Hi All,

Paul from Glasgow, Scotland here. I'm part of a Shotokan club based in Glasgow. Our website: https://www.karateglasgow.com

We have recently set up that website, and placed posters in the places we train. Currently looking to do some demos in the three local secondary schools to attract some new blood.

Looking for some other ideas to help bring others in, what methods have your clubs used to attract new students?

Doing demos in locations you have classes is a good idea. I've also seen "bring a friend" days work as well, where students are encouraged to bring in friends for free trails.

Really, though, word of mouth is probabily the best seller of your club. Making certain that everyone involved is getting what they want out of training, and doing it in a qualitiy manner will get quality students. The question always is, is it enough to keep the lights on. Still, happy customers are the best publicity you can achieve.

Doing demos in locations you have classes is a good idea. I've also seen "bring a friend" days work as well, where students are encouraged to bring in friends for free trails.

Really, though, word of mouth is probabily the best seller of your club. Making certain that everyone involved is getting what they want out of training, and doing it in a qualitiy manner will get quality students. The question always is, is it enough to keep the lights on. Still, happy customers are the best publicity you can achieve.

All of these are good ideas. I have also seen some schools do "Break-athons" for charity at public events where they will find someone to pay a certain amount for every board broken, so you're killing two birds with one stone--you're doing something cool and you're making money for charity

What worked well for us was doing short 3-to-4 week ONCE a week classes for a group of 6 people for free and if they wanted more then we charged them of course but the brillance of this is that these people went out and told there friends

my former karate club has open days. They advertise for anyone to come along, have a BBQ, some demonstrations and offer a free gi to anyone who signs up on the day. A lot of students bring their friends along.

Here's a link to their website (with a picture of the flyer)

http://www.ishinryuaustralia.com/index.htm

They're never short of students.

- Chris

Just a suggestion, our school does demos for the local elementary and middle school on fair days. You could contact local schools and see if they would be willing to arrange that. I'm not sure if our school charges the schools or not?