Put the free class offer, the beginner times it applies to and a short booking form on one page, then confirm by email with what to bring. A free class people cannot book is not an offer.

The offer and the obstacle course

A yoga studio's home page says first class free. The visitor clicks and lands on the full timetable: dozens of classes a week, many of them advanced, none marked as right for a first visit.

A martial arts school asks people to phone to book their trial. The phone is answered between ten and four, when most people interested in an evening class are at work.

A dance school sends visitors to its membership form: address, emergency contact, health questions, a waiver and a card number, all to claim something free.

Each step loses people. The offer did its job and brought them to the door, and the booking process turned them away.

Why a free class goes unbooked

The second loses the most willing people. Someone ready to try has to guess which class suits a nervous beginner, and guessing wrong in front of a room of regulars is exactly what they were afraid of.

Put everything on one page

The offer needs a page of its own, and that page has to do the whole job.

Say what the free class is, who it suits and what it does not include. Then the specific times it applies to, ideally the next two or three beginner sessions with dates rather than a weekly grid.

Then a short form to book one of them, right there, without leaving the page.

Every link to the offer, from the home page, ads, the Facebook page and emails, should lead to this page and nowhere else.

Show only the right times

Most studios have a few classes where a newcomer will do well, and many where they will struggle or slow everyone down.

List the suitable ones by name and day. If the free offer applies only to those, say so beside the times rather than in small print.

For courses that run as a series, show when the next one starts and what the trial covers. Joining halfway through an eight-week course is a poor introduction.

Keep the list current. A page still showing September's times in November sends people to classes that have changed or stopped.

A form that asks for little

Name, email, phone and which session. That is enough to hold a place.

Health questions and the waiver can wait for the visit, or arrive in the confirmation email to read beforehand. Payment details have no place on a free booking.

If a waiver must be signed before the class, say so in the confirmation and suggest arriving ten minutes early to do it.

Every extra field raises the question of whether this is really free and really simple. Fewer fields answer it.

A worked example

A bookbinding studio in a converted workshop teaches small evening classes alongside its repair and binding work. It offers a free first class so people can find out whether they enjoy it before paying for a course.

The offer sat in a banner on the home page. Clicking it opened a PDF of the term's schedule, and booking meant phoning the studio, where the owner answered between jobs, often with glue on both hands.

Messages piled up. People who left one in the evening heard back days later, by which time the next beginner session had passed.

The studio replaced the banner link with a page describing the free class, the next three beginner dates and a four-field form.

Each booking now sends an email with the address, where to park, and a note that aprons and tools are provided.

A reminder goes out the day before. The owner spends those evenings teaching people who arrive expecting exactly the class they booked.

Confirm the visit, then remind

Booking is half the job. The other half is the visitor arriving at the right time, ready.

Send a confirmation at once: date, time, address, parking and which entrance to use, what to wear, what to bring and how early to come.

Send a reminder the day before, with a way to cancel. People who can no longer come are more likely to say so when it takes one click, and the place can go to someone else.

A first-timer who knows what to expect has one less reason to stay home.

After the free class

The trial is an introduction, so the next step should be ready when it ends.

Show the price of a course or class pass on the same page as the offer, so nobody feels ambushed afterwards, and follow up by email with the next start dates.

Say it in the room as well. A teacher who mentions at the end of class when the next beginners' course starts, and how to book it, does more than any email.

Keep a note of who booked, who came and who signed up. That shows whether the offer works, and which classes lead to sign-ups.

The counter-case

A studio whose beginner classes are always full has a different problem, and a waiting list may serve it better than more trial bookings.

Some schools prefer to talk first, especially for children's classes or classes that begin with a fitness assessment. That can work, provided the page says when the phone is answered and offers a call-back form for evenings.

And a free class is only one kind of offer. A low-priced first week or a beginners' package can bring in people who are more committed.

Whatever the offer, put it, the right times and a simple way to book on one page, and confirm every booking.

Before the next beginner session

  1. Click your own offer from the home page.
  2. Give the free class a page of its own.
  3. List the beginner times with dates.
  4. Cut the form to four fields.
  5. Send a confirmation with directions and what to bring.
  6. Send a reminder the day before.
  7. Point every link at the same page.

Step one is the most revealing, since owners rarely book their own free class the way a stranger would. Ten minutes on a phone shows every obstacle in order.

Being clear about when the next opening is follows the same logic as saying how far ahead you are booked.

Frequently asked questions

Why do people abandon a free class booking?

They cannot tell which classes suit beginners, can only phone during working hours, or meet a long membership form and a request for card details for something free.

What belongs on the free class page?

What the class is and who it suits, the next few beginner sessions with dates, the price of what follows, and a short booking form on the same page.

How short should the booking form be?

Name, email, phone and which session. Health questions and waivers can come in the confirmation or at the door, and payment details are not needed.

Should every class be open for trials?

Usually not. List the sessions where a newcomer will do well, and for courses that run as a series, show when the next one starts.

What goes in the confirmation email?

Date and time, address and parking, which entrance to use, what to wear and bring, how early to arrive, and an easy way to cancel.

Is booking by phone ever better?

For some classes, such as children's classes or those with a fitness assessment. Then say when the phone is answered and offer a call-back form for evenings.

West Coast Media Solutions Inc. provides web design, web development, hosting, digital marketing, and business consulting to organisations across Canada, drawing on more than twenty-five years in the field.

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