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How To Market Your Online Course: 15 Proven Ideas To Increase Sales
Congratulations — you’ve created an online course and made it available for the masses. But now, the real hard work begins! How are you going to get people to pay attention and sign up for your course? Just because you build it, doesn’t mean they will come.
That’s why you have to know how to market your online course if you want to get people to actually sign up, take your course, and buy it. Unfortunately, I’ve found that most course creators are totally lost when it comes to marketing their products.
The good news is with the right strategies and tools, you can overcome these challenges and see success in your online course marketing efforts. I‘ve put together a guide with 15 proven ideas that have worked for myself and other colleagues who have successfully marketed an online course.
Table of Contents
Why Is It Important To Market Your Online Course?
You might be wondering why you should even market your online course.
After all, you spent a lot of time and energy creating it, so why not just let it sit there and enjoy the fruits of your labor?
If you want to make money from your course, you need to promote it.
Even if you don’t want to make money from your course, you still need to market it in order to attract new students.
Just because your course is great doesn’t mean anyone will actually hear about it and sign up for it. This isn’t the Field of Dreams. You can build it, but they won’t come…unless you market it effectively.
How to Market Your Online Course
1. Create a blog post about your course
When you’re marketing an online course, one of the best things you can do is create a blog post about it.
I’ve found that a blog post is a great way to introduce your course to potential students and get them interested in signing up.
Plus, once you’ve created the blog post, you can share it on social media and other websites to reach even more people.
- Start by introducing your course and telling readers what it is — Your blog post should clearly explain what your course is about. What all is covered in the course? How long is it? Then, you can let readers know why they need to take the course — what will it do for them? How can it help them? What are the benefits of taking the course? Always be sure to provide value here!
- Write about why you created the course and what inspired you — Let your readers know why you created the course. If you created the course to solve a problem or make something better, let them know. For example, if your course helps people write more effective emails, tell your readers why an email is important and how it can be improved upon.
- Include a personal story about how the course has helped you or someone else — Adding a personal story about the benefits of taking your course can help readers relate and start to think about how the course could benefit them. If you have some samples of things someone has created using the knowledge they gained from your course, include those as well!
- Link to your online course landing page or website — Throughout your blog post, you should be linking the reader to your course landing page or website. This will bring them to your course sign-up form. Since they already know a little about your course from reading the post, they’ll be more likely to complete the form and sign up!
2. Make a landing page for your course
When you’re marketing an online course, it’s important to have a landing page for potential students to visit. A landing page is a website or web page where people can learn more about your course and sign up to take it.
Creating a landing page for your course is a great way to get more people to sign up.
Plus, when you have a landing page, you can easily track how many people are visiting it and signing up for your course. This helps you know which marketing tactics are working best and helps you continue to improve your marketing strategies.
So, how do you create a good landing page for your online course?
- Have a great headline — Your course page needs a great headline to help draw people in and get them excited about taking the course. The headline should be benefit-driven and highly relevant to the course.
- Include a very detailed and informative description — Dig into all of the details in your course. Talk about what students will learn, how long it will take, and what they’ll get out of it when they’re done taking it. If you have case studies or examples from people who have taken your course, include those as well.
- Show potential students what they’ll be learning — Use screenshots to show people what they’ll learn in the course and how it will improve their life. You can also include testimonials or quotes from past students (with permission) about how much they enjoyed your course.
- Have a strong call to action — Your call to action should tell people exactly what you want them to do. If your goal is to get people to sign up for your course, then make sure that’s crystal clear on the landing page! Don’t beat around the bush here. Believe me, people won’t do what you want them to do if you don’t ask. They’re not psychics. Your call to action needs to be written boldly and stand out from the rest of the text. You can even use a bold color or different font size so it really stands out. Buttons also work great.
- Use videos and images throughout — Don’t make your landing page one big wall of text. Use images and videos to break up the text so it’s easier to read and more engaging.
3. Create an email marketing campaign to send out to your subscribers
Email marketing is a great way to promote your online course to a larger audience.
When you send out an email campaign, you’re reaching out to people who have already shown interest in what you have to offer. This means that they’re more likely to sign up for your course!
Plus, when you use email marketing, you can track how many people open and click through your emails. This helps you know which of your email marketing tactics are working best and helps you continue to improve your campaigns.
So, how do you create an email campaign that will help promote your online course?
- Create a subject line — The headline of your email should grab people’s attention and make them want to read more. It should be relevant to the content and should make people feel like they need to open and read your email right this second.
- Write a great introduction — Your intro paragraph should be short and sweet. Establish the context of the email (which book you’re referencing) and then get to the real reason behind why you’re writing it. If there’s an idea or a tip in the book that would be particularly helpful to the reader, share it here.
- Create a very strong call to action — You want people to take whatever action you ask of them in your email. So make sure the CTA is very clear and noticeable! Most emails include a button or link so people can easily click through and sign up
- Show people what they’ll learn — Use the body of your email to show why people will benefit from taking your course. Talk about how your advice can help them in their lives or in business
- Split test everything in your email campaign — I think split testing is slept on big time by a lot of other course creators. Split testing is crucial to creating an optimized, high-performing email campaign! Test out different subject lines, email copy, and offers to see which one is most successful.
4. Host a webinar and invite people who have shown interest in your online course or topic of expertise
Webinars are a great way to promote your online course and reach a larger audience.
When you host a webinar, you’re giving people the opportunity to learn more about what you have to offer.
And since people have already shown interest in your course or topic of expertise, there’s a good chance they’ll attend your webinar!
It’s important to make sure your webinar really adds value though and isn’t just an hour-long commercial for your course. You want to showcase your expertise and share the most helpful information you have to offer.
You can host a webinar either live or pre-record it and then post it on your site.
If you choose to record your webinar, make sure to mention this during the webinar so people know they can watch it again later if they miss it. You could also say something like, “As usual, I’ll be recording the webinar so if you can’t make it live, you can watch it again later!”
You could also share your webinar on social media or send an email campaign to promote it. This will help get people’s attention and bring them to your webinar.
5. Create free teaser content for your course
One great way to get students to sign up for your course is to offer a free mini-course or give them access to a free lesson from your bigger course.
This gives them a taste of what you’re selling and can help improve conversion rates.
They may also be more likely to buy your course if they’ve already had a sneak peek of what’s inside!
When you’re creating free content for your online course, it’s important to make it as valuable as possible. This content should be a sampler of what students can expect from taking your course.
Your free sampler content should be high-quality and helpful. It should also be relevant to the topic of your course.
When potential students see how valuable your free content is, they’ll be more likely to sign up for your course!
6. Add a link at the bottom of all emails with a link to your course
Many people forget to include a link to their online courses in their email signature. But including this link is a great way to promote your course and reach a larger audience!
When you include a link to your course in your email signature, you’re giving people the opportunity to learn more about what you have to offer every single time you send an email.
It’s important to make sure your link is easy to find and stands out from the rest of the text in your signature. You could also add an image or CTA button next to the link.
7. Create a video trailer for your course
When you’re marketing an online course, it’s important to use a variety of different methods to reach as many people as possible. And one great way to do this is by creating a video trailer for your course!
A video trailer is a short, engaging video that promotes your course and encourages people to sign up. It’s a great way to give potential students a taste of what they can expect from taking your course.
And since people are more likely to watch a video than read text, a video trailer is a great way to capture their attention and convince them to sign up for your course.
When creating your video trailer, be sure to keep these tips in mind:
- Make it engaging…Don’t just read from a script!
- Keep it simple and straight to the point. You only have a few seconds to catch people’s attention and convince them to sign up, so make sure you do it in your video trailer!
- Test it to see how well it converts viewers into potential students. You could A/B test the length of your video or even split test a different image in your video.
8. Host a live Q&A on social media
One great way to market your online course is to host a live Q&A on Facebook or Instagram. During this Q&A, you’ll be able to answer any questions potential students may have about your course.
It’s a great opportunity for you to connect with potential students and convince them to sign up for your course.
And since it’s live, potential students will be able to see how engaging and helpful you are!
When hosting a live Q&A, be sure to keep these tips in mind:
- Plan ahead and make a list of questions that you can answer during the Q&A.
- Be prepared to answer questions about your course, the topic of the course, and anything else that people may throw at you!
- Find a time to host your Q&A that’s good for your audience. You want to hold the event when students are more likely to be online and looking to sign up for courses like yours!
9. Participate in discussion forums around your course topic
When you’re marketing an online course, it’s important to be active in discussion forums around your course topic. This is a great way to reach potential students who are interested in learning more about the topic of your course.
You can find good discussion forums on sites like Reddit and through Facebook Groups, or just Google your topic/niche and the word “forum”.
But remember, it’s all about adding value and establishing yourself as an expert. It’s not just about going onto forums and spamming your course.
You should spend some time on the forum first and answer any questions that people may have on your course topic. Once you’ve established yourself as an expert, people will be more likely to want to learn from you!
When participating in discussion forums, be sure to keep these tips in mind:
- Post valuable information related to the topic of the forum.
- Add helpful links to resources that people can use to learn more about your topic.
- Be sure not to spam your course link! There’s a fine line between sharing your course and being spammy, so be careful not to cross it.
10. Do a paid ad campaign on social media
When you’re marketing an online course, it’s important to use a variety of different methods to reach as many people as possible. And one great way to do this is by doing a paid ad campaign on social media.
When you do a paid ad campaign, you’re essentially paying to have your course promoted to a specific audience. This can be a great way to specifically target people who are interested in your topic.
And since social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram have so many users, it’s a great way to reach a lot of people quickly!
11. Do a giveaway contest for free entry to your course
Hosting a contest for free entry into your course is a great way to build buzz around your course and attract potential students.
When you host a contest, you’re giving people the chance to enter for free and potentially win a prize. This is a great way to get people’s attention and convince them to sign up for your course.
And since people love contests, it’s a great way to drum up interest in your course!
When hosting a contest, be sure to keep these tips in mind:
- Make the contest easy to enter. You want potential students to be able to enter without too much hassle.
- Make the prize worth winning. This could be a free course or even some bonus materials on top of that.
- Make sure you’re following all applicable contest laws. There are various legal implications to hosting a contest, so make sure you’re not breaking any laws.
- Give people extra entries sharing your contest. This is a great way to increase the exposure of your contest.
- Keep the emails of everyone who signs up for future marketing. Not everyone is going to win the contest, but everyone who signs up is now someone you can market to in the future.
12. Network with influencers in your industry to spread the word about your course
When you’re marketing an online course, it’s important to reach as many people as possible. And one great way to do this is by working with industry influencers.
Industry influencers are people who have a lot of influence in your niche. They have a large following on social media, and they’re often quoted in the media.
When you work with industry influencers, you’re essentially asking them to promote your course to their followers. This can be a great way to reach a lot of people quickly and build awareness for your course.
But before you reach out to industry influencers, there are a few things you should keep in mind:
- Do your research first. Make sure you know who you want to reach out to before you do so.
- Make your pitch personal. Just sending a mass email isn’t going to be very effective, so make sure it’s personalized for that influencer specifically.
- Have a specific ask in mind. When pitching an influencer, have a clear idea of what you’re asking them to do, and more importantly, offer them something in return.
13. Offer an early bird discount before launching your course
When you’re marketing your online course, it’s important to use a variety of different methods to reach as many people as possible. And one great way to do this is by offering an early bird discount so you can presell your course before it officially launches.
An early bird discount is a special discount off the regular price of your course for people who sign up before a specific date. This can be a great way to drive sales and interest to your course.
And since people love getting a good deal, they’re more likely to sign up for your course if you offer them a discount.
When creating an early bird discount, keep these tips in mind:
- Make the deadline clear. Be sure to specify the date by which people need to sign up in order to get the discount.
- Create a sense of urgency. People need to know why they should sign up for your course before the deadline.
- Make sure it’s not too long of a period. You don’t want people to forget about your offer by the time the deadline comes around, so make it reasonable.
- Offer bonuses. One of the ways I’ve found you can make your discount even more enticing by offering other items for free along with the course. This could be anything from eBooks to a related mini course.
- Promote your early bird discount. Make sure you let potential students know about your offer, so they sign up before it’s too late! Keep reminding them as the deadline approaches.
14. Start a podcast and talk about your course and related topics
Starting a podcast is a great way to establish yourself as an industry thought leader.
When you launch a podcast, you’re not only providing valuable content to your listeners, but you’re also building your brand. And by being a thought leader in your industry, you’ll be able to attract new students to your online course.
There are a few things you can do to make sure your podcast is a success:
- Pick a catchy name for your podcast. This will help people remember it and associate it with your brand.
- Create great content. Your listeners will expect high-quality content, so make sure you deliver.
- Be consistent with your publishing schedule. This will help keep people engaged and coming back for more.
- Feature interviews with other industry experts. This will help you leverage their audience and build your own even further.
- Promote your course…but not too often. You don’t want it to feel like you’re just marketing your course all the time. Mix it up and talk about other related topics as well.
15. Create an affiliate program for others to promote your course
Affiliate marketing is a great way to promote your online course. I’ve seen a lot of course creators who ignore this, and it absolutely blows my mind.
When you create an affiliate program, you’re essentially giving others the ability to sell your course for you. This can be a great way to reach a wider audience and drive more sales to your course.
There are a few things you should keep in mind when creating an affiliate program:
- Make it easy for affiliates to promote your course. Provide them with all the materials they need, such as links, banners, and text ads.
- Offer an attractive commission for every sale they make. This will incentivize them to promote your course more.
- Make sure your terms are fair. Don’t set unrealistic expectations or make it difficult for affiliates to make money.
Final Thoughts
Marketing your online course is hard work, but with the tips above, you’ll be able to market your course effectively and boost your sales.
Over time, you’ll figure out what works best for promoting your course, and then you can start to automate some of the tasks on platforms like Kajabi that make it easier to create and sell courses (check out our Kajabi review or Kajabi pricing guide for more info).
The key with online course marketing is to work hard and not give up, because if you stick to it, you’ll be able to see results over time. I also recommend checking out this online course checklist to help you through all the intricacies of launching a successful course.
Now it’s over to you: how do you market your online course? Share with us in the comments below!