Feature Release: Online Registrations

I'm thrilled to announce that today we released a big new feature allowing our customers to handle online registrations.

This has been a top request, and we're excited to offer this new feature to our customers. 

Like online payments, we didn't do it the way anyone else does. We sweated over every detail. And as always, we're thinking first and foremost about the experience that your students have on your website.

To register for a class, your students need to do nothing more than click a signup link, and enter in their name and email address. 

That's it, everything else is engineered behind the scenes so you can quickly and easily handle online registrations for existing students and new students alike. 

 So how exactly does it work? How do I turn on Registrations?

Let's walk through it step by step so you can see how easy it is to handle online registrations with Tula.

 First, make sure you're using the embeddable calendar

By copying and pasting the embed code into your website, your calendar will always be up to date, and you'll now be able to handle registrations. 

Embed your calendar using the link at the top

Next, enable your registration settings when adding or editing a class 

Simply add a new class, or edit an existing one, and choose whether you'd like to allow people to register for your class ahead of time. Registrations are optional, and by default are turned off.

Enable registrations

That's it, now you're all set!

Of course, now that you've turned on registrations, the only thing left is for people to register.

Step 1: Students register via your calendar 

With registrations enabled, students can register for class by clicking the 'Sign up' link and entering in their name and email address.

SIGN UP links for classes that have registrations turned on

A simple form to register

Step 2: Students are added to the registrations list 

If someone's email already exists in the system, they'll be ready to get checked in with the push of a button. If the email isn't already on file at your studio, you can search for a match, or add them as a new person. This matching works just like our online payment form.

Step 3: Check in registered students 

When you're ready to check in students that have registered online, all you need to do is click the 'Check in' button and you're all set. 

It's that simple! 

We sweated every detail with this new feature. Not only so you would have a great experience with it, but so that your students would have a great experience too.

We hope you love this new feature as much as we do! 

 

Owning a Yoga Studio 101: Engaging Events

With more than 20.4 million people who practice yoga in the United States, there are plenty of studios to accommodate. In 2013, it seems like a yoga studio can be found on every other block. And running a business is hard enough, but running a business in a competitive industry is even harder.

Staying competitive in the yoga studio industry requires a multitude of factors, including: location of studio, competitive pricing, quality of classes and teachers, a clean studio etc. Many studios meet these standards, but can still sometimes struggle to be noticed among the sea of studios in its town.  A solution? Engaging events.

Set yourself apart from other studios. Design fun and interactive yoga classes that are unique to your studio and create a brand for yourself.

Some easy steps to get you started:

Brainstorm!: The yoga community is inclusive, welcoming and sharing. Get together with your staff, talk to your students after class and ask what classes they would like to see from your studio. Get creative and flex your brain muscles.

Research: Check out what the other studios in your area doing. You might have a great idea, but if a studio nearby is already doing it, it most likely won’t take off as well as you had hoped.

Think outside the studio: A lot of towns have a “yoga in the park” program put on by a local studio. If your town doesn’t, implementing a program is a great way to become a leader in your yoga community. If so, look to other areas in your town that have yoga potential (see Red Rocks example below).

To get the ideas flowing, here are some awesome examples of engaging events:

At Tula Yoga Studio in Logan Square, Chicago (our founder’s wife’s studio, shameless plug) you can rave-on on certain Friday nights by taking a GLOWGA class. Students practice under the glow of black lights while listening to trance music and are encouraged to wear white or neon clothing to help them radiate. The studio also provides black light body paint and bracelets for added fun.

At the Your Body Center in Houston, take a Hot Vibes class that brings Happy Hour into the studio. The class is set to high-energy dance music and provides Jell-O shots, fresh fruit and Vitamin Water at the end.

Put on by CorePower Yoga, Yoga on the Rocks takes place a few Saturday mornings throughout the summer at Colorado’s natural amphitheater, Red Rocks. Students pick their favorite spot in the venue and downward dog among some of the most beautiful scenery in the country. The class is a $10 drop-in and $1 from every student goes to the Whole Planet Foundation.

Feeling inspired yet? Get out there, make your own event and be seen.