Tuesday, March 14, 2023 by Gemma Wilkins | Resources

Making merchandise can be an excellent upsell option in studios, and another way to make an income stream. 

Dropshipping rise

Dropshipping has become a popular way for to start selling merchandise without the need for inventory, shipping, or handling customer service. Simply put, dropshipping is a retail fulfillment method where the seller doesn't hold inventory but instead transfers the customer's order and shipment details to the manufacturer or a wholesaler, who then ships the goods directly to the customer. 

Online business without the inventory

This means that using the right resources you can sell products without ever needing to physically handle them. The process is simple: you find products to sell, list them on your store or promote them through a selling page, and when a customer places an order, you forward it to the supplier who ships it directly to the customer. With the right tools and resources, dropshipping can be an easy and lucrative way to start an online business.

Customise and increase your branding presence

Merchandise is a powerful tool that can help build hype and excitement for recitals. By creating custom merchandise such as t-shirts, stickers, or tote bags with the name and date of the recital, students and their families can proudly show their support and spread the word about the event. Not only does this create a sense of community and unity among the performers and audience, but it also provides a lasting memory of the recital. Merchandise can also serve as a source of revenue for the studio, as students and their families are often eager to purchase items to commemorate the event. By incorporating merchandise into the marketing strategy for a recital, studio owners can create buzz and generate excitement, ultimately leading to a successful and memorable event.

Model what other industries are doing

I only considered increasing my merchandise offerings after going to a few dance concerts for my daughter. Every concert there were tees, toys, activity books, drink bottles, clothing, accessories to buy as mementos for the concert. They built hype, they create memories and even better they BOOST  supplementary income. Instead of trying to create something from scratch it can be quite quick to sign up to an integrated site, create a number of products and offer them for sale.

Expand your geographical reach

Using this method for creating merchandise makes it easy to reach students or viewers in different locations and can help expand your audience beyond just your local area. To ensure that your customers receive their orders in a timely manner, it's important to choose reliable and efficient suppliers. Look for suppliers with a proven track record of fast and reliable shipping and good customer service. By partnering with the right suppliers, you can provide your students or viewers with high-quality products without the hassle of handling shipping and fulfillment yourself. 

I go over in more detail my preferred provider in my ebook, which is free to download here. 

Other considerations

Before you dive into dropshipping, it's important to carefully consider a few key factors. First and foremost, you need to identify a product category that has a strong demand and good profit margins. Conduct market research to understand what products are currently popular and what your potential customers are looking for. Then you'll need to choose a reliable and trustworthy supplier that can provide high-quality products and fast shipping. It's also important to factor in the costs associated with running a dropshipping business, such as marketing and advertising expenses, website hosting and design costs, and any fees associated with your chosen e-commerce platform. Finally, you'll need to consider the time and effort required to manage your dropshipping business, such as processing orders, responding to customer inquiries, managing product listings. By carefully considering these factors before you start, you'll be better equipped to create a successful and profitable dropshipping business.

Sunday, March 5, 2023 by Gemma Wilkins | Digital Marketing

Automate your repetitive tasks

Automation tools can benefit a music studio business in a number of ways. Firstly, they can save time and streamline processes by automating tasks like scheduling, invoicing, and lesson reminders. This can help studio owners and staff focus on more high-value tasks like teaching and student engagement.

Let go of some mental load

My brain can be very busy. In there I am the keeper of all the appointments and schedules for myself and my children, the planner of meals, did I remember to fuel the car? How much milk is left? Which company do I have affiliate links with again?

It can be really easy to sign up to a zillion sites and program and COMPLETELY forget which is what. 

Automate to liberate AND get $$

Luckily, automations can save the day, and below I will talk through a way to monetise onboarding a new student and add potential to gain income on top of their lesson fee. (Disclaimer: This post does include affiliate links and if you were to purchase one my recommendations I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. The full privacy policy is here.)

1. If you don't already have one, sign up for an autoresponder (I prefer Mailerlite). 

2. Look at emails that you create that are repetitive and manually laborious in nature. Consider create an onboarding automation (pst. there are GREAT onboarding tutorials inside the Vibrant Music Teaching community, with email templates you can tweak)

3. Now alongside your automations, think of products new students or prospective students would be likely to buy as part of their new learning journey, research products that pay commissions to you for referrals. Sign up where relevant.

4. Include links to those products INSIDE the automation emails. Guide them to it, make it easy. Remember this is NO EXTRA COST to the consumer... but a nice bonus for you.

5. Use this automation EVERY time you get a new student

Once you add automations to your studio they can continually grow and evolve as you find what works.

Now, I learnt everything about this by doing a very useful marketing course, you can find more details about starting over on my beginners guide to affiliate marketing here

Be sure to follow me on Facebook, Instagram or Tiktok if you want to learn more.

Thursday, March 2, 2023 by Gemma Wilkins | Digital Marketing

The Overwhelmingly huge array of options

Affiliate marketing can be a great way for music teachers to earn some extra income while promoting products or services they believe in. But with so many options out there, it can be overwhelming to know where to start. 

Tips to reign in your research

Here are some tips on how to find music products to promote as an affiliate:

• Look for products or services that align with your niche. If you specialize in teaching guitar, for example, you may want to look for products like guitar strings, picks, or instructional videos.

• Check out online marketplaces like Amazon. These sites have a wide variety of music-related products, from instruments to sheet music to accessories.

• Search for music-related affiliate programs on Google. You can use keywords like "music affiliate programs" or "guitar affiliate programs" to find relevant programs to join.

• Ask your followers what products they're interested in. You can do this through a survey or by simply asking for feedback on your social media channels. This can help you tailor your affiliate marketing strategy to your audience's needs.

• Attend music industry events and trade shows. These events can be a great way to network with other music professionals and learn about new products or services in the industry.

• Reach out to music companies directly. If there's a product or service you're particularly passionate about, consider contacting the company directly to see if they offer an affiliate program.

• Check out music blogs and websites. These sites often have affiliate programs of their own, and can also be a good source of inspiration for the types of products or services to promote.

• Keep an eye on social media trends. Pay attention to what's popular among musicians and music lovers on platforms like Instagram and TikTok, and consider promoting products or services that are in line with these trends.

• Use affiliate networks like Clickbank or Thrivecart. These networks connect affiliates with a wide variety of advertisers and make it easy to find relevant products to promote.

• Don't be afraid to get creative! Think outside the box and consider promoting products or services that may not be immediately obvious. For example, you could promote an app that helps musicians tune their instruments or a service that provides music transcription.
  
  

First step to searching for options

So before you go, let's do a very quick activity so you can see HOW many choices there are to support music teachers.

We're going to go to google and type: Music Product Affiliate Program

There should be about... 79,400,000 results

Any of these results may show you something you already use and recommend for free.

If you chose to, you could choose any of those suggestions, request to be an affiliate and receive your link, and then strategize on how you can then drive customers to it.

Learn more nitty gritty about maximising commissions here
In the mean time, if you now want to learn MORE about setting up a stream of income using affiliate programs then take a look at my Side Gigs for Music Teachers Ebook, which details exactly how I got started. 

The sooner you do, the sooner you'll understand how this method can add income to your studio

You won't regret it, I promise. Happy Selling

Thursday, February 2, 2023 by Gemma Wilkins | Digital Marketing

Defined

If you're a blogger, social media influencer, or online content creator, you've probably heard the term "affiliate marketing" or "freelance digital marketing" thrown around.But what is it exactly, and how can you get started? At its core, affiliate marketing is a type of marketing where you promote someone else's product or service and earn a commission on any sales you help generate. 

This means that you can make money by simply recommending products or services to your audience. In this blog post, we'll dive into the basics of affiliate marketing and how you can get started as a beginner.

What happens first

The first step in affiliate marketing is to find a product or service to promote. This can be anything from physical products like clothing and gadgets, to digital products like software and e-books. Once you've found a product or service that aligns with your audience and niche, you'll need to join the affiliate program for that product. 

Most companies have an affiliate program that you can sign up for, which will provide you with a unique link or code to share with your audience. When someone clicks on your affiliate link and makes a purchase, you'll earn a commission on that sale.

 % of commission that is reasonable

The amount of commission you earn can vary depending on the company and product, but it's usually a percentage of the sale price. For physical products, commissions are typically in the 5-15% range, while for digital products, commissions can be as high as 50% or more. It's important to note that you'll need to disclose to your audience that you're promoting an affiliate product, as this is required by law in most countries. (My disclosure is available here)

Using free channels to promote

There are a few different ways to promote affiliate products, but one of the most common is through content marketing. This means creating content like blog posts, social media posts, or videos that promote the product or service. You can also use email marketing or paid advertising to promote affiliate products. The key is to create content that provides value to your audience while also promoting the product in a natural and authentic way.

Low start up costs, low risk

One of the biggest benefits of affiliate marketing is that it's a low-risk way to make money online. You don't need to create your own product, handle customer service, or deal with inventory. Instead, you can focus on creating great content and promoting products that you believe in. As you build your audience and reputation as an affiliate marketer, you can earn a steady stream of passive income.

In summary, affiliate marketing is a type of marketing where you promote someone else's product or service and earn a commission on any sales you help generate. To get started, you'll need to find a product or service to promote, join the affiliate program, and create content to promote the product to your audience. While it can take time and effort to build a successful affiliate marketing business, it can be a great way to make money online and provide value to your audience at the same time.

More start up tips here

If you have any interest in learning how to start, my free beginners guide may be for you.