So, you want to start teaching a cooking class. May be you've
taught a couple of classes here and there and know what you want to
teach. You know your class is good, and there are people out there who
want to take your class. The challenge is to reach out and find those
people. How? Here are some of the tips I learned through promoting my
sushi making classes.
The class is about WHO YOU ARE
The first and foremost, people come to your class, not for the food or recipe you can offer, they come to your class because they want to meet you. It is who you are as a person/chef/cooking instructor that really attracts those who will attend.
So the cooking class you are offering must be about who you are. What I mean by that is this: you are the only person in the whole world who can offer the class. It needs to be that unique.
How do I do that?
I tell stories - stories are interesting and unique to me.
I tell my stories about how I became a professional sushi chef with no culinary experience.
I tell my story about where and how I get sustainable and local fish.
I share my original recipes and how I came up with them.
Story telling is how you can share who you are and connect with the listeners.
Determine your client demographics
What the hell is client demographics, you may wonder? A client demographics consists of age, gender, income, occupation and area of residence (or zip code). You need to determine who is your target audience is and their client demographics first.
Why is this so important?
For example, a client demographics for a $25 cooking class it different from the one for $250. The most obvious one may be income level and zip code.
So, very first thing you need to decide is who you want to come to the class.
Gather around great photos
A picture tells a thousand words. No doubt about it. People will be attracted to food photos, especially to great looking ones.
Naturally speaking, if you have some great photos of your food (nice layout, multiple appetizing colors of green, red, yellow, etc.), people will automatically think you can teach a great class. You want to make a great emotional connection like that.
Another great photo is you or participants with a big smile in their face. These promote "fun" aspect of our class. (everyone wants to attend a class that is fun and educational.)
If you have no photos, you can purchase some stock photos online. Some offer free stock photos.
Promote online and offline
Now you gathered all your materials, and you are ready to start promoting.
There are many online platforms available.
Some may work and some may not.
The most important thing is to keep trying (and find) what works for you.
Each platform has a different audience. That is when your client demographics comes into play.
Craigslist readers are different from groupon subscribers.
All of my ticket sales came from online promotions. However, offline promotions are still available and a good avenue to go. Flyers at local supermarkets and cafes are a good way to grab attention of your potential class attendees.
The class is about WHO YOU ARE
The first and foremost, people come to your class, not for the food or recipe you can offer, they come to your class because they want to meet you. It is who you are as a person/chef/cooking instructor that really attracts those who will attend.
So the cooking class you are offering must be about who you are. What I mean by that is this: you are the only person in the whole world who can offer the class. It needs to be that unique.
How do I do that?
I tell stories - stories are interesting and unique to me.
I tell my stories about how I became a professional sushi chef with no culinary experience.
I tell my story about where and how I get sustainable and local fish.
I share my original recipes and how I came up with them.
Story telling is how you can share who you are and connect with the listeners.
Determine your client demographics
What the hell is client demographics, you may wonder? A client demographics consists of age, gender, income, occupation and area of residence (or zip code). You need to determine who is your target audience is and their client demographics first.
Why is this so important?
For example, a client demographics for a $25 cooking class it different from the one for $250. The most obvious one may be income level and zip code.
So, very first thing you need to decide is who you want to come to the class.
Gather around great photos
A picture tells a thousand words. No doubt about it. People will be attracted to food photos, especially to great looking ones.
Naturally speaking, if you have some great photos of your food (nice layout, multiple appetizing colors of green, red, yellow, etc.), people will automatically think you can teach a great class. You want to make a great emotional connection like that.
Another great photo is you or participants with a big smile in their face. These promote "fun" aspect of our class. (everyone wants to attend a class that is fun and educational.)
If you have no photos, you can purchase some stock photos online. Some offer free stock photos.
Promote online and offline
Now you gathered all your materials, and you are ready to start promoting.
There are many online platforms available.
Some may work and some may not.
The most important thing is to keep trying (and find) what works for you.
Each platform has a different audience. That is when your client demographics comes into play.
Craigslist readers are different from groupon subscribers.
- Craigslist - Free listing under "event gigs."
- Eventbrite - Create your class listing, promote and have attendee purchase ticket.
- Yelp - You can submit your class to "event" section for free.
- Online classified - Many local newspapers and magazines offer free online event listing.
- Facebook, Google+ - Post and promote on Facebook page, communities and Google+ local communities. In Facebook, you can "boost" your post by paying a small fee starting from $5 to reach 1000-10,000+ audiences depending on your budget.
- Groupon - You can negotiate with them to run a promotion without discount. In face, I sold more tickets without a discount than with a discount. So, I figure my target audience want a full priced sushi class than discounted class, which may give the impression "cheap."They also just started test run a new platform with a small discount (minimum $10) with lower commission rate.
- Living Social - Just like Groupon, Living Social offer discounted goods and services. They have "event" section where you can promote your cooking class.
- Gilt City- Similar to Groupon and Living Social, Gilt offers more "sophisticated" products, services and events promotions.
- SideTour - Sidetour offers experience based promotions like local tours. They do feature cooking classes as well.
- Verlocal - Like SideTour, Verlocal offers "local experience" such as local tours, art & craft classes and of course, cooking classes.
- Kitchit - Bespoke private chef site offering private dining experience and cooking classes. Currently, available in selected cities - San Francisco, New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.
- Cozymeal - Similar to Kitchit, Cozymeal is a new platform featuring private chefs offering cooking classes and private diners. Their focus is cooking classes first, then private diners.
All of my ticket sales came from online promotions. However, offline promotions are still available and a good avenue to go. Flyers at local supermarkets and cafes are a good way to grab attention of your potential class attendees.
