Whether you’re newly qualified or you’ve just noticed with increasing alarm that running yoga classes nowadays seems to need a heck of a lot of tech… chances are you’ve felt a little bit of panic about how to navigate this crazy digital world! As a yoga teacher, your passion lies in helping your students —certainly not in navigating complicated tech tools! If you’re not naturally tech-savvy (which 90% of yoga teachers tell me they are!), marketing your classes and growing your business can feel very daunting. But don’t worry! Let’s see if we can demystify this a little bit.

Before we get into the tools, I ALWAYS start with encouraging you to be able to answer the fundemental questions:

What do you offer?

Who is it for?

What makes you special / unique / your passion?

If you’re struggling with these, marketing is always going to feel like an uphill battle. I suggest you download the Value Proposition Workbook and spend a bit of time pondering these areas.

Okay, now we can get into it….Here are five beginner-friendly tech tips to help you with your marketing and grow your yoga business with confidence.

1. Simplify Your Website

By far and away the most enquiries I get are based around website challenges. I have tons of blogs on this area if you want to dive more into the topic

Yes you need a website. Relying on traffic from social media likely won’t help you grow where you want to be. A website serves many functions and I would strongly recommend you have one. But it doesn’t need to be a complex or expensive website to attract students. A simple, easy-to-navigate site is often more effective. Here’s what your website really needs:

• Home Page: A welcoming introduction, and a clear explanation of who you are and what you offer.

• Schedule: Make it easy for students to find your class times and book online, and crucially where are classes located.

• Service Pages: These need to target keywords of what your customers would search for (only one per page)

• Contact Info: Include your email address or phone number so students can easily reach you. An email sign up is helpful too.

Tip: Use platforms like Wix or Squarespace that offer drag-and-drop functionality, so you don’t need to know anything about coding! There are two main costs to consider whichever direction you go in. Cost for the domain (eg. santoshamarketing.co.uk) AND the hosting of the website by a software (eg Squarespace/Wix).

2. Get Comfortable with Zoom or a Class Streaming Platform

If you’re teaching online classes, it’s worth investing time in learning a video streaming platform. Zoom is widely used, but other platforms like Google Meet or Vimeo work well too. Here’s a basic setup:

• Camera and Lighting: A laptop with a decent camera and natural light can do wonders for your class quality.

• Microphone: Make sure students can hear you clearly by using a simple clip-on mic or wireless earbuds.

• Practice: Schedule a test run with a friend or colleague to ensure you feel confident before going live.

Tip: Record your sessions and offer them as on-demand classes for students who can’t attend live.

3. Use Canva to Create a Consistent Brand on Social Media

Social media is an important way to communicate with potential new students and engage your current ones. Using Canva, a free and easy-to-use design website, can help you create eye-catching, on-brand posts with no design experience needed.

• Branding: Set up your brand colours, fonts, and logos in Canva’s "Brand Kit" so you can easily maintain consistency in all your posts. Canva have loads of help pages on this if you’re starting completely from the beginning.

• Templates: Use Canva’s pre-designed templates for Instagram, Facebook, and other social platforms. This helps keep your posts looking professional and saves time.

• Local Area Hashtags: Don’t forget to use local hashtags to increase your visibility. For example, if you’re a yoga teacher in Manchester, use tags like #ManchesterYoga but also look at non-yoga geographic ones like #ManchesterLife #ManchesterMums - do a bit of research.

Tip: Canva allows you to save and reuse designs, making it easy to create and update content regularly. They have a free plan but you may need to upgrade if you want full access to all features.

4. Use Email Marketing to Stay Connected with Students

Email marketing is one of the most effective ways to communicate with your students, and it’s simpler than you might think. Here’s how to get started:

• Choose a User-Friendly Platform: Mailchimp or MailerLite are both easy to use and perfect for creating beautiful emails without needing tech skills. You might even be able to use your website platform if you want to keep it all in one place.

• Start Small: Focus on sending a monthly or weekly newsletter. Share your class schedule, any special events, and offer tips for practising yoga at home.

• Automate Welcome Emails: Set up an automated email to welcome new students when they sign up for your classes. Note some platforms charge for automations, if you have a small number signing up you could always do this manually if you’re really budgeting.

Tip: Don’t hesitate to ask your students to join your mailing list. It’s a great way to keep them informed and engaged!

5. Keep It Simple with Booking & Payment Processing

Taking payments for your classes should be easy for both you and your students. Here are a few user-friendly options:

• Booking Systems: Use a system like Bookwhen/ Acuity/ Momoyoga / Momence to handle bookings and payments in one go, which reduces your admin time. I have a checklist on this area if you need additional help deciding.

Whichever booking system you go with, they all use some sort of payment processing platform, you pay a small transaction fee here. This should be displayed clearly on their website (eg PayPal, Stripe)

Tip: Make sure your payment options are clearly displayed on your website and in your email marketing to make it easy for students to book and pay for classes. Make your policies clear regarding cancellations and transfers. And make sure you’ve gone through your booking system as a customer to make sure it’s easy to use.

Final Thoughts

Technology doesn’t need to be complicated or intimidating. By using a few simple tools and systems, you can save time, attract more students, and feel more confident in your marketing efforts. Start small—choose just one tip from this list to try today, and you’ll soon see how tech can actually make your life as a yoga teacher easier. The only way it will get easier is with constant practice. You weren’t born doing a warrior two… you practiced it a lot!!

Remember, you’ve got this!