Last Updated on February 27, 2024 by Ali Hamza
So, your course is ready and published, what now?
The next step is marketing and selling your courses. Marketing is all about attracting visitors and pushing them further into your sales funnel.
This can be a combination of offline channels (e.g., business contacts, phone-calling, event marketing, meetings, workshops) and online channels (e.g., paid ads, SEO, affiliate marketing, partners, social media, and email marketing).
Attracting the right audience is what really counts in all your marketing efforts. You will need to choose the right way to appeal to your audience. For example, selling compliance training might mean arranging meetings with local businesses, while teaching the guitar might require a youtube channel.
However, the most important part of your strategy is how you can capture and nurture leads (people who have given their contact information) into paying customers. The best way to do that is with email and social media marketing.
Email Marketing
The first thing you will need is an email list. Luckily, we explain in detail how to build an email list here.
An email list gives you access to a well-targeted group of people who have already shown their interest in your topic. Do your best to stay in touch with these people informing them about what you do and sending them helpful emails.
You can either send them industry-specific news, advice, insights or send them your latest blog post.
💡 Tip: You can use a mini free course to get people to share their email addresses or a lead magnet (ebook, case study, checklist, template) that they can download for free in exchange for their email.
Social Media Marketing
A social media presence is very important to attract your first visitors. Use your personal social media first and then create professional accounts. Choose wisely, as not all social media channels are suitable for the same audience. You might need to focus on one or two social media channels initially.
Create a page/profile for your online academy on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, or even Pinterest and make industry-relevant posts frequently to drive traffic on your site.
Be aware that advertising on the right channels isn’t enough, so you have to come up with compelling texts and share posts at the right time. You can get help on this through social management tools such as Buffer or HootSuite.
Partnerships
Reach out to your network and talk with professionals in your field. These could be your students, colleagues, or anyone in your network who has something positive to say about your school and promote it accordingly.
Approach them and ask them if they want to become your partners and spread the word to their networks. Affiliate marketing is a great way to get in front of new people and use another’s influencing skills to sell courses.
You can also find other collaborations with small influencers, such as appearing as a guest in podcasts, webinars, or writing a blog post for another website. birds eye view
Sell Your Course
Now, that you have collected a list of prospective customers you can move forward to the next step of selling your course.
This is all about your sales funnel. You want to have people moving from one stage of your funnel to the next:
- Awareness — They know about you and your courses.
- Lead — They have shared their contact information.
- Customer — They have bought your course.
- Retention / Loyalty — They become repeat buyers.
The secret to getting leads and turning them into paying customers lies in your offer. Your call to action, your messaging, and marketing messages. You need to give them some free added value, show your expertise, and convince them that you have the solution they are looking for. Video Marketing Secrets You Can Use
The guide on How to Sell Online Courses takes you through the whole process of setting up your sales funnel and understanding how you can increase your site traffic and leads.
Besides, you can consider running a live webinar around your online course topic. This offers a huge opportunity to build brand awareness and present yourself to your audience.
Similarly, you can join a local public speaking event, workshop, or networking event, and even organize one yourself. If you are into business coaching, you can do a workshop for SMEs in your area, and give them a discount to join your full course to help them succeed.
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