I think some will be surprised at the distribution of what you need to build credibility, but I couldn’t agree with it more!

Read it here

Excellent article Koichi! I think it also works as a Marketing Concept as well.

Because tutors are educators first, many of us make the mistake of concentrating too much on our knowledge and focus when it comes to marketing our online educational services. But as Mr. Rowse’s article points out, althugh these two areas are the foundation upon which everything else is built upon, they account for just 10% and 15% respectively for what is required to build true credibility with our students.

The other 75% of the credibility equation is made up of enthusiasm (25) and a genuine care and concern for our students (50). (NOTE: Mr. Rowse’s article dealt with the subject of blogging. I am referring to ‘students’ because I am analizing the concept as it relates to building an online tutoring business.)

As tutors here on eduFire (or any other educational website for that matter) it is assumed by our students that we have the knowledge and focus required to tutor students in what they wish to learn. What we as tutors need to do in order to be more successful at marketing our services online is to find ways for our enthusiasm for the subjects we teach and our genuine concern for our student’s well being to clearly shine through.

This is why I am a big proponent of planning every aspect of your online tutoring business with the goal of providing true value from your student’s point of view. Doing so helps convey your true concern for their well-being and demonstrates your dedication to helping your students achieve their goals. This is what helps draw students to one particular tutor over all the rest. Their care and concern shine through!

This is an excellent article and I strongly urge every tutor here to read it thoroughly. However, if I may make one change in the analagy….

The credibility equation (my term) is vividly seen in the shape of a pyramid as the author illustrates. However, as tutors working to market our services online, it may be helpful to also view it like an iceberg.

An iceberg is a huge island of ice that has broken away from a glacier and is floating in the ocean. The bulk of an iceberg (knowledge, focus, and enthusiasm) sits far below the surface and is never seen by those above the waterline.

Our students may not ‘see’ our knowledge and focus but logic assures them it is there! What we as tutors need to concentrate on in our marketing strategy is the ‘tip of the iceberg’ – our care and concern for our student’s welfare. Our care and concern is what our potential students will actually take notice of when they evaluate our services.

If you find ways to show them that you are sensitive to their needs and dedicated to helping them achieve their educational goals in the most economical way possible, you have a greater chance of converting them from potential students to Your Students!.

I see the pyramid in much the same way, people want to know how much you care, before they care how much you know. When you talk about a body of knowledge, it’s something that you may have behind you, but communicating that with compassion is what makes people want to listen.

That body of knowledge, the years you’ve spent coding, or with your heads buried in books, never realises it’s true value and potential unless you’ve shared it with people in a way that enhances their lives.

As the cost of producing content and sharing it approaches zero, the real value lies in giving it away and building an audience through a responsiveness to their needs.

There is only one point on which you and I differ, perhaps it’s a personality trait of mine more than anything, and that is the need to plan everything. I always have a goal in mind when I set out, but sometimes I welcome the distractions and divergences that come with working in a connected environment. I some ways plans are better at showing the distance between where you intended to be and where you are now.

I open myself to the influence of the tribe, and see where that takes me. Just so long as we are on the path of continual improvement, I’m happy to see how things develop. One more thing that I’m learning about myself is that I actively seek out learning environments. That’s where I tend to find the greatest stimulation, and ideas that challenge me to grow.

Keeping that beginners mind is what helps me stay in reach of my students, so that I never lose that ability to see things from their perspective.

Great thread here! Would love to hear some other viewpoints as well on this.

Still…the task ahead is not an easy one…being available to our students at all times is how we get to “open new roads while building accessibility to our lectures…” sort of speak…and there is one more thing we should never forget and that is that our main job here besides making some money is to “help” people to grow!

OK – so I see it slightly differently and it may be just a question of semantics.

I consider the possibilty that the pyramid components shift possibly depending upon what and how something is being taught. I think enthusiasm (which is something observable and one doesn’t require a close personal relationship) is the most significant component. Whilst the idea of ‘care and concern’ is honourable, it is a bit ‘pink and fluffy’. What does it actually mean and involve? Figuring out an individual’s learning style? Picking up when a student hasn’t quite grasped the concept and presenting it in a different way? These are the kind of things I associate with care and concern, but to achieve that means building an individual relationship, which takes time and may not be realistic or possible.

I have attended lectures where the enthusiasm of a tutor has been infectious and that has been root of a successful lecture. One memorable lecture was jointly given by a leading biopsychologist and a research neuroscientist. Both presenters were interesting and entertaining (essential with ‘heavy’ material), but the neuroscientist was captivating. He was undoubtedly knowledgeable, though his knowledge was perhaps not as extensive as the biopyschologist but he really was a class-room ‘Cassanova’ because of his enthusiasm for his subject. There is absolutely nothing worse than having to listen to a tutor drone on about something that they are clearly conversant in but may as well be reading it from a book. And if students want to read the information from a book then why bother with the tutor in the first place?

Credibility?

1. Do what you say you are going to do.
2. Do the best you can. If anything, under promise and over deliver.
3. Know what you know and most importantly know and acknowledge what you don’t know.
4. Dress for the role.

Regarding enthusiasm, I have a general rule where all things in languages are concerned: you need to care about what you’re doing to have the focus necessary to do it well. Any way that can be conveyed to students in a professional manner is a good way, as I see it.

I just wanted to toss in an example of someone more recent in the education field who seems to be doing quite well following those principles, and an added one — well, as the subtitle declares, “Life is better with the right words”. You might want to check out www.writerdad.com, and some of the other sites that are now under its umbrella.

I’ll check that out, Karen.

My experiences since my reply to this thread three months ago: I’m working on mastering everything around the classes, but the classes themselves have been great. I have a genuine passion for education and delivering what students need so there’s no need for me to pretend. I’m just working on making sure that can shine through in advance, too.

Cool. The more I read about building credibility the more I believe that it’s a matter of chemistry and synchronicity. Don’t you?
Cheers

A

If you mean alchemy and the synchronous movements of heavenly objects, I agree.