Scrolling through platforms like Preply or the educational tags on Xiaohongshu, it is easy to feel discouraged. With skilled teachers from countries with a lower cost of living offering lessons for a fraction of a UK hourly rate, it can feel like the industry is in a race to the bottom. The good news? It is a race you don’t need to run. The Global Reality We must accept that the market has changed. Teachers from the Philippines and Latin America are often excellent, hardworking, and provide a vital service for students who need affordable practice. This isn’t unfair; it is simply global economics. However, just because they can charge less, doesn’t mean you should lower your value. Why You Shouldn't Compete on Price. If you try to match the lowest rates, you will burn out. More importantly, price dictates your student. - Low prices often attract casual "shoppers" looking for a chat. - Sustainable prices attract serious students looking for results. Sell Value, Not Time To stand out, stop selling "English lessons" and start selling specific outcomes. As a native speaker or a specialised tutor, you offer things that bargain-hunting cannot buy: - Cultural Nuance: Understanding how and why we use certain phrases. - Idiomatic Fluency: Polishing advanced speakers to sound natural, not just grammatically correct. - Specialisation: Solving high-stakes problems like IELTS exams or business presentations. The Verdict The market is big enough for everyone. There is a place for affordable conversation practice, and there is a place for premium coaching. Don’t look down on the low-cost market—just choose not to participate in it. Stand firm on your prices, highlight your unique expertise, and you will attract the students who are looking for you, not just the cheapest option.

There is some news floating about in China, it is saying that people that offer professional advice must be able to prove they have the qualifications to do so. Originally this was something that reared its head back in 2022, but as a thought to improve online content. Recently the news and noise is ramping up. It appears that the media platforms in China will be tasked with quantifying and checking 'professional' content creators credentials. It is not known how or when this will come out or what it will look like. As a teacher online, I am assuming it will be providing copies of certificates, on a side note this may mean the TEFL certification is going to be essential, again I have no clue just yet of what this will actually look like, I am just guessing. What it doesn't mean? Well if you are on a teaching platform, Preply, Cambly, iTalki etc, this should not impact you at all. If you are active in creating content with an educational theme, this is likely to impact you. I also suspect that official channels on Chinese social media will be looked at first and foremost, then moving onto other creators who post "professional' content. Reading between the lines, always dangerous! It seems any advice that is given, finance, medical, education....I am sure the list is not exhaustive, is likely to flagged to check the credentials of the individual. For those teaching online, and using Chinese media platforms, the way to take the focus away from from your content would be to pivot your content to purely life style content, daily conversations in English, with no explicit "do this Instructions. It is all new right now, and for me I am not particularly concerned, as I do not post content that "tells people what to do" it is more observational, but if I get asked to provide something I will gladly share my journey.

Heading from Tokyo (50 degrees) to Thailand (90 days) 🤣

Heading out to the Philippines at the end of the year. Curious on any recommendations on what I should do, where I should stay, or anything else with activities if anyone has ever been there!

Hey everyone, I wanted to open up a discussion with fellow freelancers here about something I’ve been thinking a lot about: how do you demonstrate your value (especially for newer clients) when actual growth and traffic results can take months to materialize? In the digital marketing and content space, so much of our impact is cumulative and long-term. I find that early on, it’s tough to “show” results in the first few weeks or even months, especially if the client expects visible wins immediately. While I know things like sharing short-term wins (early keyword rankings, first leads, traffic upticks) helps, those big wins often take time. How do you all manage client expectations around growth? What are some ways you demonstrate the value you’re creating during those “quiet” months at the start of a campaign or new website launch? Do you focus more on reporting activity (number of new articles published, backlinks built), or do you have other strategies to keep the relationship strong and show that progress is happening, even if revenue hasn’t jumped yet? Would love to hear your approaches. Whether you’re in SEO/content, web design, ads, or another field How do you balance transparency and trust-building with clients who might be anxious for faster results? Or even might think they are "wasting" money on you as their expectations aren't being managed properly or they are running out of patience? Thanks in advance for the insights!