Whether you are a studio teacher or an orchestra director, recruiting students is going to be a big part of your job as a music educator. Developing this skill early on will help you be secure and confident at your job.
If you are a new music teacher you may be wondering, where do I start?
Check out bigger programs and studios in your area! Talk to these teachers and see what they are doing. You may find out that these educators are constantly working on recruiting and they are very active in being visible and developing a community. Their success in numbers may be simply a matter of time on the job. But in most cases they do different things that encourage students more than other teachers. Catching on these little secrets and especially seeing it in action in your own community an be very helpful to a new teachers.
Always over-recruit. There are always students who change their minds, move to different schools, etc. This is why it is always better to recruit just a few more students in your music studio or program that you think you need. Having a few extra students is better than not having enough.
Substitute the word recruitment with encouragement! Then make that a priority in all of your lessons throughout the year! Recruitment and retention go hand in hand. Making all families in your program happy and engaged is the key to success in having a big music studio or school music program. It will ensure that that your students stay in the program. It will also provide the “word of mouth” you need in order to get new students. It is only then you will have a huge program and recruiting will not be a problem to you.
Prepare for all recruiting sessions! See detailed post and advice here
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