How Do I Get Started as a Private Tutor? (Part 2)
Welcome to Part 2 of “How Do I Get Started as a Private Tutor?”
If you have not already, please take a read through of Part 1.
Part 2 picks up where Part 1 left off, and completes my recommendations on a starting point for becoming a professional tutor. As you read through the two please feel free to reach out to me with any questions, comments, or feedback you have. I really want to help you get started and become successful as a private tutor.
In How Do I Get Started as a Private Tutor? (Part 1) I covered: deciding what you want to tutor, how much you want to tutor, setting your rates, and payment methods. Now lets take a look at the next steps.
Create your marketing channels.
There are many ways to market your tutoring services ranging from old school to modern. You don’t need to launch out of the gate with all of these channels. However, you will want to consistently add channels over time until you have most of these channels covered.
- Flyers
This is probably the most old school way of gaining business, but can actually be one of the most effective. I start every semester the same way, I go to all the locations I put up flyers last semester and make sure I still have a flyer hanging in the same location. I also check the college course catalogue to see where the classes are going to be located that semester, and make sure I have flyers posted near those classrooms.
As for the flyers themselves, I print them on bright orange paper with black writing. Remember you want your flyer to stand out in what can sometimes be a vast sea of flyers. If you have a website, I would recommend putting a QR code on your flyer so students can go directly to your website. One of the little things I do, that many people don’t think about, is to cut my pull tabs so that they are only hanging on by a tiny thread. You want your students to be able to quickly pull that tab without having to stop and struggle to get the tab, and sometimes tear your entire flyer in half trying to get that tab. Also, keep a flyer on hand at all times. You never know when you will go into a restaurant, coffee shop, or other business that has a bulletin board, and it costs you zero dollars to post it if you have it on you. - Business Cards
Another old school technique, but worth putting together. I am not suggesting you need to break the bank hiring a graphic designer and printing up 100’s. You just need something extremely basic that has all your important contact information (name, phone number, email, website) for when you run into that random person who finds out you are a tutor, and says they are looking for one. It could be as basic as buying some heavier stock paper or even business card paper for your printer. - Google and Bing Business Listings
If you are only going to do one of item from this list, then definitely create a Google Business listing. Since neither one will cost you anything, you might as well do both. There are many benefits to the Google Business listing.
First, it is a great way to get yourself to the top of a local Google search. Think about how many people are searching “tutor near me”. Those searches are always going to come up with a Google Maps result at the very top of the Google Search results. Many of those will results will be franchised businesses, but yours will also show up. A lot of people are looking for that custom tutoring experience, and will choose to contact you.
Next, it is a great way to start collecting reviews from your clients. If there is one thing, I could go back 25 years and tell myself, it would be to get a Google Business listing (as soon as they exist), and start collecting reviews. I was late to that game, and I am still kicking myself to this day.
Finally, it is a great place to share other information about your business. Your phone number (if you want), a website (if you have one), and your hours of operation. There is also the option to add posts to your listing. You can start sharing information about your company.
The process for getting started is straightforward. Add your listing to Google Maps, and then Google will send you a piece of mail with a confirmation code on it. It usually takes less than a week to receive it. Once you have that code, confirm your Google Map listing and you are off to the races. - Craigslist
It is not as old school as a flyer, but it is still relatively old school. However, people do still use it to find tutors. The benefits of Craigslist are that you can live in one community and post your information in any other community that you would like to try to offer services in. As you create your Craigslist add take a look at other tutor’s Craigslist ads and see what they are doing to share their information. You definitely want to add a picture of yourself to help make a connection with the student, and not have your post feel cold. Share information about your experience, how you offer tutoring, what subjects you tutor, your tutoring philosophy, and potentially some reviews from previous students.
It will cost you $5 to create a single post in a community, and you will have to renew that post and pay an additional $5 every 30-days. - Tutoring Websites
There are two types of tutoring websites out there. The first will have you apply to be a part of the tutoring website, and will sometimes limit what you are allowed to charge at first. These types of websites usually act as a middleman between you and the student. They will collect payment from the student for every student, take a cut of the money, and then send the rest along to you. Some of these sites will provide some additional resources like an online classroom, or act as a matchmaker trying to connect students with tutors. I personally have never used one of these sites as I have never wanted to let someone take a piece of every tutoring appointment that I worked hard to get.
The second type is the type I have created with IWantTutoring.com. This type of website works strictly to connect students and tutors, and does not take any part of a tutor’s hard-earned money for each appointment. The idea here is to give students a single location to find professional tutors, and even post a tutoring request that tutors can apply to. Creating a two-way street of connectivity for students and tutors. - Your Own Website Creating your own website can seem like a daunting task to many people. If you want some help, please reach out to me. Remember though that this website does not need to be something complex. You really just need some basic pages.
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- Home Page: A warm welcoming homepage that explains a little bit about you, the services you offer, and a list of courses you tutor.
- About Me: A page that allows you to share more details about who you are, your tutoring philosophy, and your services.
- Rates: You can put your rates on their own separate page if you would like. However, I usually put them on my contact page or availability/booking calendar page. It will be one of the first question a potential client will ask you. So, I make it easy for them to find on my website.
Some tutors try to hide from their rates in the hope that if someone contacts them, then they will be able to get their business no matter what the rates they charge. The reality is that if a potential client is making their decision strictly on price, all you have done is added the additional work of responding to a bunch of emails asking about your price when your price is beyond what they want to pay. Do not be afraid to say what you charge. If you are good at what you do, then your students will always find value in your services. - Availability: After your rates, the second most important bit of information for potential clients is your availability. You can list your set availability, and if you have some flexibility, you can state that on the page. If you are looking to tutor as a full-time or even part-time job, I would recommend looking into a booking system for this page. That way students can book their appointments on their own. It will save you some time. That way you are not having to go back and forth about when you are available, and when the student is available. The student knows their schedule and they can book an appointment that works for them.
I use a Google’s booking calendar service that they offer through their Google Workspace service. I pay a small monthly fee, but it is worth it. For that monthly fee I receive a booking calendar that will be able to be embedded on my website, syncs with all my other personal calendars, and, this is the part I really love, sends reminder emails to my students in timeframes that I am able to set. Once you have had students miss appointments because they “forgot”, you will really appreciate this reminder feature.
If you use a templated website building service, many of them also have a booking calendar plugin that they offer. I do not know all the offerings that those calendars provide, but it is definitely worth looking into before you select your provider. - Contact Me: These is an obvious one, but needs to be said. If you do not have an availability page or booking calendar, I would recommend listing your rates on this page. I would also say that this is a good place to list your email address. While contact forms work most of the time, sometimes that will have a glitch, and sometimes potential clients just want to contact you directly through their own personal email.
- Social Media
You don’t need to become a major content creator, and you don’t need to have an account on every platform. Choose platforms that you already know how to use, and stick with what you know. Really these become just another place to list your basic information. What you tutor, when you tutor, your tutoring philosophy, and how to contact you. If there is one platform I would suggest, it would be Facebook. Facebook is where the “older” crowd lives, and that crowd usually includes the parents of your potential clients. - Print Ads
I would not spend a lot of money on print ads, but there are some types of print ads that you might find useful. Many colleges have a marketing package that you can purchase through their student media. These packages often include an ad in the student paper, an ad on their student social media accounts, or even an ad through their student radio station. There are also coupon books that get handed out to students at the beginning of every semester, and orientation booklets that are handed out to students and parents every semester.
You can also reach out to K-12 schools to see what it would take to be included in their schools’ weekly newsletters that are sent out to every parent. There do exist some services that work with schools to manage their newsletters. One such service that I have used is called Peachjar. - Online Ads
Especially if you have a website, you can always try using online ads to gain attention to your services. These services can be a very quick money hole if you do not know how to setup your ads properly. So, no matter which service (Google Ads, Facebook Ads) you choose to work with, make sure you do your homework on how to set it all up to ensure you get the most bang for your buck. If you are not familiar with how these services work, consider hiring a tutor. 😊 - Reach out Directly to Teachers
I have reached out directly to teachers and professors at both the K-12 level and the university level. I will say that I did not receive much of a response. Very rarely did I even get an email response back. However, I did occasionally get a positive response, and those positive responses are always worth the effort. - Private Tutor Lists
There are a lot of private tutor lists out there for all levels of schooling. The administrators of those lists are most often the schools or departments themselves. I have also found private tutor lists managed by local libraries. Getting on those tutor lists can be as simple as contacting the administrator for that list. Sometimes you might get asked for additional credentials. Finding these lists is just a matter of a little Google searching.
You might get several rejection emails as some schools have specific requirements to be listed on their tutor list. The most common issue I have found is at universities where they require you be either be a student or instructor at the school. Don’t take the rejection personally, just keep reaching out to more schools. You will find ones that do say yes, and those will be valuable listings. - Word of Mouth
The most important way to market your services is word of mouth from previous students and their parents. I have found that nothing else you do to market yourself will go as far as the personal recommendation of a previous client.
I ask every student after our last appointment to please share my information with any other friends or people they know who are struggling about their math. Technically I say, “If you see anyone crying about their math, please give them my info.” Do not be afraid to ask. I also send an email to their parents asking if they will share my information with others, and especially if they would be willing to share my information on any social media parent groups that they belong to.
Be Patient!
Just because you are ready to start tutoring, and you have put your contact information out in the world, does not mean the world will find you tomorrow. Building up your clientele will take time. You also have to remember that tutoring business works on cycles. There is a just before the semester starts cycle, usually one week. This is not a huge cycle, but you should expect to start seeing some contact. There is the just after the semester started. Again, not a huge cycle. Then you will have your just before test cycle. Students looking for that last minute help before their exam. Usually, most classes have 3-4 tests in a semester. Then you have the just after the test cycle. Students who did not get the grade they want, and now know they should find some additional help. The amount of demand for the before and after test cycles usually increases each test cycle. Finally, you have the Finals cycle. You will get contacted from people you have never heard from before hoping to get that last minute help to save their grade. Sometimes you will be able to help students in this cycle, and sometimes you are setting up a relationship to start the next semesters cycle.
Be the First to Respond
The last bit of advice I would give you as you get started on your tutoring journey would be to be the first to respond to a request. Many students when they reach out are feeling an immediate need. If you are the first person (or only person) to reach back out to them, then you will most likely get the first chance at their business. If you are good at what you do, then that is usually enough to keep their business.
I truly hope this helps you on your journey to becoming a private tutor. I really believe that tutoring is a great job, and want to help as many people as possible enjoy their job.
If you have any questions about becoming a tutor, please, please, please reach out to me.
I really want to help you get started or to improve upon what you have already gotten started.
If you are looking for a place to post your resume, please consider my website: IWantTutoring.com.
My Mission: Connect students anywhere with tutors everywhere