How to write a tutoring advertisement that stands out?

Creating a tutoring advertisement that stands out and attracts students can be a difficult task, especially as a university student balancing your own studies. Let’s explore some tips and tricks that you can start using today to start writing tutoring advertisements that resonate with students and stand out from other tutors

Note: This post is supplementary content to our comprehensive guides on marketing your tutoring business and starting a tutoring side-hustle

🎓 Identify your target audience

Before you start writing, think about who you’re targeting with the advertisement. In this case, your target audience is most likely going to be high school students. Make a list of the challenges that high school students face, such as preparing for exams, improving grades, and balancing study with social commitments. Use this information to tailor your advertisement to them, to make it more effective. When you’re finished, check that you have addressed all of the points on your list, and explained how you can assist with them

⚡ Highlight your teaching style

Almost every tutor claims to have a unique teaching style that focuses on understanding instead of memorising. You can stand out by explaining how your unique style focuses on understanding instead of memorising. For example, if you use real-life examples to make concepts more relatable, or use visual aids to help students better understand complex concepts, it’s important that you highlight this

📚 Showcase your credentials

High school students and their parents want to know that they’re working with a qualified and experienced tutor. Include relevant qualifications and experience in your advertisement. This includes university degrees, certifications, and any teaching or tutoring experience you may have. If you don’t have much experience, consider offering a free trial session to help build your credentials, or offering to tutor for testimonials (see below)

🗣 Use testimonials, reviews, and storytelling

What other people say about you is always more powerful than what you say about yourself. Testimonials and reviews are great ways to add credibility to any claims you make. If you’ve worked with high school students in the past, ask them for a testimonial or review that you can include in your advertisement

Human beings love stories. Do you have a success story from a previous student? Make sure to include it in your advertisement - it’ll make your advertisement more relatable to your audience

💸 Offer a unique value proposition

Unique value propositions help you stand out from the rest. Offer something to your students that gives them direct value.This could be things like satisfaction guarantees, money-back guarantees if a student’s grades don’t improve, exclusive notes, and past exams. Whatever your unique value proposition is, make sure to highlight it in your advertisement and explain why it sets you apart from other tutors

For more on pricing and value propositions, check out our tutoring pricing guide

🖼 Use eye-catching visuals

Images catch the eye a lot faster than words. Use eye-catching visuals to make your advertisement stand out. Consider images of you teaching, photos of high school students studying, or even infographics that highlight what makes your teaching style unique. Make sure any visuals you include are professional, and align with your overall message - remember, bad visuals are worse than no visuals

🙊 Tell the truth, and keep it simple

Everything we see today is trying to get our attention. Avoid writing a six-page long advertisement that can fit onto one - all this does is scare people out of reading it. Respect your audience’s time, keep things simple, and concise and deliver value and information with every sentence

Finally, tell the truth, it’ll make you stand out from everyone else. While it can be tempting to exaggerate the truth to relate to students more, it rarely fools anyone. Dozens of tutors all claim to have started at the bottom of their class, before having a magical epiphany with miraculous results. If that’s not you, and you were the top student in your class the whole way, explain how you can teach your students the same fundamental skills that you used for everlasting success instead

📉 What if your advertisement is not working? 🤔

If you’re still not getting any students with your advertisement, there are a few things to consider

Revisit your target audience: Go back and check that you’ve addressed all of the specific needs and struggles that your target audience is facing

Check your pricing: Are your prices too high or too low? If your prices are too high they may drive people away, if they are too low they may unintentionally signal lower quality. Make sure your prices align with the standard rates of other tutors with similar credentials. Research other tutors and their pricing to make sure you’re competitive, and not out of reach

Evaluate your messaging and language: Is your messaging clear and easy to understand? Are you effectively communicating your unique value proposition in language which your target audience will understand? Ask someone else to skim-read it and tell you the five main points they took away. Do these match the points you want to get across? If not consider revising your messaging

Consider your advertising channels: Think about all the places your target audience is looking for tutors. Is your advertisement in all of those places?