How does FTT Help Freelance Teachers Move Ahead, Find More Students, And Avoid Underearning?

Freelance teaching can cover a gazillion niches. Being a professional English trainer (as I am) is just one such niche. The articles you find here will help unfog how you can turn your freelance teaching market into a successful business. FTT job is to show you how to start up, run, market and manage your freelance business.

It doesn’t matter whether you are a freelancer teaching English, or teaching belly dancing; or you are a teacher of martial sport arts, or you’re a music teacher such as a drummer or guitarist, or you work as a  computer trainer or life coach… We all need to know what is necessary to successfully work and earn our living as freelancers. It’s only the teaching sparte (niche) that changes.

How does Freelance Teachers – Training (FTT) help Freelance Teachers?

FTT is designed to help all teachers, trainers and coaches who have become freelancers by chance (or by fate) as well as those who have become freelancers by choice.

FTT focuses on giving freelance teachers a structure on how to effectively become successful professional freelancers .

A Freelance Teacher's dilemma: Which way is best to find students and customers?

As a Freelance Teacher, do you frequently have to cope with these problems?

– Not getting enough customers or students
– Not retaining customers or students
– Not getting the type of customer or student you prefer or want
– Not being adequately paid for experience and qualifications (low earnings)
– Not being visible on the market
– Lack of job security and reoccurring income
– Coping with too much versus not enough work
– Loneliness: FTT’s NEST (teacher’s forum) combats loneliness.

It’s a safe zone. Ask your questions or give advice, or just keep in contact…

HOW does Freelance Teachers – Training help? (1)

FTT focuses on how teachers can market themselves.

Marketing! Yes, I’m aware of the love/hate relationship teachers have to marketing…

Yes, I know that most teachers think marketing is either personal selling or advertising – as something that is pushy and where you are imposing yourself on others.

However, FTT’s marketing approach focuses on building relationships and friendships and on helping other people.

Who are “other people”? They are your students and customers.

When you focus your freelance teaching business to serving them… when you use your teaching skills to help them meet their needs… you are not being pushy! Instead, you are offering a valuable service to your students and customers; one that will help them meet their personal needs.

If your services are valuable to others, then you are doing a disservice by not letting them know about you.

There is nothing dishonest or pushy about learning the tools so your students know you even exist. Neither is it dishonest or pushy to show them your passion and your skills as a freelance teacher. Nor is there a need to be apologetic about marketing yourself as a freelance teacher.  You can be honest when you approach your future students.

And it’s FTT’s aim to show you an honest approach to Marketing by presenting methods that will reflect your personality, your integrity and your ability as a professional in your chosen teaching field.

A subscription to the FTT Ezine informs FTT readers when the latest articles, templates, and workshops are published or available. Your time is precious because you are busy and you don’t want to add another task to your list of things to do. A subscription to the FTT Ezine helps,  because it reminds you of a new article with helpful information to grow your freelance teaching business:

FTT wants to help turn your freelancing business into a professional, viable and thriving business rather than a stressful, unreliable and insecure sideline.

Please take the time to first read a few of the free articles on the website and judge for yourself whether you want to be kept up-todate with the latest articles, tips and products.

HOW does Freelance Teachers – Training help? (2)

FTT reaches out to all freelance teachers, trainers and coaches with ideas, tips, and step-by-step instructions on running your freelancer teaching business. The categories fall into four main topics:

1. Freelance Business

The main sub-topics under Freelance Business are:

Start Up: Starting out as a Freelance Teacher, Trainer or Coach

Back Office: All about your Back office, your home office, and your classroom

Teaching and Coaching: Working on a consultancy, one-to-one basis

Training: Working on a one-to-many basis

Leverage: Products, lessons and courses, workshops, seminars, teleconferences, etc.

[I want to read some free Freelance Business articles]

2. Managing Students and Customers

Managing Students and Customers is all about the Care, Protection and Guidance of your students and customers. You’ll find information about the teaching environment, about lessons online, and about technology and blended learning.

Professional Image: How to present yourself  to your customers or students

Materials and Realia: How to individualise the teaching materials for your customers and students

*ELT English Teacher: Articles written for language teachers

* ELT English Teacher focuses on teaching the English language as a second language. However, any language as a second language can be used. I use English to (1) avoid generic and long-winded phrases and (2) because as a native English-speaker freelance teacher, it is more natural to talk about my English teaching practices.

[I want to read some free Managing Students and Customers articles]

3. Marketing and Sales

Marketing and Sales has been split into smaller sub-topics covering:

Specialisation: How to find the teaching area and type of customers you want, etc.

Brand: How to create your uniqueness factor to establish your own individual brand (USP)

Positioning: How to establish yourself on your chosen market niche

Pricing: How to charge the real value of your services and avoid price-dumping practices

[I want to read some free Marketing and Sales articles]

4. Website/Internet

Here you will find all you need about the Internet, websites, and your online presence.

[I want to read some free Website/Internet articles]

This is just the start… There is going to be a lot of useful and structured information coming your way!  You’ll find them comprehensive, informative and easy to follow. Each article is another piece of the jigsaw to get you onto the road of success as a Freelance Teacher.

My belief is simple. A freelance teacher can be successful, motivated, have fun, and still earn a decent living from teaching.

My aim is just as simple: Helping freelance teachers to achieve this status. As my website tagline above states, I want to help freelance teachers “move ahead, find more students, and avoid underearning”.

A single jigsaw piece doesn’t make a puzzle. A single drop of water is not an ocean. But collected over time, the drops of water grow into puddles and can even grow into a respectable sized sea. My FTT articles are aimed to do just that. One small drop of information or advice in a busy time schedule is easy to absorb. Drop-by-drop. Jigsaw Piece-by-jigsaw piece. Step-by-step instructions.

Go to the “Latest Free Articles” menu above and explore the articles I have prepared and written for you. Have fun! And don’t forget to take your coffee, biscuits with you and a pencil or pen to jot down some notes…