How To Add Value To Your Online Course
Besides offering high-quality learning content and instructors, how can you add value to your online course and ensure it stands out from the pack? Let’s take a look at 11 things you can do.
1. Create A Content Upgrade
You can create an editable worksheet that works as a lead magnet, which you can give out to your learners as soon as they purchase a course. This worksheet will contain the curriculum of the course, and learners can fill it out while they move from one learning unit to another.
2. Host Live Q&As
This tip is really helpful especially when the launch time of your course is on a set date. You can significantly increase the value of your courses by simply scheduling a few live Q&As throughout the route of your course.
3. Offer Consulting
When one of your courses at a high enough price gathers a handful of learners, you can offer one-on-one consulting via mail or Skype. Offering consulting within your courses will undoubtedly increase their value.
4. Create A Community
From the learners’ side, a student community is a place where they can hang out, interact and share their ideas and experiences throughout the whole course out line. You can provide them this opportunity through the creation of a Facebook group or on Slack.
5. Improve The Production Quality Of Your Courses
You can significantly increase the value of your courses by improving their production quality. You can do that by either using professional tools to create your course, or even hiring professionals to help you out.
6. Provide Weekly Office Hours
It is important for your learners to know that they can reach out to you if a problem arises or when they simply need more guidance. What you can do is set up a specific time each week where you can be available to all your students and answer their inquiries.
7. Offer A Penny For Your Learners’ Thoughts
It makes sense that having an exclusive course means that you can be available to each of your learners. You need to devote more time to every individual and focus on their concerns, goals, and feedback.
8. Think Outside The Box
There is not much to say here. Just get creative and use any type of supplementation as long as it makes the learning experience more engaging and the learning outcomes more reachable.
9. Teach Something Specific
You can set a higher price for your course when you make your courses specific and determine who your target audience is.
10. Include Downloadable Resources
Give your learners the option to download your material which will help them complete the course route and build on their knowledge on the topic.
11. Offer A Course Completion Certification
You can award personalized certificates to students when they complete your online courses. This will not only provide them with some incentive so as to complete the course, but it will also boost their confidence by reminding them that they have successfully passed the tests and exams needed.
Bonus: Pricing Tiers And Payment Plans – 7 Things To Keep In Mind
As it is expected, not all your students will have the same goals when enrolling to your courses, which means that they will not all be interested in everything you have to offer. This is also the main reason why you need to create pricing tiers and decide what kind of bonuses or ‘packages’ are the best to offer. Once you do that, all that is left for you is to decide on the price of each piece.
An alternative solution is to come up with a payment plan that works as a separate tier itself. With this, you can offer learners the option to pay in installments, rather than purchasing the whole course price at once (deal-breaker).
So, how much should you charge?
1. Course Length And Course Price Are Two Independent Factors
Make sure to set a price for your course based on the value of its content and not its length.
2. Mind Your Competitors
While it is not advised to compete with the price others set for their own course, sometimes this approach can be effective. When checking on your competitors’ pricing you can check whether your topic has a certain degree of attraction, and then you can calculate your expected sales potential.
3. Measure The Value Of The Outcome For The Student
When deciding on a price, you need to ensure that you are also providing your students with insight on the amount of money and time they can save when purchasing their ‘product’. A quantifiable outcome or a case study that explains how they can benefit from, for example, helping someone get promoted or developing their skills.
4. Test Various Price Points
While this advice can be time-consuming, it can help determine the best course price. You can test different price points to see how each one affects your sales. The key is to start with a low price (not bottom low) and then increase it little by little. You should go up to the point where your sales numbers start to show resistance. The key lies within the sweet spot of revenue generated and number of students enrolled at each price point.
5. Credibility And Authority In Your Market
Focus on factors that can help to explain why you are charging a higher price for your course. Some good examples involve growing your audience, publishing a book, attending industry related conferences, being featured in the media, gathering positive testimonials from clients, etc.
6. The Cost Of Your Learners’ Alternatives
When looking at your learners’ alternatives you can get a more objective view on your course pricing. An excellent idea would be to check the amount of time and money you set as well as figuring out how accessible is it for the learner. This should help you avoid having the learner leaving your site in search for another service provider.
7. The Goal Of Your Course
Consider the reasons for creating the course in the first place and the revenue you are aiming to reach. Determine your course’s objective in order to work methodically and keep everything in place.
If you want to learn more about publishing your eLearning courses successfully, download the eBook The Ultimate Guide To Selling Online Courses.
