If you follow the public school schedule and take a bit of a summer break, then you are no doubt coming up on re-registration season; when parents decide if piano lessons will once again find a roster spot on the “Calendar of Busy-ness”.
While most of your piano students will be knocking down your door to get a spot, there are always a few who could “go either way”. And, if you’re not in the cozy position of having a rabid waiting list ready to pounce, then every student counts!
7 Ways You Can Boost Your Piano Studio’s Re-Registration Rates…
1. Get an early start to re-registration season.
The end of the school year is a head-spinning time for kids and their families. Sending out re-registration packs right before the summer break almost guarantees it gets fast-tracked to the big blue recycling bin.
Instead, send out your re-registration packages a few weeks before our year-end recital OR make good use of a captive audience and include a re-registration form on the back of your piano recital program.
2. Piano parents need a deadline.
Re-registration is not open-ended. People need deadlines to work to. Make sure your deadline is well before families split for the summer holidays. That way, when the deadline passes, you still have ample time to track down those stragglers before they head out in the RV’s.
3. Recitals Are Re-registration Gold
Make your re-registration deadline the same day as your year-end recital. This is a brilliant idea for 2 reasons: 1. You can remind your families of the deadline while they are a captive audience, and 2. You are asking for re-registrations immediately following a showcase of their children’s talents.
Make sure you have blank re-registration forms at the recital just in case people left their forms at home if you aren’t already including them on your program.
4. Send an End-Of-Year Email Series
Send one email a week every week during the last month of piano lessons. The first two emails in this series should highlight the “stand out” events that took place over the past year, while the final two should highlight all of the exciting programs, incentives, and resources that will be rockin’ your studio in the year to come.
5. Get Going With Guaranteed Spots
To encourage speedy re-registrations, remind piano parents that the best way to keep their coveted lesson time is to make sure that re-registration packages are received by the deadline… after which there are no guarantees that lesson times will remain the same.
6. Send Home a Summer Fun Pack
Now I know people are going to ask us for a sample of our Summer Fun Pack, but truth be told, we’ve never tried this before. But, we know a Summer Fun Pack will serve two very important purposes:
a) It keeps kids at the piano during summer break when much of your hard work over the past year risks becoming a statistic of the “Summer Slide”
b) It keeps your studio name front and center in the minds of your piano parents. If they didn’t get a chance to register, or they re-registered while still being on the fence, a Summer Fun Pack is your best chance of ensuring they don’t become “the ones that got away”.
The best (and easiest!) way of avoiding the “Summer Slide” is to send home activities from our resource Pssst… Your Piano Teacher Thinks This Is Theory. Not only will these crazy, zany activities inspire them to practice the piano, but they’ll also be getting a theory lesson along the way… what more could you ask for?!
7. Touch Base At The Start of Scheduling Season
For us, scheduling season beings the last week of July. At this time, I send a friendly reminder email to any piano students who did not re-register. The 6-8 week break between re-registration season and scheduling season may have given families the needed rest to reconsider piano lessons and sign up for the new year.
Diana says
This has been my first year teaching piano after retiring from public school music teaching. My spring recital is May 31.
Can you give me some ideas or examples of what a re-registration packet might contain, including some kind of deposit?
Thanks for any suggestions.
Robyn says
Thank you Trevor, for these great ideas. Could you describe your re-registration packets? What do you include in them, and do you send them out through email or hand them in person at the lesson?
Thanks for your help.
Sandra says
I like your ideas here. …But I have one problem with guaranteeing a lesson spot for the coming year. I have a few older students who still want to hang on to early evening spots. I feel the younger students should be able to get those early spots. Otherwise the parents might look for another teacher who can accommodate them at a better time.
How do you work around the age thing in your studio?
Andrea says
Hi Sanda – our scheduling is considerably more complicated that it would be in a single-teacher studio. The “guaranteed spot” idea in our studio means 1) that they have a space (we have a wait list most years) and 2) that siblings are coordinated with other teachers, or other instrument lessons are back-to-back. My schedule shifts considerably every year… it’s a huge puzzle to put together. You might want to read this post linked below for some ideas on handling scheduling. I don’t think there is ever a one-size-fits-all solution for this… it’s hard! https://www.teachpianotoday.com/2013/08/11/the-7-strategies-of-a-piano-scheduling-ninja/
Jackie says
Great ideas! Something I do that might assist Sandra and others like her, I send out a “lesson schedule survey” and ask my families to pick all the times that do not suit them as well as those that are the most preferred. That way every family feels they have been best served for convenient lesson times. And I have the flexibility as a teacher to schedule students back to back that could potentially work together for duets, mentoring partners, and other great ideas.
Becky says
Also, I think sending out a list of music apps for theory games and ear training might serve as an added incentive to keep them going through the summer. Thanks so much for all you share on this site. I love your crazy theory ideas too!
Tami says
I’ve always wondered why teachers change their entire schedules each fall. I find that keeping students on the same day and time year after year helps maintain overall consistent lessons as the parent will always know what time n day to avoid when planning other activities.