A website works when the student decides to visit it. An app works when you decide to reach them. That difference is the whole argument for having your own app, and push notifications are the mechanism.
Practice is a habit, and habits need a nudge
Students buy a program with good intentions. Then life happens. Two weeks later the program is still at lesson two, and the longer the gap, the less likely they are to come back, because coming back now also means admitting the gap. A short notification at the right moment, “Lesson 3 is fifteen minutes, your mat is waiting”, removes the decision. They tap, the lesson plays, and the habit survives.
You are on the home screen, not in a bookmark
Your icon sits next to the apps they open every day. That is worth more than any amount of search-engine work. A student scrolling past your icon is reminded of you without you doing anything at all, and opening it takes one tap, no password, straight into their program where they left off.
Notifications that actually help
The notifications that work are the ones a student would thank you for. From your BOS dashboard you can send a message to everyone who has your app, and the ones that earn their place are specific and rare:
- A new program is out. Your existing students are your best buyers, and this is the one message they expect from you.
- A new lesson in a program they own. The person who bought your hip series wants to know you added a seventh session.
- A gentle reminder. Once a week, for the student who has gone quiet, not daily.
- Something only you can say. A workshop date, a change in the studio schedule, a thought after a class.
Two notifications a month that matter beat ten that get muted. The students decide whether to allow notifications, so earn it.
The same account, everywhere
A student who buys a program on your website signs in to your app with the same email and finds it already there, with their progress and favourites. Someone who discovers you in the app store buys inside the app. You do not run two systems; you run one, with a web front door and a pocket one.
What it costs, and what it does not
With the BOS App plan we publish an iOS and Android app under your name, with your icon, your colours and your lessons, and keep it updated for the stores. You do not hire a developer, you do not learn Xcode, and we take no commission on what you sell through it. The app is a monthly fee, and for most teachers a single extra sale a week covers it.
A website waits for the student. An app goes and gets them.
Screen-off playback is the part teachers of audio practices ask about most; here is how the app handles guided meditations and breath work. If you are weighing a hosted platform’s app instead, the Uscreen pricing breakdown and the Passion.io comparison show what an app costs there.
Start with the free plugin on your site, and add the app when your students ask where to find you on their phone. They will. See the plans or apply for an account.