think about it - after a long day’s work, people just want to hit the gym on their way home; no one will make a long trip elsewhere.

So erase out all those technical and fancy, not to mention expensive ideas that bite a huge chunk out of wallet, and let’s start from scratch on the more simpler ones. Don’t think about just breaking even, you need to do more than that if you are confident on the quality service that you offer.

The traditional way was better and that’s why gyms were always jam packed with people practicing. How was that possible? Well because their marketing methods were kind of simple too.

Listing on an online school finder with the ultimate advertising package, will not only make you a bright icon but will allow for more:

• Once your logo is clear and highlighted on the school finder map, you are not only getting beginner clients, you are building brand loyalty too and making your gym known among the others.
• Unique online tools will manage the leads you generate from prospective students. And the best part is that these student leads will be notified to you by a direct email.
• Your Martial Base school listings will be treated as another form of advertisement, as now you are not only creating awareness yourself in the real world, MartialBase is doing it virtually online.
• It filters out prospective clients that you don’t even know about. Instead of going to people and creating awareness and advertising, you potential clients come to you.  

They just might be looking for a great school to start training today but don’t know if there is one around, plus word of mouth is not enough. The new generation will automatically tune in to their search engines and demand a straight up answer with minimal hassle.

Fortunately we work to provide that very solution. So here is what you need to do, just list your facility as one of the top schools in your area at Martial Base or checkout the MartialBase’s ultimate online advertising package which gives your business more visibility. Before you know it, your gym will be packed with students looking to sign up for the MMA classes.

What is the Martial Arts School Finder & How Can it Benefit My Martial Art School?

Are you eager to attract many more students to fill your martial arts classes? Looking to extend your martial arts school’s reach within the region and beyond? If you are seeking exposure, attention and increased client enrollment to what your martial art school has to offer, the Martial Arts School Finder is your ultimate online advertising solution that can provide all these, and much more.

A brainchild of Martial Base by Terry Doll, the Martial Arts School Finder offers one of the largest online directories of martial arts schools in the United States today, with over 20,000 institutions of various martial art styles listed. Now into version 2, it has extensive search and informational capabilities for all martial art schools that have chosen it as their premier advertising solution.

Anyone keen to find out more and learn any martial arts can simply browse all the martial art schools available within their state and city. They can also search for a martial art school for a particular combat style within any combination of state, city and even zip code within the United States!

The search results not only cover the basic contact details of each martial art school, they are further enhanced by:

• A Google map feature that has clickable markers to show any school’s location information;
  


• Personal reviews, where available, are also provided by students;
  


• Easily contact each martial art school directly through the new Martial Arts School Finder communication feature;
  


• Highly intuitive and user-friendly navigation layout;
  


• For non-map readers, the Martial Arts School Finder is a boon by giving directions to the school of your choice.
  

Above and beyond the basic online exposure for your martial arts school provided by such a platform, what other excellent benefits and additional features does the Martial Arts School Finder offer you?

• Dedicated Martial Arts Portal: Unlike traditional offline advertising and other online advertising portals (e.g. Online Yellow Pages) which commonly offer only basic business information, the Martial Arts School Finder is a dedicated and appealing martial arts portal for all martial arts practitioners, perspective students, and fans alike;
  


• Online Authority: Martial Base is a growing online authority on all things martial arts, including news, event and ticketing information, online store, a blog and more. All visitors are relevant and within your targeted market;
  


• Geo-targeted Advertising: Advertising solution based on your martial art school geographic location
  


• High Traffic Site: With opportunities for maximum exposure on the most popular pages, serving several thousands of page views per week;
  


• Featured Martial Art School: Professional review of your school with prominent placement such as on the Martial Base homepage;
  


• Global Reach: Online platform that extends exposure to a worldwide potential;
  


• Brand Development: Build your school’s brand through personal reviews and testimonials from previous and current students;
  


• Communication Tool: Centralized communication management of clients and potential leads (Martial Arts Virtual Lead Box);
  


• Maximum Performance: Optimized and fast platform that enables smooth and seamless navigation and site performance.
  

Martial Base also strives to provide the best advertising service available anywhere to all our clients. Not only are our advertising solutions affordable, we are dead serious in ensuring that you receive the best bang for every advertising dollar spent.

To assist our ceaseless efforts in improving our services, we have a variety of value-added services designed to greatly increase the chances of your advertising campaigns’ success. These include our in-house SEO excellence and paid programs that invest advertising revenue on focused CPC campaigns to drive highly targeted traffic to your martial art school listings. We also continually enhance our listings to include additional useful on-demand information that highlights your martial art business.

Our Martial Art School Advertising services are not restricted to any one solution. We are always open to any special ideas that you may have. We truly believe in applying a human touch to what we do, and this translates to flexibility and personalization for all clients.

As the premier martial arts online advertising solution, we pride ourselves on “trying harder” than all other online martial art school directories. Our Martial Arts School Finder not only provides breadth, it has depth in its sophisticated search results. This gives us a unique, market-leading product. Our efforts to outdo ourselves will constantly result in creative and innovative services.

We invite you to try our different advertising packages that suit your various business needs. The surge in popularity and increasing mainstream acceptance of martial arts as both a sport and lifestyle has opened up endless possibilities for the industry. Join the over 20,000 martial art schools today that have taken advantage of our relevant and unique solutions, and start to enjoy maximum returns and growth for your martial arts business with the Martial Arts School Finder!

Starting a Martial Arts School

Things may not be the same all over the country, but in my hometown, new martial arts schools are popping up almost as quickly as corner convenience stores. Unfortunately, most only last a few months and then disappear. It makes me wonder, what exactly are they doing wrong and what does it take to run a successful martial arts school?

Getting started.

Most people starting a karate school are usually doing so because they have a strong passion for the martial arts and want to have a career where they can be doing what they love. The main difference between the schools that fail and the ones that succeed is that most successful school owners look at their school as a business above all else. If you are serious about opening your own school, you need to do your research and realize that there are going to be many aspects of the business world which you may not enjoy, but that you can't neglect.

(Keep in mind that the following are just a list of tips that have been helpful to current school owners and that your results may vary.)

Location, location, location!

It may sound cliché, but yours schools location is one of the key elements to success. I recommend purchasing a local map. On the map, mark the location of schools, apartment buildings and martial arts training facilities. By plotting these locations, you will be able to get a clear picture of your surroundings and of locations that would be most suitable for a new karate school. Since kids will make up a large portion of your student base, you will want to be in an area that is easily accessible to them. A prime location would be an area that has a high concentration of schools, apartment complexes and residential housing. Once you have located these key areas, you will want check to see if there are any other martial arts schools nearby. You should try to avoid areas that have established schools already in place; I would recommend being at least 6 miles away from another martial arts school. After you have located an area that you think will fit your needs, you will want to drive around that area and try to locate buildings that are for sale or rent.

What type of buildings do I look for?

When picking a location, you want to make sure it is in a clean and safe area. Since a large portion of your students will be kids, you want to make sure that you're in an area that parents will feel safe leaving their children. You will also want to make sure that the building you select has enough space and adequate parking. Another big factor is street viability. Ideally you would like your school to be located in an area that is visible from the street. The busier the street, the better. Most beginning karate schools start out in a facility that is 700-1500 square feet and average rent usually varies from $700-$2500 per month, depending on location. Before you sign a lease, keep in mind that everything is negotiable. Most landlords will lower their rent when pressured and many will give you 1-2 months of free rent for remodeling time and often cash up-front for remodeling costs.

Timing can be key.

Although student enrollment varies from area to area, most schools report that they receive that largest amount of new student enrollment between February and June. By starting your school in January or February you should be able to capitalize on this trend. Once established, you should also allow for extra advertising dollars during these months.

How do I advertise?

Most of the larger schools swear by the Yellow Pages. Unfortunately, an effective add in this publication needs to be at least 1/8th page or larger and it's not uncommon for an established school to run a 1/2 to full-page ad. Unless you have several hundred dollars or more a month to spend on this form of advertising, I would recommend just taking their complementary ad which comes with your phone service and spending your money on the more aggressive forms of advertising. Your Yellow Page representative will tell you otherwise, but then again, it's their job is to get your money. The bottom line is that most people will pass up your small ad and call the full-page ad for Master Kim's Mega Karate Super Center. Don't be frustrated, there are other ways to advertise and even Master Kim had to start somewhere.

Low Cost Advertising Options:

Demonstrations - Team demonstrations are a great way to get exposure for you school. The best part is that they can be done for little or no money. If you're having trouble locating an audience, you should contact local schools or the Parks and Recreation office for your city. There are usually groups holding events every month and most would be happy to have you sponsor a martial arts demonstration. Just make sure you are well rehearsed and can provide an impressive and entertaining show.

School Papers - Getting mentioned in school papers and newsletters is an effective way to target younger students. You can often get in such publications by contacting local schools and offering a discount coupon or by providing a student reporter with an interview.

Flyers - This is another great, low cost advertising method. It is best to incorporate a discount coupon or free lesson certificate onto your flyer. Once you make your flyer, you can simply run off copies as needed at any copy shop. You will then want to distribute these certificates to local businesses that cater to your potential customers. For example you can go to toy stores and after-school programs for kids and fitness clubs and nutrition stores for adults.

Word of mouth - Another tried and true method of advertising is word of mouth. A way to encourage this is by offering your current students with incentives for bringing in friends. You can provide the student with a discount for every person they bring in and additional incentives for each sign up. You will be surprised how effectively this works. You can even make a contest out of it and offer monthly and annual prizes for the students who bring in the most people.

Quality and Convenience.

You should tailor individual classes for kids, men and women. When making class schedules, make sure that you accommodate each groups needs. For your younger students you should try to make classes that are available shortly after school. You may also want to add additional classes during extended vacations, such as summer break and Christmas. For your older students you should offer both morning and evening classes. Keep in mind that this hectic world of ours demands that people work different shifts. Also try to avoid running classes during meal times. It is important that your classes are fun and energy packed, but equally as important, they need to be convenient.

Getting paid. How do I insure payment?

This is a tough topic. Most of the larger schools swear by contracts, but with the swarms of new schools opening and closing, many students are very reluctant to sign a contract or pre-pay for many months of instruction. I personally believe that if you provide quality instruction at a fair price, there is no need for a contract. It is also pretty universal that most students who stop attending class, will also stop paying, contract or not.

Whether or not you decide to use contracts, getting paid is a real concern. Many school owners have found that the job of collecting payment can be almost as difficult as running the school itself. Because of this, most schools no longer accept pay as you go plans. Instead, they make their students pre-pay for several months at a time, or require that the student keep a credit card on file that can be charged on a monthly basis. Another option is EFT- Electronic Funds Transfer; this automatically transfers funds from your student's checking accounts to your own. By taking the time and effort required to set up such methods, you will help insure timely payment and bypass the headache of chasing down delinquent students.

Be prepared for the long haul.

One of the biggest reasons for a karate school to go out of business is the simple fact that the owner has run out of money and can no longer pay their bills. It doesn't matter how great of an instructor you may be, or how great your facility is, don't assume that it's going to be easy. Most schools take a minimum of six months to a year before they start to make a profit. You need to make sure that you are prepared for this and that you have enough capital to carry yourself through this time. It is also very important to keep a close eye on your bottom line. I have often seen business owners blindly spend money and simply hope there is enough at the end of each month. By keeping a close eye on your bills and receivables, you can often avoid financial trouble before it arises.

Like most things, a successful school takes time to grow, but with proper planning, hard work and a little luck, you can build it into a prosperous business that you can be proud of.


Article written by Jason Wright and provided by American Martial Art Supply.

Martial Arts School Finder Version 2 [BETA] has Arrived!

Check out our latest release of Martial Arts School Finder. Find MMA schools, BJJ Schools, Kickboxing schools, Muay Thai schools, Karate schools, Kungfu schools, and many more in your area. Search or browse through our database of martial art schools to find one that is right for you!

Here is a list of the new features that are available:

* Browse by state and city to find your local martial arts school in addition to searching directly by address and zip code

* View martial art schools on a cluster map with clickable markers to show a martial art school's location information

* It's easier to view and navigate martial art school listings with our new and improved layout

* Get directions directly to a select martial art school

* Add your martial arts school to the School Finder

Click here to give it a test drive ››

Also, check out our new advertising programs to have your school listing at the top of School Finder search results. To learn more about this advertising opportunity and others, please click here.