Did you know that there are some 1.5 billion people currently learning English? That means that there’s plenty of potential for language teachers to boost their income. After all, there’s a pretty big market out there!
If you’re looking to maximize your income yet don’t know where to start, then this page is for you. We’ve put together a bunch of strategies that virtually anyone can utilize — put them all together, and you should find that your income is bigger than ever in no time at all.
Invest in Marketing
Most teachers get new students through word of mouth. Yet, while that can be a good way to earn new students, it’s unlikely that you’ll reach everyone who might be interested in your services. By investing in marketing, you might just get your name in front of people who otherwise wouldn’t have heard of you.
You don’t need to go overboard with marketing. Even having an SEO-friendly website and running a few PPC ads can increase the chances of your next student coming across your name and getting in touch.
Put Together Online Courses
There are plenty of people out there who want to learn English, but who have so many responsibilities that they can’t commit to regular, structured lessons. One smart way to make your services available to those people is to teach online via self-paced courses. With this, students can learn at their own pace, without having to be online. Simply put together a great course, invest in marketing, and wait for people to sign up. Once it’s online, your course will serve as a passive revenue stream, one that helps top up your income while you sleep.
Create Package Offers
In many cases, language teachers don’t actually want more income — they just want more stability. It can be difficult not knowing how much money you’ll earn next month or the month after that. One way to get around this is to create package offers, in which you sell bulk volume classes at a slightly discounted rate. While that might sound counterintuitive for boosting income, the opposite is actually true. When you know that you have steady work for the next few months, you can relax and dedicate more time to growing your list of students.
Find the Right Online Platform
Even English teachers who primarily teach in person should be teaching online. It’s an easy way to make your services available to as many people as possible.
As you might expect, there are dozens of online platforms out there. And also as you might expect, they’re not all created equal — or rather, they won’t all make sense for you. While it’s smart to be on a few different online platforms, it’s best not to spread yourself too thin. The greater the number of positive reviews you have on a platform, the easier you’ll find it to get new students, and you can’t get all the reviews you need if your students are spread out over a dozen different platforms.
Find a couple that are right for your level of teaching experience, and commit to succeeding on those platforms.
Look Abroad
Have a sense of adventure? Then packing your bags and moving to another country might be the right approach, especially if you want to boost your income. You’ll find countries that pay handsome salaries for English teachers all over the world. When looking for jobs overseas, look beyond the amount of money you’ll make. In some cases, the lower cost of living means that you’ll effectively be earning more even if the salary is lower than what you currently earn.
Living overseas offers advantages far beyond earning more cash, of course. Even if it’s for just a year or two, you’ll return home with plenty of great stories to tell — and you’ll likely know much more about yourself, too.
Consider Editing
If you’re a competent English teacher, then why not look at pivoting your skills and undertaking a new form of work, such as editing? This type of work will be easier to pick up if you’re already living abroad and have overseas clients who run businesses that need English-based marketing materials, but you can also find the work online. You’ll serve as the editor for translated works carried out by other people.
Another option is to look at becoming a translator on your own, though you’ll need to have a good grasp of a foreign language to pursue this route.
Don’t Forget Local Students
English teachers who live in their home country tend to focus exclusively on online students, but it’s worthwhile checking if there are any students in your local area who want to learn English. With the world more globalized than ever, there’s every chance that there are people nearby who need to learn — or improve — their English, especially if you live in a city that has a lot of international businesses.
There are multiple ways to reach these potential students, including infusing your website with local SEO, operating a Google My Business page, and going to businesses in person and leaving your information.
Raise Your Prices
Finally, if you’re looking to boost the amount of money you earn, then why not consider raising your prices? Many teachers are reluctant to do this because they believe it’ll make it more difficult to attract students (or even lose existing students if the price rise applies to them too), but if you’re genuinely very good at what you do, then don’t be afraid! At some point, it’s simply OK to demonstrate your worth. Plus, raising your prices will make it easier to attract high-quality students, and not only are they OK paying more, but they’re also more likely to stick with you because they’re so motivated to learn.
There’s no shortage of English teachers out there, but there’s also never been more people looking to learn English either. By taking the tips we’ve outlined above, you might just find that your income really does reach new heights.
