Today, I want to talk about a topic that comes up a lot in the groups that I participate in, and that is – how to sell more online courses. How do you that on any platform?
A lot of people are publishing courses on Udemy, which is an online course marketplace. It allows you to publish courses, so that you don’t have to do a lot of marketing and self-promotion on your own dime. The problem with that is, you’re dependent on their marketing campaigns and the keywords that you use on their platform to sell your course. Also, there’s a lot of competition in the marketplace.
Now, I still don’t think it’s bad because I actually publish courses there too. It’s a great way to diversify and to create exposure for your brand and for the courses that you’re building. However, there isn’t necessarily a foolproof way to sell courses, even by leveraging organic search engine optimization on Udemy or even on Google. So, how do you sell more courses online?
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How do you sell more courses online?
It really comes down to 3 key things whether you’re doing Udemy or you have your own Thinkific or Teachable platform that you’re publishing courses on. If you have that, these 3 make the case even more important.
No. 1 – You need to have content.
You need to have content that you’re promoting. It can be a blog post, a YouTube channel or video, Facebook, or a social media presence that you’re building and sharing online. You need to be creating content and sharing yourself.
No. 2 – You need to have an email list.
The second thing is having an email list. You need to have an opt in form or a landing page to help build your email list.
There’s a lot of landing page software out there such as LeadPages. I use Thrive Leads by Thrive Themes which is a nice budget friendly alternative to LeadPages and it works with WordPress. So, those are some things that you can use.
It’s really important that you build an email list because if you don’t have an email list, you don’t have the control of that messaging to your potential customers and subscribers. You can provide weekly content via the form of emails with links to your social media posts or links to your blog posts if you have a website. That’s going to help them build the know, like, and trust factor with you Then, you’ll be able to position your offer for your courses so that they can buy from you and not get distracted by all the other people, courses, and other trainers online in an online marketplace.
Building an email list is something that a lot of people struggle with and I know I struggled with in the beginning, and it’s still a challenge. You have to work on it because it’s a skill that’s invaluable. It doesn’t matter what website you build or what courses you publish in the future. If you have the skill set of being able to get subscribers, then you’re going to be able to market effectively in the long term and sell more courses.
No. 3 – You need to have a website.
A lot of people will tell you that you don’t need to have a website to sell online, and that’s true. You don’t. You don’t have to have a website to sell online, but here’s the thing. Who looks more credible? A business who has a website online or one that doesn’t?
If I’m going to buy tech gadgets, for example, I’d like to know who I’m buying from. If you’re going to buy a new TV and find a brand that’s cheap but they don’t have a website, you’re probably not going to buy it. You’d want to see what the brand is about and some great reviews.
A website is a ticket for entry these days when it comes to building a brand. If you’re brand does not have a site where people can find you and get to know you more, then you’re not going to be able to rise above your competition.
With the way that websites are today, it’s so easy to just take a WordPress website, put a theme on it, and start creating content. It really is not rocket science. You don’t have to have developer skills. I help teach people who are looking to build online courses and personal brands how to build their own websites.
However, building a website is still just half of the battle. The rest of it is learning how to engage and turn your visitors into subscribers. Then, turning them into customers. This might not happen right away. But again, it’s the messaging, communication, and relationship building that is critical to your long-term success.
I hope these tips helped and motivated you to think about how you can apply them to your own online courses. If you have any questions, leave them in the comments below!
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