BJJ Academy Dreams – Marketing
BJJ Academy Dreams – Marketing
Welcome back to another installment of BJJ Academy Dreams, where I give you valuable insight into what it takes to start and run a successful academy of your own. If you’re been training long enough, you’ve already started dreaming of the possibility of making your passion – jiu-jitsu – your career.
As exciting as the idea is, it can also be daunting. Where do you even start? Will you be successful? What do you do if [insert random fear here]? How do I get the word out?
For over 15 years, I’ve trained at and visited hundreds of different academies, all over the world. I’ve taken note about what works and what doesn’t. I’ve created this multi-part series called “BJJ Academy Dreams” to give you tips and ideas that will help your academy thrive… so you can share your passion for jiu-jitsu to others.
Presentation is Everything
When you think of “marketing”, you might immediately associate it with advertising. That is part of it, but that’s not all it is. I really like Forbes’ definition, in that marketing is everything involved in the “process of creating and delivering value-based arguments for your offerings”, in this case, your jiu-jitsu programs. The key word here is “value.” You want to convince your students – both prospective as well as current – that they are getting the best value for their money… and that begins with presentation.
Presentation is everything. You want all of your branding – your academy name and logo, your online content, even down to the way your academy looks and smells (yeah, this is a thing) – to speak to your value. When someone sees a cool, clean logo and a user-friendly website, a tidy gym with well-considered details, consistent color-schemes and branding… they see a place that you’ve obviously put a lot of work and thought into. They see a place you in which you take a lot of pride, and by extension, they can, too.
Launch
There are three main types of “launches” when it comes to a jiu-jitsu academy. You want to capitalize on the advantages of each of them, so that you can get your academy up and running as quickly as possible, and “out of the red” as soon as possible.
- Pre-Launch – Before you’ve even officially opened your doors, you can generate interest in your academy among prospective students. Invest in “coming soon” decals for the windows as you’re going through the long process of construction. Pay for a localized ad to run, announcing your “up-coming grand opening.” You can even generate some early income by offering “founding member” membership rates.
- Soft Launch - You always want to have a few weeks of operation before your official hard launch. This will allow you to work out the kinks in your sign-up process, train coaches on any software they might need to use, find anything that isn’t quite working right, and re-arrange the art or furnishing for optimal feng shui.
- Hard Launch – Your hard launch is your grand opening. It’s your official go-time. Throw a party, have a BBQ, invite everyone you know from the local jiu-jitsu community. Invest in making it a big deal.
Advertising
Okay, now for the meat and potatoes of marketing: advertising. I’m going to be honest with you, advertising is not fun. It’s tedious, sometimes complicated (especially when you get into online marketing), and it’s never going to generate the amount of interest that you expect or wish it to. But it’s important, because it’s another cog in the machine that puts – and keeps - your academy “top of mind” for prospective students.
- Old School – While most advertising these days is online, old-school materials strategies are still very important. Have some flyers and business cards made up – with a QR code that directs them to your site – so that random people who walk in have a visual reminder when they get home. You don’t have to go peppering people’s cars in the parking lot – I think that’s kind of tacky anyway – but you can put a few up in the local coffee shops and other major gathering places.
- Online Marketing – Google and Meta ads are just scratching the surface on the world of online marketing, but let’s start there. Because so many people these days are constantly on their phones, online ads are a way to get your name and services in front of them. Contrary to what you might believe, you don’t have to have a huge budget to get results with online ads. But the more limited your budget is, the more clever you have to be with targeting, so that every penny you spend isn’t being wasted. You can either hire someone to do it for you, or if you have the time and – most importantly – the patience, you can do it yourself.
- Walking Advertising – Your students are your best marketing tool; they’re basically walking advertisements. In order to capitalize on this fact, make sure you have branded merchandise. At the very least, have bumper stickers, patches, and t-shirts available. Branded gis and no-gi gear is also a good idea, especially if you have a lot of competitors.
If you do everything right, the most successful marketing will be word-of-mouth. If you do everything wrong, however, word-of-mouth has the opposite effect. Run a tight ship and be a good person and coach, and you shouldn’t have any issue.
If you haven’t already, check out the first two installments here: