This week’s niche idea is drawn from my own experience from learning to speak Japanese some 15 years ago. Back then, teaching foreign language online wasn’t a popular trend so I had to take weekly classes over the course of 3 months, just to learn the basics.
However, things have changed and if you are good in a certain language, you should consider using this skill to start an online business.
Why Is This a Good Niche
1) Knowledge Is Empowering
I remembered when I first learned Japanese, I was amazed by the things which I never knew existed in other people’s culture. The experience opened my mind to a different world and help me understand deeper what it means to connect with people from various backgrounds and behaviors.
For many, it makes us empathetic travelers, provides more career prospect and widens our network and social influence. I guess that one of the biggest outcomes from this is that it bridges cultural gaps and cultivate mutual understanding as we all strive to create a more peaceful and respectful global community.
2) Internet as a Learning Platform
There’s no doubt that whenever someone wants to learn a new language these days, they would check on the internet first. Google Translate, online dictionaries and online classes – these are all convenient tools that can help people learn faster and more efficiently.
The mass of people that are searching for these resources has become so huge that it carves a niche for itself. One that I’ve never seen existed some 15 years ago. To prove my point, here’s the trend for ‘how to learn a new language’ online.
I know that people tend to think French and Spanish when it comes to foreign languages, but for many people in other parts of the world, English is also a much sought after language that they want to master. Based on my preferred keyword research tool, these are some popular terms that are being searched on Google every single month.
3) A Source of Online Income
Here comes the important part, at least that’s the topic that I often talk about in this blog. Anyone can benefit from a second source of income, even educators. How many times have you heard that this profession is underpaid and overworked? If you are in this situation, I am sure that you are nodding in agreement right now. Every single teacher around the world is facing the same problem.
Are you prepared to switch to a different career altogether? If not, then all the more reason why you need to use the internet to diversify your income using the skills that you already have. The significant benefit of this is that you can generate money over the long term and who knows, someday you might just own a full-time online business from home.
When you have a blog, the world is your student. That’s 7.5 billion people and counting. You can promote your own digital courses to the global community OR better yet, recommend other people’s product through different affiliate programs.
Here are some companies that you can partner with;
- Rocket Languages – 40% commissions (via Conversant)
- Earworms Musical Brain Trainer – 40% commissions
- italki Teacher Affiliate Program – $8 per referral
- Innovative Language – 25%
- Lingq – $15 per referral (via ShareASale)
- I Will Teach You A Language – 50%
- Rype App – $40 per referral
- Pimsleur Language Programs – 15% (via Rakuten LinkShare)
Getting Started – What You Need to Have
The obvious question to ask is, which language is your expertise? Once you determine that, the rest of the plan will follow from there.
First, you’ll need to find a domain name and direct it to a website. The domain name should reflect what your language skill is about AND it should also be easy to remember. SiteRubix is a great place to check for domain availability and offers a reasonable price, starting from $13.99/year.
It also connects automatically to WordPress, which means your site can literally go live within minutes. Next, you’ll need to select a theme that suits your teaching niche. The process of installing one is very easy, so don’t worry.
Voila! Your site is all set up and you are ready to roll. All you need to do now is to start writing articles – product reviews and informative blog posts – using those keywords that I’ve mentioned earlier. Remember, the more content you add, the more traffic and profit you’ll generate from your site.
The World Is Your Oyster
While researching about the ‘teaching-foreign-language-online’ niche, I found that there are quite a number of bloggers who do this for a living. Some are teachers by profession, some are avid travelers and some are talented polyglots (people who are able to use several languages).
You can be one of them too. Just take advantage of what the internet has to offer and make the best out of your skills. If you like to know how to get started, head over to the Wealthy Affiliate online training to create your first language website using the steps that I’ve just shown you.
Have some thoughts and questions about this topic? Feel free to leave them in the comment below and I’ll get back to you.
You might also be interested to read;
How to Make More Money as a Teacher Online
Hi Cathy,
Your information on teaching online is well timed. I have been trying to get a friend who know 5 languages, to quit his job, and become an interpreter. But this idea is even better. You can work from home, use Skype, and teach students from around the world. The world is a big place and there must be many opportunities for a teacher of his skills.
Totally agree with you that teaching foreign language online is perfect niche. With web technology becoming better every day, this is a good opportunity for this business venture to thrive.
In the past, we need to present ourselves in the classroom, but now everyone can learn via online and at their own comfort zone. So with more people having this kind of accessibility, I believe the potential of this niche is very huge.
It would be great to know how to speak another language well enough to teach to others. I am not one of them unfortunately. Sometimes even my English isn’t the best. If you have this skill it would be a great idea to share your knowledge with the World. Thanks for coming in and telling about opportunity to the multilingual crowd. It could prove useful to them.
How I wish my language skills were proficient enough to teach to others. I took four years of Spanish that just never stuck, and although my German was quite good in college, not practicing made me forget everything. For those who can speak other languages fluently well, I think this is a fantastic opportunity!