Crafting a strong schedule to showcase your classes can be a challenge. Even if you know what, how, when and where you want to teach, putting all of the information together in a relatable, successful format is worth some extra time and thought.
Your schedule is the menu of your services, the first step a client takes toward a purchase and what you write and how you present it will either draw clients in or put them off.
We’ve pulled together some tips and considerations for creating a schedule that you will want to keep, and that your clients will love.
Know Your Audience
You will hear us talk about niching down which, in essence, is about learning who your audience is and what they want or need from you. Just like your marketing, your brand, and maybe even the decor of your space, this idea of who you are serving creates what is unique about your business, and reiterates to the client in everything that you do.
So consider who are your services for, primarily? What likes, dislikes, ideas and availability to do your ideal clients have? What are they going to gain from signing up to your services? What will they respond to in your sales pitch (which is ultimately what your class descriptions are) and what might turn them off your business?
Knowing the answers to these questions is the key to hitting the mark when you create your class names, descriptions, time slots and overall schedule.
Be Succinct
In our digital age and tendency toward immediate gratification, attention spans are shorter and we generally want answers quickly. A reader will likely give your description a quick scan for the important points and if they don’t see something that grabs their attention, they could move on.
No matter how good you are with words, try to keep your class description precise, informative and fairly short. If possible, tell them what they need to know in three sentences or less. If you can create a catchy name, that can also hit the mark. And make sure it is grammatically and linguistically correct – if you teach yoga and choose to include Sanskrit words, be sure to do so in a way that honors the roots of yoga, otherwise it could be appropriation.
Hips and Hamstrings is a simple, descriptive yoga class name – the client knows what they are signing up for, it’s a class name that is common, understandable, short and sticks in the mind, but it’s not particularly unique so you could create your own spin on that name.
Candlelight Flow is a short, catchy name that also indicates the tone and setting, as well as the intended movement of the class.
Brainstorm
If you really want to drill into your creativity, jot down all the relevant class details along with some feelings the class might invoke. Write out the aim, tone, length of your class or offering, include three primary things your clients will gain from it and any other details such as what to bring and anatomical focus.
Next, condense the description into two to three strong sentences. Once you have condensed it, review it and try to condense it again – is it repetitive? Descriptive? Have you included what the client might need to bring or skills they would want to have before attending this class?
Take out anything unnecessary – is the time, price and location listed elsewhere? Avoid repetition wherever you can.
Example – “Get Up and Flow: Energize your day with this strong, well-rounded flow that will leave you feeling amazing. Recommended props: 1 block.”
Theme it Out
What makes your business unique from other local businesses offering similar services? Is there a theme that could run through your class names? This can fulfil a few goals – names are easier to create, the schedule looks more tied together and your clients recognize and relate to what your business offers.
If you don’t have a theme as such, just work on keeping the tone and language consistent throughout the schedule and all other elements of your business (website, social media) as this will become recognizable to your audience and in a really subtle way they learn what to expect from you.
Commit to the Schedule
So you craft a catch and brilliant class name and description, but it doesn’t have a huge impact – how fast should you pivot and rewrite the class name, class focus or description? Our advice is to hold your horses for a while, if you can. Too much changing up can make you look inconsistent and undermines faith in your business. Even when you think the client hasn’t noticed your offering, there is a good chance that they have and it just didn’t work for them this time.
This is why taking your time and crafting something that hits home and that you can commit to is important. So fire up your creativity and enjoy the process!
Did you know that OfferingTree is a class scheduling tool, that integrates with payment via Stripe, as well as Zoom – this means that when your OfferingTree site is linked to Zoom, the Zoom links for your class will be sent out to clients when they sign up, saving you valuable time and eliminating the chance of incorrect links landing in inboxes! Schedule a demo of your OfferingTree to learn more.
