The Black Friday Offer Blueprint for Yoga Teachers

Hey yoga teacher! Now is the time to make a much bigger impact in the world. You're listening to the Yogi Preneur, a podcast for entrepreneurial yoga teachers who want to stop the hustle and overwhelm and instead create more income, freedom and success. I'm your host Kelly McHugh, founder of Digital Yoga Academy and I'm sharing business and marketing strategies to grow your community in a way that makes it easy to take action today. I believe that you have a unique message to share that your people need to hear so let's get to it. So welcome, you're here today to learn how to create an offer for your Black Friday sale. Okay we're going to go through the blueprint and I'm really glad that you've joined today because this training is about something that most yoga teachers either overlook or misunderstand and it's one of the biggest opportunities to not only grow your income before the end of the year but to do it in a way that's aligned with your values and also your mission, like what you're trying to do with your business. Businesses make money, right, so you need to be making sales. So when you hear the words Black Friday you might be thinking chaos, you know, flashing discounts or kind of pushy sales tactics and that uncomfortable feeling that it's a little bit commercial and I get it because for years I avoided Black Friday for that very reason, right, it felt out of integrity with the way I wanted to show up as a yoga business owner but I want to really reframe this entire kind of conversation today because when you strip out the noise around what Black Friday really is, it's a moment, isn't it, it's a collective moment in time where people are actually ready to buy and they're already in a mindset of taking action and investing in themselves and actually saying yes to things that help them grow, okay. So if you think about that through the lens of yoga then it's actually a very powerful thing because your offers, whether it's a workshop or a course or a training, whatever it is, they're not just products, okay, they're tools that help people come back to themselves, okay. So, you know, whatever you're offering is helping people to heal or connect or, you know, live their lives more consciously, okay. So why wouldn't you want to make it easier for people to actually say yes during a time where they're actually already looking for transformation, okay. So that's what today's training is really about and it's not just about joining that noise, it's also, you know, it's about redefining what this season actually means for you in your business. So here at DYA we actually run a campaign every year and it's called Gratitude Gifts, it's an opportunity to give back to our community as a thank you, okay. So we don't really see it as a sale, we see it as a celebration of everything that's built up throughout the year and a chance to really help more teachers step into their next level before the new year begins. So if you felt like this time of year isn't for you or that you need to kind of, you know, pull back because you don't want to come across as salesy or pushy, I want you to release that story today, right. Because what we're doing is we're going to explore how you can approach this season from a completely different energy, okay. And we're going to talk about how to create an offer that actually feels generous instead of gimmicky and just kind of like, you know, jumping on the bandwagon, let's say. So how to use this period as a way to reconnect with your students, not just sell to them, okay, and how to build momentum heading into the new year, okay, instead of, you know, ending now, right, finishing now because we feel like the year is done. So by the end of this training, you'll know exactly how to package and position something that you already have or even something that's coming up in the new year into an aligned strategic Black Friday offer that serves your students and also supports your business. Because remember, your business is your practice, it's how you share yoga with the world and creating abundance through it really allows you to reach more people and to have a bigger impact, okay. So grab a notebook if you don't have one already and, you know, I really want to help you today to really see Black Friday in a different light, okay. So let's just talk about then what's actually happening right now in November, okay. Most yoga teachers are switching off, yeah, they're telling themselves, oh, there's no point now, you know, things will pick up in January and the truth is this is one of the most powerful moments that you can have right now, you know, to create some momentum and people are already in this active buying mindset. You know, maybe you're eyeing something up and you're thinking, actually, I'll just wait now to see if there's a Black Friday sale that comes for that thing that I'm thinking about. And so you're not just kind of browsing anymore, right, we're kind of thinking, okay, I'm going to buy something, I'm going to sign up for a program, I'm going to invest in, you know, something that feels good and feels supported. Most people are kind of going into this season with a kind of reset. And so what that means for your students is they're thinking about what do I need more of next year, yeah, they're thinking about that. So whilst other teachers, not you guys, are disappearing from, you know, their students, inboxes or feeds, you actually have an opportunity to be visible and to show up with something that actually genuinely serves people. And when you do that, you position yourself as the teacher who's already helping them to prepare for the next for the new year. Yeah, not someone who disappears and then suddenly reappears in January, trying to rebuild that connection from scratch again. Okay, so it's also a smart business move because when you lean into this time, strategically, right, you don't just end the year with extra income, you start the new year in already in some kind of flow, right, you've got fresh energy, you've got engaged students, you've got a stronger sense of direction because you took action when everyone else was slowing down. Okay, so let me give you a quick example. Last year, you know, inside our programs, we had teachers who use this season to sell early access to their new year, new year courses, right. So the courses that they were planning to launch in the new year, right, so maybe it was like a small group mentorship, or it was a January challenge, or perhaps even a retreat happening like months later, and they filled spots before they even got into that launch season. Okay, they didn't do it by chasing trends, right, they didn't do it by that, they did it by aligning with this natural energy of this time of year. Okay, so here's what's, you know, really kind of powerful. When you do that, like this, this season isn't just about making money, is it? It's actually, it's actually like continuing the momentum of what you've been doing all year, and not seeing November as a time of, oh, it's over now, this year is done, right. So, and what that does is it shows your students that your business is consistent. Yeah, you're here to help them through every season, you know, not just when, you know, when you have launches, right. So you're using this time, when you look at November in that way, it actually stops feeling like something that you should avoid, right, becomes a, a window to actually serve more deeply and to re-engage your audience and to create, you know, some financial or a financial foundation for, for the new year ahead. Okay, so we know that this is an opportunity, right, it's an opportunity, and really the next step is like learning how do I use it? Okay, and that's why we move into this blueprint. Okay, so before we dive into the how, like, it doesn't feel right. Yeah, when it doesn't actually feel right to jump on to the Black Friday bandwagon. Yeah. And you know, this is why many yoga teachers kind of skip it, they skip this opportunity completely. And it's because, you know, we don't feel like it aligns or, you know, people, with so much to offer, quietly step back around this time of year because they don't want to feel salesy. Yeah, they may be thinking, and you can tell me if you relate to this, I don't want to cheapen my work, or I don't want to, you know, contribute to this over consumption. Yeah, or I don't have time, I don't have time to plan something this late in the year. And I completely understand where it comes from, like we've been conditioned to see Black Friday as this chaotic consumer driven event, right? And it feels so far removed from the values of yoga. Yeah, from, from, you know, integrity. And so what if we kind of just reimagine it completely? You know, what if instead of seeing it as this kind of weekend or week, because let's face it, most people do a week now, of noise, you, you start to see it as a moment to give back to your students in a way to say thank you for being part of your community. And as I said, that's what we do here at, at DYA, you know, we, we call it gratitude gifts. And it really is an opportunity to do that, to give gratitude. So selling or to show our gratitude to our community for being here. So selling doesn't need to mean sacrificing, right? You know, it can be in service. And the reality is, you know, your students are already looking for ways to invest in their well being right now, right? They're searching for things. As a yoga teacher, there's nothing like gimmicky that you are, you know, selling and offering, right? You're helping people. And when you think of it in that way, you're not adding to the noise, are you? You're like, you're actually cutting through it. The blueprint then is really where we bring it all together. And we, and we turn it into a simple, repeatable plan that you can use. You can use this every year. And this is the great thing about it. Like in my business, you know, I've lost count now how many times, how many years we've run the gratitude campaign. But I'd say it's probably the last four years at least. And it's coming out again this year. Okay. It's just obviously each year we tweak the offers. And so I want you to remember that this isn't about rushing or reinventing your entire business, right? You can actually like, we have a month to go and you can do this, you can pull this one out the bag pretty easily. You can pull it out. So this is just about being smart with what you already have. And then packaging it up, right? Packaging it up and positioning it in a way that feels aligned and feels valuable for your students. Okay. So the first step, step one is to audit what you already have. Yeah, audit what you already have and what's and what's coming. Okay. So before you even think about like the discounts, just write a list of everything that currently exists in your business. Okay, so that includes the current offers that you have. Okay, so maybe you already have an online course, maybe you have a membership, maybe you offer one to one sessions, or you've done workshops in the past, or you've got bundles like look at what you've already created. Yeah, there may be some resources that you've created in the past, but you haven't used in a while. What exists in your ecosystem? Okay. And then what ideas are you planning for next year? Or what courses and launches do you already have in the pipeline for next year? And it doesn't have to be just online. Maybe you have a retreat that you're going to be running next year. Okay, I can guarantee that you're likely sitting on a gold mine of value, right, that just needs repositioning some way. Okay, so if you have a course and this is something that my students did last year, but if you have a course that's launching in January, you could offer a VIP early access during Black Friday. Okay, maybe that means they get an early enrollment, like at a lower price, or they get an exclusive bonus for paying in full. Okay, maybe you have a library of past workshops, right, that you could bundle together, you know, and then you can reposition it, give it a new name, give that bundle a name, maybe it's the end of year reset, whatever it makes sense, right? The point is, before you create something new, and I don't recommend creating something new, right, look at what you've already built and what's coming up. Okay, so this Black Friday deal is an opportunity, isn't it, to kind of connect the dots. You might find that you've got stuff that you've been since is just been collecting digital dust, you've not been doing anything with it, or you completely forgot about it. Okay, so just you create offers that can really like, you know, make sense for this time. Okay, step two is to decide on what that offer is. Okay, so you've looked at everything, you've done the audit, and then decide on your offer strategy. Okay, what makes most sense for your business right now? Okay, so there's some ideas I'm going to give you right now. And you can choose from these ideas, or you can mix and match. Okay, you don't just have to go with one offer. So the first thing is the bundle strategy, you know, so this is where, you know, you group together two or three existing, like, recorded stuff, stuff you've already done, workshops, right, or trainings or mini courses, classes, whatever it is that you've got, and you bundle them together as a themed bundle. Okay, so what I say, holiday mindset reset. That's what's coming up, right, we've got the holidays coming up, or find your come, whatever it is, okay, what makes sense to bundle together under a specific theme. Okay, and bundles are powerful because they increase the perceived value without, you know, having to, to create new content. The next one is the VIP kind of pre sale. Okay, so this is if you're launching something new in the in the new year, if you're launching something early, early next year, a course, a mentorship, a retreat, you can offer early access now. Okay, so this is actually really great for, you know, rewarding people who are already in your community right now. Okay, it's like an invitation for your most loyal community members to benefit from this. Okay, you could add a bonus for painful. Yeah, maybe a one to one call or an exclusive group session just for your Black Friday students who enrolled during that period. Okay, or maybe there's a larger discount. Okay, so this is what we're doing for the profitable yoga teacher this year. We're offering $1,000 off if you pay in full during our gratitude gift sale. Okay, we won't offer this at any other time. So what this does is it rewards teachers in our audience who have been watching. Yeah, maybe they were in the last launch with us, and they weren't quite quite ready. And then now they're thinking, actually, I'm gonna I want to be in the next cohort, or this is an opportunity, isn't it? So this is an opportunity to reward the fast action takers. Okay, and you will have people in your community who fall under that, you know, kind of remit who fall under that umbrella. So something to think about because especially if you do it as a painful, it actually, you know, you bring cash into your business. Yeah, the next one is the gratitude discount. Okay, so this is like simple. It's like choose one offer, whatever it is, this could be like if you have an online course that's already recorded, it's there, it's sitting there, maybe you haven't put it on to evergreen yet, this is your opportunity to get it on, you know, get it online so people can actually enroll at any time. And for those days only, you're giving a like thank you discount. Okay. So this frame it as that right frame it as around gratitude and giving back, and not as a kind of, you know, last chance to get this price scarcity positioning. Okay. So this type of discount is what we're offering this year, we're going to be doing that for our on demand mini courses. Okay, and teachers will be able to pick and choose the courses that they want access to, right, and then benefit from that discount rate before it goes back up again, you can do the same. Then we have the bonus stack. Okay, so instead of discounting it's about adding value, right, so it's offering extra bonuses for anyone who joins during that Black Friday kind of window. Okay, so this could be, you know, a one to one session, it could be another mini course that they get added on, additional resources, you know, you choose essentially. Okay, and what this does is it keeps the integrity right of your main offers, like price keeps that intact, but then it adds this extra value and, you know, appeal, essentially. So that's full there already. The last one is a limited time live experience. Okay, so although I don't, you know, I mostly suggest not creating something new, like not creating something from scratch for this, and instead actually looking at what you already have, okay, as we've spoken on, if you have an idea that you want to test with your audience, this is also a great way to do that. Okay, so you could create something short, something special, it's live, like a live workshop series, right, or some kind of live meditation challenge, yeah, whatever it is. And it's exclusive for this. Yeah, keep it simple, it's easy to deliver. What this does is, you can see, can't you, it's testing it. Are people interested in this topic? If they are, they're going to be signing up and going into some kind of live workshop series with you over the next few months. Okay, and then it works. If they don't, then you know it doesn't work. So it's actually a way to validate an idea. And I quite like that one. So we've got the first step that we talked about, which is auditing, right, then the second step was deciding what your offer is. And then the third step is your marketing campaign. Okay, so this is really like mapping it out, keeping it simple. Okay, because what we've done, we've got the offer, and then it's like, how do I share it? And this is where most of you are going to freeze. Yeah, you've done all this work. I know, I know, I see it. You've done all this work to decide what your offer is or offers. Yeah, maybe you've got a stack of things that you're going to try out. And then when it's time to talk about it, everything slows down. Yeah, you start second guessing yourself, you start worrying, am I going to sound pushy? Am I going to sound repetitive? You know, you tell yourself, well, my students already know this is available, because you've sent one email. Yeah, and they don't, they don't. This is it, we have to sound like a broken record, you have to be repetitive. Okay, because otherwise they don't know unless you tell them, right? And it's not just once, it's repeatedly and it's confidently. Okay, people are busy. You know, you scroll through and skim through emails all the time, right? We're busy people. And we're scrolling and we're distracted and we're juggling work and family and life. Okay, so it's your consistency and your clarity that cuts through all of that. Okay, so I want you to shift how you think about marketing, like it's, it's communicating, isn't it right? It's communicating as your opportunity to explain with love and leadership why this offer exists. Yeah, who it's for and how it helps them. Okay, so it's not about convincing. We're not convincing anyone, right? It's just about connecting, isn't it? Connecting with the people who are already looking, you know, for exactly what you're offering. And those of you who have a community and have an email list, there's people there in your world. Okay, how often are you selling to them? Really? In your emails? How often are you telling them, hey, this is how I can support you? Okay, so it's an opportunity to do this, isn't it? And to do it well. So you don't need a massive marketing plan, right? You don't need a massive campaign. You can start now, like we are four weeks out. Okay, at the time of this recording, we're four weeks out. Spend the next week planning and creating your marketing assets and copy. Okay, and then kick things off next week by launching a wait list. Okay, so this is to gauge interest from your audience to find out who in your audience, who in your email list is seeking out a Black Friday deal. Okay, our wait list is going to be launching early next week. Okay, so you can literally, you can, you can watch in real time what's happening with DYA. Yeah, and replicate it. Really? So next week you launch your wait list, which means this week you need to create a wait list landing page. Okay, with some simple information on what you're going to be offering, not giving everything away, right, but maybe saying the percentages of the discounts that you're going to be offering, having some curiosity. You don't need to have all the details on this page. Keep it short and sweet. You're simply asking for people to raise their hand to say, I'm interested, and I want to be first to know what's dropping in your, in your world, right, what's landing. And so from next week, I suggest four to six wait list emails, okay, from when you kick things off to when you open the sales window. Okay, so you want to mention it in your emails, four to six emails, pushing the wait list. You want to mention it multiple times a week on your social, right, so the posts, the call to actions on your social and on your posts and your stories. And these emails, they're not all going to be, hey, sign up to the wait list. This, you know, just kind of like a direct push of the wait list is open, the Black Friday sale, get on to it. Okay, your first one can be like, this is what's coming up. Get on the wait list. The wait list is open. Definitely. But the other emails and the post, you really want to be sharing stories. Yeah, you want to be leading with stories, you know, why this is important in their life, what this is going to bring to them, think about their pain points, think about their desires. Okay, you want to be creative with your messaging and your wording, otherwise people switch off. It's just like, join the wait list, join the wait list, join the wait list. Okay, so share stories and share gratitude, share the offer details and say monster on social, like mix up the content format, you could do face to face camera, a real video telling people about what's coming up, carousel, whatever it is, okay, show your behind the scenes, show your excitement, show your gratitude and reflections from the last year, right, and why you're showing up in this way right now. Okay, that's it. You don't need ads. You don't need complicated funnels. This is just genuine communication. Okay. And, and ramp it up. Right ramp it up as the activity, like as you lead up to, you know, the final days before the sale opens. Okay, so if you're creating a wait list then is a good idea to give access to the Black Friday sale earlier to people who have joined your wait list. Okay, perhaps 24 hours before you'll send an email to everyone who joined the wait list to say Black Friday sale is open. Okay, and then 24 hours later, everyone else on your email list will get that memo. Okay, so they may have not joined the wait list. So most people, and you may have noticed this yourself over the last few years, most people don't open their Black Friday sale on Black Friday, do they? It's like the day before, even the Monday before, right? It's kind of like it's gone from this weekend to it's a week long thing. And for us here at DYA, we're actually going to be opening our sale to our wait listers on the Tuesday on the 25th, so 48 hours before everyone else on our email list. And then on the Thursday, opens to everyone else, our wider community. Okay, so you get to decide how that looks for you, right? And what that access is, how long you're going to run the sale for. For us, our sale for our wait listers will be open for seven days. And that gives you time to send multiple emails in that time and to reach out to your wait listers directly as well. Okay, if you have contact with them in Instagram or Messenger, it's another way to actually reach out to people. And especially if you have smaller communities, it's totally worth doing that, isn't it? If you can identify people, maybe on the wait list, sign up, you take their Instagram handle, you'll see that we do that here. It gives you an opportunity to actually reach out to people. And why wouldn't you? If they've signed up for your wait list, you want to check in with them. Have you seen the email? The sale is open, right? So the key here is to stay visible, right? Be visible, stay connected. We're not shouting out into the void. Yeah, you are creating a list of people who are actually interested in what you're going to be offering to them. Okay, showing up with something that actually supports them. Yeah, and it helps them to end their year strong. Okay, and when you communicate your offer through that lens, through the lens of service and gratitude and generosity, right, it always lands in the right way with the right people. So remember your energy around this is everything. Yeah, so, you know, think about your language as well. Yeah, the language that you use, the messaging that you use, you know, saying things like this offer is my way of saying thank you for being part of my community. If you've been waiting for a sign to finally commit to your practice, this is it. Yeah, if you got to the end of the year and you still haven't committed, this is a this is a chance to do it. Let's end this year of an alignment, start the next year strong. Like that's the type of messaging that you want to be using with this. Okay, and so of course you can create urgency, but you can do it in a good way. Okay, and then just remember your stories because the best marketing doesn't feel like marketing, does it? It feels like storytelling. Yeah, so, you know, instead of like sharing what's in the offer, share why you created it. Yeah, tell a story about a student who's benefited from it. Yeah, talk about a moment in your own journey that actually inspired it. Okay, so the stories that you share, build the connection and the connection builds trust and trust is what moves people to buy. Just remember to use that time to really show up consistently, especially when you open the doors. Yeah, people need to hear the message multiple times. Yeah, they may be on the waitlist, but you need to remind them and remember there is noise in that time. Okay, so it's not that people are necessarily ignoring you. It's just there's extra noise and people also need time to process. You know, they may be on the waitlist of someone else's wellness or yoga offer as well, right? So they need time to process and to decide and to align. So the yoga teacher that shows up more and is more consistent is going to have more chance of getting that sale, right? Okay, so don't be afraid to repeat yourself. It's really important. Don't be afraid to repeat yourself. You can say the same thing in many different ways. Yeah, many different forms of content that you can use and sharing different stories. Just really keep this in your mind as a celebration of your community. Yeah, and if you want to use gratitude gifts as your positioning, you're welcome to use that as well. Okay, so just really think about what you want to call it, how you want to position it and you know, just infuse your energy into it. Like this is your way of saying thank you for being part of the journey. Okay, when you lead with that people are going to feel it. It's going to feel more like an invitation into your world that's based around support versus a Black Friday sale. Okay, it doesn't have to feel icky in that way. It can feel like connection. So that's all it takes basically. So we're clear, right? We have step one is the audit. Yeah, step one is the audit. Step two is deciding on the offer or offers. And then step three is the marketing campaign. Yeah, the plan of emails and social showing up in your space being visible. Good. Okay, we'll finish up. So I'd love to see what you create. Really love to see what you create. And we're supporting our students right now in on this very thing inside Yogi Pranar, which is our 12 week program for teachers who are starting their online business from zero. So if that's you, that's the place to be to get all of your marketing foundations in place. And yeah, we'll be launching our gratitude gifts very, very soon as well. So keep an eye out for that in the coming days. But thank you so much for being here, guys. And do let us know how you get on with this and what you create. All right, lots of love. Bye bye. See you guys. Bye bye. You've been listening to the Yogi Pranar podcast brought to you by Digital Yoga Academy, the leader in business and marketing education for yoga teachers worldwide. And if you loved what you learned today, please subscribe, rate and give us a review. And remember that learning is nothing without taking action.