Back-to-School Martial Arts Marketing: The Ultimate Guide

When back-to-school season hits, parents are in full decision-making mode. They’re looking for activities that build confidence, improve focus, and burn off after-school energy. This is the biggest money making time of year for your business. 

Stores make a huge amount of money - and you have the chance to put a ton of new students in your business quickly. 

If you’re a martial arts school owner, this is your Super Bowl for enrollments. Seriously. 

Done right, you can fill your classes for the rest of the year.

Done wrong… well, you’ll watch the school down the street grab all the new students and that sucks. 

Let’s deconstruct how to dominate the season using Print, Video, and Web marketing - plus why EDDMs (Every Door Direct Mail) should be in your arsenal.

This is our 15th Back To School season - at Dojo Muscle® and we have seen many things come and go - let me tell you whats hot in 2025. 

First - let's lay the ground work. 

Why Back-to-School Is Prime Time for Martial Arts Marketing

Parents are making fresh schedules, kids are meeting new friends, and everyone’s thinking about new routines. Plus let's face it - parents are tired - they spent an entire summer - going all over - and they also need a little down time and recharge. 

Back-to-school is the moment to say:

“We’re the place where your child will thrive this year.” (and where you get 5 minutes to yourself too...) 

And the same goes for adults—new season, new goals.

Kickboxing, self-defense, fitness—back-to-school isn’t just for kids. It's for everyone. We do really well promoting to entire familes - with Martial Arts For Everyone concepts. 

Strategy #1 – Print Marketing That Pops

In a digital world, print is still king for local impact. And when you combine bold offers with eye-catching design, you get attention you just can’t scroll past. And either EDDMs or our EDDM360 program - unless you are Proffesor X and can move things with your mind - you need to touch that card to - do something with it.

Read it or toss it - it has to go from your hand to somewhere. 

EDDMs (Every Door Direct Mail) are perfect for back-to-school:

• Target specific neighborhoods within 5–10 miles of your school

• Use a strong, time-limited offer like “Free Uniform + 2 Weeks for $29”

• Feature testimonials from parents and pictures of kids in uniform

• Add a QR code that drives people to a landing page for fast signups

• Add urgency by making it a limited offer - and reflect your digital landscape (landing pages with count down timers to a date - this is not fake this is a limited time sale like every Macy's does all over the country) 

Print isn’t just mailers—think trial passes, rack cards, door hangers, and in-school flyers for local partnerships.

Keep your message bold, clean, and focused on one offer. Don’t try to sell everything in one piece. This is a recipe for disaster. Trying to talk to everyone - talks to no one. Try out our amazing EDDM360 program and let us do all the hard work for you. 

Strategy #2 – Video Marketing That Sells Without Selling

If print is the hook, video is the trust builder. Video is the scroll stopper. Video is king online. Video - is - I sound like I am a infomercial right now!

The power in video - it really gets you in the feelz. It's the closest thing to sitting in a room with someone looking them in the eyes and having a heart to heart conversation with them. You can't beat it. 

Back-to-school is an emotional time for parents—they want to know their child will be in good hands. Video shows them, not just tells them. It shows them your culture, your vibe, your room, your students, your uniforms all of it. Want to learn how to make epic videos? Check this program out. Fire Your Ad Guy.

Types of back-to-school videos that work:

• Testimonial clips from parents about how martial arts helped with confidence and school focus

• Quick class highlights showing energy, smiles, and teamwork

• Instructor intro videos where you speak directly to parents about what their kids will gain

• Seasonal offer videos—short, punchy, and directly tied to back-to-school timing

Post them on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube Shorts, and even run them as paid ads to parents in your area. Also use them for - ads on Meta - they work rediculously well. 

Strategy #3 – Web Marketing That Converts

Don’t send your traffic to a cluttered homepage. Back-to-school campaigns deserve their own dedicated landing page. We started Web Famous™ for this exact reason. 

I personally got tired of sending our high converting cards - to websites or landing pages that do not work. They were never set up to convert they were just a place to arrive. And that is just not enough anymore. 

A good martial arts back-to-school landing page includes:

• Headline: “Boost Your Child’s Confidence This School Year”

• Clear benefits: focus, discipline, fitness, fun

• Short form to claim the offer

• Video for instant trust

• Countdown or urgency to push action

One of the biggest mistakes martial arts school owners make is sending people to a generic site with no clear call-to-action. That’s like inviting someone in but not telling them where to sit.

Here is a golden rule in all marketing - if they have to figure it out - they won't they leave and find your competitor. 

Strategy #4 – Integrate Print, Video, and Web

The magic happens when these channels work together.

Here’s a proven Back-to-School Martial Arts Marketing Flow:

1. EDDM mailer hits every household in your target neighborhoods

2. QR code on the mailer takes them to your back-to-school landing page

3. Landing page features your seasonal offer and video

4. Facebook & Instagram ads retarget anyone who visits the page but doesn’t sign up yet

5. Email/text follow-up turns warm leads into paying students

Strategy #5 – Don’t Forget Fitness & Adult Programs

Back-to-school isn’t just for the kids. Adults are getting their schedules back, too. 
And adults - have a bit more lateral movement to figure out what they want out of life - a little more living experience - and time on the mat on earth :). 

Promote:

• Kickboxing for stress relief

• Self-defense for safety

• Fitness challenges to hit fall goals

Print materials, video testimonials, and landing pages work just as well here—just swap the images and copy for the adult audience.

Final Back-to-School Checklist

• Print marketing – EDDM postcards, trial passes, posters

• Video marketing – testimonials, offers, behind-the-scenes

• Web landing page – simple, seasonal, built to convert

• Targeted ads – geo-targeted Facebook & Instagram campaigns

• Follow-up system – text, email, and call leads within 24 hours

Let's bring it home! 

Back-to-school is too big to “wing it.”

Let me say that again - it's too big to just mess around - and being this is our 15th season - far too many people wait way too long to get it going.

And they suffer because of this.

You need a coordinated martial arts marketing or fitness marketing plan that combines print, video, and web—and you need to start early! 

At Dojo Muscle, we specialize in martial arts print marketing, high-converting video ads, and full fitness and gym marketing campaigns that actually fill classes.

If you want to skip the guesswork and have a proven plan ready to launch—

Connect with us and let’s make your back-to-school season the best one yet.