Online Courses Are Changing The Way We Learn
Building an online course is super-easy today with so many good online course platforms to choose from. But what about marketing the course? You've done the hard work of creating all the outlines, capturing the video lessons, and perfectly editing the final course product. It has taken weeks or months to finish your online course. And now, finally, it is time to get the word out there and start making some money.
You might be a pro at teaching, but if you're not a pro at marketing, it may actually be almost impossible to make your mark in this market which will be worth $400 billion by 2026. It's harder than ever to find ways that truly work to market your online course.
This article is here to help you to get started with online course marketing and get that first sale in.
Before Creating Your Online Course
Before even creating your online course, think about the prospective student persona. These are the people who are most willing to purchase your course. Are they men or women? What is their average age? Do they have children? What do they do for work? Where do they live? How much are they willing to pay for the course?
Creating an online course can be a great way to share your knowledge with others and generate some extra income. But before you start creating, there are a few things you should think about. We don't want to waste time and money building something nobody really needs.
- Who are you creating this course for?
- What do they want to learn?
- What are their learning preferences?
- Will it be text-based, video-based, or a mix of both?
- How will you deliver the course content?
- What type of pricing model will you use?
All of these factors will affect the creation of your online course, so it’s important to think about them in advance. By doing so, you’ll be able to create a course that is tailored to your audience and meets their needs.
10 Best Ways To Market Your Online Course
Ok, so now that we've built the online course based on the previous tips, we have to start the hard work of marketing it. Here are ten ways that you can market your online course and start generating sales:
1. Create A Title
The title of your online course is actually more important than many think. First, it can catch the student's attention from all the other competing media. Second, if done based on keyword research, it will have a great SEO impact on your website. Third, a great title will make people want to share your course with others. Here are some tips for creating an effective title for your online course:
- Keep it short and sweet
- Make it keyword-rich
- Be creative and unique
- Use action words like "discover"
- The course title must fully match the course content
2. Create A Landing Page
Even before marketing your course directly, you should think about the landing page that potential students are clicking to. Creating a great landing page is one of the most important steps you can take in marketing your course. It's also one of the best ways to increase your conversion rate—that is, how many of the people who visit your site actually sign up for your course. Here are some tips for creating an effective landing page for your online course:
- Keep it simple
The first rule of thumb for landing pages is to keep them as simple as possible. Use clear and concise language, and make sure that the most important information is front and center. - Make a strong first impression
Use high-quality images and videos to give visitors a taste of what your course is like, and make sure that the page is laid out in a way that's easy to follow. - Use persuasive copy
The text on your landing page is just as important as the visuals. You need to carefully craft your message to persuade visitors that your course is worth their time and money. - Optimize for conversions
Include a strong and visible CTA, as well as an opt-in form where visitors can enter their contact information. You should also make sure that your page is mobile-friendly. - Test and iterate
Finally, don't forget that landing pages are never "done." You should always be testing different versions of your page to see what works best.
3. Sell To Existing Subscribers
If you're lucky (or a hard worker), you already have a blog, social media, or YouTube audience that you're going to sell your online course to. This is the most straightforward way to get started with selling online courses because you're monetizing an existing asset. You've already built up trust with your audience, so selling a course to them should be relatively easy. There are a few different ways to sell courses to your existing audience:
- Directly from your blog or website
- Through an email list
- Through social media
4. Start A YouTube Channel
If you don't yet have an existing audience, I'd say the number one promotion method is to start building an audience today. What better way to market an online course than to an existing YouTube subscriber base? It's free and they already know you. You just need to give them a reason to watch your new video series. There are a ton of ways to get views on YouTube, but the most important thing to do is to start creating quality content that will resonate with your audience. After all, without an audience, you won't be able to sell any courses!
- Optimize your channel for SEO
- Create engaging thumbnails and titles
- Promote your videos on social media
- Collaborate with other YouTubers
- Use YouTube cards and end screens
5. Start A Blog
Many successful online course sellers have started by first creating a blog, becoming an expert in a certain topic, and then teaching their expertise through a paid online course. Starting a blog is the second best (and almost free) marketing method for selling online courses. Not only does a blog give you a platform to sell your courses, but it also helps you build an audience of potential students.
Platforms make it easy to create and upload your course content, but they don’t do much in terms of marketing your course. A blog, on the other hand, is a great way to attract organic traffic and build an audience of people who are interested in what you have to say. Today, it's easier than ever to start blogging with the help of so many great AI writing tools. Once you have a blog up and running, you can start promoting your online course on your blog and through social media. You can also use your blog to build an email list of potential students, to whom you can then market your course.
6. Build An Email List
One of the most straightforward approaches to marketing your online course is to send an email. But first, you have to build that list. You can build an email list on your blog or from social media channels using any email marketing software out there. Here are some tips on how to get people to sign up for your email list:
- Use something free as a lead magnet
- Make it easy for people to sign up for your email list
- Use the best email software to make sure your emails are not going to the spam folder
Sending emails to promote your online course is a great way to reach a targeted audience. But make sure you’re providing value in every email, or you’ll quickly lose subscribers.
7. Partner With Other Online Teachers
One common method to get the online course out there is to send collaboration invites to other authors in your field. For example, you can write a guest post on someone's blog, appear on their YouTube channel, or even become a podcast guest on a popular podcast. By partnering with other online instructors, you can help each other reach a larger audience and promote your courses to new potential students.
When reaching out to other online instructors, be sure to have a solid plan in mind and be respectful of their time and work. Also, don't forget to offer something in return, such as promoting their courses on your own channels. In the end, it's all about the value exchange.
8. Sell Smaller Courses On Online Course Marketplaces
Another great way to get your online course in front of more people is to offer it on an online course marketplace like Udemy. Even though they may not let you set the price for your course, they do have a lot of existing customers. Getting in front of them as an expert is something you definitely want to happen.
The beauty of online course marketplaces is that they have a built-in audience of people who are already interested in learning. This means that you don't have to spend as much time or money on marketing your course. You can also use these platforms to get some great reviews for your course, which can help attract even more students. You can also use online course marketplaces as a way to get in front of more people and generate some passive income by also selling a more extensive online course on your own platform. Once they trust you, they will also trust you with their money.
9. Use Paid Ads
If you're not familiar with paid ad platforms like Google, Instagram, Tiktok, and YouTube, this may seem a bit daunting. Paid ads are one of the most effective ways to get your online course in front of new audiences, but each platform has a steep learning curve. Here are a few quick tips to get you started with paid ads:
- Decide which platform is right for your course
- Set a budget you're willing to lose
- Find your target audience
- Test, test, test
10. Bundle Your Courses Or Offer Discounts
If you have already created many online courses, you can bundle them together and sell them for a discount. This is a great way to increase your sales, as it allows customers to purchase multiple courses at once. People are normally attracted to high-discount bundles, so make sure you're ready to cut your prices and reduce the overall value of your brand.
It will be hard to sell again at the original prices after the bundle deal. You may sell bundles only on Black Friday or for another limited sale period to reduce the risk of dropping the brand value. You can also offer a discount on your courses if someone buys more than one. For example, you can give a 10% discount if someone buys 2 courses, 15% for 3 courses, and so on.
Conclusion
If you're fluent in front of the camera and make videos for breakfast, you're probably already uploading your videos to YouTube or your website. Great, you've got many opportunities to market your new online courses. If you don't yet have the audience ready to consume and pay for your online courses, then this article should be of great help. We covered topics all the way from creating the title to using paid ads to help market your online course.
I hope this article was helpful to you. All the best in your course creation process.
Other Resources:
- How to Start a Blog in 2022: The Ultimate Guide
- How to Write a Blog Post: A Step-by-Step Guide [+ Free Blog Post Templates]
- A Beginner’s Guide to Using Google Ads (Previously Google Adwords)
- How to Advertise on Instagram: A 5-Step Guide to Using Instagram Ads
- TikTok ads 101: How to get started with TikTok advertising
- YouTube Ads for Beginners: How to Launch & Optimize a YouTube Video Advertising Campaign
