Established Yoga Studio seeking PR / media help - Public Relations Freelance Job

Posted by Absolute Yoga

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Absolute Yoga is an established yoga studio based in Metro West region of Mass. We offer all levels of Yoga and some Pilates and we have a thriving Growing Families Program (Prenatal Yoga, Itsy Bitsy Yoga). We have a positive reputation and have continued to grow steadily each year when other studios have come and gone. We know we are distinctive among yoga studios and we wish to be promoted that way.
We are seeking a capable and energetic person to help us grow our business further through public relations. We offer regular workshops and events at our studio and would like to have a stronger and more widespread campaign to promote them. Our staff is very knowledgeable and creative–we see them as an asset to helping us to grow our student base (locally) and reputation (regionally and nationally). We would like someone who can help us explore opportunities for inclusion in published yoga journals and fitness magazines (as consultants, expert advice, etc). We have been providing classes and have a nice (but not huge) student base. We are ready to see our studio really “arrive” on the yoga scene and in the community–building awareness of our “product”.
We have always hosted a number of great events and benefits (Prenatal Wellness Nights, Yoga Birthday Parties to benefit a charity, fundraisers for food banks, etc) but the attention we’ve received has been fairly low key and could be maximized. We are already providing a professional, organized and quality service and have an excellent group of teachers with a variety of assets, talents and skills that make our studio unique. We’d like to take what we already have going for us and market it better.
Some things we are already doing: We also do regular direct mail campaigns within local towns–600–1200 postcards send to a demographic within a town (age, neighborhood, occupation, gender). We also send out an informative, personal-feeling monthly newsletter (over 1200) in addition to emailing about workshops/events to more targeted segments. We regularly post colorful event/workshop flyers in and around the community and have in-class announcements. Sometimes it feels like we are just speaking to the people who already know about us and we want a PR person to help us branch out of that mindset/approach.
We are less a “spiritual-focused” kind of studio but we aren’t strictly fitness-focused either. We like to think of creative new styles and class formats and are passionate about packaging our classes in a way that is honest and appealing. We are not looking to keep recycling the same things/classes that yoga studios do everywhere..
Qualities we’re looking for in a PR person:
Energetic, dedicated, professional, creative-thinker, pro-active (i.e. someone whose style it is to update us with progress before we need to wonder if anything is actually happening), contacts/familiarity with how to market us to regional/national publications and local TV. Someone who can identify the best that our studio has to offer and knows how to maximize that to meet our collective goals. Someone who understands the difference between “gym yoga” and “studio yoga” and how to market to the crowd we are trying to reach (studio yoga). Someone who has strong follow-through.
We are looking to start as soon as possible laying the groundwork. Let’s work hard this summer so that our big season (Fall) has an impact! We need someone who is eager to make a name for themselves with us. Perfect for smaller, independent “one-woman shows”!