Tutoring-AdWe’ve all been to cafes and seen the bulletin boards covered in flyers for piano lessons, yoga classes, sleep studies, and, of course, skilled tutors. How are you going to stand out amongst all those sheets of paper? Whether you’re taking your ad to Starbucks or to Craigslist, your style and approachability must be palpable through your ad. Concerned about being too concise, or worried you might accidentally write your memoir? Here’s a list of what to include that will guarantee an inbox full of potential clients:

(1) Get personal!

Answer the following personal questions so parents and prospective students can create a mental picture of how you might be to interact with: How did you wind up in your current city? What else do you do for work? What are the things you do for fun? Focus on the now. So many tutoring ads just rattle off degrees and academic achievements that don’t give the potential client any idea of who they might meet or what/she has been up to in recent years.

(2) Prep yourself for a thorough background check.

Make sure you have a ready list of current and relevant references who are not going to be caught off guard if an inquisitive parent calls them with questions. Obviously don’t include information about your references in your ad, but make sure that your ad states that you have multiple references that can back up your awesome-ness. This tells the client that you know what you’re doing and that there won’t be a long limbo period while you call up previous employers.

(3) Be specific about your areas of expertise!

Using concise language, write about what you studied in college. For example, if you studied English, instead of writing “B.A. in English with honors from Oberlin College,” choose something more informative: “B.A. in English from Oberlin College with honors where I did my honors thesis on the British Romantic period.”

(4) Think logically about logistics.

Be as detailed as possible about when you’re available to tutor and where; for working families the difference between meeting at one local library branch verses the one that’s 3 miles away can be huge. Think about how far you’re willing to travel and whether or not you’d want clients to reimburse you for travel expenses.

(5) Bite the bullet!

Include a bullet list that describes exactly what your services will cover. Specific details about your skills ensures that a client won’t be asking you for help on something you haven’t looked at since eighth grade. You can even briefly describe a specific method or exercise that has been successful for you.

Sound like a lot to fit on just one flyer? Don’t worry, potential clients don’t want to waste their time and will be on the look-out for informative ads. Concise language, a little color, and careful use of bold and italics will help, too.

featured photo by teducation

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