Previously, Staci Alden shared six reasons your health club should consider adding workshops to its schedule and how to get started. In Part Two, Alden provides seven ideas for successful health club workshops.
Workshops are one-to-three events that can happen once or over a series of weeks. They are meant to be an educational, intensive, and interactive opportunity for members to learn more about what they are most interested in or seek help understanding better. In my last column, I shared why workshops are valuable for your facility and your members, as well as some strategies behind when and how to offer them.
As for the type of workshops to offer, the possibilities are honestly endless. I recommend working with your team to discover something special they might have knowledge or experience in that they would be most excited to share with your members and be unique to your facility.
Here are some ideas to help you and your instructors build your annual workshop schedule:
- Showcase: A one-to-two-hour event where a group of members can visit each studio to test out a class for ten or so minutes. These are a valuable way to expose participants to new formats and instructors. As the team members visit each class, they will also get to know each other.
- Beginners: Workshops designed with beginners in mind create a safe place for members to try and learn more about a format they may have been too intimidated to try for fear they’d be the only new participant.
- Advanced: Most in-person classes must provide options and exercises that accommodate all levels of participants. Some of your more advanced participants may begin to feel like they are plateauing and missing out on the opportunity to challenge themselves. Advanced workshops can have prerequisites, rewarding the most dedicated participants with a unique experience specifically catered to them. Instructors who teach advanced workshops also enjoy the challenge.
- Self-Defense: If you have instructors with martial arts experience, they may want to help participants apply the movements in classes like kickboxing and karate to possible real-life situations. These workshops show your club is concerned for the safety and well-being of participants both inside and outside the facility.
- Sports-Related: Here are the three examples of workshop types that are geared toward educating members on ideal cross-training exercises and drills for certain sports without getting too specific: Running, snow sports and racquet sports.
- Injury/Pain Related: Here are three types of workshop examples that are not meant to diagnose injuries but to educate participants about proper muscle activation and alignment. The goal is to prevent pain from happening now or from happening again later: Pilates for low back health, yoga for mobility and Tai Chi for balance.
- Youth: Timing a youth cross-training workshop around seasons and holiday breaks can be an excellent way for parents to send their youth athletes to something fun and productive when their regular practices may be on pause.
Pricing and Experience:
Since workshops are so specialized and require a lot of planning and preparation, correctly pricing to compensate the instructor well while taking in some revenue is encouraged. Prices for a workshop can range from $30-$90, depending on your facility and what you provide.
Here are some ways to level-up the workshop experience so that they are well-received and raved about by your participants:
- Whether a workshop is online or in-person, be sure to provide detailed professional handouts with your logo, images, links, videos, and pdfs for further resources and education. Also, provide something special – essential oil, equipment, swag, etc. – to participants at the beginning, middle, or end that will be useful for them to continue practicing what they’ve learned.
- Provide participants with snacks, drinks, pens, and paper to enhance the workshop experience. Also, ensure ample seating since it is a long time sitting on a hardwood floor if they are not used to that.
I’m confident you can take these workshop ideas and provide memorable experiences for your participants. Next, create a goal for the number of workshops you’d like to give this year and build a marketing plan around each so that they stand out among your other offerings.
