Acquiring Students Through Craigslist: Yay or Nay?

This past week, I went on tour with my choir.  The inevitable long bus commutes and church-provided potluck dinners prompted several conversations with talented musicians, teachers, and colleagues. I was asked by three people how I recruit my private students.  This is probably one of the most challenging issues faced by emerging independent teachers, especially those that teach music.  A friend of mine mentioned she had trouble finding students, to which my response was "that's a big, fat LIE."  There are 28 people currently on my wait list. I have had at least forty more inquire or express interest (most of these I referred to other instructors), and there are likely hundreds more potential students within the community. It takes some aggressive (and simultaneously tasteful) marketing, but if you do it right, students will flock to you.

My jazz combo leader my junior year of college recommended me to my first student, a junior high-school mezzo-soprano.  Let me tell you, as a student in dire need of textbooks / gas / mac&cheese / character shoes / :::insertfinancialburdenhere:::, 20 dollars a week was a lot of money.  Of course, now I realize much more unpaid time is spent outside the lesson itself in planning and organizing, but the sudden rise in income prompted me to search for a few more students.

Fast forward to two years later and I'm a recent graduate in the middle of the fiscal year, engaged to my now husband (and therefore tied to the geographic 30-mile radius job search) and limited to substitute teaching, which I found burdensome and unsatisfying.  The studio was an alternative to a full-time teaching job, which, at the time I highly coveted.  When the studio became my livelihood, it was imperative that I took on many students, fast, or the rent wouldn't be paid.

My first Craigslist post was lengthy and the teensiest bit naive (ok, probably a lot a bit naive).  I think I may have even included my phone number, which is a big no-no, though I don't think I ever received anything worse than a few texts from random numbers.  Down the road, I adhered to the Craigslist code of short and simple.  Over the next six months, I had a teaching load of 22 weekly students, approximately ten of which were from Craigslist.  I acquired some of my most dedicated students this way.

Here's a few things I learned about accepting students from Craigslist.  Of course, these are merely suggestions and generalizations, so if it doesn't speak to you, take it with a grain of salt.

1. The obvious street-wise rules apply: don't post your address, phone number, share your bank account or credit information, etc. etc.  Anyone living in the digital age should know this.  Use a junky e-mail address to register and prepare to sift through a lot of spam.  Whether or not you want to do this is dependent upon how much you want students.

2. Your ad: make it short.  People want to know about you, what and how you teach, an approximate location in town, and how much you might charge.  You can choose to include your prices in your ad (read on for more info on this).

Example of what NOT to post:
Hello! My name is Jane Doe.  I am a recent college graduate looking to take on lots of students as soon as possible (this reads: prices negotiable).  I won this award, taught at this school, yada yada yada (this reads: I'm losing interest). I teach all styles (this reads: I'll let your six year old learn opera).  My rates are start at xxxxx (what?! That's pricey. I'm not even going there).  If interested, call me at 123-456-7890 (I'm so texting this person...).

Example of what TO post:
Recent college graduate with x years of experience (exclude this if you have no experience, but be ready to provide references and examples of your work to anyone who asks) seeks motivated students in private voice, gamelan, and didgeridoo (if you don't know what these instruments are, you should...so go look them up).  South side of town. Inquire through CL with "Music Lessons" in the title. Optional: rates start at xxxx.

3. If you DO NOT include your prices in your ad, you risk spending a lot of time responding to inquiries to people that won't pay over ten dollars for a lesson.  Understand that most people on CL are price-shopping and just want to know "how much would it be to take voice."  If the first thing a potential student or parent asks you is how much you charge, they are probably less likely to understand things like rates, price increases, fees for books, supplies, etc.  Though THIS IS NOT ALWAYS TRUE, it's true a lot of the time. Once someone inquires, be up front about your prices, be ready to back them up, and don't undercut area musicians by undercharging.

4. If you DO include your prices in your ad, you will probably get less inquiries.  Those that do respond will be more motivated and likely to start soon because they already are aware of what you charge.  In their mind, they've accepted that they are willing to spend 30 dollars an hour and are essentially ready to start (most of the time).

5. I never reply to a CL inquiry with typewritten information.  Once I verify that they have read my ad and aren't some spam-bot in Egypt (I can generally tell by the grammar in the e-mail and/or if they have changed the title of their e-mail), I ask that they call me and give them my phone number.  If you don't have a landline, a magic jack is a safe alternative.  After that, the ball's in their court.

6. If they call you, you've gotten a lot further than the average joe.  After a successful phone conversation, I would meet potential students or parents for a consultation at a neutral location, like a coffeeshop.  After I got more confident at this process, I eventually skipped this step and invited them to my studio for a free consultation at a time when I knew my husband would be home.  Don't do this if you are even the least bit wary of the potential student.  Have a third party present in the area (public or private) just in case.  Use this time to discuss goals, your studio policy, payment plans, etc.  Bring any necessary documents (practice contracts, pricing sheet, calendars, etc).

7. If everything goes well, set a start date and ask that they bring payment to their first lesson.  However you charge is up to you, but I would strongly advise that you ask for payment in advance (for x amount of lessons and/or the remainder of the month). Never consider anything a done deal until they have pre-paid for lessons and the money is in your bank account.

8. Don't be a snob.  You can have an open mind and street smarts at the same time.  Not everyone who price shops is going to be a horrible student.  Not everyone who pays on time is going to be an excellent student. Any student / teacher relationship started off on the right foot can be extremely rewarding, whether initiated on craigslist or not.

I use my example of *Penelope, whose name I'll change for privacy, as a personal success story. Penelope is one of my most faithful, loyal, hardworking students.  I accepted Penelope as a voice student in 2009, shortly after my undergrad.  Penelope was an adult, slightly younger than me, and was looking to pursue her hobby of singing.  Almost three years later, Penelope has stayed loyal through trial and error teaching and learning (and believe me, there's been a lot of error on my part), price changes, policy changes, three pianos, two degrees, multiple teaching jobs, and supported every personal and professional decision I ever made.  She is now pregnant with her first child, and will be wrapping up her private study this summer so she can prepare for the delivery and the next phase of her life.  Over the next several months, we will work to prepare a take-away portfolio of her work to date, including her repertoire, journals, lesson video and audio recordings, etc.  We have discussed the sustainability of her involvement with singing and performing, and will develop a feasible plan for long-term enjoyment and appreciation of music (which will likely emphasize vocal health and the music / motherhood relationship).  I recommended that she add her private study to her resume, because devoting one's self to something for several years is something to write home about, IMHO.

Part of the reason I believe Penelope was so successful as a student was because she had clear expectations from the beginning regarding her abilities and practical application in the real world.  As an adult, her intentions were not to win contests or become the next American idol.  She was ready to improve the quality of her voice and understood that improvement was a result of hard work and strong guidance.  She was willing to pay a competitive price for quality instruction, and was flexible in the learning/teaching process.

I have multiple other success stories of students I acquired through Craigslist, and hopefully you will, too.  Like teaching, learning, and life, it's all a matter of trial and error.

Teachers are people, too.

Out with the old, in with the new.  This year's resolutions: drink more water and blog at least twice a month.  Like many, I've fallen into the blog trap in the past: create, write excessively for a month, and like a kitchen appliance, the concept of the blog loses its appeal and gets shoved to some dusty shelf and used rarely, if ever again.  The idea of blogging is truly fascinating if you think about it.  People have no qualms expressing their most complex feelings, thoughts, emotions and experiences, and posting it for the entire world.  In the technological generation, it's considered abnormal not to have some kind of online presence.  I'll say right now that I'm probably no different than any blogger.  In my mind, I've accepted  that blogging, while creative and arguably an art form in its own right, is the teensiest bit narcissist.  My goal is to share my experiences teaching music, to be open about my thought processes with regards to my private music students and my sixth graders, who I teach general music to at a public school. The other day I ran into a student while eating breakfast at iHop. Cheekiness aside from being caught with a forkful of fatty, syrupy pancakes, I was surprised when my student said "I didn't know you ate here."  Kid rhetoric aside, teachers are people, too! I buy groceries, eat out, and get my oil changed.  It's a shame that even with my private students, who receive the most one-on-one attention, our interactions revolve around showing up, warming up, singing or playing, and giving a performance twice a year.

If I could de-censor these things, I would, because many people are actually quite surprised to learn that when I'm not teaching, I'm pretty sarcastic, often zany, and relatively off-beat.  The control and tendency toward OCD of teaching has taken over my personality more than I would have liked recently (I am technically a first-year teacher).  This blog will be for my students, parents, and myself to get to know the thought processes involved in running a private music studio and balancing teaching with performing, learning, and living life.  So while I'll try to be succinct in my posts, I'm going to go out on a limb and risk my students, their parents, my teachers, and colleagues understanding who I really am.