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.

How To Conduct An Efficient MMA Class

After being the industry for a long time, I figured there were things that people need to know on how to conduct an efficient MMA class that would benefit both the MMA school owner and the students.

If you are reading this, I assume you are an MMA trainer and already know all the techniques and training regimens, so this article is not about that. Here are the things that no one will tell you about - the small details that make a huge difference.

Get To Know Your Target Market!
Most Gym owners usually know exactly what ages of students they will get, and they are fine with training anyone with the right set of determination and will power. Here is what you need to start concentrating on. You majorly get two kinds of people in your gym, the ones who just want to get in shape, and the ones who crave hard core MMA training. Learn to separate your clientele from what they are really looking for and time your classes according, that way you will be able to teach them more efficiently. When you and your students are on the same page and are working towards the same goal, your customer satisfaction and student retention rates will go through the roof.

Be A Professional Through And Through!
Basically, you want to run a gym that will pay your bills. If you run something of a dungeon dojo you are attracting less stable clients, so stick to professionalism. Let’s go back to simpler ways. Nobody who walks in to a dirty gym (even if it train’s champions) would want to stay and pay for training there. It’s how the human mind works, you need to inform the person that you have the tools to transform the student from his current state into a skilled Mixed Martial Artist.
So keep the space clean and your equipment nicely repaired to show off how seriously you take MMA training. Make sure the interior is well kept, the hygiene is taken care of, and that you get rid of the awful gym smell after a session.

Make The Students Practice It Too
The previous point above might seem a little tedious what with all the hard work you will most likely have to put up with maintaining your gym and make it look pleasant and appealing to gain more students. Here is another thing that you need to do.

As you train your students, teach them some good hygiene habits too for the sake of your facility. I have seen so many students who practice MMA like they live for it, but they also have habits like bringing in gym clothes and gear that smells like it hasn’t seen the laundry room for weeks. As the gym owner / manager, it is your job to make sure that you tell your students to change and never do that again.

If you have an MMA training school that is on the lookout for new students, list your facility as one of the top schools in your area at Martial Base or checkout the martial arts 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 MMA classes.

How To Retain Students: What Are MMA Students Really Looking For?

Why won’t students stay with your gym? Here are top things that students are always thinking when choosing an MMA facility to train at.

Students Like To Interact! (Even MMA Students)
MMA students like to know what they signed up for. They view themselves as customers who are paying for your time as a trainer. For the trainee, you are the guide. So answer the questions they ask you, and always point them in the right direction.

Here is what interacting and answering everything trainees are curious about will do for you: It will gain their trust and loyalty, and they will think twice before switching MMA training schools.

Give Them An Outlook Of A Gym They will Want To be In
I should have written that heading as ‘Give them an outlook they will want to pay for’. A person looking to sign up for MMA training will definitely judge your gym by the way it looks once he or she walks in. Think about a couple of things and list down the areas of your facility that need a double check:

• Is the gym area well lit, particularly where the students spar or practice?
• Would it hurt your wallet a lot if you put in a little for redecorating?
• With the increasing number of students, do you need more ventilation? And if you do, how are you going to trouble shoot that issue?
• Is the gym equipment well maintained?

Remember, it is not always necessary that your MMA gym would need heavy or any investment towards an interior décor change, just make sure it does not look like a rundown garage or something worse.

Is It The Fee You Are Charging?
Everyone who is passionate or enthusiastic about Mixed Martial Arts knows that spending a lot on a training school does not necessarily mean that the training and results would be exceptionally good. Your trainee does not really see or know the real cost of the training. You need to provide your trainee with a professional environment and show them that you do things seriously. Plus don’t leave the damaged equipment out in front for everyone to see in case they assume they are still in use.

How many people ask if a champion or a pro trains at the gym? If you do have a student like that, make that vocal, this is a handy tip that will never let you down. Not only does it retain your existing students (because of the sense of competition in the MMA school), but attracts new ones too.

If you have an MMA training school that is on the lookout for new students, list your facility as one of the top schools in the area at Martial Base with the ultimate advertising package and your gym will be jam-packed with students in no time.

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!

Fedor's Martial Arts Styles

On baseball fields all around America, you'll find pitchers mimicking Alex Rodriguez's swing down to every last detail. High school quarterbacks watch hours and hours of Peyton Manning tape each week, dissecting how every move and decision is made. When it comes to Mixed Martial Arts, there's only one fighter complete enough to bother copying. Do I even need to reveal his name?

Okay, so we know it's Fedor, but what is his technique exactly? To the casual fan, it just looks like a good old fashioned beat down. It's actually a little more complicated than that. A combination of Sambo, Judo, and a little Muay Thai lead this man to be called the most dangerous in the sport. Unlike other sports, where a motion or stance can be copied easily, it'll take more than that to master what Fedor does so expertly. The United States is filled with schools that will train you in these disciplines, but before you jump into the Red Devil camp, take a second and see which of the master's styles suit your abilities best.

Sambo is one of the four main competitive wrestling styles practiced internationally and varies slightly depending on which Sambo rules you are using. The basic elements, however, remain the same. The word Sambo is an acronym for the Russian phrase "Self defense without a weapon," and as such, it makes sense that the sport is mostly composed of throws, specific body control, and arm or leg locks. Fedor uses these elements perfectly in all his fights due to the fact that his striking is not as developed as many he would like it to be. Every fight that Fedor has taken to the ground has been won by the Russian, a testament to his ability in the discipline. It is designed to give smaller fighters an advantage against larger competitors, similar to the methodology behind Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. The main difference between Sambo and BJJ is that Sambo uses throws whereas BJJ uses traditional wrestling take downs. While Sambo doesn't use the wrestling take downs, much of the sport is derived from wrestling, making it an excellent choice for anyone with some grappling background.

Sambo is recognized as being derived from a larger umbrella of Judo, a form in which throws and locks are again emphasized, but with certain versions where striking is permissible. The major difference is that in most forms of Judo, choke holds are legal, whereas in Sambo, they are not. Any mixed martial artist with knowledge of chokes would be smart to choose Judo over Sambo as he would be able to polish and utilize his strengths to a greater degree. Again, striking is at a minimum so if a fighter is looking to base his attack on striking attacks, he'd be smart to steer away from Judo and towards a more aggressive martial art.

Fedor's final element of martial arts training is his most recently-acquired as well. His ground work has always been superb, but his striking was suspect. How does the greatest fight of all time go about fixing this problem? He adds the most explosive striking discipline, Muay Thai, into his repertoire and mixes it seamlessly into his fights. Known as the art of the eight limbs (two hands, feet, elbows, knees), Muay Thai is the most dangerous of striking repetoires as those who master it can literally strike from any position or angle. Fedor is able to use this to his advantage when combatants are so reluctant to go to the ground with him, they choose to strike instead. Anyone with boxing knowledge and great cardio would fit well into a Muay Thai program.

No matter which of Fedor's disciplines you choose to study on your own, two facts remain. First, you can't go wrong. All are highly successful martial arts and different initial strengths will lend themselves to different styles. Second, no matter how much you train, you still won't be able to beat Fedor.

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.