Wilton Classes....would You??
Decorating By SweetTreatsbyCarol Updated 8 Feb 2007 , 1:21pm by vickymacd
I've been working with Wilton/Hobby Lobby to become an instructor and have scheduled classes but a couple months no one signed up; another month only 2 people signed up so the class had to be cancelled as Hobby Lobby requires 4 students to hold the class.
What kind of advertising/information, flyers, etc caught your eye to make you want to sign up for classes? Does word-of-mouth work better? I'm really excited about teaching but its just not happening...yet.
Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks already 
Do they have a flier you could add the class into? Or even a poster in the store would make a difference. Maybe have a table set up with a few things from the course and a finished cake with a schedual of when the classes are offered. Hope you get some great turn outs soon!
I wanted to do it, so I was seeking something, but there was a pretty big bulletin board at the Jo-Anns where I'm taking mine. It had all the classes on there. Also there are a few moms in my class and all of their kids go to the same preschool, maybe you could talk to a few pre-schools and get a flyer up there or in their newsletter. HTH
The Hobby Lobby here has a poster as well as a display cake set up just inside the doors for their Wilton classes. The instructor has a little hand out there with all of the classes she offers and their schedules. You might also be able to put a small photo album with pictures of some of the cakes they will be able to make after each course?
Or if you could set up a table a do a couple of demonstrations at the store, to encourage people and show them . . . not necessarily how easy it is . . . but that it's not extremely difficult. I know it's a lot of work, but I was originally intimidated that it would be too hard for me to do and have it look respectable. The instructor encouraged me to "just try the first course" and now I'm hooked! 
I teach the Wilton classes at Hobby Lobby in Iowa. When I first started, I also taught at another independent store. When they wanted to get classes going, they let me do a DEMO for 2-3 hours on a Saturday morning. Whenever heavy traffic time is. You basically just stand there right inside the front door and demonstrate what you do in Course 1. You don't really show them anything, the trick is to get them to want to sign up! Maybe you could have a special promo if they signed up that day? Talk with your manager at the store, maybe you could work something out! Good luck! It's lots of fun!! 
Thanks already for the replies, keep them coming......
I think I'm going to go in this weekend with some cupcakes for the employees and give them an incentive to ask customers if they know about the classes. Just talked to my supervisor and she suggested maybe I have an employee competition and who ever gets the most customers signed up, gets a free cake from me.
Michele--what did you do during the 2-3 hour demo? What things from course 1 did you show, and did you wait for people to stop before you began or what? Were you nervous?
I totally agree with MicheleH.
You could also make business cards with the Wilton logo on them, all you need is your name, phone number and name of place where you teach. Pass them out at birthday parties, where moms and dads pay big bucks for store bought cakes.
Sometimes I will straighten up the Wilton isle during my break at a demonstation and approach people that are buying cake supplies. I ask them if they've taken classes and 9 out of 10 times they haven't. I give them my business card and a calendar with the days my classes are scheduled. GOOD LUCK!
I signed up for the Wilton classes after I saw a sign in the wilton aisle. It was bright and stood out from everything else. I commented on the sign to my instructor and she said no one was signing up for classes so she came up with the sign and now she has 3-5 classes scheduled every month, she also does the demos every other weekend to get people interested in it. Hopefully it will work for you as well.
I would also see about putting a 'display' of dummy cakes on a table or something when you walk in with fliers.
At the Demo you basically just sit/stand there and decorate. Nothing too eleborate. Maybe a cake with a rose spray, the rainbow cake like in Lesson 2, or anything that is related to the current holiday. You want to have people see you decorate, but not actually show them anything. Have a big sign with your dates of classes and a sign up sheet.
Something that also helps me is having classes scheduled 6 months in advance, so that if people can't make one month, they will possibly sign up for another. This also helps the store employees be informed.
I also agree with someone who said above about the dummy cake. You could make one that goes along with whichever class you are teaching.
If Wilton has a instructor meeting or seminar near you, make sure you go!!! These are lots of fun and you learn tons of stuff to help you with your account!
I also 'wanted' to do this so I looked into it. But I think having the dummy cakes/cupcakes decorated makes a difference. But at Michaels, my last class had only two people in it and she still had class. They told me even if I was the only one signed up, there would be class. Sounds like Michaels doesn't have a limit on size.
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%