Working out how to get more music students when you’re a freelance music tutor or you’re a full-time music teacher is one of the key problems you face, daily.
We get it. We do! It’s tough trying to drum up business sometimes, especially when you’re just starting.
You know you’re good at what you do. But how do you show your community, local area and even the world that you are?
Fortunately, we have some tried and tested methods on how you can get more music students and start earning more money as a music tutor.
As with any freelance or self-employed job, word of mouth is king. So it makes sense that one of the main ways to get more music students is through positive word of mouth.
So how do you increase word of mouth referrals as a music tutor?
In a nutshell:
Be good at what you do. Make lessons fun. Listen to what the student wants to learn and help them with what they want. Be on time and above all be professional.
You cannot force a person to learn something, but you can certainly do everything you can to help deliver the results they need.
You are more likely to help a student learn by making a lesson fun. We talked about how to tackle attention span issues in our perils of being a music teacher blog. Worth a read for some quick tips.
Essentially, if the student learns and improves, they’re going to tell others about how good you are.
Just be professional and make sure you treat each class with the same level of enthusiasm.
Parents will speak to other parents about you and the results you have helped deliver.
- Parent #1: Hey, Laura now knows how to play “Enter Sandman” On Piano!
- Parent #2: Oh wow, that’s awesome! How did she learn that?
- Parent #1: Steve at your music tuition name taught her – she’s really enjoying the lessons.
- Parent #2: Oh cool do you have his number?
Parents will speak to each other. Students will speak to other potential students. Word of mouth is king.
Tik Tok is more than just a social platform. It’s now a major influencer in the world of education. According to influencer marketing agency Talking Influence the #LearnOnTikTok discover tag on TikTok has been reaching over 56.3 billion views – and counting!
This is not only a great way to advertise yourself but showcase your skills. Create a selection of quick lessons on how to change chords, design a drum fill or improve your voice.
Keep creating content at least once a day and make sure your bio is up to date with contact details. If people are in your local area they might reach out! They may request online music lessons too, so make sure you’re set up to teach music lessons at home.
Stay with me on this one…
LinkedIn may seem like a really strange place to market yourself when you’re figuring out how to get more music students. But it pays dividends to invest time into creating a solid professional profile.
A lot of professional people are on LinkedIn. These people may know someone or have children who want to learn how to play an instrument.
If you’re creating content or talking about your services regularly, you can appear to people who may be searching for music tutors. This is also a great way of growing your online lessons – which is something we’ll talk about in a later post.
LinkedIn is now becoming a massive force in the world of reputation management and a great way for people to see who you are and the skills and service you offer.
Don’t ignore this social media channel when it comes to trying to get more music students as it can be used effectively to market yourself. It’s like a digital business card!
This might sound like you’re trying to steal clients, but you’re not. Networking with other music tutors is a great way to get more music students as there are only so many hours in a day a tutor can teach!
Just like the world of freelancing, there are plenty of jobs out there. There’s just not enough time to take all those lessons. By speaking and connecting with as many music teachers as possible, you have a unique opportunity to tap into potential leads.
Now, I certainly don’t mean taking leads away from other tutors!
A student may ask their guitar teacher if they know any drum tutors for their friend. This is where you come in as you’ve built an existing relationship with the tutor. They could then recommend you.
Another example could be where someone is fully booked for a month. If you’ve reached out to them and have let them know you’re available, they also might refer you!
Again, this is where word of mouth comes in when it comes to figuring out how to get students for music lessons.
Some schools will already have a music program and music tutor. Some won't. Both options are a great way to get more students for music lessons.
If your local school already has a music teacher, they may need some extra help outside of work to balance out their day in private music tuition and be able to refer some students your way. Reach out to the school and offer your services. Who knows, they may even want to hire you!
If the school doesn’t have a music program, they may be interested in hiring you. Or they may even have a notice board that you could place your advert on or even a school newsletter. Parents of this school may be looking for music tutors, so this can be a great way to market yourself.
Reach out and offer some of the benefits of music tuition, your key USP’s and provide information on what you can offer.
Afterschool clubs are also a great opportunity to offer your services to parents. Ask your local afterschool club if they allow flyers or if they have a newsletter that you could appear in.
They may charge a fee or commission, so be aware of that, but make sure you’re adding value as that is the most important thing.
Flyering is, of course, one way to get more music students – but smart flyering is how you get the RIGHT customers.
Music shops are where musicians hang out.
Even more importantly; it’s where parents of musicians come to buy their loved one’s musical instruments.
In regards to music stores – this is a gold mine of opportunity. You could ask your local music store to place a poster in the window showcasing your skills and category.
Younger people may not be the ones who pick up the phone and ask for lessons, but the parents are. They may be buying a first guitar or drum kit for their loved one – and they need someone to teach them how to play it!
Ask your store if you can place flyers or posters in the respective area. For example, don’t place a drum tuition poster in the guitar section etc.
Make your posters/flyers stand out with a good call to action, clear headline and phone number.
Using an online music tutor database is one of the best ways to get more music students.
By using MusicTeacher.com you are joining a respected community of music tutors. This is an easy to navigate database that students can use to find a music tutor by their location, almost anywhere in the world!
Students simply search by location and instrument and they are presented with an array of different music tutors close to their location.
MusicTeacher.com has generated over 54,000 student inquiries for music teachers since 2012.
This is one of the easiest ways to get more private music students online and in person.
About the author
Lee Glynn (linkedin.com/in/leerglynn/) is a digital content strategist, blog writer and has been playing the guitar for 3 decades. Along with creating content strategies for a wide range of industries, and writing for well-respected music blogs and retailers for nearly 20 years, he helps websites grow their traffic with his company Quarry Lake Content (quarrylakecontent.com), specialising in blog and content writing, YouTube SEO and Copywriting.He was also in the UK-based band Sound Of Guns and has played Glastonbury, Reading & Leeds and just about every stage and festival in the UK multiple times.
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Practical ways for freelance music tutors and full-time music teachers to attract students and build awareness of their lessons.