Lana Surnina - Studio Marketing Secrets

01/11/2024

Happy Halloween from On Tap Digital!

17/10/2024

Yeah, WhatsApp for me. You?

15/10/2024

Hey, friendly friends. Life is going on, and isn't it interesting? We've just come back a couple of days ago from a beautiful O'Reilly's retreat in Lamington National Park, and oh my God, every time we go there, something truly magical happens. The healing power of this place is incredible. Whenever I feel tired, off, or just in need of mental rest and recharge, it's definitely my go-to place. In fact, it's been our family’s go-to for the whole 16 years we've been in Australia.

And so, an update is coming from me. Isn't it interesting how life happens, and sometimes you just don’t have much control? Over the past month or so, everything was going well until the day I got shingles and a pinched nerve in my shoulder. I really had difficulties lifting my arm, and it was pretty horrendous. I've never experienced anything like that before.
I went to an osteo, and honestly, that was the biggest thing that helped me. I’m much better now, though I still experience a little pain, but nothing major. I've even started my physical exercise routine again.

Then, as soon as I started recovering, about a week or two later, Vika went rollerblading with her friend and fell, fracturing her sacrum. Thankfully, it wasn’t a bad fracture. She was still able to move around, though not too actively, but she could walk and even sit for short periods. We got through that stage, and now she’s looking forward to getting back to her ballet and contemporary lessons, especially since she was preparing for the end-of-year concert.

On another note, Serge is just finishing up the kitchen renovations. We’re really just doing the basics, replacing a few things here and there to freshen it up and make it look nicer. It’s probably been overdue for a while, and he's been busy with that while I’ve been tied up with the agency.

On the business side of things, the amazing thing right now is that some of our meta ads are performing really well, converting way higher than expected. We’ve been selling $99 offers, and they’re practically flying off the shelves for some of the accounts, which has been a great test.

Another big win for us has been our Prospect Boomerang campaign. We've made it truly performance-based, meaning the business owners don’t pay us upfront to bring new clients through the door. We handle the entire tech setup and all that jazz, and only collect a small fee after the sale. This has been working amazingly well. Some of our clients have brought in 169 new customers, and others have pulled in 30 new clients from a database of just 1,200 contacts.

So, if you’re in business and you’ve got a list of previous clients, dead leads, or inquiries sitting around, we might have something worth chatting about. We’re taking this campaign on completely free upfront, and I’d be more than happy to offer it to those on my list. Just let me know!

One more thing: if you’re my friend and you’re in business, and you need a customer relationship management (CRM) software to keep things organized, or you want to build websites and funnels, we’ve got pre-built stuff ready to go. If you’d like to set up some automations or anything like that, let me know. I can most likely organize something for you, for free. It could really help your business!

Apart from that, I’m really looking forward to catching up with my friends. I’d love to devote the next couple of months to setting up some meetings. So, if we haven’t caught up in a while, send me a message and let’s set something up!

24/09/2024

Hey friends in business! If you're getting leads and they don't seem to be converting as well as they should, read this now. We have a process in place to turn your dead leads sitting and doing nothing in your database into real customers. And literally risk-free with minimum costs involved. If you're a business needing help, comment below and I'll guide you through how it works.

20/09/2024

Struggling with Meta Ads? Let’s Get Real.

Okay, let’s just cut to the chase here.

You’ve thrown money at Meta ads, hoping for a magic bullet, and got… nada.
You hired an agency, crossed your fingers, and still, nothing.

Frustrating, right?

Here’s the deal: The problems you’re facing with Meta ads won’t just vanish because you’re scared to invest again. If you’re still spinning your wheels, stuck with the same issues that made you try ads in the first place, then we need to talk.

A Few Hard Truths:

Consistency is Everything: Meta ads aren’t a one-hit wonder. It’s about making consistent, strategic moves and building your skillset. I’ve been at this game for over eight years, testing and tweaking like a mad scientist.

Testing Isn’t Optional: If you threw a few hundred bucks at Meta ads and didn’t get results, it’s not because Meta’s broken. It’s because you didn’t put enough skin in the game. You’ve got to keep testing—offers, creatives, targeting—until you hit that sweet spot.

Adapt or Get Left Behind: Meta is a moving target. What crushed it last month could bomb today. Staying on top of the game is key.

Your Offer & Creative Matter. A LOT: If your offer doesn’t grab attention and your creative doesn’t stop the scroll, you’re done. Period. And yes, it’s basic, but you’d be amazed how many people overlook this.

Patience Wins the Race: I’ve seen solid returns by being patient, running experiment after experiment, and refining strategies. Meta advertising can be a goldmine, but only if you’re willing to stick it out and fine-tune your approach.

Got questions? Drop them below—I’ve been through the ups and downs of Meta ads and am here to share what I’ve learned. Let’s get your ads working like they’re supposed to!

17/09/2024

Free classes are certainly popular among fitness studios and gyms, but they often result in a lot of uncommitted leads. In many cases, these leads either no-show about 50-70% of the time, or when they do show up, they explicitly state they were only there to "try it out" with no intention of joining. This leads to frustration for studio owners who are looking for more committed members.

We’ve found a simple yet effective way to solve this issue—by introducing a paid introductory offer, which must be paid upfront. This approach ensures nearly 100% show-up rates. It also introduces new leads to the concept of an unlimited membership, making it more likely they’ll commit long-term. All the money from the paid offers goes directly into the client’s account, providing immediate returns for the gym.

We recently worked with Tiffany, and in just six weeks, we sold 36 paid trials—a solid result. The number of trials sold often depends on the pricing of the introductory offer. Lower-priced offers tend to sell more but may attract fewer committed leads, whereas higher-priced offers might sell fewer, but the quality of the lead tends to be more committed.

If you’re interested in learning more or have any questions about how this could work for your studio, feel free to drop a comment below and I’ll be happy to connect!

10/09/2024

Our method isn’t just about attracting parents and students initially; we also focus on retargeting. This means we keep engaging with potential students through multiple offers until they find the one that’s right for them🎯

It’s all about persistence and finding the perfect fit, not just a one-time pitch!

10/09/2024

Gyms and Studios, never chase a lead again. Seriously, focus on ROI activities such as sales and member retention and let this work to be done by someone else. You'll be less tired and feel happier overall 💯 🙏

03/09/2024

Lita has been running her Performing Arts Academy for over 15 years, successfully managing everything from marketing strategies to TV commercials. But as her academy grew, so did the demands on her time. Even though she knew how to handle the marketing herself, she just didn’t have the time to do it all anymore.

That’s when she met us! We understood exactly what she was going through and stepped in to help. We brought in 30 new students in the first month and saw that number grow to 70 by the second month. Plus, with hundreds of leads interested, Lita could finally focus on what she loves most—teaching and inspiring her students—while we took care of the rest.

Sometimes, it’s not about knowing how to do it, but having the time to do it all. And that’s where we come in!

15/08/2024

Carrying the weight of your studio on your shoulders and barely finding time to focus on what you love? That’s exactly where Lita was—until things turned around.

Everything got so much easier once she started working with us. The setup was fast, and suddenly, she had the time and space to dive back into her passion: teaching. She could finally create new programs, make online content, and actually plan for the future, all without the constant stress of managing everything herself.

Check out her story to see how we helped her go from overwhelmed to thriving (Link to full video in comments)

15/08/2024

14/08/2024

Taking care of your wellness isn’t just a daily choice—it’s a lifelong investment.

If you don’t make room for self-care now, you might get a big bill to pay later.

It’s easy to think that skipping a workout or two, grabbing fast food frequently, and working too much without all

06/08/2024

If I have to make one more lead chasing, I might just shave my head! 🤯 Most dance school owners are sweating over ads, flyers, and open houses, desperately trying to fill their classes. But our new strategy makes it easy to get 15-45+ new students every month. It's a total game-changer! Link to the full video in the comments 👇🏻

23/07/2024

Sometimes, I just feel like a business hospital, doing resuscitation to ad accounts and spending hours and hours just trying to help someone do a little bit better in their business. While it is admittedly very tiring, I also feel really content, especially if the 'operation', so to say, was successful and we were able to help the business in a major way. What's happening right now in the ads accounts is completely horrendous.

We got a few accounts' ads rejected yesterday for various unreasonable reasons, which are 99% false positives.

On top of that, what we've noticed in the previous months is really interesting. One of the accounts we were able to break down had leads that were traditionally pretty expensive, around $30 per lead in the US. We changed our approach, tried a new angle and offer, and boom, suddenly leads were about $6-7. We are back to partying with a good number of leads.

In other accounts, the leads are coming in fine, but they are not converting. This is a completely pull-your-hair type of problem because if leads are not converting, how long is a business going to pay for those leads? We know it’s not a complaint from the business; we know firsthand because we are converting the leads ourselves. So, we really have to break down the conversion part of the leads. We’ve applied a few new approaches and techniques that helped us create leads that convert way better.

Overall, I would just say that we've gotten to a new level of complexity with advertising. If you want to survive in a climate like this, you really have to think about multi-layered campaigns again. All that simple stuff still works on some accounts, but in many accounts, you just have to split test by genders, by ages, by different types of persona, you have to split test the offers, and the creatives and all that fun stuff. As a result, some of the accounts that were looking completely dead-ish, like converting very slowly, have surprised us by starting to convert on autopilot. So far, we've done 16 sales for the month for one account that has been slow before. That’s been a major breakthrough for us, making that account work gives us the feeling that we can make anything work.

So yeah, anyone who is related to running ads, I'm just telling you that a lot of us are going through way more hardship at the moment with meta ads. It's never been that easy; it's like a unicorn land on one hand, and on the other, it's a platform that you really have to make work. There's no fixed structure, and quite often the logic is missing. But I still believe that from looking at figures and numbers, it beats any other platform in our case, and it's still our number one choice for the majority of cases.

04/07/2024

This 4th of July, we join our American friends in celebrating freedom and unity. At On Tap Digital, we know that just like fireworks, your business can light up the digital sky. Wishing everyone a sparkling Independence Day! 🎆🇺🇸

20/06/2024

We've been keeping pretty busy and overflowing with clients at the moment, and it's been a blessing for us this US summer! Specifically, we've got two five-location businesses on board for one of our most powerful campaigns called Prospect Boomerang. This campaign usually brings pretty amazing results, so let's just see how we go with that!
On the personal life side of things, everything is pretty much like normal. We're going out quite often, a few times a week, which is great. The only downside is having to eat at all these mainstream places. We don't really feel good after eating these types of foods. We're probably too spoiled with organic foods, grass-fed meat, high-quality vegetables, and avoiding vegetable oils. So, when we eat out, I feel pretty yucky. But we went to a few places this week, and it's always nice to just go out and hang somewhere.
I find myself back to my yoga practice routine at home. We had a gym subscription, but then we signed up for a yoga studio 22 minutes away because I wanted Victoria, who is 11, to come with me. It was the nearest studio that allowed a child into the classes. But now our pass has expired, and driving there isn't very convenient. Plus, we've been dealing with a virus thingy. So, it made me go back to my normal yoga routine at home and start the Ashtanga Primary series again. I'm currently doing them three times a week, along with a couple of sauna sessions, two to three walks, and two to three outings a week.

16/06/2024

Happy Father's Day to all the incredible dads out there, who can fix anything with duct tape!

Thanks for all the dad jokes, life lessons, and unconditional love! ❤️

Enjoy your special day!

07/06/2024

Let me just share today about some breakthroughs we're experiencing in our agency and what’s really working for us right now. First off, we’ve seen a significant increase in sales this month, which is fantastic news! We've been focusing on low-ticket offers for our clients and have achieved better conversions by refining our ads, automations, funnels, and training for appointment setter.

Secondly, we’re currently testing an AI for calling leads. This AI is in the final stages of testing, and we’ve already started using it with leads, yielding some very promising results. The AI contacts leads, makes an offer, and schedules a follow-up call if the person is interested, effectively filtering out genuinely interested parties. For B2B, I believe this is a significant breakthrough that’s likely to gain traction this year. The use of calling AI could become a great alternative, especially given the rising cost of ads

11/05/2024

Happy Mother's Day! Here's to all the super moms out there who make the world brighter. Wishing you a day filled with love and laughter! ❤️💐💌

28/04/2024

Hey friends in group fitness business, acquiring new clients is getting tougher by the day. The economy is down, and inflation is up.

Don't get me wrong, I hear these statements every day:

- My rent is up

- Cost Per Lead has got through the roof

- Leads are not converting into sales

How do you protect yourself in a situation like this? Well, I might not have a direct answer in this post, but I'm happy to examine your situation from my 20 years of experience.

But all in all, here are some strategies that might help:

-Tighten the bolts, fasten the belts, and get ready for the rollercoaster ride.

-Hire an expert to review your ads to decrease cost per lead and increase conversions

- Share or rent out parts of the space, move to a new one if it will help with the marketing budget

- Keep marketing!!! Increase your efforts, expand into organic, and find nooks where your competition is still just catching up.

Yes, that may sound like a lot more work, but at the end of the day, you'll be happy you did it.

If you'd like to know how we could add 100K to your bottom line in the next 30-90 days or just simply want to chat and get some ideas rolling, I'm happy to do it for free, no strings attached.

24/04/2024

Ah, the wisdom of Mark Twain!

These words hold a truth that's both simple and profound.

How often do we find ourselves hesitating, waiting for the perfect moment to begin our journey toward success?

But here's the thing: the journey begins with that first step.

It's about overcoming the inertia of doubt and fear, and taking that leap of faith into the unknown.

Think about it: every great accomplishment, every extraordinary feat, started with someone simply taking that initial step forward.

So, let's embrace the power of beginnings. Let's shed the shackles of procrastination and self-doubt, and dare to embark on our journey toward greatness.

The secret is out: it's not about waiting for the right moment; it's about creating it.

So, what are you waiting for?