In the Sprint office, we’re currently trying to work out what to buy for one of our copywriters as a wedding gift, and you know what — we decided that the best thing to do was to ask, rather than second-guess and get something that could quickly be re-gifted.

It's so easy to second guess when trying to work out what people want. For educators, it could be sponsoring school events, offering better after-sales support, or a discount here or there.

When it comes to knowing what educators want, we take a very similar approach. We ask them. In our “State of Selling to Schools” survey, we asked teaching professionals what they actually want from EdTech and education brands all to help you develop your successful marketing-to-schools strategy.

Their answer might just surprise you…

Free, downloadable resources

When asked how education businesses can best support them, free resources and advice came out on top (54.3%) – even exceeding requests for discounts and payment plans (47.6%).

And when you join the dots it makes sense — educators, faced with tight budgets and stretched resources, are looking for ways to maximise their impact without breaking the bank. Free resources are more valuable than ever before, as they offer sector-aligned tools and knowledge without upfront costs.

The idea of sharing your high-quality content for free may make you raise an eyebrow. After all, what’s to say your teacher audience won’t ‘download and dash’, never to be seen or heard from again?

But here’s a thought: what if we shifted our perspective beyond the idea of handing out mere ‘freebies’? Instead, look at sharing free resources as a way to build trust. By offering high-quality content in exchange for email addresses, you gain access to qualified leads, as well as a platform to demonstrate your expertise.

Remember, it's not just about giving something away; it's about providing true value in exchange for building trust and relationships. This lays the foundation for long-term engagement and establishes you as a reliable resource for educators.

So, let’s delve into some options you’ve got…

1. Write an eBook

Our client, Welbee, got it right by taking our advice and teaming up with an outstanding headteacher to produce an eBook value asset. Alongside helping Welbee find the right teacher, we then supported them in promoting this co-authored eBook as part of a 2-phase marketing strategy. From this, they saw thousands of form submissions within just three weeks (!) — a dramatic increase from their initial trickle of demo requests.

The client’s success here was down to the awesome peer-generated content. After all, educators value authenticity above all else, so adopting this approach and including a relevant, information-packed eBook written by a fellow peer presented the perfect opportunity to show educators that they understood their world.

If you don’t have a teacher contact, not to worry — we can help make this happen for you. Just drop us an email at info@sprint-education.co.uk to get started.

2. Present a Webinar

The term “webinar” may conjure up images of countless virtual meetings during the lockdown era. Yet, despite their pandemic popularity, these interactive sessions remain a powerful tool for EdTech and education brands in 2024.

Webinars offer a unique opportunity for you to show off your expertise, resources, and services directly to potential clients and allows you to put a human face on your brand and solidify your position as a thought leader in the education sector.

Therefore, it’ll come as no surprise that webinars are often the first call to action for many of our clients, including Whizz Education (pictured). Their webinar on integrating digital tools in classrooms wasn't just informative – it was a real-time showcase of how their offering can make a real difference in classrooms.

If you want to make your webinars even more impactful, consider introducing a peer-to-peer element. Team up with a trusted school leader, an academy professional, or a respected headteacher, to create a session that feels immediately relevant to your teacher audience.

3. Produce a Free Lesson Plan

As we know, educators are short on time, and offering ready-made, curriculum-aligned lesson plans is a great way to help alleviate these pressures.

Take Max Whitlock Gymnastics, for example. They highlighted a free Key Stage 1 and 2 guide as the central focus of a series of lead-generation outreach email campaigns, designed for immediate classroom use. This action-oriented approach speaks volumes: it highlights that the client understands educators’ needs and wants to offer practical solutions to support them.

Like with eBooks and webinars, partnering with experienced educators or headteachers is a great way to take these resources to the next level. Having lesson plans vetted or created by fellow peers assures your audience that the content is practical, relevant, and aligns with real-world classroom needs. It's not just baseless theory – it's a practical solution developed by someone who ‘walks the walk’, making them more relatable and trustworthy in the eyes of your teacher recipients.

What’s more, by allowing other educators to take centre stage in your marketing efforts, you’ll be able to showcase the practical applications of your resources in a way that’s immediately relevant to your teacher audience. They’ll see first-hand how your content can be integrated into their existing workflows and address specific classroom challenges, helping to build trust and credibility in a way that generic brand messaging can’t.

After all, hearing from their peers about real-world teaching experiences and positive outcomes will always carry far more weight than any company’s claim.

If you want to know more about how to bridge the gap and reach your teacher audience effectively, get in touch with our experts.

We can manage every aspect of your email strategy with our managed strategies plan and let you know all about how we’ve revolutionised education marketing with Campus – our complete selling-to-schools solution.

Get in touch at info@sprint-education.co.uk or 01684 297374.

Tags
Education Marketing How to Sell to Schools How to Sell to Teachers Selling to Schools Selling to Teachers Marketing to Schools Marketing to Teachers

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