How Smart Piano Teachers Get Ahead This Summer… And Still Find Time To Relax

If you’re lazing in a recliner with an iced tea in hand you may not be inclined to read this… but I suggest you do!  Because while the summer months in piano studios are traditionally a bit more laid back than the school year, they also hold heaps of potential for both income earning and free advertising opportunities.

If you teach regular lessons during the summer you can include these as extras.  If you usually take the summer off, you’ll want to consider these as a way to really make your studio stand out.  In either case, if you want to head into the fall with a healthy schedule… check out our three ways you can make your piano can thrive this summer!

1.  Piano Parent Nights

This is a wonderful way to really strengthen the connection between you and your clients.  Business is all about creating relationships.  So – welcome your piano parents into your studio for 3 evenings over the course of the summer.  Host the evenings in groups of 3-4 depending on the space you have and give them the most awesome presentation on how they can help their child at when practicing at home.

To make it worth their time you’ll need to really give them some value – so teach them how they can best support their child at home by giving them some basic note-reading tips, ideas on how to use the method books as a resource when helping their child, ways they can make home practicing fun and motivating, how to solve the “where do my hands go?” question etc.

I would even suggest teaching them a basic 4 chord pattern that goes along with one of the pieces their child is playing so they can do duets at home.  If you serve refreshments, make the atmosphere lighthearted and fun and your hand-outs professional and info-packed you’ll hit it out of the park with this one!

2.  The Social Media Shout-Out Contest

Hold a contest in your studio for your current students where they can win their first 2 lessons in the fall for free if their name is drawn.  It’s simple… every time they tweet about you, or tag you in a Facebook post they have their name entered in a draw.  The more times they do so the more times their name is entered.  Suggestions for what they can mention are “Casey’s piano practicing is so lovely on a sunny Saturday morning” or “Sitting down to listen to Anna play her Minuet for me.  Can anything be more special?”.  Make sure they tag you or mention your twitter handle so you are notified, and watch your word-of-mouth web spread… rapidly!

3.  Rainy Day Piano Parties

Keep an eye on your local weather forecast during the summer, and the moment you see a day when it’s going to rain, blast out invitations to a Rainy Day Piano Party.  You can bet that parents will be more than happy to have an activity for their cooped up kids.  If you have the party pre-planned in advance (of if you’re really smart and you’re using our Piano Party Pack where we’ve done all the work for you) you can pull this off with a day’s notice in most cases and, with 8-10 kids in attendance make a cool $100 in 1.5 hours on a day you’d be inside anyway!

Keeping piano lessons relevant and and your name on people’s lips during the summer really helps come fall when families are on the hunt for extracurricular activities.  You want piano lessons to be front and center in their minds… with your name at the top of the list. If you’re on the path to piano studio success, be sure to subscribe to our blog so you don’t miss a thing along the way!