Do you do anything to woo students?

Woo students? Um...no.

I don't want students that I have to woo - I want students that want to learn and are willing to come to me and ask for help. Those are the ones who I don't have to nag at or worry about and I learn as much from them as they do from me.

I've only been a mentor for a few weeks now - maybe two months but I don't think it's been that long. I've never tried to get students - just posted about me when I became a mentor - about what my goals were as a mentor and then let them come to me.

Thanks Not 'N Sexy TexasMama. How long did it take you to start getting mentees?

I have recommended the mentor program but never specifically offered my services. Personally, I'm not comfortable trying to advertise my services as a mentor. However, I have seen other mentors offer themselves as a mentor in threads or on personal walls. One warning, it can take awhile to get your first few students, especially since there are so many more mentors now. Don't get discouraged. It can take some time. Part of the problem, as I see it, is that some prospective students go for mentors that have a high student count because they think a higher number must mean a better mentor. It's better now that the Community Page rotates the mentor profiles. Another good option is to work with Advanced Reviewers as students. They often can be easier to work with while you build your student number and increase your reputation as a mentor. Good luck!

What Hot 'N Sexy TexasMama said. If anything, I try to weed people out that won't be dedicated to the program. I never posted that I was a mentor in the forums or anything. My profile says I mentor, but that's it. I keep that there so if someone likes my reviews they know I'm available. I also have something about putting people in wait list if I'm full and to message me and such. I do that specifically for people who like my reviews an want to work with me, not to get general masses of people.

I usually get more requests than I can accept. You get five students per 30 day period and I usually hit that within 7 days if I accept everyone right away. I've had to come up with a system to keep myself open for more people (which mostly just means I don't accept requests for at least an hour to see if they mass requested people).

I want to mentor someone who wants to learn something from me specifically. Either they like my style or detail or something about what I do. I want a student who is going to put in the time and work. I've had great students so far. I've had better results since not quickly accepting requests because I find 90% of the time a few minutes later it shows "cancelled by system" (so they requested multiple people). I'd rather have someone who wanted me not just someone.

Basically, no I don't really woo students. If they don't want to be part of the program then I count that as their loss really. It's a great program no matter what mentor you work with. A mentor should be picked on compatibility, not advertisement. I do understand the need to announce when you just started mentoring though since you don't have the numbers by your name to back up your ability.

I just want to add that if someone contacts me and wants me to mentor them - I reply back to them and ask why they chose me and explain a bit about how I do things (that I will ask that they use the extended format etc). Then I base my acceptance of their request on their response.

I had one man contact me who wanted me to mentor him but he had a male partner and was into toys for pegging. At that time, I had not used dildos nor had I used harnesses etc. and I recommended some people who I felt could help him more than me because of their experience and explained that I was part of a straight couple and didn't have any experience with the toys he wanted to work with. I let him know that it wasn't personal and I would be happy to work with him - but that I really recommended two people who I knew had experience with that. He went with one of them if I remember right.

I guess what I'm saying is that instead of wooing a student - I'm more likely to turn them down or recommend someone else to them if I think we're not a good match.

Thanks for all of the feedback. Hot'n Sexy that is a really great idea, I think I might need to use that!

I try and let new users know that they can message me about any questions they have on the site, and sometimes I recommend that a user look into the mentoring program, but I never really 'woo' them. After letting a new user know that they can message me for help a lot just ask questions and go on their merry way but I've had one or two send student requests after I;ve explained the site to them.