Whether private teaching is your primary job or a side gig, keeping your pipeline filled with potential students is always a challenge. Hopefully, you're engaging in a variety of strategies to marketing your private music practice.
Digital marketing is a crucial marketing channel. Putting up your profile on the ever-growing list of gig search sites is an effective way to get potential music students to find you. We've put together a list of 13 websites that help connect eager music students with private teachers. Not only do they open up avenues where students can find you, but some also open up your practice to the world. Remote video lessons are growing, and many of these sites let you specify if you offer remote video lessons. If you don't now, joining some of these websites may inspire you to do so.
Three gig search sites dedicated to music teachers
These sites are the most targeted for your audience, offering only music-related teachers.
Music Teachers Network has listings for music teachers all over the United States. There is an application process – you can't just upload a profile. They have two tracks for using their website. You can either use it to generate leads, where you handle all the contact and billing. While uploading your profile is free, there is a subscription fee to use it for lead gen. The second option is an independent contractor hired by MTN. There is a more stringent review process to become an MTN contractor. MTN handles all the billing and admin, and it pays the contractor an hourly rate.
Music Teachers Directory doesn't have as slick an interface as many of these other sites, but it's functional. The only string instruments listed on its filter options are violin and guitar (acoustic and electric). It also has an application review process and two listing options. You can have a free listing or pay for a "Premium Subscription" which gives you top billing for searches in your local area.
Music U Live is a global music teacher directory website and expects that you'll be offering remote music lessons on its platform. This website can grow your business, but not necessarily your local business. It does have a minimal annual admin fee. It also acts as the billing middleman between you and the students.
Six websites that focus on private teachers and tutors
These websites are platforms solely for private teachers and tutors, who teach pretty much anything. Their formats aren't identical but have many common traits.
On most of them, the platform manages the billing and scheduling. Indeed, its suite of scheduling, lesson, and business functions are part of their appeal. For these services, the platform typically takes a percentage of each lesson fee, although they do let you set your lesson rates.
They also generally include some student review process.
Take Lessons lets you offer remote lessons on their platform, but you can also specify you offer in-person lessons.
Hey Tutor lets you upload testimonials from existing students. If you've not worked with anyone through the website yet, your profile will still have student testimonials for prospects to read.
Lessons operates under a different business model. You pay a managed amount to contact or send out bids to the specific students you want to teach. Alternatively, you can set up the system to send out your profile automatically to students it thinks are a good match for you. There's no cost to have the system automatically send out your profile, but you do pay a fee for how many students can contact you. You can set your weekly budget, so you never get surprised by fees.
Super Prof is also a global directory that enables online tutoring, while happily connecting you to local students who want in-person lessons. This site doesn't start taking a commission off the top until your monthly billings exceed $3000.
Wyzant steps students through a wizard to help them find the right tutor. Its commission percentage starts pretty hefty but goes lower the more hours you rack up with students scheduled through the website. It offers a remote lesson platform, or you can provide in-person lessons, scheduled and paid through the site.
Apprentus is exclusively in-person lessons and proclaims itself the largest online marketplace for matching students with teachers or tutors.
Popular, general purpose directories with high traffic
These last four websites are general gig sites. Guru and Upwork offer up everything from software development to medical billing to music lessons. Care and Thumbtack focus on home-based services, such as elder care, cleaning, or putting together your Ikea furniture. They do both include in-home lessons as well.
Have you been getting students from any of these sites? Share your experience and advice below!
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