Preparing for Slow Months on Outschool
After teaching on Outschool for more than a year, working as a marketing manager for a national brand of music schools, and teaching and tutoring music lessons for 8+ years, I’ve come to notice that there are always predictably slow times in the teaching seasons.
I hope you’ll find this marketing calendar with class type tips helpful as you prepare to launch or improve your online teaching and tutoring career.
Please note this is gathered from my own personal experience as a music teacher and can vary based on your subject matter.
JANUARY
Enrollments/attendance will be slow the first week of January as families slow down from the holidays and return to school schedules. Parents are usually physically and financially exhausted.
You’ll see enrollment pick up again mid-January, with a possible slow day in the US for Martin Luther King Day.
Spend slow time preparing for the March enrollment boom.
FEBRUARY
February is a solid month with few holidays or sports. There are a few indoor winter sports that compete but for the most part this could be one of your better months.
Prepare for a small percentage of possible winter weather outages and a possible slow day in the US for the President’s Day Holiday.
MARCH
March is another solid month and usually one of my better performing months. There are no bank holidays and most school systems do not go on spring break until very late March or April.
Prepare lots of classes for this month. Students still have quite a few months of school left to go so multi-week classes can do well here.
APRIL
You will see a drop in enrollments for spring breaks across the country, but not every family goes on vacation, so this is still a great month.
You can attempt to teach a spring break camp to bring in more students, but online it is difficult since spring break dates can vary by school districts.
Book your summer camps at this time so that “early-bird” parents can register their students as they make their summer plans.
MAY
May is when we will first start to see slowdowns for spring sports. Many students schedules change, so be ready to adapt to that.
You’ll have a possible slow down leading up to and following Memorial Day weekend.
JUNE
June is the beginning of summer in the US and you will experience a slowdown toward the end of the month as students end their school year and go off on vacations.
I’ve found that summer camps do really well at this time of year as kids are excited about camp. Later on in the summer the excitement for camps kind of dwindle off as they settle into summer routine and then start preparing for fall.
JULY
I expect about a 25% slowdown in July and August. Students and families want to go on vacations and experience the outdoors! Be flexible here if you can, and take some time off yourself.
Teach summer camps. Plan new class types for fall. Reorganize your office and your business systems. This is a great time to get taxes in order, review your classes, edit and prepare lessons, etc.
AUGUST
I expect August to be one of the slowest months for me. Kids are starting to go back to school and are re-establishing their fall routines. Many families will take a break for August and then return in September when the schedules are more solid.
Prepare classes for mid September enrollment boom!
SEPTEMBER
Back to school enrollment boom! Expect to see your enrollment climbing in mid-September.
Hopefully you’ve been using your downtime over the summer to prepare for this as you may be spending a LOT of time teaching!
OCTOBER
October holds steady from September as the weather cools down and schedules stay consistent. Teach as many classes as you can in this month before the upcoming holiday season slow down.
NOVEMBER
November is a great month for teaching up until Thanksgiving. Take advantage of the consistent schedule at the beginning of the month and then expect a slow down at the end of the month.
DECEMBER
I typically expect a slowdown between Thanksgiving and New Years as families divert their attention to holiday spending and activities.
Create classes with a winter theme to help keep students engaged in this slow time.
Prepare for the mid-January enrollment boom and start all over again for next year!
In summary…
Expect business to slow when seasons change due to sports and holiday schedules
Expect business to slow when schools are on vacation and families take breaks from educational activities
Check out my list of best performing months to least performing months here.