The Martial Arts Teachers' Association The World's Largest Association for Martial Arts Marketing and School Management

Now that email is so abundant that less than 20% of them are opened and read, schools are looking for new ways to reach current and potential students.

An excellent solution is text marketing or sms marketing. Why is this better than email?:

1. 67-million people use text daily. They are already set up to opt in and receive texts.

2. 97% of texts are opened within one-hour. Compare that to less than 20% for email.

3. Text is instant

4. You can create different lists so people only get texts they are interested in

For a martial arts school, students could opt in for:

1. A self defense tip of the week
2. Practice routines
3. Last minute changes in schedule
4. Internal contests
5. Polls and surveys
6. Live tournament results as they happen
7. As a way of instantly reaching every student at an event to coordinate everyone
8. Upcoming events including last minute discounts to fill seats
9. Fun facts about Martial Arts

For a martial arts tournament or event promoter this is ideal. Attendees could opt in for:

1. Any changes in the event
2. Last minute registration discounts 
3. Tournament results
4. Contests
5. Polls and surveys pre- and post-event

In addition to following up with prospects to enroll, visitors could opt in for:

1. A self defense tip of the week
2. Event notices and invitations
3. Contests

The key to making this work is keep the information short and helpful with no spam. You have to help them realize they are getting what they want not what you want to sell. It's about staying touch and maintaining a relationship with your students and prospects.

I've spent a lot of time researching this and have two companies that we are working with to get you the best text marketing solution:

iZigg.com - This is an mlm that can raise funds for the school by selling the service to business owners in your area and student body.

Trumpia.com - This is a conventional non-mlm.