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If you’re a beauty school owner or director asking, “what should a beauty school spend on marketing?”, you’re not alone. In an increasingly competitive landscape, where both traditional institutions and pop-up certificate programs are vying for the same students, allocating the right marketing budget isn’t just smart—it’s critical to your success. Looking for beauty school marketing information? You’ve come to the right place.
So let’s answer the question clearly and strategically.
The golden rule for beauty school marketing budgets is this: 10% of your annual revenue should be allocated to marketing. This includes everything related to promotion—both digital and physical. That means if your school brings in $1,000,000 in tuition from student enrollment, your marketing budget should be $100,000 annually.
That’s not arbitrary. It’s based on real-world data and optimized campaign strategies from beauty education marketing agencies that have scaled schools across the U.S.
Let’s break it down.
Let’s say your beauty school enrolls 50 students annually at $20,000 per student. That’s $1,000,000 in revenue. A 10% allocation means you have $100,000 per year to bring in those 50 students—$2,000 per student acquisition on average.
Now, consider this: If you close 1 out of every 10 potential students that expresses interest, then it takes 10 leads to generate 1 enrolled student. That gives you a Price Per Prospect (PPS) target of no more than $200 per prospective student.
If you’re spending more than that, your funnel is inefficient. If you’re spending less and still hitting your numbers, congrats—you’ve built an efficient system.
But the 10% model gives you a realistic benchmark to grow.
Here’s where many schools get confused. Marketing is not just Facebook posts and an open house banner. A full-stack marketing budget should include:
Your website is your digital front door. In today’s world, it is the primary sales representative for your beauty school. Students, parents, and even influencers evaluating your brand will judge you based on your site.
A conversion-optimized website that loads fast, works on mobile, showcases your programs, and integrates forms for lead capture is critical. If your website isn’t actively helping you enroll students, it’s hurting your business.
This category includes:
Estimated allocation: $30,000–$40,000/year depending on rebuild needs and scale.
Paid advertising—especially through Google—should be one of your largest line items. This is where you get in front of “high-intent” users actively searching for:
Each of these clicks can turn into leads. But they must be targeted with the right keywords, landing pages, and tracking in place to ensure your beauty school marketing dollars are well spent.
Estimated allocation: $30,000–$40,000/year
While social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok are great for brand awareness, their real power lies in retargeting. That means you stay in front of the people who’ve visited your website or engaged with your content—but didn’t sign up yet.
You can also boost posts to your ideal demographic: beauty-interested 18–25-year-olds within a 30-mile radius of your school.
This part of the budget helps nurture cold leads into warm prospects.
Estimated allocation: $10,000–$15,000/year
Yes, print is still relevant. Especially if your school is involved in local community events, high school career fairs, or sends materials to students who request info packs.
This category includes:
Estimated allocation: $5,000–$10,000/year
Even your physical materials need to be well-designed. Paying for quality design once pays off over time. Branding consistency also increases trust—which increases conversions.
Design can include:
Estimated allocation: $3,000–$5,000/year
If you’re working with a specialized agency (like Olympia Marketing or another beauty school marketing expert), you’ll need to allocate a portion of the budget for:
A good marketing partner should provide $2–$3 in return for every $1 spent. If they’re not doing that—time to reassess.
Estimated allocation: $10,000–$20,000/year
Let’s clarify one major point: Interior decorating, uniforms, classroom beautification, and salon upgrades are not marketing. While they influence student experience and perception, they fall under operations or capital improvements, not marketing spend.
Think of marketing as what gets the student in the door. It’s how you generate attention, interest, and ultimately enrollment.
Your beauty school’s tuition rate will determine your allowable spend per student. The 10% rule still applies.
This model helps keep your Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) healthy and ensures profitability.
If your marketing isn’t working within these numbers—you need to optimize, not cut.
Here’s how you figure out your lead costs and performance:
So if your Google Ads or Meta Ads are costing $20–$30 per lead and you’re closing 10% of them—you’re within the ideal range.
If you’re paying $400/lead and still only closing 10%, that’s a broken funnel.
Yes. If you’re opening a new location or launching a brand refresh, your first 12 months should heavily invest in marketing infrastructure—even up to 15% of anticipated revenue.
That includes:
Once the systems are in place, you can maintain at 10% annually.
If your beauty school offers advanced courses, product sales, or continuing education—your average customer LTV (lifetime value) may be higher than the base tuition. That gives you more flexibility in your student acquisition budget.
Invest in growing student relationships, not just short-term leads.
To summarize, what should a beauty school spend on marketing? The answer is simple: 10% of your revenue or tuition. Not because it’s a round number, but because that’s what allows you to:
✅ Get in front of the right students
✅ Scale profitably
✅ Maintain visibility in a crowded market
✅ Build predictable enrollment every quarter
Your marketing budget isn’t just about today’s leads—it’s about building a pipeline of future students who already trust your brand before they ever set foot on campus.
So spend wisely, track relentlessly, and optimize continuously. Your school’s growth depends on it.
Download our real-world Beauty School Marketing Case Study to see how we helped a top academy increase enrollments by 240% in just 6 months.
📩 [Download Case Study]
🎯 Or grab our bonus guide: “5 Rapid-Fire Growth Hacks for Beauty Schools in 2025 (Fill Every Class)”
Below is a sample P&L for an imaginary company, but to demonstrate a breakdown of how total revenue is collected via students, and how money can/should be spent – both from a marketing perspective, but also an overall perspective across various channels.
In this example the company is graduating 50 students/year (in cosmetology) at $20,000 for the full tuition for a total revenue of $1,000,000.
| Category | Amount (USD) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | ||
| Student Tuition (50 x $20,000) | $1,000,000 | Core tuition revenue |
| Total Revenue | $1,000,000 | |
| Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) | ||
| Instructional Staff (teachers) | $180,000 | 2–3 full-time instructors or part-time equivalents |
| Student Kits & Supplies | $40,000 | ~$800/student for kits/salon consumables |
| Licensing & Curriculum Materials | $10,000 | NAAS-approved program licensing, textbooks, exams |
| Total COGS | $230,000 | |
| Gross Profit | $770,000 | Revenue – COGS |
| Operating Expenses | ||
| Rent & Facility Lease | $96,000 | $8,000/month for commercial space |
| Utilities & Insurance | $18,000 | Electric, water, HVAC, liability and property insurance |
| Admin Salaries (Director, Registrar) | $120,000 | 1 Director, 1 Registrar/Admin Assistant |
| Marketing & Advertising | $100,000 | 10% of revenue – includes website, AdWords, social, print, agency |
| Software & Subscriptions | $6,000 | CRM, LMS, Zoom, scheduling tools |
| Maintenance / Janitorial | $12,000 | Cleaning staff or contract service |
| Printing & Office Supplies | $5,000 | Brochures, student packets, daily ops |
| Legal, Accounting, & Compliance | $8,000 | CPA, lawyer, accreditation expenses |
| Miscellaneous Expenses | $5,000 | Team meals, student graduation events, etc. |
| Total Operating Expenses | $370,000 | |
| Net Operating Income (EBITDA) | $400,000 | Gross Profit – Operating Expenses |
| Depreciation & Equipment | $20,000 | Classroom/salon equipment, wear and tear |
| Net Profit Before Tax | $380,000 |