Martial arts events can be excellent for engaging with your community, keeping your current students stimulated, and garnering new students. It’s a great opportunity to showcase what your martial arts school is all about, showing parents and children the many benefits it can bring. With that said, one of the most important ways to ensure a good turnout is to effectively promote your event.

Here are five ways to successfully promote your next martial arts events.

1. Off to the Presses

Your local newspapers (and radio stations) hold more power than you may think! Local press is often looking to support local businesses, especially in smaller cities. To give yourself a head start, try to write something for one of the magazines, blogs, or newspapers in your area. Editors are always on the lookout for content curated and written by experts in their respective fields. This is a great way to educate those in your community while also showcasing your martial arts event.

2. Get Social

One of the most reliable ways to bring attention to your martial arts event is through social media marketing. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are some of the most popular platforms nowadays, and they offer intuitive advertising tools for every budget. If you are looking to save a bit of money, utilizing those platforms, posting engaging content with relevant hashtags, and asking your students to spread the word can also be highly effective.

3. Hold a Contest

A tried and true method, contests are a great way to garner interest. Whether it’s an in-school contest between students (where they’re asked to bring as many people to the event as possible in exchange for discounted classes) or extended to the public (a chance to win free classes for every attendee), it will bring more bodies to your event.

4. Be a Sponsor

While many events themselves will look for sponsorship, you also have the options of donating proceeds to a worthy cause. Getting philanthropic is always a great way to get your school or event talked about. Be sure to find a relevant school, team, or group to sponsor, and to also do a cost-benefit analysis to ensure that your martial arts event has the ability to sponsor a cause. This form of sponsorship can really help boost your event and school’s presence, while still allowing you to accept corporate sponsors.

5. Go Guerilla

Guerilla marketing is an nontraditional method of marketing that isn’t only effective, but can yield high return-on-investment while keeping costs down. It requires a lot of creativity in order to capture a lot of attention. Some ideas include pranks and custom t-shirts, and don’t forget to utilize your sense of humor. 

One great way to ensure that you stay on top of all your marketing tasks, Xplor Recreation’s martial arts management software can help you generate more leads and reduce drop-outs with its marketing automation that regularly nurtures your prospects and students. You can create, track, and measure all of your marketing campaigns in one place. Learn more about the management software here.

How do you promote your martial arts events? Let us know on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn, to stay up to date with all of your Xplor Recreation news.