Do I need a yoga brand?

Do I need a yoga brand?  - Transcript

This podcast has been designed to help yoga teachers teach with passion, avoid burn out and earn a fair living.

This episode is the answer to the question: Do I need a yoga brand?

Does this sound familiar? You start practising yoga initially for a reason such to de-desk, to rehabilitate an injury, to feel calmer. You were so blown away by how much yoga improves your life, you have a desire, no, a calling to share that with others. You do your research and enroll on a yoga teacher training, and it quite simply changes your life. Now you're even more motivated than ever to share yoga with others! So now you.... what? Contact studios to see if there's any openings. Look around your local area to rent somewhere to start your own classes. Start teaching online. People come to your classes, but not loads of people, and you would like to reach more people.... but HOW?! So you start to do some research; maybe with some yoga business blogs, or this podcast, or by talking to your fellow yoga teachers and they say, have you got a website? Have you done any advertising on instagram? Have you thought about flyering or starting an enewsletter or working with this person or that company, and then, you're stuck. Barrrgh. This all sounds like running a business rather than sharing yoga. Plus, you just don't know where to start.

If that sounds familiar, it's because it is familiar, because it happens a lot!!! Don't worry, we're here to help. Over the next few episodes, we're taking the guesswork out of where to place your valuable resources of time, energy and mental bandwidth and helping you to decide where to focus, who to work with and what to prioritise.

And we're starting with the bazillion dollar question - do i need a yoga brand?

Before we get to the answer, because ultimate you'll be the one who will be answering that question... let's take a look at what a brand is and what purpose it serves.

Out in the big bad world, a brand gives a company a voice, a personality. The company in and of itself isn't really a tangible thing that can speak for itself. The products and services might be, but the company itself isn't. So, for people, for customers, for consumers to know if this company, this product, this service is right for them, they need to know what its about, what it's values are, is it likely to be expensive, or unique or eco friendly - all of this is communicated through the branding; through the logo and the colours and the choice of words and so much more.

Over here in the yoga world, we tend to want to stay away from consumerist capitalist business terms like brand, cash flow, profit, etc. But the reality is that yoga teachers are running businesses, and the more effective your business is, the more people you'll reach, and therefore the more people's lives you'll positively affect, which I think we can all agree is motivates most yoga teachers to train in the first place.

But just bear in ind, taking pride in your yoga offering does not make you business-minded, money grabbing, profit obsessed. It makes you a sensible yoga teacher who sees that to share yoga, and to reach people, whilst still putting food on your own table, means running a business effectively.

Ok, so with all that in mind, let's revisit the question: do I need a yoga brand?

So a brand is how a company communicates about itself, and how consumers recognise a company.

Let's re-word this, for you as a yoga teacher. Your brand is how you communicate about yourself and your yoga, and how consumers will recognise that you are you. A yoga brand is almost an extension of your yoga teaching-self.

With that in mind, I think it's safe to stay, yes you need a brand. Ultimately the decision is yours, of course it is!! But, at the very least, it's well worth some serious consideration. In order to know who you are, and who you want to teach, and to follow that through, you need to define your offering and your ideal yogis, and a yoga brand is a huge part of that.  However, it doesn't need to be overwhelming, or complex, or take up loads of your time. In fact, soon we'll be covering how to create your yoga brand, so hang fire for that.

In the session 'how to create a yoga brand' we'll look at where to start, how to choose colours, fonts and the other bits and bobs that make up your brand, how to keep track of it all and how to put it in to use.

Let's look at all of the things that can make up a brand:

• Name

• Logo

• colour palette

• Fonts

• strap line or tag line

• Values and ethics

• Tone of voice, Language and copy in general

• Price

• Customer relationships

• Photography and imagery

• And to an extent - location

It's a lot isn't it!

For the avoidance of doubt, you don't need to nail down all of these elements right now, today. In fact, they can, and will, and should evolve over time, as will your yoga teaching. As you deepen your learnings, as your life experience adds to your teaching, as you grow and change, so will your offering and so will your brand, so it's not set in stone. I find that this is one of the things that holds people back the most, is the indecisiveness caused by getting really worried that it'll be wrong.

So for now, have a think about the different ways you communicate with people; in classes, in real life, online, via email etc. and just allow your cogs to start turning, considering the ways that you would love your yogis to see you. The things that you'd really like people to say after an interaction with you. and have a ponder, just in the back of your mind about the ways that they might perceive you, and then think, that this could be defined, and planned, and work in perfect harmony with the rest of your business. So someone who sees your name or your logo, absorbs the colour palette you use, reads an email you send in response to their enquiry and attends a class, experiences the same values, a joined up experience that delivers on what they first hoped for when they saw you. Nothing about the entire experience from enquiry to attending a class sticks out, nothing is negative, the whole experience is a joy to them; it's consistent and considered. This means, they could be your yogi for life, and they'll bring their yogi friends to you, too.

OK. so that's it really. Sometimes there's a peace that follows making a big decision, that follows committing to something. So maybe, so yes, I need a brand, and I will create it in my own time and my own way, and don't forget to keep your eyes peeled for our masterclass coming soon.

Do you need a yoga brand? Yes, in my humble option you need a brand. No, that does not mean a year of steering groups and blue sky thinking. No, it does not mean paying an agency a fortune to create you a branding guidance document. Yes it means you'll be incredibly clear about who you are as a yoga teacher, who you want to work with and how you go about reaching them.