As we continue to face uncertainty about when or how in-person businesses will reopen, many
are looking for ways to run their businesses online.
If you’re a dance instructor, there’s actually a lot of opportunity for building
a web-based dance instruction business and in this video, I’ll tell you what equipment
and tools you’ll need to make it happen, and share different online business models
that may work for your dance instruction business.
Let’s get into it.
Hello creators!
I’m Ben Toalson from Podia where we empower creators like you to make a living doing what
you love.
There’s a growing market for web-based dance instruction, and whether your business is
all online, or you use web-based instruction to supplement your in-person business, there’s
never been a better time to build an online dance instruction business.
I’m going to start by sharing some of the tools and equipment you may need to run your
business, and then I’ll get into some ideas for online business models that may be perfect
for your specific type of dance instruction.
First, here are our equipment recommendations.
Webcam - a webcam can be great if you’re running live sessions one-on-one or with a
group.
Make sure you look for one that shoots in HD.
There are a lot of good low-cost options out there, but currently topping our list is the
AUSDOM AW615.
Filming Camera - If you plan to make instructional videos, a good DSLR camera will provide the
quality you need to make professional looking tutorial videos.
The Panasonic Lumix FZ80 is a great low-cost option that still gives you great quality
video.
Be sure to purchase accessories like extra batteries, power adapters, memory cards, and
tripods.
Lights - Lighting is a great way to make your videos more professional whether live-streaming
or recording lessons.
The Samtian LED lighting kit is a fantastic lighting solution that won’t break the bank
and works for just about any video setup.
USB lapel mic - If you plan to do live video sessions, a USB lapel mic can allow you to
demonstrate different moves and techniques while being certain your students can hear
your instructions clearly.
The FIFINE USB Wireless Microphone System plugs in and operates wirelessly, so you’re
free to move around the studio without fear of tripping over wires or cords.
Regular USB mic - A good USB microphone can work with or in place of a lapel mic for capturing
your instruction audio.
The Fifine Podcast Microphone is a low-cost, versatile USB microphone that’s perfect
for recording dance instruction sessions.
Now here are some software recommendations.
Aggregate audio device - An aggregate audio device allows you to combine audio from multiple
sources and applications and convert them into a single audio output.
So if you use music along with your dance instruction, it could be useful to be able
to stream both audio sources simultaneously.
For mac, Loopback is a fantastic app that allows you to create many different kinds
of aggregate audio devices, and if you’re a windows user, ASIO4ALL allows you to do
many of the same things.
This is a more advanced technique, so I may walk you through how to create an aggregate
device in a future video.
Streaming service - If you’re providing live one-on-one or group instruction, you’ll
need some kind of video streaming service.
Zoom is a fantastic solution for hosting live video events.
Alternatively, you can stream through YouTube and both platforms work with your Podia account,
so you can collect payment for access to your lessons.
Audio recording software - If you’re producing video lessons for an online course, it’s
a good idea to record your audio separately so you can get a good, clear audio recording.
Audacity is a free audio editing app that works on both mac and pc.
Video editing software - And, of course, to produce video tutorials, you’ll need some
kind of video editing software.
Open shot is a free, open source and easy to use video editing app that’s available
on mac and pc.
It’s great especially if you’re just starting out editing video.
Now that we’ve gone through the list of equipment and tools you need, let’s get
practical and talk about how you can take what you do for your in-person dance instruction
and convert that to a web-based business.
First, I want to take you through a quick list of all the ways you could make money
online with dance instruction:
- One-on-one live lessons, through webinars or memberships.
- Group live lessons, through webinars or memberships
- Pre-recorded lessons, through online courses or membership access to regular content
- Worksheets and guides, through digital downloads - A combination of any of the above through
a membership or product bundle
Now I’m going to break these online products out into various models that could work for
your online dance instruction business.
First, we’ll start with webinars.
Webinars can provide an opportunity for you to provide live instructions either one-on-one
or to a group, but you can also sell access to previously recorded webinars to future
students.
So not only can you make money from the sale of the original session, you can continue
to sell that session as a webinar replay.
So if you provide one-on-one hip hop dance instructions, you might produce a beginners
webinar where you walk your students through the basics, then for future students who are
beginners, you can point them to that webinar as a pre-requisite for your other online instructions.
Or, maybe you do the same thing, but with groups of beginner ballet dancers.
You can sell your live group session as a webinar, and then sell the replay for future
beginners.
Now let’s talk about online courses
Online courses can be a great way to structure your instructions to meet the needs of your
dance students at various stages and skill levels.
Many successful online course models include some kind of free or low cost introductory
course, and then a flagship course.
The free or low cost course is usually a much shorter course and covers some of the basic
principles whereas the flagship course is more comprehensive.
For example, if you teach tap-dancing, your free or low cost course might be an “intro
to tap-dancing” that teaches the basic moves, proper stance, and important terminology.
Then your flagship course could offer some kind of bigger result like “become a broadway
level tap-dancing pro.”
Another online course model that works really well is ongoing instruction.
Some course creators produce monthly, or even weekly videos they sell as online courses.
This can be a great model if you teach a broader dance style with a lot of variations, or teach
a dance style that is always evolving and changing with popular trends.
For example, if you teach Latin dance, there are enough specific styles of Latin dance
to cover several week’s worth of instruction.
Or, if you teach hip hop dance, you could highlight the latest moves or trends.
One of the benefits of this model is that you can also fold your online courses into
an online membership, which we’ll talk about next.
If you have a library of online courses, you can sell membership access to an archive of
courses you’ve already produced, access to ongoing courses that you’ll continue
to release, or you can keep your courses separate and provide exclusive video and written content
to your subscribers.
You can also use membership as a way to provide ongoing one-on-one or group lessons.
Like the webinar examples listed above, you can use membership as a monthly fee for students
who need live instruction.
If you run a dance studio and provide more in-depth instruction that’s better suited
to a live experience, membership could be a great solution.
And finally, let’s talk about digital downloads.
Digital downloads are basically any file you would sell or give away directly to your student.
This could be a PDF guide, audio files, or even videos.
Maybe you’ve created a PDF step guide for the foxtrot, or an audio track of dance instructions
over music, or a video demonstrating some of the most common square dancing calls.
These can all work as individual digital downloads.
In addition to all of these products, you can offer product bundles which can be combos
of any or all of your products.
In addition to being able to make money from your online instruction, Podia provides tools
to help you market your products and manage relationships with students.
These tools include email marketing, a customizable storefront with sales pages for each of your
products, messaging, where you can chat in real time with your students, and world class
customer support who is there seven days a week to help you keep your online business
running smoothly.
And that about does it as far as what you need and how you can bring your dance instruction
business online.
Even though we’ve covered a lot, we’re barely scratching the surface when it comes
to ideas for running an online dance instruction business.
Do you have other creative ideas we didn’t mention in this video?
Share them below in the comments.
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Thanks for watching and I’ll see you next time.