Did you see the news story about how our instructor Stephan chased down a thief, recovered a womanโs stolen purse, and then casually went back to teaching class like nothing happened?
The woman who got her purse back said it felt like she had โan angel on her shoulderโ and that the experience โrestored her faith in humanity.โ
๐ฅ You can watch the 2 min 30 sec video here.
But this newsletter isnโt about a feel-good story, itโs about how I turned this small incident into a free marketing machine for our martial arts schools.
It All Started With a Random DMโฆ
Thursday night, I got a message on Instagram from someone I didnโt know.
"Hi, are you the owner of Action Karate in Northern Liberties?"
I donโt teach at the school, so most students and parents donโt know me personally. My first thought?
Oh crap, someoneโs mad about billing. Or maybe a neighbor is about to complain about noise levels.
So I cautiously respondedโฆ "Why do you ask?"
Turns out, it was a woman who was desperate to tell me about how one of our instructors just stopped a crime in progress and got her purse back.
Now, hereโs where the marketing magic begins.
Step 1: Record Everything
Before she got too deep into the story, I cut her off:
๐ "WAIT! Is it okay if I record this call?"
She agreed, so I hit record on my iPhone.
Then, I asked her if sheโd be willing to post about it in the local community Facebook group. She wasnโt in the group, so she sent me the story via text and I posted it for her, with a killer HOOK to make sure people actually read it.
๐ Hereโs how I started the post:
Attached to the post was a photo of Stephan teaching, with our schoolโs logo in the background.
As you can imagineโฆ this BLEW UP.
Step 2: Use the Buzz to Capture Leads
In the comments section of the community post, I added:
"We're hosting a FREE women's self-defense workshop! If you're interested, drop a comment below, and Iโll send you the details."
๐ฅ We got 33 replies from women who wanted to join.
I called Stephan immediately: "We need to schedule this NOW!"
He looked at the calendar. "Hmm, how about April 20th?"
NO.
We needed this as soon as possible. I wanted Canva graphics, a Facebook event, and a sign-up form IMMEDIATELY so we could start replying to comments with RSVP links.
Step 3: Get the Media Involved
A few minutes laterโฆ
๐ฒ The Philadelphia Inquirer is calling.
They saw the community post and wanted to run a story.
I didnโt just give them the facts, I gave them a story:
๐ก How Stephan DMโd me two years ago asking for a job.
๐ก How he risked everything applying for a visa, getting rejected multiple times.
๐ก How I spent thousands on legal fees for the CHANCE that it would workout.
The reporter had no idea how much depth this story had until I told him.
Then they askedโฆ
"Do you have any security footage?"
Yes.
"Do you have any other video?"
Noโฆ but I was about to make one.
I took the recorded phone call, edited it into a 2-minute video, and overlaid it with stock footage to visually tell the story.
Step 4: Re-Market, Repost, Repeat
I posted the video on Instagram and tagged local news stations.
๐ฅ Fox29 called. They came the next day for an interview.
๐ฅ CBS called. They scheduled an interview for 5AM.
Now, EVERY Action Karate location started reposting the story. The news stations even included a CTA for our free self-defense workshop!
๐ฅ 63K views laterโฆ the workshop is filling up FAST. ๐ฅ
And thenโฆ the Philadelphia Health Department called.
They asked us to train their 1,700+ employees.
The 3 Keys to Making This Work for YOUR School
๐ Record everything. If I didnโt have the audio, this wouldnโt have gone beyond a simple Facebook post.
๐ Do outbound marketing. I tagged the news networksโonce one picked it up, the rest followed.
๐ Re-market & repeat. I made multiple versions of the story and reposted.
Now, to actually convert this into new students, weโll follow the same process I teach my clients in the Triangle Codex:
๐ Collect contact info for everyone who RSVPs.
๐ Make a personal connection BEFORE the event.
๐ Create an irresistible offer for that day only.
Itโs simple. Repeatable. Scalable.
Final Thought
This is the same exact strategy John used to grow his school to six figures before his 25th birthday. You can watch how he did it HERE.
I know this newsletter was longer than my usual 3-min read, but hopefully, this detailed playbook helps you replicate this in your own school.
If youโre ready to grow your school organically,without relying on birthday parties and table events, but by creating strategic partnerships with your local schoolsโฆ
You free marketing hype man
Matthew Brenner
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