Hello!
I have taught piano for a long time now, with a minimal amount of students. I am not a very aggressive person that way, and was wondering what you all did in order to attract them. I thought it would make an interesting topic of discussion.

I would suggest you post on craigslist and also check out wyzant.com,a mentoring site.

Thank you. I will look into that tomorrow! Have you done this? Has it worked for you?

Hi,

You should design some leaflets and do a leaflet drop and also maybe think about getting your name added to a teaching website near to where you live.

Just put on what you teach your qualifications e.t.c.

I have a friend whose parents own a restaurant. When I first started teaching 15 years ago, she told me that when her parents advertised for their new restaurant, for every 100 people who would see the restaurant ad, 1 person would decide to come try the new restaurant.

I took that approach when looking for new students and found that it works. So if you want 5 new students, you need to figure out the best way for about 500 people to learn that you exist. Certainly there is always the "word of mouth" aspect of some new students getting your name from your existing students, but the far larger aspect is how to attract the average person who is looking to start lessons as a beginner and knows neither of any piano teacher nor of anyone who is currently in lessons. You need to think like this person would think.

Fifteen years ago, when the internet was less expanse, it was a matter of printing flyers and going door to door to mailboxes in order to let everyone in your neighbourhood know that you are open for business. Delivering 500 flyers would take a couple of afternoons and a lot of energy.

But you are lucky because nowadays, the first thing that modern people do is to go to Google and type in the name of their city as well as "piano lessons" or "piano teacher". Try it and see what happens. If you are in North America, I am thinking the first site that might come up could be Kijiji, which is free anyway! But remember not to expect so much as one call until at least 100 people have viewed the ad.

Not really, but each person is different.
Try it for yourself and see.

Quite honestly, if not somewhat pessimistically, maybe it has more to do with less young folks desiring piano lessons nowadays compared to what the market used to be even a mere decade ago.

Intriguing topic... Interest in piano lessons has steadily been decreasing throughout the 20th century. Historically, before TVs, music consoles, radios, record players, the piano was the major form of domestic entertainment, as there was always at least one family member who could play. In the 1960s, there was an electronic explosion of TVs, shows, and music consoles that competed for the entertainment venue. During this time, education also started to undergo major liberal reforms in terms of curriculum, class time, sports, after school activities, etc.; The workplace slowly began to accelerate faster and faster into the 21th century, placing a time burden on parents to reinforce music education; I could go on as there are numerous cultural changes have competed for the piano lesson initiative, both from parents, children, and the times.

Fast forward to 2010, you're now competing with the internet, cell phone/texting all day, ipods, electronic pocket games, Playstation/Wii, broken families, and worse you have some parents that are as clueless as their children. All this and more is working against you. Especially with the economy now, everybody is so overwhelmed that you have to get creative with your approach... But, there is still hope as I am an optimist! Here are some ideas.

My recommendation to increase the awareness in others in a professional, marketable, and classy way.
1. As in my practice, 75% of all growth is due to word of mouth.
2. Let your current students/parents know that you accept new students, offer flexible hours, etc.
3. Expose your students in recitals, local community, and in schools.
4. Do an "Open House," "Reception," or "Meet and Greet" with prospective parents in the area.
5. Place an add in town paper, Craigslist, church bulletins, preferably in an affluent area.
6. Advertise in concert programs. There are numerous church choirs, choruses, orchestras, ensembles, etc. that promote ads. Don't underestimate this one. You're reaching a musical audience here right after someone has attended a concert and they're charged up and eager, and want their own kids to learn piano.
7. Target communities with strong education systems and schools.
8. Partner with other musicians - violinists, woodwind, percussion, brass instructors to widen your exposure and reach.
9. Offer conveniences in terms of location, public transportation, visibility, parking.
10. Start early, send educational pamphlets to day care centers letting caretakers and parents know the value of musical education.
11. Write articles in the local newspaper about the value of music, or musical topics of interest, etc. Create exposure for yourself.

Of course, I have a soft spot for fellow musicians - I'd like to see every music teacher or musician be as successful as they can be!
... It's almost midnight, I gotta go, but Good Luck!