How to Stand Out on Teacher Marketplace Platforms

Tutor marketplaces can be scary places for both veteran and new teachers. Hundreds of profiles can make it hard to stand out on English teaching platforms. Let’s take a look at some easy ways you can increase your profile’s visibility and attract a lot more students.

If you’re new to teaching, you’ll want to get initial training and qualification with a TEFL certificate. You can explore our online TEFL courses to get started!

What is a tutor marketplace platform?

A marketplace for teaching English online is a website or an app that helps students find teachers and vice versa. In other words, a marketplace mediates between supply (teachers) and demand (students).

Platforms don’t do this for free. They take a commission for each lesson you complete via the platform. This is usually around 20 – 30% of your hourly rate. Still, as an independent English teacher, you’ll choose your own hours and rates and often use your own lesson plans.

Some of the most recognized platforms in this space include Preply, italki, and Langu, though many others exist for specific regions or age groups. Each one works a little differently, but the underlying model is the same: teachers apply, build a profile, and compete for the attention of students who are browsing on their own.

This is a different relationship than teaching for a language school or online academy, where the company assigns you students and, often, a curriculum. On a marketplace, you’re running a small, independent teaching business – and like any other independent business, you must stand out to get more clients and be careful about common pitfalls to avoid. The platform brings students to the site, but converting visitors into returning clients is up to you.

How can you stand out on a teacher marketplace platform?

1. Create an attractive profile

Independent teacher Rachel Story, who uses the marketplace Langu, called tutor marketplaces “create-a-profile platforms” in a Bridge Expert Series webinar because that’s how students find you. They see a list of teachers’ profiles and choose the one that is the most attractive to them based on their wants and needs.

Your online teacher profile gives you the best chance of getting students on a platform. Keep it short and simple by talking about your experience, any TEFL certifications you have, and your hobbies or interests.

Rachel offered the following advice: “If you try to appeal to everyone, you appeal to no one.” You should be honest about your interests, whether they’re video games, traveling, or 19th-century Russian literature (okay, maybe not that specific).

You can end your profile with something like, “Come chat with me about your favorite series” or “Let’s have a conversation about your last trip.” A friendly tone goes a long way toward finding students.

A clear, friendly profile photo matters just as much as your bio. Choose a well-lit photo where your face is visible, and you’re looking at the camera, ideally smiling. Avoid group photos, heavy filters, or images where you’re too far away to make out your expression. Students often decide whether to click into a profile before they read a single word, and the photo is what makes that first decision.

2. Record and edit a good intro video

More and more platforms let you upload an intro video. This is a great way to show off your personality and make students feel at ease. A smartphone makes it easy to record and edit a good intro video and stand out on English teaching platforms.

First, write a script. Talk about why you love teaching and what your students will gain from your classes. Remember to tell them something about yourself, maybe about your family or hobbies and passions.

Next, find a clean and well-lit place to shoot your video. Natural lighting is always best, but if you don’t have a good spot by a window, just record in the corner of a room where the light hits your face evenly from the front, rather than with a shadow on one side or a spotlight coming straight from above.

Finally, practice and record. After recording, you might want to edit. Editing your video can make it much more attractive, but you might need some help, depending on your skill level.

3. Offer free trial classes and get student reviews

Giving classes for free might sound crazy, but students on tutor marketplaces like to meet you before buying your classes. Free trial classes also help students feel comfortable around you and earn you a good review.

Reviews show potential students that you’re an experienced teacher who can keep students happy. You can also ask students to be specific in their reviews. Asking, “How did I help you?” or “What is your favorite part of our classes?” can help get reviews to be more specific.

A review like “He’s a great teacher” might not help students choose you, but “He helped me pass my IELTS exam” or “Now I have the confidence to travel with my English” shows that you get results.

Not sure where to go? Check the best companies for teaching English online and start applying.

4. Specialize or find your niche

Often, students are looking for English for specific purposes (ESP), like Business English or medical English. Tutor marketplaces allow prospective students to filter through teachers by their specializations.

This means teaching Business English puts your profile in a smaller group than offering general English classes does. Specializing in a TEFL/TESOL niche not only helps your profile show up for students but also allows you to charge more for your classes.

Suchismita Dutta, a Bridge grad, teaches on Preply. She’s developed an IELTS exam preparation course to stand out on English teaching platforms.

Suchismita said, “I show them mock videos, make them practice mock IELTS tests, and [review] all their skills – pronunciation, writing, listening, and reading.”

Business English and IELTS prep are only two examples. Other popular niches include young learners, conversation practice for working professionals, and pronunciation coaching. Even within exam preparation, IELTS, TOEFL, and PTE each draw different students with different needs and timelines, so exam prep itself offers room to specialize even further.

5. Set the right rate

Setting your rate can be difficult. You want to offer a competitive rate that will help you get students, but you also want enough to live on.

Bridge contributor and italki teacher Jack Mao said, “Start your rate low and ask your students to leave a review, and once you have gathered a good number of reviews, raise your rate.”

Remember, standing out on English teaching platforms isn’t something that happens overnight. Doing so takes time and effort.

Not sure what your lessons are worth? Learn to set your rates as an independent English teacher.

6. Network and find a community

This advice comes from Alyse Bukoski, founder of ESL Diversified, a Facebook group for independent teachers.

“It can be very isolating teaching without [other] people,” Alyse said. “Use social media or Reddit to connect with people similar to you.”

Networking not only helps with your mental health but also with your business. You’re probably not the only one having trouble on a platform. Other teachers likely face similar issues and might have a solution for you. Bridge’s Teaching English Online Facebook group is also a great place to get informed about news and opportunities.

Networking can also bring in new students directly. Fellow teachers sometimes refer students who are a better fit for your niche or schedule than theirs, and a student who has a good experience with you is often willing to recommend you to a friend or colleague. Referrals like these cost you nothing beyond the relationships you’ve already built.

Getting noticed on a tutor marketplace and getting booked are two different challenges, and each tip above works toward one or the other. A strong photo, a clear bio, and a defined niche help learners find you in the first place. A genuine intro video, reviews, and a fair rate are what convince them to book that first lesson instead of moving on to the next profile.

Profiles that keep earning bookings months later are usually the ones their owners keep revisiting: updating the video, adding new reviews, refining the niche as it becomes clearer what students actually want. The demand for online English teachers isn’t slowing down, and teachers who treat their profile as an ongoing project tend to be the ones with full schedules year-round.

Ready to take control of your career? Bridge’s Teacherpreneur Academy gives you the business and marketing skills to build your own independent English teaching business from scratch.