Luke, Most of the dances in Southern California give out coupons to get you in your second dance free. I think it helps.
-John Rogers On Apr 29, 2010, at 12:43 PM, [email protected] wrote: > > > Message: 1 > Date: Thu, 29 Apr 2010 12:47:43 -0500 > From: Luke Donev <[email protected]> > To: "Caller's discussion list" <[email protected]> > Subject: [Callers] Recruiting new dancers > Message-ID: > <[email protected]> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 > > The post on walk-throughs for new dancers got me thinking about > recruiting new dancers. This straddles dance caller and dance > organizer, but I'd like to hear people's responses. > > I'm curious about people's experiences recruiting new dancers. I've > seen several dances that do a lower cost for first time dancers to try > to lower the barrier for entry. Has any group tried doing a coupon for > a discount when they come back a second time? > > I feel like the venues for dances are usually such that folks don't > randomly wander in. If folks show up for a first time, they've decided > to come (or were brought). Does knowing there is a discount for first > timers help make them come? When there is a discount, how often do the > first timers know that coming in? I'm pondering the scenario where you > charge full price for the first time, when they've committed to coming > out, and then give them a coupon to come back at a discount price > their second time. > > I know a lot of people who tried contra once and were hooked, and I've > seen people who try for a little bit and then never come back. Is it > worth trying to up the likelihood of a second experience, at what > fractional cost for the first? Or should the focus be on that first > experience, and making the barriers for entry as low as possible? > > If a group has the resources, then it can just say that the first two > dances are cheaper, but I feel like giving someone a reminder, > business card sized, with the website to check for more information, > is a nice way of having them think about the dance at least once more. > > Do callers doing one night gigs announce local dance options if they > know them? Or do you only talk about it with the folks who come up and > ask? Presumably if a caller has been brought in, the organizer of the > party knows the folks at the party and the local dance scene. Is it on > the caller or the organizer to spread information about other chances > to dance? And do you broadcast wide, or focus on the folks who seem > really in to it. I think culturally, at a societal level, we've lost > the sense that we can dance after our 20s at things besides weddings, > which is a real shame. > > -- > Luke Donev > http://www.lukedonev.com > [email protected] > >
