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How would you advertise a tutoring business?

by Delta223
21 replies
My aging mother, with a master's degree in education, can not find a job and is struggling to pay her bills. I wish I could help financially but am unable to.

What we have come up with for her is to offer tutoring. She can tutor from K-6 (preferred) up to middle school (grade 7-8).

How would you guys advertise a tutoring business on a low budget? I have the following ideas:
  1. Regular craigslist posting
  2. Answering job ads on freelancer sites
  3. Contacting local elementary schools letting them know she's an out of work teacher with a master's degree in education and available for tutoring
#advertise #business #tutoring
  • Profile picture of the author Jonwebb
    write a sales letter to local schools. along with what you posted above

    are there any tutoring schools around? if so why not try to Roget a job with then?

    - Jonathan Webb
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  • Profile picture of the author TallGuyArman
    Pass out business flyers with your contact info and picture on it

    If you keep doing that consistently you might see results, just pass them out at the right places.
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  • Profile picture of the author shawnlebrun
    Draft a catchy flyer with a nice big headline and some important benefits... and see if you can post it at the local libraries.

    Something with a headline...

    "Is Your Child Failing in School"

    or

    "Is your Child Flunking out of School"

    or something like that, those are just off the top of my head.

    also, find the local Adult education program... they are always
    higher teachers.

    Sign her up with Elance.com, Odesk.com, Freelancer.com, Guru.com, and other outsourcing sites and show her how to bid on jobs for things like proof reading, editing, etc...

    her educational background should give her an advantage over some of the non-english speaking outsourcers.

    Bottom line, put your heads together and think of where people who would/could use her services... where do they hang out, where would they find a tutor?

    but seriously, sounds like she could get some income coming in on some of the outsourcing sites doing proofreading, editing, etc....

    and in the meantime, maybe she can transition to learning copywriting or another skill she can use for future income.
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    • Profile picture of the author ewenmack
      Originally Posted by shawnlebrun View Post

      maybe she can transition to learning copywriting
      After a lifetime of being a grammar policewoman...tough to change the stripes of a zebra, if you know what I mean Shawn.

      Best,
      Ewen
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  • Profile picture of the author arkina
    All your ideas are fantastic! Also look for local publications. You can usually find these free magazines in pediatrican's offices and such. For example, in my area there are two magazines called MetroKids and LocalMoms and they have listings in them for local camps, activities, etc. I think moms read these and right now with it being summer time they probably want to make sure their kids stay sharp or ctach up on anything they are lacking in. You can say "Kids usually drop 2 reading levels over the summer," and stress how much cheaper you are than places like Sylvan!
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  • Profile picture of the author bizgrower
    Naw. Don't be cheaper than Sylvan. Be better.

    A friend of mine put the local Sylvan out of business with her tutoring business.

    She just advertised by posting flyers at schools and churches.

    She did not always do one on one tutoring. She would do a group of
    8 or 10 maximum and a day or two a week at $80 (maybe $90) per session.

    That's $640 to $900 per week right there.

    And, as others have pointed out, the web is all about content which means lots of opportunities for editing, writing, proof reading...

    Dan

    (At 53, I'm not sure I want to know what you mean by "aging mother".)
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    "If you think you're the smartest person in the room, then you're probably in the wrong room."

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  • Profile picture of the author SashaLee
    Hi there,

    Target parents - you could buy mailing lists of parents with kids in the age range you're targeting, you could do an EDDM mailer to houses around a school.

    Swipe some of the old great headlines, "They laughed at my child when .....but after they had three lessons with Mummy" - that kind of thing.

    We are working with a client on developing a plan for something very similar. There's apparently a strong belief that in America public schools are government schools - designed to push the government mantra.

    Parents are scared to death their kids will grow up and be unable to fend for themselves financially, or be dependent on a broke government. There's many parents who'd gladly put their child in a tutoring session to keep them off the streets, or off the video games.

    If your mum has a nice demeanor and is successful in improving grades you could keep her busier than a bee with this.

    The statistics for grades and the level of grade cheating in the US makes private tutoring all the more attractive for kids and parents who want to get ahead.

    Good luck with it!

    All the best,

    Sasha.,
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  • Profile picture of the author davidreese
    Flyers with tear tags. There are several in the Bay Area that advertise on the various bulletin boards in the Silicon Valley area.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mary Stevens
    Try contacting teachers directly asking if they have any students that may benefit from tutoring. Offer to do some form of after school type tutoring. Offer to teach partents how to help their children. Have your mother sit down with you and write out a list of what she can offer. Then see how this can be distributed to parents, teachers, or children. The get the dreaded USP. Which could be teaching a child how to learn.
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    • Profile picture of the author wings2341
      Former Teacher here.

      1) Meet with guidance counselors at all schools. Get on "The List". Every school has one. Give kickbacks legally, consult a lawyer, according to the law. I think it has to be under a certain value amount per yer. Something like a Christmas basket.
      2) Advertise on Craigslist and Wyzant.
      3) Work with existing Tutors in the area to form a coalition to help one another get business.
      4) Flyers in mailboxes of teachers at school. Just ask the secretary to do it for you.
      5) A child redoing a grade costs the school district 6k a year. So price services less than that and go to the school district and sell the service.
      6) Flyers at baseball parks, soccer fields, YMCA and Jewish Equivalent (sorry forgot the name)
      7) Make sure she tutors in one spot, preferably the local PUBLIC library. Make sure it's a public space for obvious reasons.
      8) Tutor more than one at a time for a reduced rate.
      9) Get referals.


      Selling tutoring service is no different than selling IM services. It's a service business. Sell the service through those channels.

      Hit it hard after the first week of progress reports. That's when parents start freaking out.

      Go after local private middle schools that are trying to get their kids in the local private high schools. Grades matter to those kids / parents.

      Good luck.
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  • Profile picture of the author rizy
    Local SEO with Local Video
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  • Profile picture of the author Voasi
    I'd do facebook marketing, targeting parents that have children. Age demographics of parents should match-up to the age of the child you want (Ex. 30yr Mom = 1-12yr old child).

    Use LeadPlayer and integrate a fan page and setup a specific landing page giving the "Top 5 Reason Your Struggling Child Needs a Tutor" ...or something similar.

    Then add them to an auto-responder sequence giving all the reason, portraying you as the expert of tutoring in the area and that you have a few openings this month.

    Done and done. You'll have plenty of traffic.
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  • Profile picture of the author DaveWarrior
    I've tutored. Craigslist works (probably only in big cities though). Flyers have worked for me at Starbucks (never tried college campus, but obviously a good idea). And rank a website high on Google. I'll link you from my PR4 tutoring site if you PM me.
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  • Profile picture of the author imranali84
    i've got a free 6 series video series to tutors to get more students

    it's at imran md ali
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  • Profile picture of the author Moeski
    I am a teacher myself and have seen this done by others I work with. Tell your mom to look at teaching online. There are many companies that are hiring right now for the coming year. Depending on what she is certified in, she could be working in the next few days. Have her search "cyber school employment" and see what she thinks.
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  • Profile picture of the author bsummers
    Flyers will work. Make sure you give it out where parents can see it like schools, churches, groceries, etc. You can also post it online on craiglist or on job sites. Have she tried online tutoring?
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    • Profile picture of the author ThePromotionalGuy
      Approach the affluent for they have the money. In your mom's area there are affluent, wealthy and ultra wealthy living among her. She may not be aware of it but they are there.

      These families DON'T send their children to public schools. They either go to private schools or a teacher is put on as part of their staff to teach the children.

      These individuals are always looking for someone to privately tutor or teach their children and pay well for this personalized service.

      With your mom having a Master's Degree in education this will attract the wealthy. The affluent put a great deal of weight on one's accomplishments, especially educational accomplishments.

      Your mom didn't stop at just an "AA" or "BA". She went the full route and got her Master's Degree which everyone knows, including the rich, that took time, dedication and the will to see it to the end.

      One last thing. The rich do not ask how much your mom will charge per lesson. They want to know how much for the year. With a Master's Degree in education I'd start in the mid 6 figures when addressing the affluent.
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  • Profile picture of the author commonjoe
    Post ads in student newspapers or design a logo and sponsor an ad in the athletic game brochures. Talk to coaches, The kids can't play if they can't make the grade.
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  • Profile picture of the author Dr Dan
    Create some street cred first!

    Create a quick but professional site. Only needs to be 1-2 pages

    Gather testimonials from other she has already worked with. if she has none... then offer a free session or discounted and get testimonials fast.

    Get some video ones as well.

    Rank the videos, the site.

    Use CL, press releases, other classified ad sites and rank those pages.

    Create a yelp page and ask clients to submit a review to help out as well.

    Now that she has alot of street cred...

    She can use this to get new clients that find her online and also to convince those that are considering to use her over someone else.
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  • Profile picture of the author webrankingservices2000
    Banned
    You could really take help of outsourcing sites, However I do not think that they will generate enough money to pay your bill' s. Instead Look for someplace where you can tutor or mentor a group of students. You can even join a coaching class. Make your YouTube videos regarding the subjects matters. Make videos like Khan Academy.
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