Hey there teachers, and welcome back to Violin Club! I took a break the last few months as I caught up on some other projects, but I’m ready to dive back into sharing great violin teaching resources with you.
My studio’s summer session kicked off last week and I welcomed several new students into our studio family. It made me reflect on how we can make a first lesson special and memorable for our new protégés. Here are my top tips on welcoming new families into your studio.
Communication: I set up new families on a special email list that nurtures a relationship with them from the moment of registration. I use Square Marketing for my emails since it merges seamlessly with the other Square products I use in my studio, but you can set up a similar email funnel with any other email subscription service, or even just by copying and pasting email templates on a regular schedule. My new student email sequence looks a little like this:
Welcome email - immediately on sign up
A little about my studio - 3 days after signing up
Student success story - 1 week after signing up
FAQs - 10 days after signing up
Testimonial - 2 weeks after signing up
Three fun facts about my studio - 3 weeks after signing up
Another student success story - 4 weeks after signing up
How are lessons going check-in - 6 weeks after signing up
Ask for a review on Google or Facebook - 8 weeks after signing up
The purpose of this email sequence is to acquaint new families with my studio dynamic, make sure to answer any questions and keep the lines of communication open. I also send text messages to the parent:
Right after registration
Reminder text a week before the first lesson
Reminder text the day of the first lesson
Text after the first lesson - including what we did, how to help the student practice and the first lesson photo!
First Lesson Celebration! Once the student arrives at the first lesson, I want to make the family feel welcome and the student feel special and excited to learn! I greet new families at the door and have a felt letterboard sign at the entrance welcoming them.
After a brief studio tour, we get started! I make sure and play lots of games, do some fun active warmups, and have plenty of activities on hand. The time will fly by! After a successful first lesson, we wrap by posing with a celebratory photo prop. This picture goes up on my studio bulletin board, gets shared on my social media pages, and is sent to the parent as a lasting memory! I often use an Instax instant camera in addition to my phone to have a tangible reminder of a great first lesson experience.
New students at my studio also take home a swag bag that doubles as a lesson tote, as well as some cool studio-themed merch. Depending on what I have on hand this has ranged from custom imprinted t-shirts, water bottles, sunglasses, instrument case tags, rosin, and/or cleaning rags. We also include a lesson binder, which I’ll be talking about more in a future post.
Download this summer-themed first lesson photo props for any new students you start this semester! Share their smiling faces with the hashtag #violinclub; I love to see my resources in action! What activities do you like to do for the first lesson? Have a great idea for a first lesson photo prop? Share in the comments below or on social media. Violin Club will be back in action on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter.