During the pandemic I started a small, niche, English conversation class as a hobby, and years later it is still going, with really positive feedback from the students. The demographic is adults with some English ability who do not find typical Eikaiwa chains to be very interesting. I am in the center of Tokyo and I do lessons both in person and online.
I only have 5 – 10 students at the moment; they tend to stay for a long time after joining, but I feel that if I could attract ten or fifteen more students it would be a nice side business. However, I have no idea where to advertise. At the moment I just put flyers in local cafes or people come via word of mouth. 4 out of 5 people who take a trial lesson end up joining the class, and usually stay for several years.
If you run a small private school, what would you recommend I do to get new customers?
EDIT: I should add that I come from a completely different field, which is why I might sound like a clueless noob.
by OkCartographer4110
5 comments
My wife and I have run a school for just over twenty years now. Started small -a dozen students out of a community center, peaked at around 450 students, we have about 350 now.
Our best ways to get students:
1. simple clear website that emphasises your location (local area plus landmarks, stations, etc.)
2. word of mouth
We’ve had limited success with paid online ads (Google/Facebook/Instagram) and no success at all with fliers etc.
Good luck with your school. It sounds interesting.
You might want to join a couple of the Facebook groups for school owners (Verified Eikaiwa Owners and Independent Owners and Teachers are two of the ones I am in).
https://ltprofessionals.com/conventions/
This is an event I’ve been to a few times. There is a forum for school owners there. Check the event schedule and you can see. There also may be some presenters giving talks on starting schools. I’ve met and chatted to lots of good people (including some school owners there).
Your mileage may vary with regards to the different presentations. Having said that, every year I’ve gone I’ve found some part of it worth going for even if there were moments where I felt were less relevant to me.
If you have the right location, there’s no need to promote the business. Foot traffic is key. I moved my school to a ground floor space in a shopping street and have never had to advertise since. It sells itself. Another plus is being the only school near the station.
Your conversion rate and retention are the asset, so the game now is just getting more of the right people in front of a trial lesson. I’d lean into where bored-but-motivated Tokyo adults already are: Meetup groups (board games, hiking, film), hobby circles, and coworking spaces. Offer a monthly “English salon” or themed night (travel stories, English for whisky/coffee nerds, book/film club) with a small fee or even free for first-timers, and quietly invite them to a regular class trial at the end.
Make one simple Japanese landing page aimed at “普通の英会話はつまらない人向け” with a clear description, 2–3 short student comments, and an easy trial booking form. Try Peatix for events and local Facebook groups/LINE open chats for international/Tokyo community stuff. I’ve used things like italki and Meetup to test offers, and tools like Pulse for Reddit in other markets to spot where people are complaining about boring classes and join those conversations early. Your offer is already working; you just need a few focused channels that consistently feed trials.
Have you tired to make TikTok videos? If you use hashtags with your town it might attract younger locals
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