the edu-tainer spectrum | free cookies | what u give & what u sell


Just back from La La Land Yogis,

Where I was doing copious amounts of yoga, eating copious amounts of Mexican food (much of it vegan #debatable), being amazed at how many copious things are now legally available in CA; taking many meetings (we're fundraising), developing staff (we're growing) and meditating while watching the ocean.

10 years ago when I had the idea to start YAMA I was living in LA and surrounded by friends who were in the entertainment business: actors/directors/producers & I was also surrounded by some of the finest yoga educators on earth. It was always clear to me that in the entertainment world there were artists you watched do things and artists you learned how to do things from. Kind of like the Food Network:  sometimes you watch someone cook, and sometimes they teach you how to cook.  Some cooks do both and some do not.

The same dynamic applies to yoga teachers; some teachers are entertainers, some teachers are educators and some teachers are what we call edu-tainers. It was a lot easier to differentiate between the two before social media arrived.

I go more in depth into the topic of edu-tainment while on the Free Cookies podcast with the lovely (& recently married!) Kathryn Budig & Kate Fagan (link in #trending below.)

Now that we have a hyper visual communication method where everyone regardless of competence/skill/talent can broadcast themselves, we enter a highly confusing time where it is hard for students to know who's who on the edu-tainment spectrum & it's equally hard for teachers to explain who they are on the spectrum as well.

At YAMA we like to look at controllable factors within every given situation.

What can't we control?  The fact that social media is a highly potent tool.  

What can we control?  How we use it. 

It is so important that the content that we give away via social media channels matches the content we sell & represents who we are on the spectrum:

what u give & what u sell

Would I like to share every good meal I eat and every physical development of my practice? Of course, but handstands and brunches don't match what I'm selling: business services and support for Yogis, the real life trials & tribulations of the entrepreneur, and the success of our Yogis worldwide. 

We work hard to keep our content focused.

Oftentimes, when we conduct marketing assessments, there are major disconnects between the content that a teacher gives away and the content that a teacher sells.

We can't control confusion in the marketplace, but we can steer in the direction that serves us best.

To help breakdown this concept and to help you organize both the content u give & the content u sell, we created a tool that we call the Content Build, which you can see a little sneak peek of below.

The Content Build is an 8 page section of the gorgeous 85 page Ebook that comes with our guided online business school, The Catalyst.

Enjoy, and let us know how you match up. Does what u give match what u sell?  Are you communicating where you truly lie on the spectrum?

In Health,

Ava