An Instagram Ads Strategy For Group Classes | EP 227
Release Date: 04/27/2024
What a Punk Rocker and an Opera Singer Taught Each Other About Running a Music School | EP 285
Music Lessons and Marketing
In this episode, I sit down with John Kozicki and Mandy York, hosts of the Rock School Proprietor podcast, and we get into something every music school owner deals with whether they realize it or not. How do you keep growing when your teaching philosophy and someone else’s look nothing alike? John runs a punk rock brick-and-mortar school in Detroit. Mandy is a classically trained Music Together licensee. On paper they should not get along. In practice, they have built a friendship and a podcast around learning from each other, and I think their conversation will change how you think about...
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How to Know If Your Music School Is Ready to Scale (or Sell) with Brady Davies | EP 288
Music Lessons and Marketing
In this episode, I sit down with Brady Davies, who went from teaching zero instruments himself to building nine music schools and eventually merging his company with Ensemble Performing Arts. We talk about the moment his wife brought 80 piano students into their living room, the pricing mistake that cost him money for years without him realizing it, and the churn numbers he now watches like a hawk to keep his schools healthy. This one is for any school owner who feels maxed out, unsure if it’s time to expand, raise prices, or bring in more help. Brady doesn’t sugarcoat the hard parts. He...
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What a Bored 8-Year-Old Taught Me About Getting Kids to Practice | EP 287
Music Lessons and Marketing
In this episode, I talk about the real reason so many students quietly lose interest in lessons, and why it has nothing to do with talent, motivation, or how good the teaching is. I share the story of a student named Marcus, a kid who went from showing off Queen bass lines to watching the clock, and what that pattern taught me about a structural problem hiding inside almost every private lesson. If you’ve ever had a parent tell you their kid “just won’t practice,” this episode gets at what’s actually going on underneath that. Key ideas covered in this episode: Why better teaching,...
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The Accidental Fix That Solved My Music School’s Practice Problem | EP 286
Music Lessons and Marketing
In today's episode, I talk about the moment I realized the biggest obstacle to student retention was never the child's effort. It was the model I built my whole school around. I share how I stumbled onto the fix almost by accident, while trying to solve a completely different problem in my studio. Here's what I get into: Why music lessons are the only youth enrichment activity built around a homework requirement The real difference between adult accountability and peer accountability, and why it matters so much for a child's motivation The accidental discovery that came from trying to serve...
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The Real Reason Families Quit Music Lessons (It’s Not What You Think) | EP 285
Music Lessons and Marketing
In this episode, I want to revisit one of the most downloaded topics in the seven-year history of this podcast: the practice problem. But I’m coming at it differently this time. Because I don’t think we’ve been solving it at the right level. We’ve been focused on fixing problems inside our model without asking whether the model itself is the problem. That’s the question I want you to sit with today. Topics we dig into: Why parents anticipate conflict before the first lesson even starts How music lessons compare to every other activity in the youth enrichment category Why the...
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Why Most Group Music Classes Fail (And What Successful Schools Do Differently) | EP 284
Music Lessons and Marketing
Most music school owners who've tried group classes have walked away thinking the same thing: parents just prefer private lessons. I thought that too. And I was wrong. In today's episode, I dig into why group classes fail at so many schools, and why the answer has almost nothing to do with curriculum. The real issue is something most owners never consider: the difference between a group class and an ensemble. One feels like a compromise. The other changes kids' lives. And once you understand that distinction, everything about how you build your program shifts. Key Ideas in This Episode Why...
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What Youth Sports Know About Retention That Music Schools Don’t | Ep 283
Music Lessons and Marketing
What if the families leaving your school aren’t actually leaving because of sports or busy schedules? What if there’s something deeper going on that most schools aren’t building on purpose? In this episode, I explore one of the most important retention insights I’ve come across in years of running music schools: the difference between students who do music and students who become musicians. Youth sports accidentally get this right all the time. Music schools often accidentally get it wrong. And once you see the structural reason why, you can start to fix it. What We Cover • Why the...
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Recitals Are Band-Aids: Why Music Schools Are Solving the Wrong Problem | EP 282
Music Lessons and Marketing
Most music schools run two or three recitals a year and call it a retention strategy. I used to think that was enough, too. In this episode, I want to challenge that assumption, because I think it’s costing schools more students than they realize, and the fix has nothing to do with running better recitals. In today’s episode, I break down why recitals work when they do work, what’s actually happening in a parent’s mind when they re-enroll after a shaky performance, and why building your retention around two big events a year is less of a strategy and more of a rescue operation....
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The Visibility Gap: The Hidden Retention Problem Killing Music Schools | EP 281
Music Lessons and Marketing
Most music school owners are fighting a retention problem they don’t fully understand yet. Parents aren’t quitting because their kids aren’t improving. They’re quitting because nobody ever showed them that they were. In this episode, I share a simple, practical tool that any teacher can start using this week to close what I call the “visibility gap” and keep more students enrolled for the long haul. What we cover: Why marketing promises and lesson experiences often don’t match up How the visibility gap silently drives your dropout rate A simple end-of-lesson formula that...
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Great Teaching Isn’t Enough: The Parent Confidence Problem Quietly Killing Your Retention | EP 280
Music Lessons and Marketing
Most music school owners assume students quit because life got busy or they lost interest. But the real reason is something quieter, something that’s been building for months before that cancellation email ever arrives. In today’s episode, I want to climb inside the head of the parent writing you that tuition check every month and show you exactly what’s happening in her mind long before she decides to quit. Understanding this changes everything about how you approach retention. What we cover: Why retention is never a single decision and always a slow, quiet drift The three signals...
info_outlineReady to dive into the world of Instagram advertising with Danny Thompson? In this episode, he's spilling all the secrets on how to rock Instagram ads and supercharge your advertising game. We'll talk about fixing those pesky advertising problems and using what you learn to make your campaigns shine in today's fast-paced digital world.
So, Danny's really getting into the nuts and bolts of digital advertising. It's not just about catchy words; there's a whole science to making ads and hitting the right people. Sure, you could hire someone else to handle it, but knowing how it works gives you the power to steer your campaigns like a pro. Level up your advertising game today!