The first BabelTEQ podcast episode for the New Year. Learn about: The new business trend that is going to drive opportunities for Business English instructors Changes in the China ESL market New B2B and IELTS coaching opportunities as we move out of the pandemic How AI is going to revolutionize ESL (in a good way) in the new year and beyond How you can create marketing content that still cuts through in an information saturated world ..read more

You’ve probably heard countless business coaches tell you that in order to succeed online, you need to have a niche. And it’s true. The online market is flooded with generalists. You need to stand out. But how do you know that your niche idea “has legs”? How do you know that there is even a market of people who would hire you to help them? How do you know that you aren’t going to waste time and resources building a brand that nobody cares about? Today we are going to meet Kirsten Smith whom I think has a great story to tell about how she chose her coaching niche and the steps she took to valid ..read more

If you are familiar with online teaching or coaching, you would know that one of the most important choices you need to make, is the platform that you will use for teaching. Zoom is a popular choice, but it is primarily just a communication tool, not a virtual classroom environment. What advantages does switching to a dedicated online classroom tool bring to you as coach or language trainer? How does a virtual classroom streamline your business and add value for your clients? Today I am joined by Wilim Abrook, Head of Education and Community Development at LearnCube. He is an online ESL teache ..read more

If you are trying to build a brand and reputation as an expert in your teaching or coaching niche, one of the most important things you can do is create content. By writing, videoing, or recording your thoughts for the world, you are positioning yourself as an authority who your ideal clients will turn to for help. But producing content isn’t easy. How do you generate ideas for new content? How do you overcome “writers block”. How do you create original material that engages your readers and doesn’t put them to sleep? In this podcast, we hear from professional content writer, Cheri Gipson. She ..read more

"By my second year, I wanted to scale by multiplication." - Jeff Johnson Today, we are going to hear from a BabelTEQ client who has achieved amazing success with growing his teaching business in a relatively short time. Jeff Johnson (a.k.a. "ESL Jeff") has been helping ESL students for more than 10 years and more recently has been helping clients prepare for the IELTS exam in Canada. In our interview he explains the strategies that he has used to SCALE his online teaching business beyond its initial success ..read more

If you are like the majority of independent teachers, I’m going to guess that you feel uncomfortable about the prospect of “sales calls” with clients. Maybe you believe that as a teacher, trainer or coach, “selling” is something completely outside your wheelhouse, something you’d prefer NOT to do at all, if that were possible. And yet, anyone who is engaged in selling a personal service needs to recognize that there IS a requirement to convert “interested prospects” into “paying clients” in order to have a sustainable business. So, is there a way to approach sales that doesn’t make us feel “sa ..read more

If you are like the majority of independent teachers, I’m going to guess that you feel uncomfortable about the prospect of “sales calls” with clients. Maybe you believe that as a teacher, trainer or coach, “selling” is something completely outside your wheelhouse, something you’d prefer NOT to do at all, if that were possible. And yet, anyone who is engaged in selling a personal service needs to recognize that there IS a requirement to convert “interested prospects” into “paying clients” in order to have a sustainable business. So, is there a way to approach sales that doesn’t make us feel “sa ..read more

In this episode I talk with frequent guest on the podcast, Rich Tweten, about how we can add value to our ESL teaching brand by building a community for our students. We discuss some things to be aware of when creating Facebook Groups and touch on some other options for making your students feel like they are part of your "tribe ..read more

Bryn Bonino discusses what "personal brand" means for freelance ESL teachers, why it matters and what we can do to create that brand identity ..read more

Leah Sparrow talks about Facebook advertising, why Facebook ads are a great opportunity for ESL teachers and how to run successful FB campaigns on a budget which everyone can afford ..read more