I remember teaching an Abundant Yoga Teacher Immersion in Brisbane a few years ago. One of the teachers was sharing with me that she really needed a holiday but was worried if she took a break, no one would come back to her classes. If she stopped teaching for 6 weeks, she feared, she’d ‘lose’ all of her students.

There’s a classic sales maxim: the most likely future client is a past client.

What does this mean for us as Yoga teachers? It means reengaging students that have come to your classes, workshops or events in the past is one of the best ways you can keep your offerings full of people who really value what it is you do.

You know the students I’m talking about: people who maybe came for a term and didn’t sign up for the next term or they bought an intro pass but never signed up as a member. Perhaps they came for years and then suddenly stopped coming. Maybe they came to prenatal classes but now they’re not coming back to mums and bubs. Or they did some private yoga therapy with you but they never transitioned into weekly classes. Or maybe, like my client’s example above, it’s YOU who stopped coming to class, and you’re ready to get back into it.

Too often Yoga teachers presume a student who has stopped coming to class is gone and never coming back. But that’s very often NOT the case. So let’s look at five techniques you can try to reengage past students and have them sign up for your future offerings.

Number one: Check your CRM

This one involves a tiny bit of data management, but don’t let that put you off!

Open up your email management system (Constant Contact, Mailchimp etc) and create a new segment of your newsletter audience that is comprised only of the people who haven’t opened any of your newsletters in the past 3 months.

Straight away we know that these folks need reengagement. They’ve lost interest or been too busy to read your emails. It’s time to entice them back. What would they love? What would be a really exciting offer? Do you have a signature workshop everyone adores? What about a time-sensitive discount? A new intro pass, even though they’re technically not ‘new’?

Come up with something really enticing for these students and send them 3 emails over 6 days about it, making sure the subject line of the email refers specifically to the offer.

Number Two: Get Personal

The next one is a more personal approach. Make a list of all the people you used to love to teach that you haven’t seen for a while. Those students you’ve had a laugh with or that had a level of commitment and love for Yoga that really lit you up. Next, send each of them a personal email. Not a group newsletter but a real, ‘old school’ email.

If you’re worried about this tip being cheesy or creepy, don’t. If these are the people you loved to teach then they probably loved your classes. Think about it: if one of your favorite teachers emailed you personally to say they’d love to see you in class, how would you feel? Hopefully, you’d be chuffed — even if you didn’t want to go back to the studio, right? We want your students to feel the same.

Number three: start with engagement in mind

A critical part of having past students coming back is to make sure they feel included and engaged from the beginning.

Consider: what is your current engagement strategy? Is it warm, attentive and engaging?

Do you make sure to learn people’s names and use their names in class? Are you following up with people week to week with what they’ve been working on? Do you have a 3-part automation welcome email for first-timers?

A culture of inclusion will go a long way in keeping your students coming back. And it’s just nicer, right? ;)

Number 4: give people what they want, not what they need

One of the reasons students stop coming is because we change what it is we’re offering. Maybe you’ve taken a new training and have a bunch of new ideas and concepts you’re rolling out in your classes. Stuff you think the students really need. But here’s the thing: while they may need it, do they actually want it?

I know my students need a lot more strength work. Lots of deep core. Lots of glutes. But if all I taught were drills and Asana to achieve those goals, my classes would be empty.

In general, people buy what they WANT, not what they NEED.⁠

When looking to reengage past students, consider what has been really successful for you in the past. Was it a selfcare afternoon? Was it a ‘happy hips’ workshop or a headstand masterclass? Maybe a sound bath? 8 weeks of ‘Yoga for Golf’?

One of my clients a couple of years ago found herself teaching ‘Yoga for Incontinence’ workshops. It was not something she’d planned to specialise in but an opportunity arose and she went for it. The best part? Her students loved it and every time she did it she was full. (That isn’t a bladder pun.) ⁠

⁠What’s your ‘Greatest Hits’ offering? The thing that filled in a heartbeat, everybody loved, you got great feedback and people brought their friends? When a student stops you in the supermarket and says, “Hey, when are you teaching that thing again?”

Offer that to your former students. And watch it book out.⁠

Number five: Host a Beginner Series

A common thing I hear from people when they find out I’m a Yoga teacher is “I used to do yoga, but I’ve lost all of my tone”, or “I’ve forgotten all the names”, or “I’ve put on a bit of weight”, or “I’ve gotten a bit older”.

Often our past Yoga students might be hesitant to come back to class because they feel they’ve lost ‘it’. A beginner series is a great opportunity to welcome these people back in a way that feels unthreatening and accessible.

Plan out a 6-week program. Run them through the basics, whatever that looks like for you. Maybe you do the four corners of the body, maybe you spend six weeks working them into being able to do a full Surya Namaskar. Perhaps you base it on anatomy: the pelvis week, the shoulder week et cetera.

The best part about this tip? You’re likely to attract some ‘actual’ beginners, too!

For more tips on attracting Yoga students to your classes, workshops and events, check out my free 7-part video training here: http://eepurl.com/U_HDr

Or join the conversation on ‘The Abundant Yoga Teacher Podcast’ on Apple, Spotify, Google or here: https://www.amymcdonald.com.au/abundantyogateacherpodcasts