Last Week in ATSuccess - Jeremy's Facebook Posts

Coming to the end of the year, and I am planning the special series of blogs for January. I will be exploring with teachers and students in my group how to use Facebook to connect to the students you love working with. Are you a teacher focused on building your practise? Then I have managed to gather together an eclectic group of teachers who are united by their passion to make this career work, and help each other doing it. There is no other Alexander Technique group of teachers and students like this in the world. You can join anytime at this link. *** On Reasons Why People Don’t Book Classes Keep seeking the reasons why people don't take your sessions - reading the answers here, it appears to be a new area of knowledge that could do with some attention. Malcom Gladwell writes in Tripping Point about a salesman who has a book full of the objections that people make, and a list of answers to give them when they do. This is standard fare for most sales people. This can be a conscious, constructive process given time and energy to focus on it. On Giving Proof About You Who are you writing to when you distribute your flyers? If you can not decide upon a specific person, decide upon a specific problem. Catch them with a headline that clearly telegraphs that you can help them with that specific problem, then make sure you give proof as to why you can. Make sure that when you talk about you, it is only to reassure them about you- i.e. no bragging, more justifying your specific claim. When people are hooked and considering coming to you - THAT'S THE TIME they want to know how long you have been teaching, how many people you have helped: it's called social proof. But using that AS THE SELLING POINT - nope. Won't work. Sell them first on your solution, THEN use info about you to close the deal. On Drilling Down To A Niche I do keep wondering why you don't go specifically to the violin. Are there just too few in your area? String players? I only say that, as I know that Basil has a wide range of musicians following him, but he told me that it was not till he focused very much on horn players/brass players in his blog, that this wider readership - over time - began to grow. Also - when you go that specific, you REALLY can get into the mind of the person who is reading, which makes it all the more compelling for everyone. Perhaps there is some magic in that, so that other musicians read it even if not directly related to them? Do a month of drilled down posts on playing issues specifically related to the violin/string and see what kind of response you get. Nothing to lose is there? The material can be used later for teaching... On How To Use Your Personal Mission Statement I have read your proposed project, but my comment/question is a little out of left field - why do you want to do this? I can see it brings benefits, no question, but the real work we are doing in ATCS is figuring out ways of attracting new students. That is my personal number one activity, and why I started ATCS. My position is this: without students the activities have no meaning. With the students, the project has great meaning. For example, now that I have 130 students in ProCourse in Japan, I have hired full-time an ex high school teacher and BodyChance AT teacher to be in charge of writing up our curriculum - kind of like your project. But that's because I have 130 students. How does this fit into your life mission? Specifically - where's the direct benefit for you? How does this nurture and create financial health? That's a vital question to have a cogent answer for - especially given that the project will undoubtedly suck away a lot of time and energy that might otherwise be used to attract and educate your beautiful musicians audience. It's just a question, but please give it deep thought. On Yoga As An AT Niche Yoga is a great niche to go into, totally better than pregnant woman. There's no comparing them. You can niche in Yoga to pregnant woman easily. Do it that way. On Using Facebook Advertising Don't decide on a name yet. It's too early. Test it as blog headings, and do some FaceBook adds for $5 each. Use different headings (name of your biz) and see which ones get better click throughs. (CTR = Click Through Rate. Calculated by dividing the number of people who clicked your Facebook headline add by the number of people who saw your add). I can your eyes rolling about Cecile, but sorry - that's the name of success today. You can do it - just use AT to move you into the "unknown". You've been doing it all your Alexander life, you can do it here too. I can do a month on FaceBook advertising next month - does anyone put their hands up for that? Yes they did, so I will be doing it. You don't have to wait - sign up now and start reading past blogs on niche building so you are ready for the Facebook month in Japan. [NOTE: This second half of my blog is a paid area describing practical ways to implement what has been described above in a Facebook group with 47 other teachers and students. You can join anytime to be part of their discussions.] More Specific Advice Directly To Members These are private posts directly to members about their individual practices. To be part of this group, join up today! If you join before Xmas, you can have the rest of December for free!

*On Using Facebook for Research Two things you can try Jann: look at a group you know to consist of nurses (maybe the group that blogs) and look at what other pages they have liked. Maybe many of them are congregating in another place that is not about “nursing” so specifically. The other way to do the same research is going the specific pages of individuals and also looking at what other pages they have liked. Second thing is to use graphic research: People who have liked "PAGE/PLACE" and see what list of other pages appears. More on this next month with the Facebook blogs I proposed. *On Yoga Verses Pregnancy As A Niche To Choose It's not even a question for me Cecile - Yoga is WAY BIGGER and that is SO IMPORTANT when establishing a niche. Pregnant woman is still a substantial subset of Yoga, but Yoga is not as strong as a sub-set of pregnant woman. Also, pregnant woman is not a sustainable long term niche because they don’t stay pregnant long - you are always going to be chasing new students. But people practise Yoga all their lives. It’s a no-brainer if doing both is OK for you. *On Taking Time Out Beautiful Dana - in fact, sometimes the best thing you can do for your biz is take time off from your biz. Go for it, let your unconscious proffer up some imaginative unseen connections from all the new ideas and experiences you have been having. A gem will appear, I am sure. *On Using the 4 Questions and Turnaround Angela - I read your moving post, and my heart goes out to Grace (my daughter's name too). I was so sorry to hear how the "story" at 10yo started. Honestly, if Grace was open to it, one session with Byron Katie would sort that out. Not that this is really possible, but Grace's mind can be changed in a session - just as a aching back can be relieved immediately by AT - if she is open to it. I would learn the 4 questions and turnaround, then start asking Grace to process your emotional entanglements using the 4 questions and turnarounds. I started doing that with my Grace, and the other day she told me she DREAMED about using the 4 questions and turnaround to sort something out while in her dream. We each have our own way of course - I am respectful of that - but Katie is AT all the way, of that I am convinced. Her work and our work are mere reflections of universals truths. My thought for the day. I will include your daughter in my prayers, and pray for Option 1. *On Creating A Workshop Syllabus This is great for the dancers here - collaboration and pooling of your wisdom to put these ideas into practise is the way to cook the ideas into a meal your students can digest. Keep us all posted of progress. I think the Callan character that Jennifer introduced us too has a great formula for creating a syllabus - did you check out her free advice online? Worth taking a second look at: http://www.callanrush.com *On A Sales Letter's Content Cecile: "Off the Matt" is a feature more than a benefit. Do get the difference between feature and benefits? It's in my book. What's the benefit? Put that as the headline. Things like "How To Live Your Yoga" or "Everyday Yoga Will Vitalize Your Life" - but even those are too general. How specific can you get? For example: "Sick of sitting up, slumping again, sitting up? Find Out How To Do It Another Way…" The questions parts are good - lead with that. It creates connection and empathy which means they will keep reading. You want them to keep reading. Talk to your students as "you this" and "you that" - not "people this" and people that" You want to talk to the reader as though they are right there in the room listening to you. e.g. You write: "So many people get injured with yoga practice only because they were missing this important dimension of how the body functions." It needs to be: "You get hurt in your Yoga class because no-one told you how your body really works. When you understand this important dimension, yoga flows into everyday life. You can get the same feeling at home as you do after a great yoga session. Isn't that something you would like?" Also "dimension" has too many syllables, feels too intellectual. Better find a simpler more focused and easily understood word. Or just cut the sentence to "When you understand this, yoga flows into your everyday life" Getting the idea? *On How Personal To Be Noëlle - this deeply personal message does have a place somewhere, just not front and centre in the beginning if you are presenting yourself in a practical manner. As people come in and experience your work, some of them will appreciate what you are writing. There are others who feel as you do. Are you blogging? Sometimes that's a place to express ideas like that - people understand a blog is a place for more personalized expression. Any insights or thoughts? Share with all of us… https://www.facebook.com/groups/ATCSProMembers/