Whether you have just started your new tutoring business or are introducing a new program getting the word out is really important and this is what we call marketing. It does not have to be expensive but it is hard work.
You need to have a combined approach of technology and old fashioned leg work and constantly assess the impact you are having. The first question you should ask any new client is, ‘How did you hear about us?”
Here are some tried and tested ways to find clients
Brochures & Posters
Posters are great for attracting attention but your prospective clients can’t take them home, and if someone does you have lost your message; so try for a poster-brochure combination. If you can’t do both then do one or the other. Have a standard poster and brochure but also have ones that are targeted to specific populations such as Elementary, Middle, High and College.
Visit your local schools and ask if they will display your poster and brochures, ask to speak with the guidance councilor or place brochures in the teachers’ mail drops. Would the PTA be able to help? Are there any school events coming up you could attend?
Local day care facilities and after school clubs and venues such as the Y and Boys & Girls Clubs. Contact dance and gymnastic centers and reciprocate, you display their brochures if they display yours. The local gym usually has a bulletin board, don’t be shy get your literature out there.
Think of where your decision makers congregate and think outside the box. Children’s doctors and dentists usually have some kind of display and Mom is bored and picks stuff up to read!
Fairs & Nights
Careers fairs and school college nights are not to be missed. If you can’t afford a booth wander around, if legal, and hand out your brochures. Now is not the time to be shy. Remember if you post windshields in a parking lot, to pick up any of your material after everyone has left!
Press Releases
The days when we submitted a press release to the local newspaper when something almighty happened are over. Now you can trickle press releases into the online market place as often as you want about as little as you want. Write a press release about your new company, write another one when you hire your first staff member, another one when you start tutoring a new subject, another one when you buy new desks and so on and so forth. Always provide a link to your website in your release.
We use prbuzz.com and find the service to be excellent; they publish and circulate your releases to be picked up by other sites. Here is one we released about TutorFirst that was picked up by boston.com, so sign up and get writing.
Your Website
A website is great marketing as long as you can get people to come and view it. Make sure your website address is on all of the above mentioned literature but don’t forget to do your SEO, (Search Engline Optimization) and do it organically paying for cheap nasty rankings can have disastrous effects. View the articles in Tech Corner on how to set up and market your site.
Blogging
Start a Blog on your website, this is called content marketing, and write articles your potential clientele will be interested in reading. Use a service such as MailChimp to send out email updates to your subscribers with links back to your main site, but make sure to grow your email list organically, ask everyone you speak to if you can add their email to your list, and it will grow quickly. See our article on Content Marketing for more ideas but remember less is more so don’t flood your blog with mindless content to keep up with some self ascribed posting rate!
Promotional Products
Never underestimate the power of a giveaway, for a small investment you can have your name, number and website marching all over town. We love ePromos and use them for all of our promotional giveaway. View articles by ePromos on using promotional products.
Social Media
Your blog posts should link with your social media pages such as Facebook & Twitter, use a delivery service such as dlvr.it to automatically post or tweet your new content. Keep your page relevant with everything linking back to your main site.
Events
Organize events to bring in your existing customers, their friends and potential customers. We have compiled a full list of one event to arrange per month and these can be viewed by searching monthly promotional ideas in the category search.
Remember it’s a marathon not a sprint and results will not always be instantaneous.
Oases Online session scheduling and data management software can be used to track and keep notes on prospective clients. View our features then request an online demo to see what we can do for you.
