Can you believe that it’s nearing the end of November already?

So, if you haven’t yet started, and we would have thought most of you have with the panto season upon us, that it’s time to grab your Christmas stockings and pull them up quick as it’s a fast and furious ride to the big day :)

So, how do we make the most of Seasonal Events?  Here’s our quick checklist of things you can do to get everyone in the festive mood and grow your business too:

1. Use Christmas choreography of course ;)  Everyone loves a Chrimbo track and there are tons to choose from.

2. Dress up for Christmas – encourage your class to dress up in festive attire and donate £1 or so per person to your chosen charity – write a press release and share with your local community/newspaper/social media

3. Sell your merchandise – what better for a stocking filler or a Chrimbo gift are one of your T-shirts, hoodies, water bottles, teddies, bags?  Add a link to your shop, or hand out visuals of what you have to offer, add items to the bottom of your emails, or your renewal forms for the next term

4. Have a Christmas party!  Everyone needs time to do their Christmas shopping, so why not offer a 2-3 hour party (or any duration you fancy)?  Get the kids learning fun dance routines to some festive tracks, get involved in Christmas crafts (perhaps get the kids making a gift for mum, dad, grandparents), get the wrapping paper out, and why not have some festive games too.  All finished up with a “mini” performance of the routine they’ve learnt to parents when they pick them up!  Perfect.  Charge per head and remember to include costs for things like wrapping paper if you use it! :)

5. Have an end of term performance – parents love to see what their children have been learning in class – so why not invite them to visit 10 minutes early on the last class before Christmas and, if you are running classes for adults, why not get them to perform a “mega mix” of the routines they’ve been learning in 2014 – great fun going over routines from the year!

6. Reward your staff/helpers/people that have helped you during this year – even a simple “Thank You’ card means a lot – let people know that you value them – it makes a HUGE difference.

7. Why not get your class together (adults) and go out for a social evening – get to know them a bit more – building relationships with your customers is key.

8. Promote your new year classes and perhaps offer an incentive to people that book now – i.e. get a Popdance bag that’s perfect as a stocking filler if you book now.

9. Summarise 2014 – photos and videos are a fab way of doing this – showing customers and their parents all the fab things you’ve been doing as a business and also that they have been involved in – it’s quite amazing when you put it all together.

10. Sit, plan and prepare for 2015 – what do you want to achieve, how are you going to achieve it – set yourself deadlines throughout the year and reassess them every quarter.

11. Try not to get too busy in the run up to Christmas – every year we promise ourselves we are going to enjoy the build up to the big day – so sit back, relax your Christmas Stockings ;) and catch a good old Chrimbo movie in your PJs!  Enjoy!

Merry Christmas!

If you liked this tip and haven’t already done so, register your details here to receive our marketing tips for dance teachers straight into your inbox every Saturday morning and also be offered paid work opportunities with Popdance: