Thank you to everyone who filled out my recent survey! (And did you mean to fill out the survey but haven't yet? No worries — you can still access it here.)
If you're looking for a career change and are open to exploring a range of career options, you're not alone. You may be looking for strategies to build your own independent business while at the same time keeping your options open.
And this is why I publish the Edupreneur Insider: I've made a career transition a few times (into education and out of education), and I know how exhausting and disorienting it can be.
Future issues will continue to share tangible advice. Based on your survey responses, I’ll focus first on:
marketing strategies for your existing business
technology and design for curriculum design
information about careers teachers are especially well qualified for
advice about how you can get from where you are now to that new job
And, of course, I'll continue to share fantastic job opportunities that pay fairly (i.e. at least $35/hour or $70K/year).
~Chelsea
ISSUE 1.7: TABLE OF CONTENTS
Strategies — Why You Need an Email List
Upcoming Events in the Education Space
Income Opportunities (part-time & full-time)
Strategies
DO YOU NEED AN EMAIL LIST? Yes, if you market:
Your services — coaching, tutoring, etc.
Your paid instructional materials — TPT, courses, etc.
Your content — podcasts, YouTube channels, etc.
DO YOU NEED AN EMAIL LIST IF YOU’RE ALSO ON SOCIAL MEDIA?
Yes, you do. Especially if you're on a marketplace (like TPT) or have an active social media following.
Marketplaces and social media have a lot of content, but they manage that content by shuffling it all through a funnel. And content producers are at the very small end of that funnel. Unless people actively seek out your content actively, they aren't likely to see what you have to say regularly.
When you send an email, however, it's always going to show up in your inbox. Where it stays until someone takes action on it — by deleting it or reading it.
This means the number of people who see your content is significantly higher for emails than social media posts. 15-25% of subscribers open an email. How many people see your Facebook post? It's less than 6% of your followers. And your content doesn’t last long on their feeds — it’s gone if they log on 2-3 hours after you post.
CHALLENGES TO STARTING AN EMAIL LIST
So why do people start a Facebook page or group rather than a newsletter? Because it's not easy to get email addresses. In fact, figuring out just the right pitch (or "lead magnet") has launched an entire subcategory in publishing.
And some marketplaces — Outschool and TPT for example — control how you connect with users, creating additional challenges to getting email addresses. This means that if you're bringing people to these platforms (i.e. advertising on their behalf on social media or through your website), it's even more important that you get access to your customer's contact information too.
RESOURCES
If you want to learn how to build your email list effectively and increase your sales, here are some resources I've used recently.
Melissa Seideman runs a Facebook group called Email Marketing for Teacherpreneurs. She regularly shares encouragement and tips, plus she responds to questions. Her newsletter’s lead magnet is a pdf chocked full of action plans, including at least one I've used to successfully connect with subscribers.
If you already have a list but need more subscribers, check out Jenna Kushner's blog & podcast for growth strategies. Her recent post, 5 Strategies That Help Me Grow My List by 5,000 Subscribers, includes a quiz strategy that I'm going to be testing soon!
DANGER ZONE
A few weeks ago, I subscribed to an email list because I wanted to attend an event the person was coordinating. And I immediately got a ton of event-related emails. But I quickly noticed that each email didn’t provide new content; instead, every email was geared towards the upsell — "here's the paid content, buy now" "here's the paid content, buy now." I unsubscribed.
You have to provide more content than you sell. When people value your content, they will read it. And, when they need your service, you're the first person they'll come to.
UPCOMING EVENTS IN THE EDUCATION SPACE
VIRTUAL EDTECH JOB FAIR Jeff Patterson is planning a second virtual ed tech job fair. He has an extensive network and the major edtech companies will set up 'booths.' If you're curious about the ed tech world, check it out. But his focus is on jobs, not well-paying jobs so you'll have to sort through the low-ball offers to find the great companies. But they are there — I prove it every week! Tentative date: Oct 18 4:30-6:30 (CT).
ONLINE CONFERENCE FOR EDUCATORS Geekapalooza, a free online conference, "like netflix for educators." They're offering 50+ free presentations on skills you need to scale your business. I'm planning to check it out! They do have a strongly marketed upsell offer ($37 for immediate access to the courses). Oct 18-21
HIGH 5 PERSONAL GROWTH CHALLENGE A 5-day challenge starting October 4th that will help you "overcome fear and self-doubt and practice more empowering habits to re-energize your life." Mel Robbins, a popular life coach, and Jenna Kushner, an educator, are co-hosting this event.
INCOME OPPORTUNITIES
PART-TIME, TUTORING
1. College Essay Guy is hiring essay specialists to work 1:1 with students. 2+ years experience teaching college admissions essays. US/Canada. $60-110/hour.
2. Superstudy is looking for a College Admissions Counselor/Tutor as well as tutors in a wide variety of other subjects. The college admissions counselor will work with groups of students (6-12) during 3/hour study halls. $51-61/hour. [nb: Superstudy guarantees a class, but charges 15% commission. It’s unclear if that is already reflected in the hourly range.]
3. Dream Go is hiring a SAT Verbal tutor. Only requires 1 year of teaching experience. $50-60/hour.
There were too many part-time tutoring jobs to list this week, so I included additional opportunities paying $40-60/hour in the Facebook Edupreneur Insider Job Board.
CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT / INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN
1. Ardent Health Services is looking for a contract Instructional Designer with a pharma background and at least 3 years experience. 3 months, full-time. Remote but requires 25% travel. $80-90/hour.
2. BrainCeek is looking for an Ed Tech Curriculum Developer with elearning/game design experience. Part-time or full-time. $50-100/hour.
3. Aptara is hiring a contract Instructional Designer with 7+ years experience. Anticipated start date Nov/Dec. 3+ months, full-time. $55-60/hour.
FULL-TIME JOBS
1. Open Mind is a non-profit ed tech company hiring a Senior Learning Designer. 5-7 years experience in learning design and a background in psychology. Full-time salary starts at $100K. Open to hiring outside of the US.
2. Ed Theory is a CA-based company providing therapy options to schools in California. They are hiring a Teletherapy/SPED Teacher. Unclear if this is a temporarily remote position or if it will require travel/relocation post-Covid. $75-90K.
If you're looking for full-time job opportunities, I've been listing tons of full-time job opportunities over on the Facebook Edupreneur Insider Job Board.