This module covers everything you need to know before you submit a single profile asset.
Your profile is not a form to fill out — it’s professional infrastructure that will represent your studio and bring students to you for years. The quality and care you put into it now directly affects how many students find you, what kind of students find you, and how well those students stay.
Before you gather any assets, do two things:
First: Decide who your ideal student is. Beginners? Adults returning to an instrument? A specific age group? Every element of your profile — your bio, your videos, your photo — should consistently reflect that answer. A profile that sends mixed signals doesn’t attract the right fit. And keep in mind: 97% of Tunelark students start as beginners. 2% start at an intermediate level. 1% start as advanced. A profile built around advanced technique narrows your appeal significantly — that may be exactly right for your studio, but make that choice deliberately.
Second: Spend time browsing current teacher profiles on Tunelark. Look at what a polished, high-performing profile looks and feels like. You don’t need to copy anyone — you need to understand the standard you’re working toward.
Profile Photo
Your photo is the first thing a prospective student sees — even before your name. Read the guidelines document carefully before you take or choose your photo. It specifies everything: required dimensions, resolution, and quality standards.
The most common reason photos get sent back: portrait (vertical) orientation. The platform layout requires a landscape (horizontal) photo. A vertical image will not work regardless of how good it looks. Other common reasons: low resolution, blurry images, heavily filtered or artificial-looking photos. The image needs to look real, clear, and professional.
Bio
Your bio tells prospective students who you are, what your background is, and what it’s like to learn with you. The guidelines document gives you a specific formula — use it. It outlines what each paragraph should include, how to present your teaching philosophy, and how to frame your experience.
The most common reason bios get sent back: they’re too generic. If your bio could apply to almost any music teacher, it’s not doing its job. A strong bio tells a prospective student exactly who you are and who you’re for.
Intro Video
Your intro video is often the deciding factor in whether a student books you. This is where they meet you. What we’re looking for is warmth, naturalness, and genuine enthusiasm — someone families actually want to invite into their learning experience.
The most common reason intro videos get sent back: the teacher comes across as stiff, scripted, or overly formal. Students don’t want a press release. They want a person. If you feel uncomfortable on camera, take a few tries until you find your natural voice. It’s worth it.
One rule that applies to all of your videos: your last name cannot appear anywhere. Not on a title card. Not in the YouTube channel name your video is linked from. Nowhere. Check for this before you submit anything.
Performance Video
Your performance video is where prospective students decide whether you inspire them. The question they’re asking when they watch: could I ever be that good? Do I want to learn from someone who performs like that?
Your performance needs to showcase you clearly. Being part of a group or ensemble is fine — but if the camera is on someone else and you’re barely visible, we can’t use it. If you don’t have professional performance footage, you can record yourself. Set up your phone or camera, record a genuinely impressive performance, and make sure the recording quality is high. The bar is not perfection — it’s professional quality that makes a new student want to learn from you.
Skill or Technique Video
Your skill video is what parents and adult students study most carefully. It shows how you teach — not just what you know. That distinction matters.
A video where you demonstrate a vocal warm-up shows us a warm-up. We want to see how you explain things, how you guide someone, how you respond when a concept isn’t landing. We want to see your teaching. Keep your audience in mind: 97% of Tunelark students start as beginners. A skill video built around advanced or highly technical content won’t connect with most of the people looking at your profile.
Testimonials
Testimonials are what a prospective student reads when they want to know whether other people have had a great experience learning with you. High-value testimonials describe what it was actually like: what the student worked on, what progress they made, what the teacher did that made lessons valuable, and why they’d recommend you.
Low-value testimonials get sent back. Generic praise is not enough. Read the guidelines document for how to solicit and submit testimonials.
The full specifications for every element — photo dimensions, video requirements, testimonial submission process — are in the profile guidelines documents linked in your Instructor Handbook and your new teacher onboarding emails. Read them before you start. Submitting something that doesn’t meet spec costs everyone time.
