Seven Skills You Need To Start an Online Tennis Academy

As an experienced tennis instructor you have spend years teaching on the court and developing programs for your club. You have now decided that it is time to move on to another tennis challenge - creating an online teaching channel or an online tennis academy. There is a bunch of instructors doing this already, however, the number is growing as is the amount of students heading online for tennis instruction or motivation.

In today's blog post we will talk about some of the essential skills you need in order to take your knowledge and passion for the sport beyond the tennis court, and share it with audiences worldwide.

Ability to create a business plan

So, you have got this insanely great idea to start online teaching business, got a nice camera, your tennis racket, and created a YouTube channel. You might think this is a good start, however, it is probably a good idea to leave the camera and tennis racket down for a bit and put together a business plan. Business plan involves putting together a document that describes your business concept, market potential, strategy for growth, potential risks and capital needs. Being disciplined, as you probably know from the many years of experience on the tennis court, always pays off. Don't know where to start? To begin, perform a quick search online - there are plenty of resources there to get you started with your business plan. If not, send us a quick message and we can help you create one.

Authenticity

Knowledge about playing tennis and teaching tennis is something that you, obviously, must have. Authenticity is something you need as well as in order to differentiate your online academy from others. Think about it...YouTube has thousands of videos on how to hit a forehand or a backhand! You must come up with your own brand. This could be achieved by having a particular teaching curriculum (system), focus on specific audience, presentation style, video style... the list can go on. This is part of creating your business strategy and brand.

Public speaking

Ability to quickly capture the attention of the viewers and deliver the information effectively is crucial as well. Some tennis instructors are great at going out and making few teaching videos without a script. You can try that for couple of videos, but if you find you are not satisfied with the content you created, you may want to start by planning things carefully in advance - choosing the length of the video, creating a script, planning what you are going to show and from what angle, etc.

Cultivating relationships within the industry

Any tennis professional knows that successful tennis business is built upon relationships with people. Cultivating relationships with other professionals in the tennis industry - clients, members, employees, partners, vendors and consultants, can open up a lot of opportunities.

Video production and editing

Having a video production team is generally not an option for instructors who are just starting up. Therefore, you must have some basic understanding of how to film a short video and the editing tools you can use in order to get started with your tennis video channel.

Web design and development

Entrepreneur magazine estimates that you have about five seconds to grab and keep a person's attention online. Therefore, you must make your website in such way that it grabs people attention quickly and provides a good customer experience - easy-to-navigate user interface, plenty of helpful information and images about your service (online teaching academy), and a good search function so people can find what they need. It is also important to provide people with options for contacting and interacting with you. If you do not have the time to design your own website, contact us at Resourcely and we can help.

Marketing your online tennis academy

You can have a great idea for a teaching channel, develop a nice set of videos, and build a great website, but unless people find out that you exist, you have wasted your time and money. Social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) is a great way to promote your online business and develop a brand identity. Utilizing email marketing is another great way of promoting your product and collecting feedback. It is also a great way of sending quick personalized messages of encouragement and advice to students!

Good luck with your online tennis teaching channel, and if you have any questions or need help with your marketing, please do not hesitate to contact us!