How to Promote a Tutoring Business

Running a tutoring business offers a lot of benefits like low start-up costs, flexible scheduling and the chance to learn as you teach. The question, though, is how to get enough students to earn a solid income. If you need more students, take these steps to promote your tutoring business to your local community.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• A target market
• Flyers
• Business cards

1. Define your target market. The more you know about the people you want to attract, the better you can attract them. How specific you need to be about your market depends on how much competition you have. In a rural area with few other tutors, you might tutor English, history and anything else you're good at. If you tutor a common subject in a large city, though, you'll probably need to specialize in one or two areas or in a certain teaching method.
2. Use print advertising to promote your tutoring business. In terms of profit, small print ads in local newspapers can be quite successful. You may bring in only one new student per ad, but assuming that student stays around for a few lessons, the ad will have more than paid for itself. Include something in your ad that sets you apart from the competition. This could be a subject speciality like European history or a method like teaching grammar with fun games.
3. Post flyers. You might be surprised how many students you can get from a simple flyer tacked up on the bulletin board of your local grocery store. Make sure it looks professional and carries a clear headline that's visible from a distance. In the flyer, give people a reason to contact you. You might offer potential students a free trial lesson or an informational pamphlet.
4. Try info-marketing. Free informational pamphlets are an ideal way to promote a tutoring business. For a math tutoring business, you might create a pamphlet offering 10 tips for helping your child with math homework. Include your contact information where it's easy to see, such as on the front cover. Leave some of your pamphlets anywhere your target market might be. Just remember, the information should be something that interests the people paying for your tutoring. If you tutor children, gear the information towards parents.
5. Make the most of word of mouth. Many tutors find their students through word of mouth alone. Have high quality business cards printed up and give some to your friends, family and students (current and former) so they can help promote your tutoring business. Set up a referral system. Give your business cards to people who do a lot of socialising, like hairdressers, and offer a fee for each student they send your way.
6. Talk with local teachers. Meet with local school teachers who teach your subject and let them know about your tutoring services. Just be prepared to assure them your educational background is strong and your teaching methods are sound.

Tips & Warnings

• Set up a website. A website can let potential students learn more about you and your services. It can also help you build relationships with people in your target market. Do this by offering interactive quizzes or daily learning tips either at the site or by email. Remember to include your website address on all your promotional material.
• Don't take it personally if teachers decline to meet with you. Some schools have a ban on recommending outside tutors. This is often because the school runs its own tutoring service and would lose government funding if students leave. In other cases, it's simply to prevent teachers from making biased recommendations.