Education / Youth Activities & Organizations
Martial Arts Marketing
Martial arts marketing from MBI is one introductory-class offer — a free or low-cost first class, or a short trial — carried to the household by postcards and letters, onto the screen by Facebook and Instagram, and answered by an opt-in text sequence that follows up, reminds and renews.
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What does martial arts marketing from MBI actually run?
The short answer
Martial arts marketing at MBI runs one introductory-class offer through three channels at once: a free or low-cost first class or short trial mailed on postcards and letters, the same offer on Facebook and Instagram for parents and for adults, and an opt-in text sequence that follows up, reminds and renews.
The three concepts. The three researched campaign concepts for this vertical are a free or low-cost introductory-class direct-mail offer, a Facebook and Instagram free beginner class or short trial campaign, and an opt-in introductory-class follow-up and class-reminder SMS sequence.
One team. MBI plans, prints and mails from one team in DeLand, Florida; data, print and delivery have been in-house since 1989.
direct mail marketing services digital advertising services direct mail and digital marketing
One offer, three channels
Postcard · Direct Mail
SMS
Direct mail
How does martial arts direct mail carry an introductory-class offer to a household?
The short answer
Martial arts direct mail carries one introductory-class offer — a free or low-cost first class, or a short trial — into the household on a postcard or a letter. The same piece does two jobs: it reaches families who have never trained, and it brings back a former student, each list getting its own version of the offer.
The documented mail. Martial-arts industry material identifies introductory-class offers and direct mail and letters for acquisition and reactivation; the reviewed sources did not establish a family or sibling offer as a standard practice.
The formats. Martial-arts mailings use postcards and letters.
Postcard · Direct Mail
Facebook and Instagram
Who are martial arts Facebook ads written for — a parent or an adult?
The short answer
Both, written separately. Martial arts Facebook and Instagram ads lead with the same free introductory class or short trial the mail carries, while the message changes with who is deciding: a parent choosing on behalf of a child, or an adult choosing for themselves. MBI writes and runs both, and keeps the offer identical across them.
The documented ads. A free introductory class or a short trial is the principal Facebook offer for a martial-arts school, with separate parent and adult audience messages.
Advertisers are responsible for understanding and complying with all applicable laws and regulations, and ads must not promote products, services, schemes or offers using identified deceptive or misleading practices.
Meta Advertising Standards
Advertising must be truthful and non-deceptive, advertisers must have evidence to back up their claims, and the law requires that advertisers have proof before the ad runs.
FTC, Advertising FAQ’s: A Guide for Small Business
Meta ad · Facebook
Meta carousel · Facebook
SMS
What does martial arts SMS marketing send, and when?
The short answer
Three things, all to people who opted in: follow-up after an introductory-class inquiry, a reminder before the class, and a renewal or join offer once a beginner has trained. The federal rule defines prior express written consent for automated marketing messages as a signed written agreement that must say, clearly, that signing it is not a condition of buying anything.
The sequence. Opt-in texts are used for introductory-class lead follow-up, class reminders, and renewal or join offers.
Prior express written consent means an agreement in writing, bearing the signature of the person called, that clearly authorizes the seller to deliver advertisements or telemarketing messages using an automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice, and the telephone number to which they may be delivered, with a clear and conspicuous disclosure that the person is not required to sign the agreement, or agree to enter into it, as a condition of purchasing any property, goods, or services.
FCC, 47 CFR § 64.1200(f) (TCPA)
Three texts
SMS
Printing
How are martial arts postcards produced and mailed?
The short answer
Postcards and letters are the two formats a martial arts mailing uses, and both are printed and mailed by the same team — data, print and delivery have been in-house at MBI since 1989. A mailed card runs from five by three-and-a-half inches up to nine by six inches.
A card-size mailpiece runs from a minimum of 5 inches by 3-1/2 inches at 0.007 inch thick to a maximum of 9 inches by 6 inches at 0.016 inch thick; a letter-size piece can reach 11-1/2 by 6-1/8 inches.
USPS Domestic Mail Manual 201
printing services postcard mailing services direct mail cost
Guide · Printing
Sheet · Printing
Seminars and events
Does a self-defense seminar belong in a martial arts campaign?
The short answer
Only where a school already holds one. A martial-arts association guide recommends parent-child self-defense seminars and family-fitness events — an event format, not proof that every school runs one. Where a school does hold one, MBI carries the same free or low-cost introductory-class offer around it and gives the mailing a dated reason to invite a household.
The association guide. A martial-arts association guide recommends parent-child self-defense seminars and family-fitness events, documented as an event format rather than as universal practice.
Only where one is held
Postcard · Direct Mail
One-sheet · Printing
Questions
Questions a martial arts school asks before it mails
Searched for martial arts school marketing, marketing for martial arts schools or martial arts advertising? Same work, same answers.
What offer does a martial arts campaign lead with?
One offer, everywhere: a free or low-cost introductory class or short trial. MBI mails it, runs it on Facebook and Instagram, and follows it up by opt-in text, so the postcard, the ad and the first message name the same class and ask for the same next step.
Which print formats does a martial arts mailing use?
Postcards and letters. MBI prints both and mails them, and each carries the same free or low-cost introductory-class offer the ads and the texts name, so a household sees one campaign arriving in the mailbox rather than two unrelated ones.
Can direct mail bring former students back?
Yes — reactivation is one of the two jobs the mail does for a martial-arts school, alongside acquisition. The same introductory-class offer is written for a household that has never trained and for a person who trained once and stopped, and MBI mails each list its own version.
Does a martial arts school need a family or sibling offer?
Not as a default. A family or sibling offer was not established as standard practice for martial-arts schools, so MBI does not build a mailing on it simply because it seems obvious. It may still suit a particular school; the introductory class is what the campaign leads with.
Does a beginner have to opt in before the school texts?
Yes. Every message in a martial arts campaign — the follow-up after an inquiry, the class reminder, the renewal or join offer — goes to someone who opted in. The federal rule defines prior express written consent for automated marketing messages as a signed written agreement, and signing it may never be made a condition of buying anything.
Should a martial arts school run a parent-child self-defense seminar?
One martial-arts association guide recommends parent-child self-defense seminars and family-fitness events — an event format, not proof that every school runs one. Where a school already holds one, MBI builds the same introductory-class offer around it and gives the mailing a dated reason to come in.
How is the cost of a martial arts mailing worked out?
What a mailing comes to is set by how many households it goes to and which piece it is printed on — a postcard or a letter. MBI does not quote a figure here; what moves a martial arts school's total is set out at /capabilities/direct-mail/direct-mail-cost.
Get started
Start a martial arts campaign.
Say which of the three it is, and the households around the school it should reach. It goes to a real member of the MBI team, not a queue.