Online tutors - how do you market yourself?

[Clappuccino]

I have recently set up as an online tutor, having loved teaching DS all through lockdown. He's back at school now, so I have daytime hours free to teach online. I'm a fully qualified teacher, DBS checked etc and can teach a variety of subjects - but it's hard to know where to advertise.

Where would you go to look, if you needed a tutor for your children? Would it depend on whether you required Primary or Secondary subjects? 11+? EFL?

Would you be likely to check the 'Services' section of your local newspapers or free ads?

Would you tend to read a flyer that came through the door, or would it go straight into the recycling?

I've registered with some online tutoring sites and put out some local advertising, I've also designed flyers and had them printed. I'm going to distribute them in the next county over to hit the 11+ catchment.

Is there anything else I could be doing? What's worked for you?

Thanks!

Joining local Facebook groups and giving advice on education type posts is a good way to get your name out there.

I am also interested in this. Fully qualified for years and recently been dong supply as it works with my family. However not so sure about that with Covid so keeping to one or two schools.

Are there any tutor sites anyone can recommend?

Also has anyone taught English online (Chinese/Japanese children) think I am going to start getting very bored at home.

Word of mouth from previous students and parents seems to be the best way. I have had no luck with Facebook, I had one student through Facebook and the parent kept ‘forgetting’ to pay. I had to end tuition due to this.

There are plenty of tuition sites out there so they would be a good option.

I used to use tutorhunt, but they increased their fees and commission.

I now use myqualifiedteacher.org as it is completely free.

Sounds like you’re doing the right things already but the biggest source of advertising g is through word of mouth. Parents of previous students who have used your services and been successful will spread the word for you, so you will need time to build up a winning reputation.

I have tutored at GCSE and A level on Tutor Hunt. They match.your details to people searching for a tutor. You have to put your price structure and the kids you tutor rate you.

Hi. I’m looking to get a parent’s view on tutoring as I am an A* English A level student (with a grade 9 at GCSE) and I am going on to study English at university. This year I managed to bring my brother’s (who is in year 8) English grades up significantly throughout 2020’s homeschooling. I used a simple method of reading through his tasks and advising him rather than dictating his answers. This allowed him to learn and approach future tasks using the same techniques. I understand that it has been a tough year for teachers, parents and students but do you feel as parents it would be beneficial to have this kind of advice as I am looking to set up my own, small, online business so I can advise on specific tasks and homework etc. Obviously I understand I am not qualified to teach English but having only a few years earlier completed similar topics, I feel confident that I can deliver worthy help and advice.

Saskia, I would say that you need to be a qualified teacher to tutor, but there are plenty of websites where you can offer your services as an unqualified tutor. You would obviously be charging less than teachers, but some parents might be happy for you to work with their children - when my own kids were little, I knew parents who paid teenagers to listen to their kids read, do spellings, times tables practice etc.

TutorHunt is probably the best site.
Also, set up a facebook page and a single page website and register the website on 'Google my business', so that it comes up on Google maps.
Finally, network with other tutors so that they can refer you and vice versa.

Would be useful to hear if the flyers distribution worked for you?

All the best

Hi,

Just to update the thread - I'm the OP.

The best site for me ended up being "Bark". I've gained lots of my customers there, or through word of mouth. I'm very chuffed actually that over half of my tutees have come to me by recommendation. I used TutorHunt in the early days, but think that the cut they take is so great that to price myself competitively I ended up working at a rate well below what I was worth.

I'm in the lucky position of turning work away now - but then I provide a really good service for parents and children - and I don't think any other tutors offer what I do.

Word of mouth is how we found ours. You could target exam years (y10-13) or those doing whatever it is to get into secondary (no idea as our school went straight through).
Is there a WhatsApp group in your school for those years? Any of your friends with kids in those years? Just getting a couple students and it could well take off: other parents are the first port of call for people when looking for a tutor. Don't be shy.

I teach English grammar (and other things) online through Outschool. The company isn't so well-known over here but you can do 1:1 tutoring or small group lessons in any subject. You teach when you want as well.