Usually, when we think about tutoring, we think about people in an actual university or high school. We think about physical buildings, bureaucracies and some sort of chain of command. This is bureaucratic, structural and formal tutoring.
But did you know that thanks to the internet, people from all over the world can come to you to get expert tutoring help? That’s right! You can turn your Skype connection or Google Hangouts access into US dollars. Welcome to the world of online tutoring.
Just like with any other kind of skills-building program, however, it all depends on how specialized the content is. Even though you are going to be helping people on a one to one basis using a webcam, the value of the tutoring experience still turns on the content being exchanged.
You’re sharing your experience. You’re teaching somebody how to do certain things. You’re sharing key pieces of information with another person through the internet. But throughout all of this, the amount of money they’re willing to pay depends on the perceived value of the information.
It’s all about the law of supply and demand
Just like with anything else, if you are offering something that anybody can basically offer, then you are dealing with a commodity business. In other words, what you have to offer is not really all that different from what somebody else has to offer.
It’s as if you’ve seen one, you’ve pretty much seen them all. So, in that case, the only point of difference really is price. This is a serious problem because if you’re going to be offering tutoring services and the only people are interested in is price, it’s easily going to be a race to the bottom.
People will offer cheaper and cheaper rates and before you know it, you’re making less than minimum wage. I’m sure as a senior citizen, you are looking for something more lucrative. I’m sure you’re looking to maximize the value of whatever spare time you want to invest in this kind of venture.
This is why it’s really important to zero in on the most crucial key to success in online tutoring.
Your key to success: branded specialization
I’m not just talking about specialization. It would be great if you’re a lawyer and you are helping law students quickly understand basic legal concepts. It would be awesome if you’re a doctor and you’re helping people get into medical school as well as helping them with their first year in that system.
But outside of that, you should also develop a brand. You may think that the information you share is specialized already. After all, you got an MBA, you got a PHD or you went through some sort of specialized training program. Big whoop.
Remember, in the United States, there are hundreds of thousands of doctors. There are more than a million lawyers. In many developing countries, there are millions of lawyers and doctors. A lot of them can speak English.
You have to look beyond just the specialized knowledge you have. Maybe it’s engineering. Maybe it’s computer programming. Maybe it’s some sort of molecular cell biology. You have to look beyond that specialized body of knowledge and focus on branding as well.
This is where online marketing comes in. When people see that you have a specific brand associated with a specialized form of knowledge, they start preferring you. Maybe they think you explain concepts better. Maybe they think you’re more approachable. Maybe they think you are more competent than the next guy.
Whatever their perception maybe, in the world of online marketing, perception is reality. So when you market yourself, look to create a personal brand and this enables your online tutoring business to charge more money for every hour of service performed.
This will enable you to achieve the holy grail of any kind of freelancing. What is the holy grail? To get the most amount of money while putting in the least amount of work. That’s the bottom line.
In other words, if you’re going to be spending one hour doing a certain kind of work, you better insist on charging as much money for that unit of time as possible. That’s how you know you have a successful online tutoring business.
Unfortunately, if your skillset is focused on stuff that is fairly generic like math, don’t be surprised if you earn $5 or less per hour. It’s bad enough that you’re offering tutoring services that people who could speak English all over the world can offer, but your lack of a brand makes things worse.
So you have to kill 2 birds with 1 stone. You have to offer a specialized body of knowledge that’s fairly rare and you have to create a brand for yourself. This way, people would seek you out and pay you top dollar. To figure out how this works and how to unleash the power of online marketing so you can build a successful online tutoring business, click here.
You will get a blueprint that would help you set up a successful online marketing program. Turn your spare time into spare dollars.
