How to be a Successful Online Tutor

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Author Bio: Roland Parnell Studied German languages and literatures at university of Michigan. Ronald works as an editor at “Michigan Tech Lode”. He  is fond of creative writing, modern literature and foreign languages.

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This article is for teachers who are still hesitating to start tutoring online lest they get lost in the digital age. Online tutoring business: advantages, common mistakes and winning tips.

A great deal of teachers knows that online tutoring is a profitable and popular business. Many have already started their internet career and have become gurus of teaching remotely. On top of that, this educational technology is in strong demand all over the globe. Most of the inquiries for online tutors come from the U.S., Asia Pacific countries and Europe — over a half of the world’s population! E-tutoring industry is growing fast and you better join myriads of successful teachers the sooner the better. You are destined to meet some challenges but the reward is going to be worth it.

REASONS TO START

You’ll be surprised that your potential tutees can be not only school and college-goers. Nowadays many of those who seek for experienced and skillful teachers are postgraduates, professionals, and already employed people striving for upgrading their skills. The range of their educational qualifications is quite large too, going from management, logistics, science, and economics to psychology, linguistics and art.

Moreover, private online tutors are well-paid. The average wage is $50-60 per hour depending on your qualifications, technical expertise, skills, and experience.

Online tutoring breaks all the barriers: schedules, the number of students, their ages, country borders, paperwork and others. But first, it allows you to realize all your potential as a tutor regardless of headmaster’s autocracy, curriculum and regulations from educational authorities. You are free to choose methods, time, and tools best suitable for your tutees.

Online tutoring is exploding with opportunities for any professional. It is not necessarily to be pedagogically certified or have a degree to train people as long as you have a talent and desire to share your knowledge. However, as a provider of tutoring services, you have to possess considerable experience and expertise in the field, though it largely depends on clients’ preferences.

BASIC SKILLS TO TUTOR EFFECTIVELY

For online tutoring one should possess an array of skills which are much the same as for face-to-face sessions.

•    Deep knowledge of the subject you teach

•    Deploying lots of resources and tools in the most effective way

•    Good interpersonal skills

•    Being a good listener

•    Flexibility in choosing methods and teaching approaches

•    Cheerfulness and enthusiasm

•    Being responsive

•    Ability to plan a course and provide feedback

•    Usage of new technologies

PREPARATORY STEPS

• Make a list of subjects you are going to tutor.

• Consider age group you will teach.

• Decide upon the location of your online class. You may give lessons at home or at some commercial area. A suitable place for a session will be a local community center, library, or even a coffee shop. If you ever want a change, you may rotate these places to let your students experience a diverse, natural atmosphere.

• A business plan can be helpful as it will properly strategize your tutoring activity including goals on how to attract and retain clients, improve and expand services, etc.

• List and buy the supplies to get started. Equip your workplace with a whiteboard, computer, webcam and required furniture. Everything must be at handy from pencils to a plug or charger. Purchase the software and visual aids you might need for online presentations.

• Ask your local municipality or licensing office if you need a special license for tutoring. Learn about the insurance policies for the service you are going to provide.

• Advertise yourself in all possible places: public areas like colleges, libraries, shops, sports centers, cafes and other institutions where your potential students are frequent visitors. Offer the ads of your service to the local press, radio, or TV channels. Use social networks and other internet resources to place a notice about your private tutoring.

• It might be a good idea to create a website where you can post news, ads, and upload supplementary materials and videos for your students.

• If you do not feel like running a business yourself, join an online tutoring agency and work in a team with other tutors.

ESSENTIAL TOOLS FOR EVERY ONLINE TUTOR

To manage remote sessions and be as interactive and available as possible, it is essential to use the proper software. Most frequently, home-based teachers choose Skype, Cloud Storage, virtual whiteboards, and YouTube.

Skype sessions will do for sharing files, taking screenshots, typing messages, and sharing a screen. Online whiteboards are great to visualize lots of things. Storage resources like Google Drive and Dropbox are ultimate tools for real-time chats, working with documents in pairs or groups simultaneously and sharing images, videos or files.

If you want to improve and ease your tutoring in regards to administration and management,   use TutorPanel software.  It will help to schedule sessions, invoice students, automate session reminders and payment receipts, calculate business expenses and more. You may also promote your service on notable and well-known online educational websites such as https://thepaperwriting.com/custom-essay-writing

TYPICAL MISTAKES TO AVOID

Apart from professional skills, running an online tutoring business requires careful handling of financial matters together with some management skills. Beware of the following situations:

• Spending money on expensive gadgets at a start. Use free tutoring platforms instead.

• Ill-defined terms and conditions. Prepare this document before getting money for your work. It will settle such problems as refunding and other payment procedures.

• Falling to select the subject. Focus on those subjects you are qualified in. Define your strongest points and core skills thus you will not overlap yourself and lose respect at the very beginning of your online tutoring career.

• Under or overpricing. Keep a balance and gain more experience.

• Poor online marketing. Employ every opportunity to showcase the info about your service, website or blog.

Although the competition is tough, you will always find a niche if only be persistent, flexible and active in promoting your teaching service. We wish you become a good online coach soon.