Your Teacher Brand
When we started our offline language center in Russia in 2011, we noticed something that other schools had missed.
Most student didn't buy our courses because of our website...
...or our office (in a skyscraper in the center of the city)...
...or our logo...
...or our textbooks...
...or our method...
Most students came to us because of the TEACHERS.
Someone told someone that so and so teacher was great.
OR
Someone saw a video of so and so teacher.
What really sold the course - was the teacher's brand.
Noticing this, we realized that we could increase the perceived value of the teacher's brand by specializing them.
We gave them training to focus deep in one area of ELT.
It was a win-win because we got more business...
And they got a brand that they could take with them.
But most schools out there do the opposite...
Maybe because they are greedy...idk...
They stifle the teacher brand...
Because they want to control it and own it.
That's really why I started my first business...
It felt like I was being held hostage by the school I was at...
And I didn't like that feeling...
So I did something about it.
But building a local teacher brand will only get you so far...
Everybody knew me in that city...
But when I moved online... crickets...
So I had to do something different... something more...
I had to learn new skills.
And that caused a transformation in me...
Going from offline teacher to online teacher...
But also it caused a transformation in my teacher brand.
I was able to reinvent myself in the online market...
And the amazing part of it was... it was easy...
Now I help other teachers do that (when I've got time)
Because it works for anyone anywhere...
The ELT market is so big, so vast...
You can find students who want to study with natives, non-natives, men, women, children, by Zoom, by email, by SMS, by WhatsApp group, by Facebook group, by Telegram, by PDF...
And you can find people who are lawyers, doctors, accountants, developers, managers, salespeople, etc...
And they all have their own preferences.
There's absolutely no way that I can teach all of these people myself - even after starting multiple online teaching businesses - even having dozens of teachers...
Because some of those people prefer YOU.
So if you haven't done so already...
Put some thought into what your teacher brand is.
It's a valuable asset that you can take with you - regardless of the schools you teach for.
And the real power of a teacher brand is in brand recognition...
If students are drawn to you...
If you've made a name for yourself...
Jobs and clients will chase YOU.
To your success,
- Christopher Huntley