How Beginners Choose a Yoga or Pilates Class in January
January is always a busy time for yoga and Pilates teachers. Searches increase, people feel motivated to make changes, and lots of beginners finally take the step they have been thinking about for months.
But here is the part many teachers overlook.
Beginners do not simply decide on 1 January that they want yoga and immediately book. Most of them have been on a journey long before they ever land on your website or see your booking link.
And if your marketing only gives them one doorway in, you are missing the majority.
As a marketing strategist who works closely with yoga and wellness businesses, one of the most important things I teach is this: there is no single customer journey. People take many different routes. Some are short and spontaneous. Many take months. And almost all of them involve more than one touchpoint.
Let’s break down the most common ways beginners discover local classes, using both marketing theory and relatable real-life behaviour.
1. The social media follower who finally takes the leap
This is the path most teachers imagine. Someone has followed you on Instagram for a while, liked a couple of posts, maybe watched a Reel, then sees your January schedule and suddenly takes action.
This journey happens. But it only applies to people who already follow you.
To understand this properly, we need a little clarity about how Instagram truly works.
Instagram does not show your content to everyone. It shows it primarily to people it already believes will enjoy it. That usually means:
your current followers
people who have interacted with your posts before
occasionally, people whose behaviour looks similar to your audience
Can a non follower see your content? Yes, but it is inconsistent and largely algorithm-dependent. They may find you through the Explore page, through Reels, or because a friend shared a post. It happens, but it is not something you can rely on as a main route for new beginners to discover you.
What about hashtags?
Hashtags today are more of a classification tool than a discovery tool. They help Instagram understand your content topic. They rarely drive significant reach, and beginners are unlikely to search for hashtags like “#beginneryogastocktonheath” or “#gentleyoga”.
What about keywords on Instagram?
Instagram now uses keywords in captions to categorise your posts. So including terms like “beginner yoga in [your town]” can improve relevance, but it still mostly helps the algorithm show your posts to people similar to your existing audience.
In other words, Instagram is a warm audience space. It nurtures people already in your orbit. It does not reliably introduce you to people who are not following you yet.
This is why Instagram is one touchpoint, not the whole journey.
2. The beginner who does not follow you at all
This is the much larger group.
These beginners have never heard of you, do not follow you on social media, and may not even know what teachers or studios exist in their area.
Their first step is almost always the same.
They Google.
They type things like:
beginner yoga [your town]
yoga classes near me
gentle Pilates for beginners
yoga for stiff bodies
And the very first thing they see is not your website. It is Google Business Profiles.
This is their first impression of you.
Is yours showing up?
Is it complete, up to date, and welcoming?
If not, your competitor’s profile may be the one they choose.
3. The person who clicks through to websites
From Google Profiles, people start clicking into websites.
This is where they look for reassurance. Not design perfection, not clever branding, but reassurance.
What page will they land on?
Does your site have a clear beginners page?
Does it show real photos?
Does it answer their silent questions?
Does it make the first step simple and obvious?
A beginner-friendly website page can be the difference between someone booking a class and quietly closing the tab.
4. The Facebook recommendation seeker
This is a huge route for beginners.
Local Facebook groups are full of posts like:
“Can anyone recommend a beginner yoga class in [town]?”
Even if you are not tagged, your students might mention you. And usually the next thing that beginner does is look you up. Again, they land on your Google profile or your website.
This route loops into the previous ones. A recommendation alone does not convert someone. They still need a strong next step.
This is a perfect example of a multi touchpoint journey: social recommendation, followed by online research, leading to your website.
5. The offline beginner
Not every journey starts online.
People still notice posters, flyers, chalkboards outside community halls, leaflets in cafés, and noticeboards in leisure centres. These tiny triggers prompt them to look you up online later.
This is what marketing theory calls a trigger moment. It does not convert someone immediately, but it moves them one step closer to action.
Offline and online work together.
Where marketing theory meets real life
I’m about to bring a bit of my marketing geek out! Stay with me!
In marketing, we often talk about stages of awareness:
Unaware
Problem aware
Solution aware
Provider aware
Ready to book
Beginners move through these in messy, human ways. They bounce between them. They may be problem aware for months, then suddenly jump to “ready to book” because of one strong nudge.
No single post or single flyer or single website page does all the work.
It is the combination of touchpoints that builds confidence and trust.
This is what multi touchpoint marketing means in practice.
So what does all of this mean for you?
It means that January bookings are not created by January marketing. They are created by the little pieces you put in place now. And it might seem like a lot but if you can create these foundations, each year it gets easier.
Someone might:
see your flyer in December
Google you in early January
land on your website on the same day
ask a friend for recommendations
finally book because your beginners page made them feel safe and welcome
Every touchpoint supports the others.
The teachers who understand this rarely struggle in January, because they have built lots of routes for beginners to find them.
Want help building those pathways?
Inside The Orchard, I am adding a new video training called “The Anatomy of a Great Beginner Page”.
It shows you exactly what to include on a page that supports every type of customer journey and turns January beginners into confident new regulars.
If you want to start the new year with clarity and confidence, this is a brilliant place to begin.
