How to get more students??

[pianomexicocity]

Currently I only have 2 students that came to me for classes; I've had them for 2 and 3 years and as I didn't need money and wanted all the time for myself to practice I didn't get any more students however the times now are pretty hard and i need to start earning more money, so do you have any tips about advertising yourself to get more students??
And another question how much do you charge them, I charge them about $15 dollars per class, One comes to my hose and the other i go to her house(I want to charge more to the student that doesn't come to my houre but I'm kind of afraid to talk to her mom!! even If she's very wealthy!), is it too cheap??, I just started taking classes from a great russian teacher  and she charges me about $42 USD an hour, more than 3 times what I charge my students and she lives 1 hour away from my house!!I would appreciate any comments/thoughts!!

[kerry]

Hi,  I have been teaching for 22 years and have never had to advertise.   Try going to your local school and seeing if the headmaster would mention  through a parent letter you are taking in more students.  My children were going to a school and this is how I started. I charge $23 Australian for a half hour lesson.

[chopiabin]

My teacher charges 60$ per hour.
What about an ad in the paper?

[schnabels_grandson]

My teacher charges $50 an hour, but this is by no means a starting rate for anybody.  He has 25+ years of teaching experience, a master's degree in musical arts and many students whose abilities demonstrate his worth.  I charge $12 an hour and will likely raise that by two dollar increments as I gain experience.  I would support Kerry's suggestion and recommend that you contact a local school or school district and ask them to put in a word for you in their bulletin.

[schnabels_grandson]

Another thing, If you have to travel to a student's house, charge extra.  The reason, which I'm sure your student's parents will understand, is that you have to pay for the gas to get there and the time spent in transit to and from their house could be used to teach other students and earn you more money.

[MzrtMusic]

There is an invaluable website I have found for everything related to teaching. www.practicespot.com is the address. This site has many articles about how to increase the size of your studio, as well as tips for getting students to practice. It also has some nice theory centers. There are also several books published, included the lastest one on how to increase your studio size. I just ordered it, and it has some wonderful ideas! It's a bit expensive, USD $30, but it seems to be well worth the price!

Love,

Sarah

[pianomexicocity]

Thank you for all your replies, they are very interesting and thanks for the link Sarah!!I hope you can share more of your teaching knowledge and expereicnces!!
And thank you Kerry for your idea, it it good for me as I live next to a school.
Today I told my student's mom that I was going to raise my fee  from 16 USD to around 18.5 uSD(I had not raised that for 2 whole years); she was not happy at all!! but I have to go to her house that is about half an hour away and 1 USD for the bus so I think it's fair, and she's  wealthy, and I give her all the books and material.
Also I agree that it is only fair to start charging small quantities but then increase as you gain experience and with the years, here the best teachers charge between 37 and 45 USD per hour.

[kerry]

Don't let people bully you.  They know you are young  and just starting off. It is not acceptable that they don't pay for your travel expenses.  I have lent my books out over the years and still do.  Many have disappeared and I try to keep a tighter check on where they all are. As you go on you will become tougher. It takes a while and I  know I am a good teacher and passionate about what I do,  so I make my rules and most of the time stick to them!! . Keep going, teaching is very rewarding.  All the best.