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Who is A+ Tutors?
Please see About A+ Tutors.
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Why do you charge more than most of your competitors?
This question used to be "Why do you charge so much less than your competitors?" Back in 2005 prices were increased to their current amounts simply to discourage tutors from applying. The site had become very successful and I became ill and couldn't keep up. In the following years most competing sites died off (they were charging too much) and were replaced by new sites which saw this one as the site to beat. For the most part, current competitors are either free or charge slightly less than this site. Despite their low prices this site still offers the best value and most effective form of advertising. It has been around so long it's performance on over 1500 search terms is simply hard to beat.
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Can you guarantee me students?
Sorry no. Tutoring agencies, newspapers and shop windows don't guarantee students either. However, this is a very successful site and one of the largest of it's type on the internet (and probably the oldest too). Between Jan 2000 and December 2008 only 10 tutors have told me that they hadn't received any work through the site. Reasons tend to be due to location (see below) and unusual subjects.
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I am an experienced tutor. Do you have opportunities for tutors in my area?
There are opportunities for tutors all over the country. As the popularity of the internet increases so does the popularity of this site. This is because more and more people try to find things with Google first (the site ranks well with Google). If you have found this site then the odds are someone looking for you will also find this site. If there are a large number of tutors on the site in your area then it is probably safe to say that the site is successful for that area. As the site has been around for such a long time most of the country has been covered at some point so if you have any questions then please drop me a line.
Of course, it doe helps to write a good advert... I can't do this for you but I do ensure that bad adverts do not go online (please see rest of this FAQ for more relevant information)
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What do you mean when you say this site only advertises individual tutors?
This site is designed to give every tutor an equal opportunity to catch the attention of a potential client. To prevent bias against individual tutors this site does not accept applications from schools, agencies, or groups of tutors.
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Do you give refunds?
No. As explained in the terms and conditions, the payment is for processing your application or renewal. Your advert is then entitled to be on the site for one year. Your advert may be suspended at any time and returned to the site at any time before your renewal date.
Payments from joint applications from two or more tutors and applications from schools or agencies will not be refunded. Even though these applications are not entitled to advertise on the site, submitted applications must be processed and this is what the charge covers.
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I do not want my advert to be listed under where I live.
This site is designed to give every tutor an equal opportunity to catch the attention of a potential client. This is why all tutors are listed under specific locations by where they live (or where they work), irrespective of whether or not they travel to their students or tutor from a fixed location. Listing all tutors in this way prevents bias against individual tutors and encourages potential clients to seek tutors as close to them as possible (which saves travel time!).
There are disadvantages to this system. For example, tutors in central London may be able to travel to North London. In these cases tutors can have an extra advert (which costs more) on another page. Additional adverts must still be listed under a relevant location.
At the moment, if a tutor travels then their advert can be listed under any location they want. However, if a tutor is stationary (e.g. home based) then their advert must appear under a relevant heading that accurately describes where they are based. There can be some leeway here but not much.
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I would like my advert to appear under more than one location/heading.
Due to the design limitations of the site (see the answer above) some tutors like to have their advert appear more than once on the site. As long as additional adverts are identical they cost only £10 per advert. If a tutor requires different adverts under different locations then each advert is charged at the full rate - £20 per year.
Please note: Most counties share a page with neighbouring counties. Please check where your planned adverts will actually appear on the site as multiple adverts on the same page are normally a waste of money.
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How much does it cost for my advert to appear in the online section?
Currently the online section is treated as one additional advert. No matter how many subjects you tutor (there is one advert per subject) the charge is only £10 per year. If you only tutor online then there is no extra charge. Please note, most people are looking for face-to-face tuition. Please only select online tuition if you are enthusiastic about it and know what you are doing (especially since you will need to explain how to do it to your students).
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I live abroad, can I advertise in your 'Online Tutors' section?
No, as I cannot recommend it. In the first nine years of the site, 4 tutors living outside the UK advertised on the site. None received students from their adverts. For three of the tutors, who had successful online tutoring businesses, enquiring students simply wanted a UK based tutor. Experience with the relevant course seemed irrelevant.
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Can you give me advice on how to complete the application form?
Yes. There is a guide
to advertising for tutors which should appear in a second window when you go to the application form.
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How do I pay for my advert?
Please see the guide to advertising.
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How long does it take for my advert to appear?
Before going online, your advert is reviewed
by an experienced editor. The objective is to ensure that you have
the best advert possible without changing the thought and style that you
put into creating it (as they reflect your personality).
Adverts are normally online within one working day (i.e. not Saturdays and Sundays). Sometimes they are reviewed and online very quickly indeed. Sometimes (rarely) they take a bit longer. It is an important and necessary process so please be patient.
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The advert on the site isn't the same as the one I created.
As mentioned above, each advert is reviewed before it goes live. The primary objective is always to ensure that the advert is the best that it can be whilst still reflecting the thought you put into it.
The main reason for edits is that the advert creation process tries not to restrict you too much. This means that it is very easy to create an advert that says too much or breaks the standard layout. Please see the guide to advertising.
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Should I use my email address in my advert? - Scams & SPAM.
Having your email address and phone number in your advert will make it easier to contact you. However this needs to be weighed against potential abuse. As a business it is always best to give your customer multiple ways of contacting you. BUT you are also an individual in a potentially vulnerable situation. You need to weigh up the pros and cons for yourself.
E-mail addresses on webpages are vulnerable to spam and, increasingly, to internet scams. Please be very aware of this when reading emails about your tuition services (and any to do with money in general). Unfortunately it is not unusual to receive strange emails. Many people frequently have no idea how to approach a tutor because it is quite an alien experience for them. Still, most scams are easy to spot if you are aware of the possibility - trust your instincts! If you have any questions then please just ask!
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Responding to emails
Following on from above, in general my advice is, if you are interested in an enquiry then follow it up. If you aren't then just send a polite reply that you will not be able to help.
If you follow up an enquiry, then I suggest you answer what you can and give your telephone number - encouraging them to talk to you about what they are looking for. If, at anytime, you get a bad feeling then just tell them that you will not be able to help and walk away from the situation. This holds true whether you are communicating face to face, by phone or by email.
It is important you know that this isn't much of a problem but it is one that you need to be aware of. Unfortunately, as scams are so common on the internet, I am sure it will continue to happen.
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How can I help the site?
There are three main ways you can help this site. The first one is the most important as it will help you directly.
- Create links to the site
The more links there are to the site and to your advert there are on the internet, the more highly ranked the site becomes and the more successful your advert will be.
However, developing web links from other websites to this one is time consuming, especially since there are so many adverts on the site. Still, it can be very easy to do, such as using the URL to your advert in blog or forum posts, and the more people who are proactive about promoting/mentioning the site, the more successful the site becomes for everyone.
Any contribution you can make will be greatly appreciated. Please see How do I link to A+ Tutors? for more detail.
- Contribute Articles
The site publishes articles written by tutors on the site to help as many people as possible. The articles help to promote the site but it is also a nice thing to do!
I always reward generosity in someway so if you have written something then please pass it on so others may benefit.
- Feedback
Feedback and tutor comments are always welcome on anything. For example, if there is something on the site that you don't agree with or you have spotted a minor mistake then please point it out. What ever you have to say, your comments will be taken seriously and used to improve the site.
Thank you!
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