How to Market to Homeschoolers

Here at iHomeschool Network, our specialty is reaching the homeschool audience. If you have a product or service you want to get in front of the eyes of thousands of homeschool parents, contact us for help.

POINTERS FOR MARKETING TO THE HOMESCHOOL AUDIENCE

The homeschool market represents a unique and growing segment of education consumers, with distinctive needs, preferences, and buying behaviors. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore how to effectively market to homeschool families, debunk common misconceptions, and provide actionable strategies for reaching this loyal customer base. Whether you’re new to the homeschool market or looking to optimize your existing approach, this three-part series will equip you with the insights and tools needed to connect with homeschool parents authentically and effectively.

11 Tips for Reaching Homeschoolers

Although there are best practices in marketing that work for any niche, the homeschool arena has special quirks that you need to be aware of before starting your campaign. (It’s not my aim to stereotype homeschoolers but to offer broad principles that are true from a general perspective. There are always exceptions.)

1. Avoid Educational Jargon

Homeschool parents are not teachers in terms of having an education background. The jargon used in education circles will not resonate with them. Instead, use everyday language that parents would use.

In fact, your educational jargon may turn parents away from your brand. Remember, homeschoolers are people who have opted out of the public school system. For the most part, they do not want what the public schools want. Their values are different. So speak their language when you talk to them.

2. Translate Terms

Find out what words homeschoolers use to refer to the same outcomes or concepts and use those instead of educationalese.

For example, both homeschoolers and public/private schoolers use lapbooks as a learning tool. However, the two camps call them different things. While homeschoolers call them lapbooks, traditional schoolers call them foldables. Another example is what public schools call interactive notebooking. The same teaching method translated into homeschool talk is the much simpler notebooking. You will have to do some research to find out what terms you need to erase from your marketing to homeschoolers. Or send us an email; we can help you figure it out.

3. Go Easy on Common Core and State Standards

Homeschool families are not nearly as impressed by your alignment with state standards or Common Core as school systems or public school teachers are. In fact, those formulas are often why parents pulled their children out of public school.

While you may want to mention those on your site, realize that for homeschoolers, they are not a huge selling point. In fact, with the big controversy over Common Core, they may turn away homeschool parents by demonstrating how you align with it. Tread carefully here.

4. Demonstrate Value

The homeschool market, in general, is a frugal bunch. Most homeschool families are single-income with mom staying home to teach the children. Price matters greatly to them. So make sure that your marketing demonstrates a high value for what they are paying. Here are a few perks that make a product extra-valuable:

works with a wide age range
offers instruction for X number of days, weeks, or months
can be reused for younger children in future years
builds a home library to enjoy for many years
is something you will use for more than one school year
perfectly fits a specific need

5. Make Internet Safety a Priority

All parents care about safety, but the concerns are heightened in the more protective homeschool circles. If you are offering an online service, make sure to explain how it is a safe environment. Outline the safeguards you have put in place and reassure homeschool parents that your service is not going to expose their children to unsavory influences.

6. Indicate Grade Levels and Credits

Although homeschoolers are very flexible when it comes to grade level, it’s still a selling point to know who the material was created for. Don’t be too specific, though. A range of grades is adequate — pre-K to second grade, fourth through eighth grades, sixth grade and up.

If you have a high school level product or service, be clear about how many credits your material is worth. Parents are often insecure about giving credit on high school transcripts. Make it very easy for parents to know that your course is worth a half credit or whole credit of high school coursework. Simply stating that it on your website is enough to reassure homeschool parents and make them more likely to purchase.

7. Focus on the Product Not on You

Although parents do want to know about your background, the quality of the product is the key selling point. So don’t position your professional resume front and center. Put your credentials and experience on a separate about page and let your landing page highlight the benefits your product brings to the homeschool family.

8. Address Special Needs

There are a lot of special needs children in the homeschool market because many parents find that regular schools cannot serve their children as well as one-on-one instruction at home. If you can market your product for special needs students, you have a powerful selling point. Explain how your product relates to special needs students and any special allowances you offer for those learners.

9. Highlight Your Connection to Homeschooling

There are some homeschool parents who prefer to keep it in the family and purchase from other homeschoolers. So if you were homeschooled or you have homeschooled children at any point, be sure to include that information on your about page. This is a selling point to some homeschoolers. Unfortunately there is an us versus them mentality when homeschoolers compare themselves to those in the public schools.

Demonstrating how you are one of them makes you an insider in the community. If you are not a homeschooler, downplay that fact because it may send a signal of distrust. Definitely don’t lie about your connection to homeschooling, but if there is any kind of crossover, for example tutoring homeschoolers or leading a class for homeschoolers, be sure to make a point of it.

10. Cooperate with Homeschool Bloggers

If you are new to the homeschool market, you need an introduction. Working with bloggers who are already trusted in this arena gives you a foothold. iHomeschool Network has nearly one hundred skilled homeschool bloggers with loyal audiences. We can help you find a good fit with a team of bloggers who can introduce you to the broad homeschool audience.

11. Create a Separate Homeschool Page on Your Site

To market to homeschoolers, you need to know how they think and what appeals to them. Creating a separate landing page on your site exclusively for homeschoolers is important so that they feel welcome and can find information that pertains to their special situation. If you need help with the copy on your landing page, Jimmie at info@ihomeschoolnetwork.com. She can give you tips for speaking the language of the homeschool market.

Understanding the Homeschool Market

Now that we’ve covered specific marketing strategies, let’s examine the demographics and characteristics of the homeschool market to better understand why these approaches work.

The facts listed below come from research I published in 2018 based on the answers from 3,500 respondents. If you’d like a full copy of this research, please contact Jimmie.

HOMESCHOOL DEMOGRAPHICS

The executive summary is available for public access and download.

All in all, homeschoolers behave similarly across socioeconomic status strata and value similar considerations when purchasing homeschooling materials. Most homeschoolers take an eclectic approach to their education. 69% choose to homeschool for academic reasons while only 44% homeschool based on religious convictions.

Homeschoolers are frugal. 62% reported spending less than $1000 on homeschooling expenses annually. The data shows that parents seem more willing to pay more as children mature. But at younger grades, parents are more content to use free resources such as online documentaries and borrowed library books.

In the vast majority of families (92%), the mother bears the bulk of the responsibility for homeschooling. 27% of homeschooling families have at least one child with special needs. ADHD/ADD was the most commonly reported condition followed by anxiety, sensory processing disorder, autism spectrum disorder, and dyslexia.

Why Target Homeschoolers at All?

With these demographics in mind, you might wonder about the value proposition of this niche market. While the homeschool market is tiny compared to parents in general or to public schools, it can be a viable primary or secondary audience especially for a small to medium-sized business.

Homeschoolers can be fiercely loyal to a curriculum provider, purchasing again and again as their children mature. That loyalty also translates into being a vocal advocate, spreading the word when friends ask for suggestions. So if you can break into this market and foster a devoted crowd of fans, your business can snowball quickly.

Common Misconceptions About Homeschool Marketing

Marketing in any niche is a challenge. But when you approach homeschoolers with these two common myths, your marketing gets much more difficult.

MYTH 1. Homeschoolers Are Conservative and Religious

Certainly, homeschooling’s roots in 1980s America did bloom out of Christian circles. And there remains a strong Christian slant among homeschool families.

But homeschoolers today are a far more diverse group — a trend that accelerated during the Covid-19 pandemic when families were suddenly forced to attempt school at home. Today you can find vibrant communities of secular homeschoolers, Christians who homeschool but not for religious reasons and not with Christian materials, and even Muslim homeschoolers.

In my own 2018 research with 3,500 respondents, I found that 75% of homeschoolers identify as Christian. But only 44% of the respondents homeschool for religious reasons.

At iHomeschool Network, our bloggers reflect the mosaic of the current homeschool landscape with moms of all ethnicities, religious backgrounds, homeschool styles, and ages of children. If you want to reach Christian homeschoolers, we can do that. If you want a secular or mixed audience, we can achieve that as well because our network is diverse.

MYTH 2. If Teachers Like Our Product, Homeschoolers Will Too

Positive feedback among one type of customer doesn’t always translate perfectly over to the homeschool audience. While teachers may value certain traits of your product based on their needs in a classroom of 20-35 children, homeschool moms may find them unnecessary or even troublesome.

Be sure that your product meets the needs of a mom teaching one to four children at home and be sure to explain that clearly on your website. If you’re not sure about this match between your product and the homeschool market, a blog post campaign is a perfect opportunity to find out! Firstly you’ll gather quite a lot of data by reading the content your team creates. But we can take it further: Ask for a feedback instrument to be included as part of your project. This opens a line of communication directly from the bloggers back to you where they can be painfully honest about your product and give you pointers.

Common Misconceptions about Marketing with Homeschool Influencers

While understanding the market is crucial, equally important is understanding how to effectively reach them through digital channels.

Blog reviews, sponsored content, YouTube videos, and Instagram posts are a great tool for an online marketer. With this influencer content, you get the benefit of bloggers who know how to create search engine optimized content that appeals to the same audience you want to reach. They know how to capitalize on the hottest social networks, and you don’t have to lift a finger. It’s as easy for you as hiring out the lawn work while you relax with a lemonade. You get all the benefits with virtually no effort.

But influencer content does have limits. Here are two common misconceptions and how to reframe your thinking.

MYTH 1. Influencer Content Will Magically Sell Your Product

Clients often say, “I want these blog reviews to sell products.” Of course making a profit is your ultimate goal for marketing. But blog posts on homeschool blogs cannot sell your product.

The bloggers of iHomeschool Network don’t have buy buttons on their posts. They don’t have access to your inventory or your shopping cart system. The sale is your job. They cannot erase all doubts about your product and eliminate the need for customer support or a FAQ on your site.

Five Things Influencer Content Can Do

Drive targeted traffic which can lead to a sale
Build social media following which can lead to a sale
Generate brand awareness which can lead to a sale
Provide backlinks which can lead to a sale
Broadcast a discount which can lead to a sale

How much later the subsequent sale occurs depends on many factors such as

when your posts are published compared to the homeschool buying season
what the visitor to your site sees and feels
how clear your sales copy, visuals, and FAQ are
the perception of value compared to the cost

So are blog reviews, Instagram videos, and YouTube videos valuable? Yes! A blog post from a trusted blogger is often the first introduction a homeschool mom has to your product or service. Or it might be a follow up contact in a series of exposures to your brand. Some readers will be ready to buy immediately. Others will remember you months or even years later when they need your answer to their problem.

But a blogger cannot literally or directly sell your product. They can gush about your product, tell stories about your product, make gorgeous images that get pinned on Pinterest, and record YouTube videos that are found in search. But the sale is up to you.

This is one reason we offer site evaluations before we work with many clients. If you are not absolutely sure your site is ready for traffic from homeschool blogs, ask for an evaluation. We can help you identify the minor or major changes that will help you sell products from your own site.

When partnering with homeschool influencers, be clear about which of the five attainable goals above you want to reach with the campaign, and choose the components accordingly. If you’re unsure what options are best, reach out for a free 20-min exploratory session.

MYTH 2. Influencers Do All the Work of Digital Marketing For Me

You certainly can take a set-it-and-forget-it approach to influencer content. Your iHN team will do their best to feature your product in a positive light, send traffic to your site, and encourage sign ups. But the very best results happen when you see the end of the blogger campaign as the start of your next phase.

Be prepared to invest in maximizing the value of your campaign after it’s published.

There are many actions you can take to stretch its value and nudge customers to make a decision. These are outlined in the section here. In short, you’ve just received a bountiful collection of articles, images, testimonials, social shares, social tags, and videos. How can you make the most of them on your website, in your email marketing, and in your paid ads?

cONCLUSION

Marketing to homeschoolers requires a nuanced understanding of their values, needs, and communication preferences. By avoiding educational jargon, demonstrating value, and working with trusted influencers, you can build lasting relationships with this loyal customer base. Remember that success in the homeschool market isn’t just about selling products — it’s about becoming a trusted resource that truly serves the unique needs of homeschool families.