How to get more guitar students [3 foolproof methods]

You're a great guitar teacher with an awesome teaching method - you might even have a nifty little YouTube channel that has some of the best tutorials out there.

But being great, and having a booked out guitar teaching studio are two different things.

When I launched my first guitar teaching studio in 2001 (yep, no spring chicken here when it comes to coaching businesses) I remember saying the same thing over and over again; "if I could JUST get a few more students..."

But every new student I found there seemed to be natural attrition in my older client base who were ready to step out of lessons and hit the stage or recording studio in the polished state my teaching had nurtured them towards achieving.

One in, one out.

But even when I did manage to get more students and a full studio - there was always someone that would cancel last minute, or reschedule to another day, and my booking calendar would once again look like swiss cheese.

Cancellations, reschedules and no shows were really killing my business more than anything - but even finding those students in the first place was a complete shit-fight.

If you're in the same position where you're struggling to find enough students to keep the lights on in your coaching studio - I'm about to show you how to get more guitar students than you can poke a stick at, and actually KEEP them while making a massive impact in their growth as guitarists.

Your students are going to kick more ass than ever before, and you're going to be booked out months in advance with all the students you're about to find.

Now, first up - let's talk about "why" you want more guitar students.

More is not necessarily better.

BETTER is really better.

If we're talking pure finances - you're doing 30 guitar lessons a week but you're just not reaching your financial goals, then you don't need more students, you need a better business model.

We'll talk about that in a moment.

But first, let's get more students than you can handle.

Now, what exactly is it that you do?

Teach guitar, right?

Flamenco? Metal? Classical? Shredding? Blues? 

Let's say for a moment that you're a metal guitar teacher that teachers shredding and crazy lead guitar licks.

I hate to say it, but shredders are a dime a dozen.

What possible reason does a budding guitar student have to come and work with you?

Especially if you're charging in the $100+ an hour type range I'm sure you're charging.

There's a guy at their local mall that can teach them how to play the Stairway to Heaven or any pick of Metallica solos for $20.

So why should they come and work with you?

Especially as a beginner.

Surely what they learn from Stairway to Heaven will translate into Metallica solos, and eventually into the modern shredding metal they really want to play...

That's a genuine question.

WHY should they work with you instead of the guy that does it for 80 bucks cheaper than you and seems like he can play lead guitar pretty well?

Basically, you're in a crowded space with tons of other guitar teachers that likely lack your expertise - but do what you're doing at a quarter of the cost.

The first step to working with more students, is to find out exactly WHO your students really are.

Not your current students, but your future students.

Who can you serve as a guitar teacher better than any other guitar teacher could even hope to serve and help them?

THAT's who your people are - and it's who you need to reach with your marketing and advertising, and it's ultimately who you need to create content for.

Who gives a shit if someone wants to learn three chord country songs is put off by the heavy metal shredding examples and tutorials you offer - what you're actually looking for is the RIGHT students, not necessarily MORE students.

Tell your story.

Tell them how you took guitar lessons for years and years and actually still sucked.

It's embarrassing, I know.

But look at you now, right?

This story is part of your DNA and you absolutely must share it, as painful as it may seem.

You see, your student base isn't actually heavy metal guitarists.

It's heavy metal guitarists who have taken guitar lessons before, or taken guitar courses before - and they didn't get the results they were looking for.

They're disappointed, they still can't play any songs they like, they feel like giving up - and they just found YOU sharing your story about how you went through exactly the same thing, how frustrated you were and how you almost gave up...

... but look at you now.

You're a pillar of excellence as a guitarist, and your whole method is designed from the perspective of someone who tried the traditional approaches but just didn't get the results you were looking for.

So you created your own proven method that skips the bullshit and gets right to the heart of what it takes to become a great guitarist in a practical and interactive program.

That guitarist who wants to play Iron Maiden solos but feels like giving up because they didn't get any results after taking lessons for three years will have absolutely no EXCUSE not to come and work with you.

You're their people - and they're going to be DESPERATE to work with you and achieve those results we all know you can promise and provide them.

So #1 we've found our ideal students and started speaking to them through our content.

And #2 instead of offering weekly lessons at an hourly rate, you're now offering a PROGRAM that is guaranteed, personalised and yes - requires more skin in the game because it's $2500

So what's #3 going to be?

Value.

That's right - we're offering better VALUE than anyone else out there, along with our super streamlined message.

And your prospects simply won't be able to resist - you're going to tick every box that they could even need in a guitar teacher.

Sure, they can go to the $30 guy in the strip mall and waste their time.

Or, they can work with the REAL DEAL and get proven results with a tailored program designed exactly for them with more value than they can poke a stick at.

Now, when we talk value, I'm not talking discounts and codes.

I'm talking about your content first, but also the program you're offering.

It's simple, make better, more helpful, more valuable content than others and you'll get more students than you can poke a stick at.

When it comes to adding value to your program itself, maybe it's a special tool that helps your students map out their guitar solos or keys, maybe it's a unique community of top notch guitarists you've worked with, maybe it's online modules, credits to send you an audio clip each week for advice and appraisal.

True value that actually provides the results they're looking for.

And have you noticed I haven't mentioned hourly rate or even hour lessons yet?

That's because you're not going to do them.

When you price your program, you need to price for results and value - not your time.

And when you offer TIME as part of your program, it needs to be for a valuable and quantified reason - no "3 x hour lessons" or packages, we're talking real reasons to meet with your students; the program really provides all the nurturing and training they need, and time with you is a cherry on top for you to flex your true expertise.

An appraisal session, a troubleshooting Q/A session, a live performance exam - these are valid reasons to meet with your students one on one as you're flexing your real skills rather than going over chords or how to hold a guitar pick.

The second you start talking about hourly rate, people's brains immediately go to the first job they ever had where they worked their ass of for their first boss - packing boxes or driving a forklift for $12.50 an hour.

And here you are playing guitar and asking for $200 an hour.

No chance, son!

Results and the cost that these results attract, along with the value that this program provides - that's where this program really shines.

If you're looking for more students - your first question really needs to be WHY are you looking for more students, and if it's a financial reason, this is simply the wrong question.

The first question you need to ask is "who actually ARE my students?, the second question will then be "how can I provide more value to my students?" and finally "what is that value and those results going to cost?"

In fact, you can probably scratch those three questions and ask one question in it's place - "why aren't I reaching my financial goals?" and the answer definitely isn't going to be the amount of students you're working with, the real answer is going to be that the hourly-lesson business model is letting you down.

Apply these changes to your coaching studio and you'll have more students than you can poke a stick at, and you'll double your profits as a teacher while also making a massive IMPACT with your students as they go out there and kick ass like never before.

Now, it's one thing to speak to your idea student - but where does all this content actually come from?

You're not an influencer after all, you're a teacher.

The 1-10 content method that I use creates a whole week of juicy content from one initial piece of content. Four videos, four blogs, four emails or four tutorials would cover a whole MONTH of daily content for your fans and followers using the Family Tree Content System I'm about to share with you.

Click below to learn how the Family Tree Content System has given me my time back for actual teaching instead of spending my whole day creating content.