Some of you may be started teaching as a side hustle and want more. Or maybe you began teaching to eventually turn this opportunity into a full-time gig. While some are not as lucky, some teachers are super successful and teach English online full time.
So, what is the secret?
We should begin this by looking at whether or not you are able to teach English online full time,
Can you teach English online full time.?
To give a short answer, it really depends. I understand that this might not be the answer you wanted, but let’s dive into it some more. First of all, it depends on the type of the teaching you want to teach. We should see if you are marketing it yourself or are using an ESL company.
It also depends on who you are working for. Does the platform you are using book your classes for you or do students book your classes?
And finally, the term “full-time”- means a lot of things to different people.
For many people teaching English online starts as a part-time opportunity and then comes the opportunity to grow. But before starting teaching English you need to get a TESOL certificate.
The strategy for turning your online English into a full-time income comes from a shift in mindset. Here I’m listing four strategies along with practical tips in order to become a full-time online teacher:
- Treat the teaching as your business
- Carefully develop your brand
- Grow your mindset
- Diversity
- Tips for teaching full-time online.
Also Read: Getting Ready to Study Online
Treat it as your business
This is one of the most important shifts that helps all the people teach English all the time.
But what does this actually mean?
Just imagine yourself as a true independent creator, as someone who controls his/her own schedule, time and where you work.
When you start seeing yourself as the CEO of your own company, you can always start looking for different ways to increase income and generate multiple sources of income.
Here is the truth:
A lot of us are bound to our company’s booking algorithm, thus, making some people successful and others not so much.
We start to see how we can work at investing in what we want out of it and marketing. We have a lot of things in our control, in order for us to create a more robust profile on our platforms.
Marketing: You have to learn how to market yourself as an online English teacher: You have to work on the image the parents see and make it unique and attractive for eyes. You should not rely on poor video editing skills and low-quality image of the camera. You should invest in your business or even ask someone with a high profile that could help you make your profile attractive and attract more clients.
Work on yourself as a teacher: No matter your personal life issues, you should always be giving the best for your students. While we always think we are offering the best for our students, it is always good to keep learning and grow as a teacher.
Develop your brand: Teaching English online full-time requires some advanced thoughts about your branding as a teacher. And I am not talking about the colors, logos, and fonts. While there is no denying that they are very important for your brand but you do not need to worry much about them as you should grow your service.
If you are willing to create a teaching business, branding is necessary. That way you can build a full schedule. Now that you made up your mind, look out for things that can help you grow as an online teacher.
Ask yourself what makes you different from others:
• What makes you unique? What is your best skill or feature?
• What do students like about me? Articulation? Sense of humor?
• What makes the students remember you?
Focus on branding yourself – that way you will have the opportunity you offer unique and valuable for your students. This will increase your bookings.
Change your mindset.
Changing your mindset when teaching English online, is part of your success.
Be able to ask yourself some questions, such as:
• Do you want to turn this opportunity into a full-time job?
• Will you be able to focus on the work?
• Are you willing to continue even when you think the job is difficult?
If you can answer these questions, you are moving in the right direction.
Also Read: 5 Ways to Enhance Your Teaching Career
Diversify
If you schedule a lot of classes, you will earn a steady income as an online English teacher, but it will take time to build this up. You need to diversify working with several online jobs. Offer lessons to students in countries that are not in the same time zone.
Tips for teaching English online
Now that you have been focusing on teaching online and you have been working on branding yourself, look at these tips:
Be more available
If you want a full-time job, you have to open up full-time hours from the start. Show your students that you have the potential to teach as many classes as you can.
Stay with people that share the same thoughts with you.
You can’t do this alone. Teachers need support when teaching English. You can join teachers’ Facebook groups, who are trying to reach the same goals as you.
Get connected with teachers with the same objectives as you. You will be inspired and encouraged.
Provide effective quality feedback for learning. Feedback from your students has value. Never underestimate it. Focus on giving quality feedback.
Make connections and keep engaging your students. Increasing engagement in your online classroom is the way to go! The students need to feel valued.
Try to make learning English fun and interesting to learn. The first minutes of your class are very important to create a connection between you and your students. Ask them about their life and their interests.
Build a full-time schedule today. You can do this! Teaching online is a great opportunity and has many benefits. Being a full-time online teacher is totally possible.
