TEFL course affiliates make money from TEFL course providers by referring people to buy courses on the providers site. Lots of TEFL course providers do this.
Here's an example of the search results page for TEFL affiliates.
I see them from time to time when I am searching the web. I am familiar with this, but are you? You may simply be out looking for a review of a certain course stumble upon a blog and then see that they are recommending that course.
But did you know that they were making money by recommending you to that course. Does that change anything for you? It does for me.
How it works
- Bloggers reach out to TEFL course providers to get their affiliate links.
- TEFL course providers reach out to "popular" bloggers and offer an affiliate link.
It's a win-win for both parties, but is it for you?
"...They link to something because it inspires passion in them, it's interesting they want to share it... Now if someone was going to come to a newspaper reporter and say I am going to give you some money can you link to me in your story... that would be deceptive. - Matt Cutts (Google)
What really pisses me off
It's lies. I have seen them before, but just the other day I was on Youtube and I saw a suggested video titled, "5 Reasons You Need A TEFL Certificate To Teach In Korea".
I taught in Korea for 3.5 years, so I think I know a bit about it. At first I thought this was a recruiter or a TEFL course provider because I have seen them tell lies before. But no this was "Fancy Nancy."
I started to watch her video as I was curious as to why she was saying this. Then I looked down in the description and then went, ohhh!!
TEFL affiliate links and LIES
That's why she is telling you that "YOU NEED" a certificate to teach in Korea. She's telling you that because she'll make money anytime that you follow one of those links and end up buying.
That link will take you to "MyTEFL.com". Lots of TEFL course providers use affiliate marketing.
And many more...
What you really need
To legally teach in Korea you need a degree and to be a native speaker. Those are the basic requirements. Now there are some programs (like EPIK) or schools that may prefer certification especially if you don't have experience, but to say that you need one to teach in Korea is extremely selfish on her part.
She's lying to you so that she can make more money.
I am surprised that she has as many followers as she does. Lame.
Doesn't it look beautiful?
Yes, it looks beautiful, but you are not buying a vacation.
Learn more about how beaches in Thailand are often used to market TEFL courses.
Did you forget about the "teaching" part in teaching abroad?
Despite what they are showing you teaching abroad is NOT a vacation. Perhaps you were just focused on the "abroad" part. Well, it's not vacation.
Chances are you are not going to be near a beach like that or even have much of a vacation. If you teach in a private institute in Asia then you'll probably only have like 10 days of vacation a year.
You might have more if you teach in a public school or a university (if you have experience and good qualifications), but most of the time you will be working.
It's possible that you could find a job near a beach somewhere, but the vast majority of you will end up teaching in some big city somewhere, because that's where the jobs are.
I have seen quite a few companies use advertising like this. MyTEFL, i-to-i, and others like above do this.
Lots of people are chasing the carrot and the carrot now is that beach. Now it's possible that you may go to a place like that, but the vast majority of you will not be near one and the majority of your time abroad will be spent someplace else.
Anyways...
The pic above is an affiliate link. You can find it by searching for:
"Cheap TEFL"
Again there are more lies...
The same lines that I have seen other providers use. She says "... their course is so well-known amongst employers." It's "accredited" blah, blah, blah. That's probably the same line that they used to sell to her.
Polly wanna cracker?
There are also some other affiliate links on that page in the comments to eslstarter.
TEFL affiliate advice on how to choose a TEFL course
Of course she has advice she has a course to sell.
This one is very similar to the one above. Another beautiful pic somewhere not close to where you'll be teaching. Considering the fact that you're probably like other teachers who have done this before you'll likely end up somewhere that is crowded and polluted.
I mean you have a choice, but like I said before most teachers end up in big cities.
Here's another example from Quora.
You can see the affiliate link when you hover over it. It says, www.teflcourse.net/?cu=lindagoesesl.
Affiliate advice for teaching in Korea
Affiliates always have advice and self-interests. Here's an anonymous blogger in Korea who offers affiliate advice for choosing a TEFL course in Korea.
The orange link in the above photo is an affiliate link. Of course he recommends i-to-i because he is getting paid by them for doing so. And just so you know you can get into a public school in Korea with an online course see here or on Reddit.
Those were examples of TEFL course affiliate links
I just showed you a few examples of affiliate links and also the different ways that TEFL courses can market to you.
They may tell lies like you NEED it, show some beach, say they are what employers want and yadda, yadda, yadda. Maybe you don't mind, but I mind. I mind because I want the truth.
I personally wouldn't trust an affiliates opinion on what product to buy.
Have you seen any TEFL course affiliate links? If so let me know. You can contact me here or even post about it here.
You can learn more about TEFL courses here.