The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast
162: Fill Your Yoga Workshop with Mado Hesselink
Description:
Have you ever struggled to put on a yoga workshop? Maybe you’re hesitant to put on a yoga workshop because you’re worried about how to fill it. Perhaps you're excited to offer a workshop and just want to get started. Mado Hesselink, repeat guest on the podcast, is just the person with the insights on this topic.
Mado Hesselink has been teaching yoga since 2005, and training yoga teachers since 2010. She is the creator of Yoga Teacher Resource, and host of the Yoga Teacher Resource Podcast. Her focus is the places where business and yoga principles overlap, so that yoga teachers make a bigger impact with their teaching, and her mission is to help yoga teachers stay true to their values as they create their own definition of success.
We may have toyed with the idea of teaching a yoga workshop, or attended a workshop ourselves that has inspired us to create our own, but it can be tricky to know when we're ready to teach a workshop. Mado shares more about the four categories of workshops and how to know if people are going to sign up for the workshop. Mado explains how to choose a workshop topic and title that will get people to sign up, her advice for yoga teachers scrambling to fill their workshops, and what we need to focus on to run a successful and effective workshop.
Workshops can be a fun and engaging way to connect with our students on a different level beyond just a yoga class - Mado has insights about how to make the most of it for everyone!
Key Takeaways:
[7:19] Shannon introduces her guest for this episode - Mado Hesselink.
[9:06] Why would yoga teachers even want to teach workshops?
[11:42] Depending on how you market the workshop, the perceived value can be a lot higher than a class that's more general and not marketed to a specific audience.
[13:31] Workshops helps deepen your connection with your most dedicated students.
[14:55] How can yoga teachers tell if they are ready to lead a workshop?
[17:25] What are some workshops that work really well? Mado highlights four that work really well - the Intro workshops, the 'Yoga +' workshops, the Deep Dives and the Experience / Celebration workshops.
[21:50] Shannon and Mado discuss which category Shannon's workshop falls into.
[22:36] How can we choose the topic for our workshops and determine what the title should be?
[26:54] How can we fill our yoga workshop and ensure that it works?
[30:12] What can you do if you take all the right steps and your workshop still doesn't fill?
[34:00] What are some other tips Mado has for yoga teachers trying to market their yoga workshop.
[39:19] Mado shares some tips for yoga teachers who are scrambling to fill their yoga workshops, and for people who want to call it quits after a 'failed' attempt.
[42:45] What does Mado have to say to yoga teachers who think that they 'really, really need to' fill a workshop?
[44:36] Mado shares more about her course for filling yoga workshops.
[46:21] Mado has a list of 100 yoga class themes and 100 yoga workshop ideas available.
[47:32] Mado leaves us with some final thoughts about workshops.
[48:52] What were your biggest takeaways? Shannon shares what has really impacted her from this interview.
Links:
Gratitude to our Sponsor Schedulicity
Quotes from this episode:
"We need to really switch our mindset in this time. Instead of thinking 'can I offer this online?' to switching to 'how can I offer this online?'." - Shannon
"If you hit on a topic that really resonates with the people that you're trying to teach, it can end up being a lot more per hour." - Mado
"Depending on how you market the workshop, the perceived value can be a lot higher than a class that's more general and not marketed to a specific audience?" - Mado
"Not every single person who would benefit from your workshop, not every single person who fits into your target audience is going to be able to attend." - Mado
"You have to go back to who is this for, and where do they spend their time?" - Mado