Posts

BMK-22 How to Sell like Apple

/in /by

About this guide

Whether you like Apple products or not, there's no denying that they're excellent marketers. The launch of any new iProduct is always met with people camping out the front of their stores and people buying them up in a frenzy. From the release of the first iPod in 2001, Apple has grown to a value of over $700B. While you as a guitar teacher may not be selling shiny electronic devices like Apple, we can learn from their marketing expertise.

How do Apple convince a person with an iPhone 5 to buy an iPhone 6? How do they convince people that they also need to buy an Apple Watch and an iPad?

This guide will break down a few key elements of Apple's marketing tactics and show you how you can apply them to your own business.

Experts of Sales Copy

'Copy' is what marketers call any text used to persuade people to take an action. The text on your website is sales copy - the purpose of that text is to establish your credibility and persuade potential students to contact you and sign up for lessons. Apple are experts at Copywriting and have been following a steady formula for quite a number of years.

Let's look at a few elements out of Apple's marketing then look at how you can apply these lessons to your own marketing.

Only Live and Teach Guitar Members have access to this resource and all other resources on the site.

If you're a member, please login to access this resource

If you're not a member yet, find out how our professional materials, resources and support can help you succeed as a guitar teacher here.

Please login or register to gain full access now

Episode 23: How to succeed in 2015 as a guitar teacher

/in /by

About this podcast

This episode looks at what has been changing over the years for guitar teachers and how it impacts you. We will look at how and why you need to change your approach to attract new students in 2015. By the end of this episode you will know exactly what to focus on to win more students this year.

Click the play button below to listen to the episode:

Useful Links and Resources

How to set up a website:

We recommend two options when it comes to setting up your own website. The first option is to set it up yourself with a hosting company. This gives you complete control over your website although it does mean you are completely responsible for every aspect of running and maintaining your website. Here's our step by step tutorial to set up a website through Bluehost.

The other option is to set up a website through us as part of membership. You receive a fully flexible website at no extra cost and the advantage here is that we can help you maintain and improve it. As we know exactly what works for guitar teachers you will be able to apply best practices quickly and easily. Check out our tutorials here to get started.

Website Referral Machine Workshop:

This workshop will walk you through your entire website and give you step-by-step instructions on how to make improvements and implement the most successful strategy we have tested online. We highly recommend every guitar teacher work through this workshop as it can have a dramatic impact on your website's performance. Register here.

Business Fundamentals Course:

Whether you're just starting out as a guitar teacher or have been teaching for decades, it's a good idea to give your business a regular review. This 12 week course will go through every important aspect of your guitar teaching business and share best practices that work today. Enroll here.

Marketing Reports:

The best way to find out if you're on the right track or not from a marketing point of view is to request one of our marketing reports. We currently have three different reports available to analyze different aspects of your guitar teaching business. Our Website Analysis Report will analyze your website and point out any problems or areas you can improve. Our SEO Report will analyze how easily potential students can find you in search engines. Our Social Media Report will analyze how effectively you're using social media to improve your reputation and attract new students.

Our reports take the guesswork out of running your business and provide you will valuable insights and recommendations. Request a report here.

Have Questions on This Episode or Feedback?

Use the form below to let us know what you thought of this episode, or if you have any questions.

Enter your email address so we can reply to your message

Invoicing and billing system available to members

/in /by

We've just released a new features Live and Teach Guitar Members can access at no additional cost. This feature allows you to create and send invoices to your students and collect payment electronically all within your website (which is also available at no added cost as part of membership).

Our invoicing system allows you to even create an automatic recurring bill that will automatically collect payment from your students at a regular interval. For example you could agree to a monthly fee with your student, send out one invoice then that automatic billing will collect the monthly amount every month without any extra effort on your part.

The system is compatible with PayPal, Authorize.net, MerchantPlus.com, Stripe and Google Wallet so you have complete flexibility with payment options you offer your students.

How it works

You log on to your website and create an invoice. An email notification will be sent to your student with a link to the invoice. The student clicks the link and will be taken to the invoice on your website (only they will be able to see their invoice). Below is an example of what the student will see:

invoice-8

As you can see the invoice is built into your website so it retains a professional feel. The student simply checks the details in the invoice then clicks the 'Process Payment' button at the bottom to complete payment. Once payment is completed you will receive a confirmation email and the invoice will be marked as 'Paid' on your invoice Dashboard.

Why we're offering this to members for free

Having a simple system to manage your payments or issue invoices is very handy to have as a guitar teacher. There are alternative systems available from standard accounting software such as Quickbooks or services designed more specifically for teachers such as Music Teacher's Helper. We reviewed a range of different options and our conclusion was that most of the systems available today were extremely overpriced (such as Quickbooks), were too complicated with unnecessary features, or charged you depending on how many students you have (eg: Music Teacher's Helper charges $29 per month for a teacher with 40 students).

We wanted to offer teachers a simple alternative that would get the main job done without any unnecessary complication or high price tag. With our invoicing system you can have unlimited students, send as many invoices as you want all at no additional cost. Other services such as Quickbooks or Music Teacher's Helper may have more features, but for most teachers this service will provide you with what you need at no cost.

Here's a summary of the main features:

  • Unlimited students and invoices
  • Works with PayPal, Authorize.net, MerchantPlus.com, Stripe and Google Wallet
  • Save templates for invoices so you can create and send them quick
  • Receive email notifications when payment has been completed by a student
  • Keep a running history of all payments and invoices for each student
  • Invoices are built in to your website which adds to your credibility
  • Automatic recurring billing is available to collect payments regularly
  • Ability to control discounts, tax and currency

We've created step-by-step tutorials to help you get the most out of this system so if you already have created your own website as part of membership, check the tutorials out here. If you haven't already created a website, you can set it up using our tutorials here.

We're constantly looking at adding more features to make it easier to manage your guitar teaching business and this is only one of many more we have planned. This feature is available right now for Live and Teach Guitar Members at zero additional cost.

Find out more about our invoicing system here and start simplifying your business by collecting payments electronically now.

Episode 05: Website Basics for Guitar Teachers

/in /by

About this podcast

This podcast will explain why you need your own website as a guitar teacher, what makes an effective website, and how to get the most out of your website. Slapping together a few pages and photos isn't enough to remain competitive. Your website is your biggest asset as a guitar teacher so use it properly.

The episode will discuss:

  • The most common mistake guitar teachers make with their websites
  • What type of content to include in your website
  • How to promote your website and attract more visitors
  • How to keep potential students interested even after they leave

If you don't have a website use this podcast to start you off in building your own website. On the other hand if you already have a website, use this information to review your website and look for ways to improve it.

Click the play button below to listen to the episode:

Download PDF Summary

We've put together a one page summary of this episode including the most important points to remember. Download it below.

Download PDF

Links to relevant resources

Our Website Analysis Report is the best resource you can access to give you everything you need to succeed with your website. Our report will give you:

  • A detailed page-by-page analysis of your website
  • Information on problems we find
  • A list of what is working and what isn't
  • Specific recommendations on what to change and how to make improvements
  • Our support along the way
One report can make a big difference to your website's performance and your results as a guitar teacher.

Have Questions on This Episode or Feedback?

Use the form below to let us know what you thought of this episode, or if you have any questions or suggestions for future episodes.

Enter your email address so we can reply to your message

BWS-06 Website Usability Testing

/in /by

About this guide

One of the most important aspects of your website is how easy it is for a visitor to navigate and find relevant information. This is called usability. A website with good usability will end up with better results as visitors find it easier to navigate the site. A website with poor usability will frustrate visitors and they will leave.

As a guitar teacher this means it's important your website uses good usability principles. This guide will explain how you can use usability testing to find problems with your site for you to fix. Finding all the problems with your website isn't possible on your own - especially if you built the site. That's why usability testing is crucial.

What is Usability Testing

The main purpose of usability testing is to find problems with your website. It is a test to see how people actually use your website. Most of the times how people actually use your site is very different to how you think people use your site. A usability test will show you exactly what people think of your site and whether they can navigate it properly.

The actual test is quite simple, you will observe somebody navigate your website and you will take notes on what links they click, what text they read and their general thoughts. The basic idea is to gain insight to how somebody might view your website on their own.

Only Live and Teach Guitar Members have access to this resource and all other resources on the site.

If you're a member, please login to access this resource

If you're not a member yet, find out how our professional materials, resources and support can help you succeed as a guitar teacher here.

Please login or register to gain full access now

BWS-04 Website Landing Pages

/in /by

About this guide

Once you properly set up and structure your website (BWS-03), it's important you take some time to create effective landing pages. A landing page is the first impression a visitor will have of your website so it's crucial to get right. You have a very short time to send the right message to a visitor or they'll hit 'back' and check out somebody else's website. This guide will explain what landing pages are, why they are important and how to set them up properly. Examples of effective landing pages are included so you can see how they work in practice.

What is a Landing Page

The first page you see when you visit a website is a landing page. Quite often this will be the homepage. Your website's homepage is your biggest landing page but it's not the only one. While a lot of people will land on your homepage, quite a few people will land on different pages depending on what link they clicked on to get to your website.

As an example let's say you have a page on your website called 'Guitar lessons in Smallville' that contains specific information about your location. Now if somebody does a Google search for 'guitar lessons in Smallville', it's likely that this page will show up in the results (to find out why, read through BWS-02). If that person clicks that link in the search results, they will land on that page. They may not even see your homepage at all. So for a lot of people, the landing page they see will not be your homepage.

Why are Landing Pages Important

When a new visitor sees your website for the first time, you have about 3 seconds to make a good first impression. The key questions a visitor will ask themselves are:

Only Live and Teach Guitar Members have access to this resource and all other resources on the site.

If you're a member, please login to access this resource

If you're not a member yet, find out how our professional materials, resources and support can help you succeed as a guitar teacher here.

Please login or register to gain full access now

You own website

New feature for members: Set up your own website!

/in /by

Members can now set up their own website easily in under five minutes to help attract new students. You don't need any programming knowledge and can fully customize everything. You can even include your own photos and videos to entice students to contact you.You own website

A template website is automatically created for you with your own custom website address. Students can read about you then head over to your own contact page where they can easily send an email to you without seeing your personal contact details.

If you're a member you can set up your own website right now by clicking here.

If you're not a member yet, register here and you can have your own site within minutes.

BWS-01 What a Website Can Do For You

/in /by

In this guide we will look at why you should have your own website to attract new students. If you want to be a successful guitar teacher today it's critical that you have a strong online presence with your own website. We will compare different ways students find guitar teachers and different ways teachers advertise.

Reach more potential students

There is one simple reason for starting a website to promote your lessons– you can reach more potential students. More and more people now use the Internet to find products and services, where they once would have used traditional directories such as the Yellow Pages. Most people looking for guitar tutors will use Google (or another search engine) as their first tool, before even considering looking at local business directories. When those potential students make that first search in Google, there will be one of two possible results:

Your website will show up in the results and the student will click your link, or,
Your competitor’s website will show up in the results and the student will click their link

While other online resources such as tutor directories may show your listing, it is more likely that a tutor’s website will be the first to rank in your area. If a potential student searches for “guitar tutors in [hometown]” and you don’t show up in the results, you may as well not exist. As time passes, a higher proportion of students are using the Internet to find tutors. Many tutors estimate over 80% of new student enquiries come from their own websites. That’s a significant proportion and can mean the difference between filling up your timetable and struggling to get a couple of students.

Only Live and Teach Guitar Members have access to this resource and all other resources on the site.

If you're a member, please login to access this resource

If you're not a member yet, find out how our professional materials, resources and support can help you succeed as a guitar teacher here.

Please login or register to gain full access now