Teachers, this article by Josh Catone, might just convince you that the you can use your teaching talents to make money online.
Archive for 2010
Must Read:5 Ways To Sell Your Expertise Online
Tuesday, November 30th, 2010I Feel Sorry For Teachers
Monday, November 22nd, 2010I feel sorry for teachers that have graduated from a teacher training program and can’t find a teaching job. It is such a shame that people who want to teach can’t because there are no jobs out there. I’ve heard horror stories of people who have gone into tens of thousands of dollars of debt to follow their dream of becoming a teacher and yet they end up working at the local five and dime, because no one is hiring. What are they to do?
I feel sorry for those teachers that are stressed by their working conditions. I understand what you’ve been through. In the 2002-2003 school year I went on stress leave, because of a very poisonous environment that was created by a principal who was more concerned about his career than the well-being of his staff (three teachers from that school went on stress leave that year). I know that you are wondering why should you keep doing what you are doing. There are options; believe me.
I feel sorry for those teachers that are nearing retirement and have come to realize that their pensions aren’t all that they are cracked up to be. What are they to do? Keep teaching and give up on their retirement dreams? Work at a menial job to supplement their pension?
I feel sorry for teachers that complain about their station in life and yet are not wiling to do anything about it. Those of you that are unemployed or underemployed, stressed, or dreading retirement, have you explored all available options? Have you thought about creating online learning materials? Have you thought about teaching online? Do you have a special skill or are you an expert in a particular field of study that people would be willing to pay you money for? Foreign language teachers, have you considered offering lessons online?
The opportunities are limitless for those that are willing to explore that possibilities available through creating online learning experiences.
A Bit More About Market Research
Sunday, November 7th, 2010In my last article, I discussed how to do a quick market survey with the Google Keyword Tool. This tool will give you an idea of how many people searched for a particular topic during a given time period. Other tools that are useful in helping you determine what niche to focus on are blogs and forums.
Blogs are useful in the sense that they can provide you with information about what other people (bloggers and commentators) are saying about your chosen topic. As you read blogs ask yourself how you can better address the topics raised by the blogger and the readers. Do you have a unique approach (or product) that would benefit the readers? In essence, can you build a better mousetrap?
Forums are a goldmine of information. People who are interested in your topic will gravitate to forums and voice their opinions. To find forums related to your topic, Google your topic and add the word ‘forum’ to it. Browse through the forums, you’ll get a good idea of what people in your niche need. One of my blog posts for Teach Your Kid How To Drive was based on misconceptions that were voiced in a driver education forum. By browsing through the forum, I understood what people didn’t understand about driving tests, and I addressed their concerns through my blog.
Market research is often overlooked by teachers, but if you follow the three steps that I have mentioned in this post:
- Google Keyword Tools
- Blogs
- Forums
you will have a good idea of what people want. The more that you understand their needs, the easier that it will be for you to understand where your focus should be in creating your educational product.
This article is the fourth in a series of articles geared toward educators who want to learn how to make dough from what they know.