4 Tips for In-person Yoga Events
This week I really wanted to speak to this changing time in the world. We are getting back outside, people are out here with no mask on, it does feel good to be out here and free. So, what are some of the things we need to be thinking about as we are going back into outdoor classes and in-person experiences?
I will add a disclaimer and say this is not specific to yoga studios but more specific to individual yoga teachers who are looking to build their brand and have local collaborations and build their relationships in their community. If you know anything about me, you know I started hyper-local, which means that I was really digging into my community to create roots here and to connect with local businesses, individuals, organizations to collaborate together and do really special and unique events in my city that my community could come to. I think it’s a really great way to let people know that yoga is not only practiced in the yoga studio.
As BIPOC it’s important for us to know that as long as we have a space – any space – that is all we need in order to practice wellness. Those are some of the reasons behind why I put together these special events in different kinds of spaces, as they can be really important and offer a lot of richness to the experience for the person on the other side of the class.
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So I have 4 tips for you today.
1. SET A CRITERIA
The reason I decided to do this one is that I had two one-on-one calls with previous mentees and I spoke to them both about the same exact thing around doing local collaborations. Shout out to Lonnie, shout out to Naomi from Round 7 of the Mentorship Program.
You don’t want to be out here willy-nilly just doing any kind of collaboration with anybody. You need to be thinking intentionally and strategically about who you’re partnering with.
What type of venue or space do you want to be in? For me, it’s important to have an inspiring space, lots of lighting so we’re able to take great photos ‘cause you know we’re out here doing it for the ‘Gram!
What kind of people do you want to be partnering with? You need to ensure they align with your vision and values.
What do you want to earn? Understand your value so that if someone approaches you with a collaboration request you’re not just accepting whatever they’re willing to offer. Maybe you have a rate per headcount that you would like to be paid.
Having this criteria set in your mind makes it really easy when you get approached with an opportunity to decide yes or no. It makes it really easy also when you’re looking for possible collaborations and partners, to guide who you’re going to be looking at.
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2. FIND COMPLEMENTARY COLLABORATORS
You want to find somebody who is complementary to your offering. Do y’all remember in math class when you had the obtuse angle and the acute angle and they were complementary and together they made a whole 180˚? So that’s kind of what you’re looking for; someone who is going to complement and complete what you do. You’re not necessarily looking for another yoga teacher to partner with, although this is possible if they teach a different style from you.
Maybe it’s a meditation guide, a nutritional expert, a mental health therapist, a massage therapist – somebody who is already in your realm. Then together you create what I call a value-added experience; you’re offering additional value by bringing something else into that space that’s complementary and adds a lot of richness to your participants and to the experiences that you host.
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3. WRITE A LIST OF LOCAL VENUES
We’re thinking in hyper-local terms, so think about your city and who are the businesses, organizations, venues that you can think of that would be beautiful spaces to teach yoga. We’re not thinking about whether it’s a wellness location or not. Remember, any space that is big enough for your yoga mat is a space where you can practice yoga. I’ve taught yoga in all sorts of places including inside a mall, at a museum, of course outdoors at the park, in an outdoor space behind a hair salon. Y‘all know I’ve hosted events in all sorts of spaces. The important think is to think creatively and don’t limit yourself.
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4. DOCUMENT AND COLLECT
You need to be catching some names, some emails addresses. We want to know if they want us to holla at them, if they want us to have their digital digits. If someone has already shown up to an event and enjoyed the experience, the likelihood they’d be interested in showing up to another one is high. This is what we would call a “warm lead”. We want to be sure we have their contact information so we can say “hey, I’m hosting another of these things, y’all should pull up!” and keep building that relationship.
Now I don’t know if you caught this, but at the root of all of this is relationship building, right? We’re building relationships with local businesses, organizations, venues and we’re also building relationships with our community by connecting with them and bringing them out to our events. Relationships are the base and the foundation of good business and you’re start to build a reputation for what types of events you host given that you do host high quality events with a bomb class and a bomb playlist.
All of these are things you can leverage to do other events in the future. Then of course you can take what you’ve done on the ground and put it on social as I way to say; “this is what I can do, this is what I’ve been doing.”