Why a brochure works
- It answers questions before they're asked. Families see everything in one place.
- It looks professional. A tidy document shows you run a real teaching business.
- It's consistent. Every family gets the same terms, which avoids awkward comparisons.
- It gets shared. Parents often forward teacher details to friends and parent groups. One independent teacher noted that even when a family decided against her, the brochure they shared led to new enquiries from others in the group.
- It saves you time. No more typing the same explanation again and again.
What to include
Keep it to one page. Include:
- Your photo and name, the same ones used on your profiles.
- A one-line description of who you help, such as "Speaking confidence for kids aged 6 to 12".
- What a lesson looks like: two or three short points about your approach.
- Class length for each type of lesson.
- Packages and prices, in a small table, with a few clear options.
- Any discounts or referral rewards, only if you choose to offer them.
- Trial class policy: free or paid, how long, and what happens next.
- Scheduling, cancellation and rescheduling rules.
- Payment methods you accept, and when payment is due.
- How to book: one clear next step.
Write in plain English
Your reader may be a busy parent reading in a second language, maybe through a translation app. This isn't the place for impressive vocabulary. Use short sentences, common words and numbers instead of long explanations. Tables and bullet points scan better than paragraphs.
A useful test: if a family reads your brochure and still asks "How much?", the brochure isn't working. One teacher shared exactly this experience. Her fix was to cut text until the price and packages were impossible to miss. The lesson: if people keep missing something, it's the design's fault, not the reader's.
Design tips for a clean page
- Use a free design tool with templates and pick a clean, uncluttered one.
- Use one or two fonts, plenty of white space and your brand colours.
- Put the most important information (who you help, packages and prices) in the top half.
- Make headings and prices large enough to read on a phone screen.
- Export as an image and a PDF, because some messaging apps display images better.
- If many of your clients speak one language, consider a professionally checked translation as a second version.
Create versions for different audiences
If you teach different groups, such as young learners, teenagers preparing for exams and adults, consider a separate brochure for each. Some teachers keep several versions by level and send the one that fits the enquiry. Each one feels personal, while you still only maintain a few documents.
How to use it in your follow-up
- Reply personally first. Greet them, use their name and ask one or two questions about the learner's goals.
- Send the right brochure with a short, warm message. Keep a template, but personalise it so it doesn't sound robotic.
- Invite one next step, such as booking a trial or a short call.
- Follow up once after a few days if you hear nothing. Be friendly, not pushy.
- Record the enquiry in a simple spreadsheet with the date, source, level and outcome, so you can see which channels bring paying students.
Remember that someone who has just found you is a cold lead. They know a little about you from your posts, but they don't know you yet. Your job is to be helpful and human, not salesy.
Handling questions about price
Some families will say you're too expensive or that another teacher is cheaper. Point to the options already on your brochure, such as a package or a referral reward, rather than inventing a discount on the spot. Teachers who share their experience often say that holding your rate politely, and wishing a family well if they choose someone else, earns more respect than folding. Some families come back after comparing.
Brochure mistakes to avoid
- Cramming in your whole life story and every qualification.
- Prices that are hard to find or that change between versions.
- Vague cancellation and payment terms.
- Text too small to read on a phone.
- Contact details that break a platform's rules, if you post the brochure publicly. Usually it's safer to send it privately.
- Forgetting to update it when your prices or schedule change.
A simple brochure layout you can copy
If you're starting from a blank page, this top-to-bottom layout works for most teachers:
- Header: your photo on the left, your name and one-line niche on the right.
- "Lessons with me": three short bullet points on your approach, such as games for young learners, speaking practice every lesson and progress notes for parents.
- Packages table: columns for package name, number of lessons, lesson length, validity and price. Three rows are usually enough.
- Policies box: trial, cancellation, rescheduling and payment, one line each.
- Footer: one booking instruction and, if allowed where you're sending it, your preferred contact method.
Before you send it to anyone, show it to a friend who has never seen your offer. Ask them to find the price of your most popular package and your cancellation rule. If they can do both in under ten seconds, the layout is working. If they hesitate, simplify again. Repeat the test whenever you change your packages, and keep a dated copy of each version so you can see what changed if enquiries suddenly rise or fall.
Pair it with steady work
A brochure helps you convert the enquiries you get, but private work can be uneven at first. Many teachers combine it with company work. Browse who is hiring now, compare employers on the top-rated list, and find more guides on the OTC blog.
Where to go next on OTC
Online Teachers Club (OTC) is a community and database built for online teachers. You can browse online teaching companies, see who is hiring now, check which companies teachers rate highly on our top-rated list, and read more guides on the OTC blog. Whether you are in Manila, Cape Town, Toronto, Leeds, Sydney, Auckland, Dublin or Denver, joining is free. Use OTC to keep a steady base of company work while you build your private student list, and keep learning from teachers who have done it before.