Starting Your Pole Business Journey

These recommendations are from Body By Frans’s  webinar ”Pole Biz Basics with Body by Fran” held on December 9, 2022.  Members can view the entire webinar at this link. 

Find Your Niche

There are a lot of pole programs out there. While being a generalist is helpful in the studio, when presenting your offerings online, narrow your focus to your ideal student.

What is the problem you are trying to solve? Call out that problem, then offer the solution. Your ideal client is often a past version of yourself. What things do you wish you had known earlier in your pole journey? How are you presenting them to up and coming polers?

As you present solutions to common pole problems, be sure you are collecting data from your audience. Invite people to sign up for an email newsletter or something direct to their inbox. In business speak, these are called “warm leads,” the people who actively said they want to be a part of your system. Speaking of which…

Importance of Email Marketing

Followers and likes on social media don’t directly equal sales. 

Social media is a useful tunnel to direct people to your website or email list, but it’s not the endpoint. Social media sites can go down without warning, changes in the algorithm or faulty AI can get your account banned–especially poorly trained AI looking for sexual content that comes across anything pole-related.

Having a way to reach your followers if social media becomes unavailable is key. You can start with a monthly newsletter that gives your audience updates on your offerings, and also use your list for email campaigns when you have special events like workshops coming up.

Read more about building your email list here.

Lead Magnets

Lead magnets are a powerful tool in business. They are a freebie you give away in exchange for someone’s email address/signing up for your mailing list. The client can unsubscribe at any time, but they also get a taste of what you are like as a coach, performer, or studio. Your freebie should align with your niche and provide genuine value.

Read more about creating a drip marketing campaign here.

Selling Online Without Being Salesy

The only way people will know what you are offering is if you tell them. If people get annoyed by how much you’re posting, that’s their problem and they can unsubscribe from your feed or newsletter. It’s not being “salesy” to let people know what you have to offer.

Interest Lists and Waitlists

People may express interest in your class or workshop but not be able to make it at the scheduled time. One way to maximize signups is to generate interest lists and waitlists. When you send out your newsletter, make announcements about upcoming events and have a separate list people can sign up for to indicate interest in the special event.  Once again, these are “warm leads” because they had to actively do something to get on your list. Making a social media post and saying “DM if interested!” is not the most effective way of gathering leads.

Your Action Items

Ready to start or improve your pole business marketing? Here are your action items:

1. Define your niche: What specific problem do you solve better than anyone else?
2. Start collecting emails: Set up a simple system and begin building your list today
3. Create your first lead magnet: Develop one valuable free resource that attracts your ideal clients
4. Plan your content: Map out 2-3 weeks of social media posts that speak to your niche’s struggles

With these steps, you’ll be catching new leads in no time!