The Practice Revolution The ultimate guide to practicing. What works, what doesn't, what really happens in
the practice room - and how to fix it.
Sightreading lifeline
Improve your sightreading simply by changing HOW you practice.
Coping with surprises
Learn how not to be thrown by those minor irritations in performance.
Scales Boardgame
We show you how to build it and play it, to make your scales bearable.
Studio Makeover
We show you 10 simple ways to revitalize your teaching space.
Promoting your teaching studio
Keep local media informed
about student successes
When the local media features a story about a kid who came
second in a state archery competition, it’s not because the sports editor was
out chasing the story. It’s because the kid’s archery club contacted them.
The vast majority of "success story" type news comes about because the
media was informed about it by a person or organization associated with the
successful person.
Next time you have a student who performs well in a concerto
competition, or is a finalist in a composition competition, don’t just publish
the fact in your studio newsletter. Put together a press release, and send it to
local media. They might run it, they might not. But if you don’t send it in
the first place, you are guaranteeing that they won’t run it.
You can make it easier for them by providing all the details
in the release itself, together with any scanned photographs on disk. Sometimes
editors with a tight deadline looming won’t go for the best story—they go
for a story that will be easy to write. You never know, your story might just be
what they need to fill that awkward space on page twelve.
If a story does run, it’s tremendously exciting for all
concerned. Not only does it provide a well-deserved public pat on the back for
the student, it also provides a tremendous boost to your studio’s profile. The
student will be forever grateful that you took the time to organize the
publicity, and will have yet another reason for wanting to stay in your studio.
And you can put the icing on the cake by cutting out the clipping to add to your
Wall of Fame in your studio, so that prospective students can see it during the
interview, and so that existing students can be inspired during their lesson.
Everybody wins, and it costs you nothing but the courage to
submit the news.
