Hosting a Martial Arts Self-Defense Seminar at Your School

Events are a great way to keep students engaged, build awareness for your academy and generate leads. Our most recent Martial Arts Benchmark Report revealed that hosting events is a best-practice embraced by the most successful martial arts schools. To help you plan and host more events this year, this post covers how to host a martial arts self-defense seminar.

Establish the Location, Date and Time

Begin by planning the basics like where and when you’ll hold your event. Weekends are usually best for reaching the most people. However, be sure to check the calendar for any holidays and regional events that could hinder attendance.

Renting a larger space outside of your school will incur additional costs but allow you to take more registrations. Yet booking a big space and not selling enough registrations will lead to an unprofitable event. So, before you sign a rental agreement, it’s best to consider how many registrations you think you can sell and at what cost to determine your break-even point.

Decide on the Cost

When setting the cost for your martial arts self-defense seminar, consider all expenses you will incur holding it. Are you going to pay a guest instructor or your staff? Will you give away swag bags or promotional logo items? Do you need special event insurance? Once you know your expenditures, make sure you’re charging enough per registration to make a profit.

Finally, if you have the ability within your budget, consider offering special pricing for your existing students and maybe even a “family and friends” promotional price to help attract more people.

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Plan the Curriculum

As you plan the skills and information you’re going to present, consider inviting or even partnering with local law enforcement, military or security agency. By bringing in outside experts, you will be expanding your marketing reach while amplifying your credibility.

Advertise the Event

Finally, you will need to let your students and people in your area know about the seminar. One of the best ways to do that is by running targeted ads on Facebook. This type of event is an excellent lead generator for your school, so you should use Facebook to target people in your area who are interested in martial arts or self-defense. That way, your reach will be far beyond your students who already know about your academy.

Of course, you’ll also want to send event details to your students through an email or your newsletter, post flyers around your academy and send invitations to schools and businesses in your area. You can also create a Facebook event, post about your seminar in online communities like Nextdoor and ask your staff to help spread the word. 

Convert Leads After the Event

Consider making the most of the leads you collect by offering your seminar attendees an introductory membership special or a complimentary gear package with the signing of a contract. And be sure to nurture leads that don’t convert right away with automated emails from your martial arts software.

Hosting a self-defense seminar provides a service to your community while generating leads and awareness for your school. If you’re interested in learning about other events you can host, check out this blog post.