Let’s welcome Katie Hamons, an online reading teacher from the United States, to share her top tips for getting featured in magazines, blogs or newspapers. This kind of PR is a great way to find new students and grow your online teaching business!
Tell us a bit about yourself…
Hi! I’m Katie Hamons from the United States. I specialize in helping beginner readers from kindergarten through early elementary (ages 4-9) become confident and independent readers. With over 5 years of experience teaching children in Beijing, China, and now working with students online, I use interactive and engaging methods to make reading fun and effective.
You can learn more about my classes and services on my website. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or would like to learn more about my reading classes. Happy reading!
How did you get featured in a local magazine?
I was thrilled to be featured in a local online magazine after a journalist saw my post in a local Beijing WeChat group. They were impressed with the free summer reading challenge that I posted about and thought other parents might be interested in it as well.
Being featured in the magazine helped me gain visibility and credibility within my community. It led to a surge in new leads and inquiries from parents interested in my tutoring services. While I don’t have exact numbers yet, the feature definitely brought in new students and expanded my network.
What are your top tips for teachers wanting to get featured?
- Leverage Word-of-Mouth: Encourage satisfied parents to share their positive experiences and recommend you to local media.
- Network Actively: Connect with local journalists, bloggers, and influencers who can help spread the word about your services. Stay connected with the community and be open to sharing your journey and successes – it can lead to unexpected opportunities and growth for your business.
- Showcase Unique Approaches: Highlight what makes your teaching methods unique and effective. This can catch the interest of media looking for fresh stories.
- Be Proactive: Reach out to local magazines, blogs, or newspapers with a compelling story idea or a unique aspect of your teaching.
- Run Events: Journalists love to feature your free events, competitions or challenges. This is a great way to grow your network before directly promoting your teaching.
What did you write about in your article?
When it comes to the article itself, you don’t have to directly market the product or service that you want money for. Instead, focus on providing value and promote a low ticket offer or a free, high-value event. Remember that the article will be read by parents who have never heard of you before, so are unlikely to want to purchase an expensive program straight away.
In my article, I shared insights on my teaching methods, including how I create a fun and engaging learning environment. I also talked about my summer reading challenge and provided tips for parents to support their children’s reading journey.
How did you design your reading challenge?
Using ideas from Abridge Academy’s referral marketing bootcamp, I designed the reading challenge to motivate and engage young readers during the summer break, while actively bringing in new leads for my online teaching business.
The challenge involves children recording videos of themselves reading a book, which they can choose or I can recommend based on their reading level. At the end of the month, participants can invite friends to vote for their video.
Prizes include a free 1:1 reading lesson, a PDF book, and a fun bookmark to print and color. All participants receive a certificate of participation. Throughout the month, I provide feedback on the videos to help improve their reading skills.
As well as the magazine article, I promoted the reading challenge through my social media channels (WeChat moments and groups). Word-of-mouth from parents has also helped spread the word.
What do you think?
Thank you Katie for sharing such fantastic insights and top tips for teachers!
Would you like to get your online teaching business featured in magazines, blogs or newspapers? Well, a great place to start is right here – drop us a message with a story idea and you could be our next feature! We particularly love to share marketing tips for independent online teachers, innovative teaching strategies, and your success stories teaching online with the Abridge Academy curriculum.