Guide to advertising on A+ Tutors

When you complete the application form you may want to keep some of the following information and tips in mind:

 

Creating An Advert

Keep Things Simple
The best tip is to keep things simple. Do not go into too much detail or try to say too much. If you have a lot to say that you want a potential customer to know then consider creating your own webpage or website. Examples of these can be found on the A+ Services page.

Standard Format
All adverts on this website follow the same form:

1
City/ County		 2
Tutor Name		 3
Local Location
& Phone number		 4
Subjects
and Levels		 5
Rate		 6
Comments

London - North1

Enfield1

Winchmore Hill 1
N21 1

  1. General Location
    Adverts on this site are listed by where the tutors live:

    First Country; then region/county; then city/town; then suburb/district.

    Please do not repeat the same location twice. Unless you live in London your suburb/district should be the name of your local area - not the name of a city! Suburbs/local areas are usually about a mile in diameter. London tutors, are asked to give the name of their nearest train or tube station instead of their suburb.

    If you are a London tutor then first half of your post code is placed in the first column of your advert.

    Online tutors, are listed by subject and the adverts have to be generated manually from your application details.

    Back to the sample advert. Back to the application form.

  2. Name
    The second column contains a contact name for the tutor. Some people prefer using their full name, some just their first name, and some include a title. If you include a website address in your application then your name will be used as the link (see part 3.3 below).

    Please do not use a trading name.

    Back to the sample advert. Back to the application form.

  3. Local Details & Contact Details
    The third column states where the tutor lives (for home based tutors) and/or the area covered (for a travelling tutor). It also gives contact details and has icons to represent travelling tutors and home based tutors.

    1. Home based tutors are asked to give a specific area in which they live (such as street name) because this allows the student to make up their own mind as to how easy the tutor will be to visit. The local area that your advert appears under will not be repeated here. See 3.1 in the example advert above.

      2. Back to the application form.

    2. Travelling tutors are asked to give a realistic catchment area. The calculation is easy: the further you travel the fewer students you can tutor that day/evening. Balance the amount of time lost travelling (to and from a student) with how much you are charging. Then set definite limits to how far you will travel. A distance in miles is best. If you list a lot of specific areas then they may be shifted to the right hand column.

      3. Back to the application form.

    3. Tutors are encouraged to use their home telephone number in the advert as this is usually the preferred method of contact. Other contact details such as mobile phone number, e-mail or the address for a personal website are optional. Please note, unless your daytime work number can only be answered by you then it is strongly recommended that you do not include it.

      • Email Address:

        • At the moment, it is recommended that you use a disposable address in your advert (NB see note below if you use a hotmail address). This is because spammers are using sophisticated search engines for acquiring email addresses from websites. A semi-secure method is currently in place which protects your email address from most spammers but not all. This can be easily updated/changed when needed.
        NB Hotmail addresses: the hotmail spam filter has a tendancy to delete genuine enquiries. Please be sure that you know how to use it correctly

      • Personal Website:

        • If you would like a link included to your personal website then please include a link back to your advert and/or one to the A+ Tutors home page. Details on how to do this will be give on request.
        A+ Tutors can provide additional website services if required.
        NB Your advert may be removed if your website becomes inappropriate.

    Back to the sample advert. Back to the application form.

  4. Subjects
    The fourth column of your advert contains the subjects that you tutor and the levels you cover. Subjects are grouped by level(s). To make skimming easier, each subject appears in bold. Because of this, there is a limit to the number of subjects allowed in an advert (see below).

    Immediately after each subject are the levels, or the range of levels you tutor it at. If two or more subjects are tutored at the same level(s) then they are listed together.

    The application form has the same structure as the advert but in tabular form. The first entry box is for your main subject. If you tutor a second subject at the same level then enter it in the next box to the right, and a third subject in the third box. Leave these additional boxes blank if you do not tutor any other subject at the same levels as the first subject. The fourth box in the row is for the range of levels covered.

    If you tutor more subjects, but at different levels, then use a new row for each different range of levels.

    Enter a subject only once.

    A maximum of 5 subjects is recommended. There is a firmish limit of 6 subjects which can be increased in limited cases. In any case, do not get carried away with offering all possible subjects as this can put people off. Focus on your core subjects and the most profitable subjects. Please remember that you can always add more detail in your personal message.

    Please look at other adverts on the site if these instructions are not clear.

    Example

    The entry for the above advert would look like:

    Subject Entries for first range of levels tutored
    Subject 1(a)Subject (b)Subject (c)Range tutored at.
    Subject Entries for second range of levels tutored
    Subject 2(a)Subject (b)Range tutored at.
    Subject Entries for third range of levels tutored
    Subject 3(a)Subject (b)Range tutored at.

    NB The phrase "up to and including" is not used on this site. Please use "up to" or just "to" instead.

    Back to the sample advert. Back to the application form.


  5. Rates
    Rates are defined by you and must be included. In most situations, a single rate for all levels is best (complete the lower rate box only). However, you may wish to provide a range (with a minimum and a maximum rate) e.g. £20- £25/h. Open ranges (e.g. From £20/h) are not allowed on the site. Fine detail of your rates is best left for your personal message/comments.

    6. Please Note.
    1) Be fair to your customers. The more experienced you are the more you may charge. So, if you are not an experienced tutor then charge less than the going rate.
    2) Do not make your range too large. This puts people off! In general, a £5 difference is best - £10 at the most. Do not try to include every possibility. If your range is greater than £10 then you need to reconsider your rates and be able to justify why you charge so little for one client and so much for another. If you must have a large range then you should consider creating two different adverts - one for the lower rates and one for the higher rates.
    3) Group rates - If it is unusual for you to tutor groups, then it is OK to leave out these rates when you calculate your range. Just say in your message "Group rates available." If you only tutor in groups then you need to point this out in your message.

    Back to the sample advert. Back to the application form.


  6. Your Message
    The final column of your advert is for any comments you would like to convey to potential students. You are asked to keep your message as short as possible (max. 40 words) so that it will fit onto a standard screen (this is a resolution of 800x600 which is used on most 15" and old 17" monitors). There is no problem with you writing a bit more but it is not recommended as it will make your advert difficult to read.

    If you have a lot to say (max 75 words) then the width of your advert will be increased to prevent your advert from becoming too long. This will mean that readers with a standard screen will have to scroll the window to read your comments, however, your comments will still fit onto a 19" monitor.

    Do not to say anything that might discourage someone from contacting you. It is best to give people the "bad news" on the phone - after they have already chosen you! Bad news at this point is less likely to discourage.

    Avoid too much detail.

    Avoid redundancy.

    I strongly recommend that you do not offer the first lesson for free in your advert. If you do then I will delete this (unless you say otherwise).

    A free first lesson should be standard practise as it allows both you and your student to assess each other. However, promising it in your advert commits you to providing a free tutorial even when a student is clearly only looking for a one-off lesson.

    All the feed back received from users indicates that negotiable rates puts people off so tutors can no longer state this in adverts. You should keep in mind that many people will try to negotiate anyway.

Back to the sample advert. Back to the application form.

 
 

Payment Options

Paying By Credit or Debit Card

Proper payment facilities for Credit/Debit card transactions are coming soon. However, in the mean time, you can pay by credit or debit card by using Google Checout or PayPal. Links are available at the end of the application process.
Google Checkout - quick and easy even if you don't have an account (which you must have).
PayPal - slightly longer process but an account is not required. If you have a PayPal account already please ensure that you do not pay by "eCheque" as this takes at least week for funds to "clear".

Paying By Bill Payment / Direct Transfer

Bill payments allow you to transfer money from your bank account directly to someone else's. The easiest way to make a bill payment is by either telephone or Internet banking but can also be done over the counter at any HSBC branch.
It is very easy indeed. All you need to know is the person's name, bank account number and sort code. Most payments/transfers take no longer than 3 days. If you have an account with the HSBC group, and a few other banks, then your payment will be received the same day.

If you would like to know more your bank will be happy to answer your questions.

Please Note: References do not always appear correctly. Under the following circumstances you will need to provide extra information so your payment can be verified:

Paying at an HSBC branch.
You will need to send me an email and let me know when and where you made your payment - Branch sort code or name.

Transferring from a Barclays bank account.
You will need to tell me your account number as references do not always appear.

Paying By Cheque or Postal Order

Unfortunately I am no longer able to accept cheques and postal orders. Please choose one of the payment options above.

Copyright © 2000 - 2008 Kelly McLellan
Terms and Conditions