Should You Join a Martial Arts Marketing Association?
Welcome Martial Arts School Owners! Start here to learn how this site can help you grow your martial arts school. To receive updates to my blog for martial arts studio owners, simply subscribe to my RSS feed or my email updates to learn how to attract more students to your studio! -- Ryan Wheaton
Many martial arts school owners have to make a tough choice when it comes to marketing: Continue doing what they’re doing and hope for the best OR look for ways to improve their marketing skills.
And, one of the first places martial arts school owners look is at joining a martial arts marketing association to help grow their school.
But is joining a martial arts marketing association the right thing to do?
The Need for Martial Arts Marketing Associations
Stephen Oliver of the National Association of Martial Artists (NAPMA) said he recently sent out a mailer to 18,000 martial arts schools across the USA and 3,000 were returned because the studio shut down. That’s roughly 16% in closures. Ouch!
Clearly, there is great demand for marketing education to help keep martial arts schools open and to help those just starting a martial arts school. While these closures may be attributed to other factors, I would venture to say that a lack of marketing competence was one of the biggest reasons those martial arts schools shut down.
Why Join a Martial Arts Marketing Association?
When you join an association, you typically have access to a variety of new instructors who are all have varying levels of experience. Having different points of view and a network of people to bounce ideas off of as well as share experiences is never a bad thing.
There are two main marketing associations in the industry: the National Association for Professional Martial Artists (NAPMA) and Martial Arts Teachers Association (MATA). Both were started by John Graden. However, now he is focused exclusively on MATA while Stephen Oliver is at the helm over at NAPMA.
They provide several networking opportunities including conference calls, seminars, and conferences. They also provide marketing templates for direct mailers, newsletters, ads, fliers and more. In addition, they offer forums where you can share your experiences, ask questions, and get new ideas. Some have newsletters and/or magazines that shares personal success stories of many of their members which can be very inspirational.
From what I’ve heard, there are also many teaching, curriculum, business, and other useful tools they provide for both the new martial arts school owner and the seasoned martial arts school owner alike.
How to Evaluate a Martial Arts Marketing Association
Make sure you do your home work before joining. Go to their website. Sign up for their magazines and/or newsletters. Read the forums. Find testimonials. Scour the Internet for reviews. Ask your peers if they belong and if they recommend one over the other. Then decide whether if the cost will outweigh the benefits you will receive.
Is a Martial Arts Marketing Association Right For You?
Whether you self-educate or join a martial arts marketing association, you need to have one thing in mind with respect to your marketing: You need to have an empty cup.
A university professor went to visit a famous Zen master. While the master quietly served tea, the professor talked about Zen. The master poured the visitor’s cup to the brim, and then kept pouring. The professor watched the overflowing cup until he could no longer restrain himself. “It’s overfull! No more will go in!” the professor blurted. “You are like this cup,” the master replied, “You are full of ideas. You come and ask for teaching, but your cup is full; I can’t put anything in. Before I can teach you, you’ll have to empty your cup.”
You need to be ready to learn and be ready to try new things. If you’re not willing to have an empty cup when it comes to your marketing education, like you had to have when you started in your art, then don’t bother signing up to an association. You will waste your money. Same goes if you go it alone. It’s all about your mindset.
And, you have to realize that not every marketing tactic will work at your martial arts school. Some things will work. Some won’t. The only way you’ll know what works is by testing. Realize that you might try 5 things that don’t work but maybe on the 6th you find a gem.
Will Joining a Martial Arts Marketing Association Make You A Sell Out?
I’m of the belief you don’t need to comprise your art to grow your school. I think you can have the best of both worlds. And, joining a martial arts association also doesn’t mean you have to sell out, either.
Don’t do anything that will comprise your integrity, but at the same time, be ready to push yourself and know if it’s not making you a little uneasy, it’s probably not a big enough push. In order to grow, you have to take yourself out of comfort zone and push things past what you normally do.
Martial arts marketing associations aren’t for everyone and I’ve heard mixed experiences. For some, it’s exactly what they need to grow or start their martial arts school. While for others have a hard time benefiting from them. Personally, I don’t belong to any at this time but wondered what others have experienced.
Do you recommend joining a martial arts marketing association? Share your experiences and thoughts in the form of a comment below!
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Comment by Chris on 4 September 2008:
Hi,
nice balanced article. I just thought one thing was missing. In terms of the marketing associations, you mention both of the John Graden ones and not MAIA: Martial Arts Industry Association. Just wondered why this was.
NAPMA is now a platform for Mr Oliver to promote himself which I think is a shame as NAPMA used to be excellent. MATA has some good stuff but MAIA is now, probably, the most balanced package now available but that’s only my opinion.
Do one thing: decide what result you want from them BEFORE joining then ask to speak to some of the customers of these associations and see if you get a fit for your desired result. Check out as many as you can. That way you can make a choice based on the result you want.
Comment by Ryan Wheaton on 4 September 2008:
Chris, thanks for the note. As for MAIA, when you do a search for “martial arts marketing associations” they aren’t on the first page in Google. Based on that, it didn’t seem like that was their focus so I didn’t include them. I will investigate them further for future consideration. Thanks for suggesting them and for your comment.
Comment by Javier Lozano, Jr. on 11 September 2008:
Hi Ryan,
Great advise. I was going to join one of those organizations that offered both martial arts marketing AND payment processing, but at the last minute changed my mind. Anyways, I am now apart of starting-a-martial-arts-school.com. Yes, the URL is a bit crazy, but I guess a few years ago, hyphens meant a lot in the URL. How things change… Well, this is a great association to be apart of, even though they are not as large as NAPMA or MATA. It’s organized by a guy named Mike Massie, who runs a very successful MA school in Texas - however he’s a bit different. He hovers around the 150 student mark, where these large associations push for the multiple schools, and huge active student count of 200, 300, 400, etc. He offers great advice from marketing your school as a new owner to helping you get over that hump of active students. In addition, he has a forum where many members can converse and share ideas, bring up topics, etc. His membership is WAY cheaper, but his advice is well thought out - with good reason behind everything. As you mentioned, doing your research before making a commitment is a great idea. But, I would also add, “what do you (school owners) want to get out of your Karate studio?” Write those things down. Then compare those various associations on the market - because there are quite a few of them… See which one’s will help you meet your goal. I’ve been apart of this association and so far, it’s helped me get a bit organized with my marketing, as far as where I should focus.
Javier Lozano, Jr.
The Dojo of Karate
Comment by Leslie on 1 October 2008:
I think this article is well written. I belong to MATA and found this site due to Mr. Graden siting articles here. As a new school owner, I NEED IDEAS to market my school that are both effective and low cost. I have found MATA to be a great source of inspiration. The other things that I picked up were how to run more effective classes, better scheduling, implementing programs that capture parent attention and focusing in an area… not on everyone. We have to market to our target market, not everyone and hope someone comes in.
I am FOR joining an association but the cost of MAIA and NAPMA is 10 times more than MATA or starting-a-martial-arts-school.com
Just because I have a black belt doesn’t mean I am a marketing guru and we need to get rid of ego and ask for help from those willing to give it.
Comment by Rob Tucker on 28 December 2008:
While Stephen Oliver is indeed at the helm of NAPMA, it is not solely for the purpose of marketing Stephen Oliver. If anything, the content has become much more professional - especially considering that it’s now drawn from arguably the most successful multi-school owner in history. With the addition of Jeff Smith to the staff, you have the education of two of the best minds in martial arts.
Do yourself a favor and listen to what they say - it took me to 3 schools and 1200 students in 18 months….
Comment by Ryan Wheaton on 1 January 2009:
Rob, thanks for the respectful comment. It’s good to see someone from NAPMA here contributing to the conversation. Would you recommend NAPMA for a single location martial arts school with no intention of growing to 3 schools and 1,200 students? Not everyone wants this and seems to be a big focus of your organization.