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Good to hear you’ve found this helpful. When you are multi passionate it can be hard to narrow down, but it’s also important to make your business profitable:)

You’re definitely not alone as I see (and even do) these things ALL the time… Wishing you a wonderful Christmas too x

Someone recently told me it’s a lot higher now..

@@earnlearnthrive yes i do agree.

I'm always glad to hear when it works for someone, because my underlying goal is for the industry as a whole to start seeing the value in what we offer and charge accordingly. Getting clients for my coaching business comes second, obviously, but I fully recognise that only a small proportion of people who watch this video will decide to start finding their own clients off the platforms, and even fewer will decide to work with me directly (and that's fine). I'm not actually a massive fan of any platforms (Preply just stood out for me because of their policies), because I think it's much harder to stand out and charge more premium rates (say $40+) when the basic premise is a place to find cheap lessons. But, if you can manage to stand out and attract the right kind of students, it's true that it can remove the need to spend time and effort on marketing, so that's very much an individual decision.

@@earnlearnthrive I actually agree with you! 😃😃💖💖At a different point in my life I would absolutely branch out and leave companies like Preply to start my own tutoring business. But I've considered it and right now, the fact that Preply handles the money, software, finding students, techy stuff, etc. is a huge bonus for me. I don't currently have the bandwidth myself. In the future I likely will. I'd say Preply is good in the interim when you don't have the energy/drive/know-how yet to start your own thing.

@@PuppyEnglish2024 That's absoluitely fair enough. Eyes wide open 👀👀

People’s perspective on what is a good price varies depending on their financial situation. If it works for you I’m happy for you. It does for some. But I have also talked to dozens of well qualified and experienced teachers who have found themselves in a situation where they are working a lot of hours at a low rate and then can’t get out of that situation because they’re working too hard keeping their heads above water to try and market themselves elsewhere. I want to show people that there are alternatives, that’s all. Some people will choose to work with me as a result, most won’t, but either way they understand they have choices.

Fair enough if you want to get some experience and make a little money on the side. But obviously that’s not a business that’s going to actually pay your bills.

Surely how someone dresses doesn’t reflect whether they’re a native speaker or not? Not that I think you have to be a native speaker to be a good teacher.

@ problem is I have never seen any such native speakers in UK nor in US. Besides, these women have very strong Arabic accent.

Islam is the second biggest religion in the U.K. and plenty of Muslim women wear veils etc. Can’t comment on the accents though.

@ that really says something about UK today.

We’ve pretty much all been there I think.. as educators we naturally are empathic and want to help, and there is nothing wrong with that.. as long as we are also showing self compassion and not sacrificing ourselves along the way. Because ultimately that destroys the golden goose (our passion for and ability to help) .

Hi there! This is the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference). It does align with the older beginner, intermediate etc, but not necessarily level by level. Here's a link to a site where the descriptors for each level are described in detail. www.coe.int/en/web/common-european-framework-reference-languages/level-descriptions

They're called CEFR levels, you can find lots of information about them online.

@@jauntydamemusic Thank you! I actually had replied to this, but must have not saved it or something.

Oh goodness! The major problem is that a lot of people go to Preply looking for a cheap tutor, not necessarily a qualified one. Which means it's that much more unlikely to work well for you if you are looking for clients who do understand the value you offer and are willing to pay for it.

Depends on the teacher you choose!

Because I have a Masters degree in English Language Teaching and therefore know that whether you are a native speaker or not isn’t a key factor in what makes an effective foreign language teacher. Some native speakers are excellent teachers of course but not because they were born in an English speaking country.

It's called a free market for a reason.. if you price yourself out of it, you lose business.. maybe you should study American economics

Native speakers are usually trained to teach other native speakers. They also get frustrated when foreign speakers make mistakes. If English is their only language, they can't fix the students' mistakes because they don't understand why they happen. The ones that have adequate training as FL and SL teachers are usually very good, unless they come from a schooling tradition that favours "natural learning", in which case they can't explain concepts of the language to foreign speakers. Many native speakers can only teach conversations and they can't support a student who wants to study for a degree or to achieve a high level of communication in domains other than daily conversation, travelling and family relations.

@@ChristinaP-p3sI’m not sure it’s true about the training. I was a CELTA tutor for over a decade and the vast majority of native speakers who took the course had no teaching experience prior to doing it. The non native speaker teachers usually did, so often did better than the native speakers, though not always, as sometimes they were too set in their ways and not open to feedback. There are very many excellent and well qualified native speaker teachers, but it definitely is true that a lot rely heavily on being a native speaker, which has no direct correlation with being a good teacher IME.

LOL.. I can assure you it doesn’t work that way.

Happy to hear that. It can work for some people if their situation fits (i.e. you don't need to charge much because you live in a 'cheap' country).

@@earnlearnthrive I am from San Francisco California, one of the most expensive places for rent in the USA, if not world. I live comfortable and travel a lot 😃I charge over 40 an hour and my schedule stays full. I admit, it is not the normal. I also do not teach English on preply, that field is extremely saturated. I would advise people to think about what else they can teach that has little competition AND high demand

@@DonTravelsTheWorld Ah, well that would be another exception because, as you say, there is a lot less commoditisation when it’s harder to find tutors.

Hi @don please how can one teach other things in preply,apart from English

Yes, exactly :)

Hi, thanks for watching and commenting. I actually teach people how to find clients themselves, so this isn't something I can really advise on (I just hear the horror stories mainly). But here’s a link to a recent post on LinkedIn where I explained when platforms can be a good idea and in the comments there are some recommendations for platforms that take a lower commission etc www.linkedin.com/posts/rachaelroberts-eltbusinesscoach_what-do-you-have-against-preply-activity-7137749975676915712-erCs?

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I don’t really recommend any platforms because I teach people how to find their own clients. I just had a Google though and found this information, which may help. www.tefl.org/teach-english-online/palfish/

Hi, thanks for watching and commenting. I actually teach people how to find clients themselves, so this isn't something I can really advise on (I just hear the horror stories mainly). But here’s a link to a recent post on LinkedIn where I explained when platforms can be a good idea and in the comments there are some recommendations for platforms that take a lower commission etc www.linkedin.com/posts/rachaelroberts-eltbusinesscoach_what-do-you-have-against-preply-activity-7137749975676915712-erCs?

Also regarding the commission, is it initially high? Yes, but I feel its worth putting in the effort. As for the base rate of 18%, is that really so high? Considering everything you get in return? If you a have an affiliate business you only get 10-20% of any product you sell, if your an ebay seller you pay 10-15% in fees, plus your cost of sales, VAT etc, so lets put this into perspective. I feel 18% is a good deal. IF your a PROFESSIONAL teacher, and an experienced teacher this is a great platform. But if you're a casual, unexperienced teacher, just looking to make some extra "pocket money", then may be this isn't for you.

Everyone has to decide what works for them, and if you’re happy with working 40-50 contact hours a week, that’s your choice. Personally, I think that’s crazily high, and I can’t imagine how exhausting it would be if you’re also doing preparation on top.

@@earnlearnthrive I do it because I'm passionate about my job. I also have a full time teaching job on top of Preply. That's my choice. I don't understand your "negativity" I feel you have an axe to grind. As I said. I 'm earning $100-$200 a day on there doing 6-8 hours, Do you know many full time jobs that you can earn the equivalent? You could earn more freelance, yes BUT then you have to do all the marketing, advertising, deal with platform issues, build lesson plans and the there's the chasing payments, dealing with CC fraud and chargebacks etc. I had a private student who, after 6 months of teacher his teenage daughter, filed a fraudulent CC complaint and got refunded ALL his money, no questions asked and you have no way to fight it. With preply all those concerns and worries are theirs, not your. That alone is worth the 18%.

@@ActionFigureResource Yes, I guess I do kind of have an axe to grind, because I see so many people really struggling to make it pay anything like what they should be earning as a qualifed and experienced teacher, and I don't like the way Preply encourages people to lower their rates etc (no need to go through this again). In answer to your question, in the UK the average salary is £34,963, which works out as a day rate of £203.00 (taking into account benefits etc), so $100-200 dollars for 6-8 contact hours doesn't sound that amazing, given that teaching is much more intensive than most jobs on an hourly basis (the average contact time in any good school is around 20-24 hours over 5 days), and that you may well be doing preparation on top. However, I also recognise that people's circumstances are different, and what is a poor hourly rate in some countries is pretty good in others, and that it can be a trade-off in terms of spending time marketing etc. Personally, I would choose to invest that time, and be able to charge higher rates and do less marketing over time as the business builds, but it's absolutely a choice.

What is a NES?

Thanks, Fari, that's always great to hear :)

$20 an hour isn't a high rate where I'm based in the Uk, it's not much more than minimum wage (and that doesn't take into account preparation time). But, yes, while you are encouraged by Preply to set your rates low, you can actually set them at whatever point you like, and that can help to distinguish you from the mass. However, price alone isn't enough to signal quality and results- you'll need to show them why you're worth paying more for, and bear in mind that most students on Preply are not looking to pay more for high quality in the first place.

​@@earnlearnthriveThanks for your reply. You make a good point. I have a doctorate in an unrelated field, a CELTA, and 7 years of teaching experience. What rate would you suggest I set to avoid wasting time? Here in Southeast Asia, $20 per hour is decent, but I want to discourage frivolous trial lessons? Do you think $20 would do the trick?

@@Roadkicks-mp8cb I honestly can't advise on rates, as it depends on so many factors, plus I'm not recommending using the platforms in the first place.