Dance studio website mistakes

Aug 2, 2022 admin No Comments 543 Views

Dance studio website mistakes

It’s usually easier to stop making mistakes than to implement completely new strategies.

By Mago Lauritzen

Just recently I sent out an email describing the current state of Search Engine Optimization in the dance studio industry. Hopefully you had a chance to review it and were able to apply some of what I laid out.

There’s another problem that is currently blocking a lot of dance studios from attracting and enrolling more students that are willing to pay more for what they offer. And that’s the actual design and optimization of their website itself.

Even if you have done a great job with SEO and Google is driving some traffic to your site, if your site isn’t converting that traffic well into PAYING STUDENTS then all of that work and all of time, money and frustration you’ve thrown at it is costing you more than you’re making.

So many studio owners are convinced that what they need is more effective advertising that actually works, when in reality, it’s there current website (and sometimes actually other marketing materials) that are ACTIVELY WORKING AGAINST THEM.

They’re driving students away, and pre-framing those that do come in to think about the studio as “just like everyone else in town.”

And that’s a problem. A BIG PROBLEM.

“This might all sound overwhelming, but I promise it’s not. It’s usually just a matter of a few small tweaks to get things really working the way that they should.”

Beginner students will always make up a large part of the active enrollment at a financially healthy studio. And if those BEGINNER students can’t easily distinguish our own studio from the competitors in town we’re going to have a tough time enrolling as many as we need to and an even harder time justifying higher tuition rates. (I don’t want to run the Walmart of dance studios.)

So, what’s the answer?

It’s really twofold:

1. Focus on the onsite optimization of the website.

2. Dial in your messaging.

Your website needs to convert. 10% of all unique visitors to your site should be converting right away into prospective students, enrolling in an intro class, or coming in for a studio tour. (If you’re not hitting that benchmark you’re wasting time and money advertising.)

Second, your messaging really needs to help you stand out from the crowd. You might think that it already does, but so does every other studio with a website. They all believe that they’re clearly distinguishing what makes them great.

But, take just a moment. Put yourself in the shoes of the brand-new beginner. Go back and look at your site again? What’s the messaging they’re going to take away? That you have sprung floors and fun classes? That you offer studio rental times and birthday parties? Is that REALLY what the beginners care about? (Hint: it’s not!)

Then ask yourself this question. What am I actively doing in my marketing to help pre-frame prospective students to be willing to PAY MORE FOR CLASSES and to be more dedicated once they enroll?

If your answer is “nothing” then you’ve got some work to do.

This might all sound overwhelming, but I promise it’s not. It’s usually just a matter of a few small tweaks to get things really working the way that they should. To get students lining up at your door willing to pay what your classes are really worth.

Most studios have actually over-complicated their websites and the first thing they need to do is head in and simplify. Simple design. Simple messaging. Directed mostly at beginners.

My team and I would love to show you how.

You could spend years figuring all of this out by yourself, or we could just walk you through it all. This isn’t some canned system. We know that every studio is different and we’ll help you figure out what to work on first.

Click here and let us know a little about your studio.

Then we’ll hop on a call and see if working together would be a good fit.

You can do this! (Shoot, if you read all of this at least that’s an indication that you’re dedicated.)

Now let’s go get to work.