If You Haven’t Started Posting Promotional Videos, What Are You Waiting For?

by Cris Rodriguez

I can remember every time my parents left the house to run errands in the early 1990s. I would run over to the television, turn on MTV and watch music videos — this was back when they actually played music videos.

Between commercials, MTV often would play a clip from the song Video Killed the Radio Star, by The Buggles. The song reminds us that “We can’t rewind, we’ve gone too far; video killed the radio star.”

Video — along with the vehicle on which we watch it, the smartphone — has killed a lot more than just the radio. The ubiquitous smartphone has replaced the following, just to name a few:

• Cameras
• Photo albums
• Televisions
• Paper maps
• Books
• Laptops
• Video-game consoles

The smartphone has changed how we communicate, how we date, and how we conduct our relationships and friendships. And we are addicted. Americans spend an average of...

Much of the Martial Arts Community Has Transitioned to Online Instruction — Here’s What You Need to Do to Keep Your Local Students From Going Virtual

by Cris Rodriguez

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent; it is the one most adaptable to change.”

— Charles Darwin

Change. Adapt. Pivot. Adjust. Modify. Revise. Develop. INNOVATE.

These are words often used to describe what we martial arts school owners were forced to do last year as a result of COVID-19 and the lockdowns that ensued.

While many of our peers now regard 2020 as their worst year ever, I prefer to view it as a great opportunity for growth. For me, it was the year I realized how tough I truly am. It was the year I watched my team step up. It was the year I discovered how strong the martial arts community really is.

It was also the year I learned that teaching punches and kicks and armbars and chokes isn’t enough. It’s about...

Let’s face it, online advertising works awesome, but it costs money. 

It’s a pay-to-play platform. 

And it’s one that requires skills and strategy — two things that many martial arts school owners have when they are on the mat — but put them in front of the Facebook Ads Manager, and they are tying on a white belt. 

When times are tough and your marketing budget is low, leaders adapt and overcome. 

And while paid advertising is the fastest way to gain new students, it’s not the only way. 

Smart school owners leverage the power of Social Media and the Internet every single day. 

And while you might not have a large marketing budget, that doesn’t mean you are out for the count. 

This is why I put together 7 ways for you to reach your audience online…for free. 

That’s right. 

These techniques and strategies won’t cost you a dime. 

So what’s the catch? 

It will cost...

Being that this is a very male-dominated industry, sometimes more vulnerable topics don’t often get spoken about.

Let me preface this by saying that I don’t have a degree in psychology, and I am definitely not a psychiatrist.

But stress and anxiety often go hand-in-hand with owning a small business, especially with the past year and a half that we've gone through.

So I wanted to share my mantra for when I am feeling anxious.

And that is: Action Alleviates Anxiety

I have been through quite a lot in my 10 years of being an entrepreneur.

And 2015 was almost the year that broke me.

First, I was audited by the IRS.

It was almost an entire year of having my accountant on speed dial, my employees being interviewed, and every financial document in my business under a
microscope.

I took action and made sure that my accountant and auditor had everything they needed at the exact time they needed it.

You’ll never believe what the final resolution...

They say you are the culmination of the people you spend the most time with.

Well what kind of outcome do you think would occur if you hung out with these all-stars:

Chatri Sityodtong
Brent Gleeson
Robert Teschner
Frank Silverman
Cris Rodriguez
Mike Metzger
Shane Tassoul
Kelly Murray Gry
Eric Santamaria
Abid Benwali
Nick Peterman

Leveling up your inner circle is a sure-fire game plan to leveling up your life.
And the above list of all-stars are coming straight to your computer with the Martial Arts Industry’s biggest training and education event: The 2021 Martial Arts Super Show.

While in-person events are my personal favorite, with the pandemic and Nevada’s
restrictions, we had to go virtual for one more year.

What does this mean for you?

A super affordable Martial Arts Super Show with an amazing speaker line up!

After a year of running online classes, most of you are Zoom Wizards, but I wanted to share some tips to get the most out of our 2021 Super Show and...

When looking back on 2020, there were so many lessons that were learned.

My mantra during Covid was pretty simple:

After every recession - there is a rebound.
After every recession - there IS a rebound.
After every recession - there IS a REBOUND.

And that’s where we are today. Many of you have your schools opened — some of
you with restrictions — and then there are places like Florida where we have absolutely no restrictions in our academy.

And it’s time to rebuild.
It’s time to RECRUIT.

Which means it’s time to go pedal to the metal with getting your school back to pre-COVID numbers and beyond. Which is what brings me to this blog today.

One of the things I missed most during 2020 was live events.  While virtual events like the Super Show and my 8-Hour Marketing Mastermind Course were amazing, there is nothing like being there in person.

Now that the pandemic is slowing down here in the states, we are seeing more live
events...

What do you think of when you hear the word "summer"?

• Do you think of traveling?
• Vacations?
• Time at the beach or the pool?

Unfortunately for some school owners, when they hear the word summer, they think:

• Low revenue
• Tons of freezes
• Empty mats

If that’s you, this blog was perfectly crafted with you in mind.

When I first started working with Mr. Metzger, he taught me some marketing gold.

He said, “There are 3 times a year in your school where you have to increase your
marketing efforts."

Those times are:

• Going into summer
• Coming out of summer
• And going into the new year

Why is it you might ask that those 3 specific times are when you should go pedal to the metal with your marketing?

It’s because during those times, people are making transitions that affect their day-to-day lives.

When it’s summer time, school is ending, vacation time is taken, new activities are booked, and our typical...

When we first started martial arts, we never thought we would be where we are: full-fledged entrepreneurs making an impact on our communities. But here we are!

Many of us had to learn on-the-fly how to run a business. We spent long nights trying to figure out how to grow our schools into businesses.

Sometimes, we were moving so fast we barely knew what we knew, or more importantly — what we didn’t.

Do you know what a lead is? Truly? We know we want them, but what is the difference between a lead, a prospect, or a customer?

That’s why I want to stop and take a second to slow down and really talk about it.

Let’s start with the basics: your Customer Journey

[See video above] 

Lead

Before your prospect is — well — a prospect, they are a lead. A lead is someone who has a one-way interaction with your school or your brand.

During this stage of the Customer Journey, your Lead will be determining if they are interested or not and will likely need...

While 2020 wasn’t the year we asked for, we have to lean in on the positives that came out of it.

I can think of 5 really great things that came out of 2020 that I’d like to share with you.

First, as an Industry, we became more tech savvy.

Prior to COVID shutting down our schools, many school owners weren’t the most “tech savvy” individuals.

Having our brick and mortar businesses shut down forced us to think outside of the box and learn new skills.

Most schools pivoted to online classes which required them to learn new technologies such as Zoom.

We had to figure out what types of web cams, mics, and lighting would help us best offer our services.

And I look at those items as an investment - because without them, many of us
would have had to permanently close our doors.

Second, we all became better instructors.

As a whole, as Instructors, most of us prefer to teach our students on the mats in
our academies. But COVID changed...

Walk into Wal-Mart, Target, or Home Depot, and the Holiday decorations are front and center (and have been for weeks).

So what does this mean for you and your academy?

It means it’s time to put together your Holiday Specials — specifically your Black Friday special.

Black Friday may look business-driven, but it’s the consumers who actually started
this shopping event. It was first observed in Philadelphia where there was always
high traffic the day after Thanksgiving.

SaleCycle reported that in 2019, Black Friday online sales surpassed all previous
records, reaching $7.4 billion, up by $1.2 billion from 2018’s $6.2 billion record.

That’s huge!

This is a serious holiday that every merchant with an online or brick and mortar
store should observe.

Our holiday tips will help you to get a cut of the Black Friday sales so you can
settle in for a prosperous holiday season.

Step 1 - Choose Your Offer(s)

Black Friday is really a great time to be selling ...