25 Effective Ways to Market Your Online Course and Increase Sales By 10 Times

Planning to launch an online course? Here are 25 effective tips on how to market online courses and increase sales by 10X.
According to Forbes, the e-learning industry is expected to grow to $325 billion by 2025, as per market research.

Although searches for online education have been steadily increasing in popularity for some time, the recent surge is undeniable. Google searches for online courses increased by over 100% worldwide from mid-March to mid-April 2020 alone.

So, it's important to know how to market online courses in 2022 to avoid getting lost in the huge competition.

This article talks about 25 effective ways to market your online course so that you can increase your sales by 10x.

Alright folks, please take your seats. It's time to learn how to market online courses. By the end of this read, you'll have complete knowledge of creating, launching, promoting, and selling your courses online.

The class is in session.

25 effective ways to Market Your Online Course and Increase Sales by 10 Times

1. Pick popular & relevant keywords while naming your course
2. Survey your audience to understand their likes/dislikes
3. Create a website to feature your courses
4. Start a blog promoting your course
5. Transcribe your course videos
6. Transform the transcription into a lengthy blog post
7. Create digital products like e-books, and guides for your course
8. Guest Blogging (Submit a guest article to industry blogs and magazines in exchange for backlinks)
9. Create infographics, images, videos
10. Use social media to share short videos and photos
11. Create a Facebook group and a community
12. Use Paid Ads - Google & Facebook to increase reach
13. YouTube marketing (Publish a course promotion video on YouTube)
14. Leverage relevant influencers for the promotion of your course
15. Collaborate with other course creators
16. Host a live webinar
17. Promote your webinar recording
18. Quora marketing (Answer questions on topics related to your course on Quora)
19. Create multiple courses and cross-sell
20. Offer bundle pricing
21. Do referral marketing
22. Build an email list
23. Lead nurturing
24. Translate your course into different languages
25. Be consistent

1. Pick popular & relevant keywords while naming your course

Now that you've decided to create and sell online courses, it's time to take the first step in learning how to market online courses. That is - naming for your course. Choosing the right keyword is a critical step that will assist you in avoiding creating an online course that no one wants.

Tools/Platform

Google Trends, Wordstream, Moz,

Benefits

1. Looking at keyword information in various niches will help you find key areas to target.
2. It allows you to better understand and analyze your competition.

Drawbacks

1. Tunnel vision in keyword research might curb creativity.
2. Relying on keyword research can lead you to start writing, designing, and optimizing only for search engines. This might not offer much in the way of user experience.

2. Survey your audience to understand their likes/dislikes

You want to develop an online course that people desire to take. First, conduct a poll among your target audience (via a blog, podcast, email list, social media, etc.) to determine what topics they are interested in. Then, make a course around what they want, not what you want to make.

Involving your audience in the course design process is also an excellent approach to building excitement for your course before it is released. This way, you can also validate the need for your course topic before investing any resources into it.

Tools/Platform

Google Forms, SurveyMonkey, Typeform

Benefits

1. You can conduct and update surveys easily with different tools available.
2. Survey data will tell you about your potential buyers' opinions, values, personas, etc.
3. It is a quick way to see trends in the market.

Drawbacks

1. Framing wrong questions and getting wrong answers can lead to inaccurate data. Sometimes people may even skip questions or quit in the middle of a survey, giving incomplete information.

3. Create a website to feature your courses

56% of consumers will not consider a business that does not have a website.

No matter how someone learns about your course—via social media, an ad, a listing, direct mail, or a friend—their first instinct is to visit your website.

Consumers have such high expectations these days that if you don't have a good website, it's almost better not to have one at all.

Without spending hours on website design, create a lead-generating website that looks and functions exactly how you want it to with FreshLearn.

Tools/Platform

FreshLearn, WordPress

Benefits

1. It enhances customer trust and gives you a professional look.
2. A website gives you a 24*7 online presence.

Drawbacks

1. It's hard to customize templates.
2. It can be expensive to start a website. However, with FreshLearn, it's made inexpensive.

4. Start a blog promoting your course

Your blog is an excellent venue for promoting your course. Everyone who visits your blog is a possible student for your course if you produce articles on the same topic that you teach in your course

Cost to start

$0 - $200

Tools/Platform

WordPress, Medium, FreshLearn

Benefits

1. You just need to give it a few hours of work per week.
2. A blog provides a reason for people to visit your website and fosters a sense of community among people who share common problems or interests.

Drawbacks

1. A good blog requires regular updates, and it might take some time to make money out of it.
2. Issues with the blog can arise due to technical issues such as expired SSL certificates, plugin conflicts, and coding issues.

5. Transcribe your course videos

Transcribing your online course videos or how-to videos so that you have them in written form and can enable closed captions is a great way to duplicate your content in many formats.

Send your short videos to a transcriber or use transcribing software to convert the video content to text.

Closed captions are essential if you want your video to be noticed in a world where over 85% of Facebook videos are watched with the sound turned off.

Tools/Platform

Fireflies.ai, Descript

Benefits

1. Fast way to save the audio to text.
2. Once you have the transcribed text, there are many marketing applications for it.

Drawbacks

1. Technical errors may occur while transcribing using the software.
2. It might not make sense if you are taking practical courses. For example, if you are creating a course teaching coding.

6. Transform the transcription into a lengthy blog post.

After transcribing the tutorial video, you can make some significant editing to the text (the way you speak doesn't always translate well into written form). You may also add some new content, including dividing it into bullet points and further explanations.

And finally, you can turn this content into blog posts and promote it using email marketing, social media, etc.

Tools/Platform

Google Docs, Microsoft Word

Benefits

1. You can use saved text in different ways.
2. You can document all your work and keep it for offline reference.

Drawbacks

1. No drawbacks.

7. Create digital products like e-books, guides for your course

You don't just have to sell your online course as videos. As soon as you create a video, you are all set to create different digital products associated with it. With extra writing and great editing, you can turn your transcriptions into e-books, guides, etc.

With billions of Amazon users, this is another great way to make a marketplace work for you and find new customers and students for your online courses.

It's a no-brainer for every expert!

Tools/Platform

FreshLearn

Benefits

1. Digital products can help you earn extra money.
2. Once you've created a digital product, you can sell it to anyone, anywhere on the internet (saving a lot of time and effort)

Drawbacks

1. No drawbacks.

8. Guest Blogging (Submit a guest article to industry blogs and magazines in exchange for backlinks

When your content gets published by other bloggers and magazines with their established readership, you are directly in front of hundreds of thousands of people.

Try to find online blogs and magazines in your industry and submit your article as a guest post to them.

Many online blogs and magazines require regular, high-quality content and are often willing to post yours if it is generous, helpful, and informative. If your content is relevant to their target audience, they may even invite you to write a regular guest column.

Tools/Platform

No tool needed

Benefits

1. It establishes your website's domain authority, which helps you rank better on search engines.
2. Increased traffic, hence sales shooting.

Drawbacks

1. Most web admins typically require exclusive publishing rights to all guest blog posts.

9. Create infographics, images, videos

Visual images are more likely to capture the attention of social media users than plain text. These should be more than just an inspirational message. Choose actual hints.

You can create eye-catching images for your social media accounts using great image creation tools like Canva.

If your video teaches a process, procedure, or model, you could also create a popular infographic or diagram. But, again, make sure to include your website or online course URL so that people can share them.

Cost to start

$0- $100

Tools/Platform

Canva, Animoto, DesignWizard, Biteable

Benefits

1. It is a great way to get your content to spread quickly and possibly get some backlinks to your site
2. It is an eye-catching way of drawing people's attention to colourful and playful visuals.
3. New graphics allow for enhanced user interaction.

Drawbacks

1. Good infographics take a lot of time and designing skills to produce.

10. Use social media to share short videos and photos

Your social media can be a great way to establish your brand. Update your bio on all social networks where you have a profile to reflect your area of expertise. In addition, include links to your courses online in your profile so that people interested in your course topic can learn more.

Tools/Platform

Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, LinkedIn

Benefits

1. Increased brand awareness.
2. You can track users' sentiments when it comes to your courses.

Drawbacks

1. Time-consuming and needs consistency.
2. Bad reviews and trolls can be demotivating.

11. Create a Facebook group and a community

Starting a Facebook Group centred on your topic effectively builds a community of potential students for your course. Running a Facebook Group is also beneficial for personal branding because it positions you as an authority on your subject.

Tools/Platform

Facebook.com

Benefits

1. It helps you create community.
2. It makes you more accessible.
3. These groups can be self-sufficient.

Drawbacks

1. Groups will not appear in Google searches, whereas pages will.

12. Use Paid Ads - Google & Facebook to increase reach

Sometimes it is indeed necessary to spend money to make money. Learning how to promote online courses is no different.

Run some paid ads and experience the magic it brings along with its effectiveness.

Cost to start

Generally, the paid ad costs depend on your budget. However, the average cost can be somewhere around $350-500/ month for Google Ads and $200 to $800 for Facebook ads.

Tools/Platform

GoogleAds, Facebook

Benefits

1. With a PPC ad campaign, you can boost your site's traffic right away, so people can find you while you wait for your site to climb the Google search rankings.
2. By setting limits on your daily ad spend, paid ads provide you with complete budget flexibility. Also, virtually no minimum spend is required, making PPC accessible for everyone.
3. Pay Per Click gives you ample opportunity to measure and improve your performance by providing data and results from your ad campaign.

Drawbacks

1. When you launch a pay-per-click campaign, you pay for each ad click. These clicks could be from competitors or even people who accidentally click on your ad. Either way, you pay
   

13. YouTube marketing (Publish a course promotion video on YouTube)

Many search engines rank YouTube videos higher than websites in their search results.

Create a YouTube channel for your course topic and post helpful videos regularly. Don't forget your video descriptions; include a link to your website or course.

Tools/Platform

YouTube

Benefits

1. YouTube is a popular website worldwide, with high levels of brand saturation.
2. Sharing YouTube videos is so simple.
3. You can create a course channel that promotes your online course business.

Drawbacks

1. It's easier to lose prospects to your competition.

14. Influencer Marketing (Leverage relevant influencers for the promotion of your course)

Course creators want to learn how to market online courses to potential students in the most creative ways possible.

Another way to market courses and reach out to buyers is Influencer marketing.

Indeed, 71% of marketers believe that influencer marketing effectively drives quality traffic and leads.

Cost to start

$10-$100 per post

Tools/Platform

You can find influencers on online platforms like social media.

Benefits

1. It helps in reducing the sales cycle.
2. It helps in increasing trust and credibility.

Drawbacks

1. Working with the wrong influencers can be detrimental to your reputation.

15. Collaborate with other course creators

Find other online instructors who serve your target audience and offer courses that complement yours. Consider becoming their affiliate (and vice versa) or combining your course with theirs to offer a special "package deal" to new students.

Tools/Platform

Find course creators online.

Benefits

1. This way, your audience can learn new things.
2. You will be able to reach a larger number of people.

Drawbacks

1. Competition might become a hindrance.

16. Host a live webinar

Hosting a live webinar for people interested in your topic is one of the best ways to sell online courses. During the webinar, give away some of your best content for free. This positions you as an expert and helps build trust before introducing your course and asking for the sale.

Tools/Platform

Zoom.com, Livestorm

Benefits

1. It is cost-effective and has a lot of flexibility, ease of access, and convenience.
2. You can easily overcome geographic limitations with webinars. Regardless of your audience, you can offer webinars without being physically together.

Drawbacks

1. There is limited interaction with people on webinars.
2. Technical glitches at live events can make it challenging.

17. Promote your webinar recording

After successfully hosting a live webinar, you can use the recording to sell more courses. For example, send an email with a recording link to everyone who registered for your live webinar but did not attend. You could even use the recording to create an automated webinar and then run advertisements to the webinar to generate ongoing sales.

Cost to start

$0-$100

Tools/Platform

YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter

Benefits

1. You can easily overcome geographic limitations with webinars. Regardless of your audience, you can offer webinars without being physically together.
2. Webinars certainly offer a lot of flexibility, ease of access, and convenience. You can have a wider reach and find leads with webinars.

Drawbacks

1. Technical glitches at live events can make it challenging.

18. Quora marketing (Answer questions on topics related to your course on Quora)

On Quora, look for discussions about your course topic. Then, share your insights to add value to the discussion. Don't oversell your course in your posts, but include a link to your website or course in your Quora bio.

Tools/Platform

Quora

Benefits

1. You can understand what people are asking related to the topic of your course.
2. You can find potential leads looking for a solution to a problem.

Drawbacks

1. Too much direct marketing on Quora can lead to the blocking of your account.

19. Create multiple courses and cross-sell

Make a series of courses covering different aspects of the same overall topic. For example, if you have a series of digital marketing courses, each course in your "series" helps promote the other courses in the series. Mention that you have other courses on the same topic at the end of each course. Because your current students are the most likely to purchase from you again, developing additional courses for them is always a good idea.

Cost to start

$0

Tools/Platform

No tools are needed

Benefits

1. It personalizes the customer experience.
2. It boosts revenues and profits.
3. It optimizes the value of every sale.

Drawbacks

1. It might disrupt customer relationships.

20. Offer bundle pricing

Once you've created several courses on closely related topics, you can group them and sell them at a discount. For example, if you have three courses that sell for $197 each, you could sell all three for $497 (a $94 savings for your customer). This gives people an incentive to buy multiple courses from you at once.

Tools/Platform

No tool needed

Benefits

1. It can assist you in selling underperforming courses. You can use the popularity of one product to promote the sale of less well-known products.
2. Bundles can also aid in the promotion of a new product. For instance, if your website offers a new course, you can bundle it with some related courses to begin spreading the word about it.
3. Bundles can help you keep track of your product sales. Instead of tracking statistics for each product, you can track statistics for a single bundle.

Drawbacks

1. When you make a package bundle, you make a more expensive item. Depending on your customer base, they may be unwilling to spend that much money to get the products inside. For example, your customers may have been willing to spend $100 on each of your online courses but cannot pay $250 for three courses.
2. Package bundling can also hurt the sales of your most popular products. Customers may be unwilling to spend more on your most popular product if you bundle less popular products with it and raise the price, even if they receive bonus items.

21. Do referral marketing

If you give it a good start, word of mouth can be just as effective as paid channels. Encourage your students to refer friends, colleagues, or family members in exchange for a nice discount or other rewards. In addition, personal recommendations will improve your brand's reputation and provide you with more loyal students.

An affiliate program can also assist you in reaching a larger audience.

Tools/Platform

Word-of-mouth, ReferralCandy, InviteBox

Benefits

1. Referrals typically have a higher conversion rate.
2. The gross margins for your referral marketing platform are considerably high and allow you to grow your business and manage costs easily.

Drawbacks

1. The number and frequency of referrals are not controllable and generally not predictable.

22. Build an email list

Before people decide to make a deal with you, they need to hear from you several times. This is why keeping an email list is so important. You can earn people's trust by sending them a weekly newsletter. Eventually, promoting your course to them is more likely to buy it because you gave them value before asking for the sale.

Cost to start

$0-$40, depending on whether you are using a tool or not.

Tools/Platform

Sumo, capturing emails using form fills

Benefits

1. Emails convert more subscribers into customers.
2. Speedy delivery of emails with instant contacts.
3. It offers a vast pool of customers to choose from.

Drawbacks

1. Lower engagement levels and spam can be demotivating.

23. Lead nurturing

Lead nurturing is indispensable for establishing and nurturing customer relationships, and the same is true for eLearning businesses. Inform your prospective and current students about upcoming courses, send them relevant content, inspire them with inspiring student success stories, and give them sneak peeks of your educational products — the possibilities with email are limitless.

Cost to start

$10-30

Tools/Platform

Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign

Benefits

1. You maintain and grow relationships with lead nurturing.
2. Educate potential buyers and then convince them to buy your course.

Drawbacks

1. Risk of annoying potential customers with too many emails.

24. Translate your course into different languages

As online learning and courses become more popular among Americans of all ages, more people than ever can access your educational resources. However, being online isn't the only thing you should think about when it comes to making your course more accessible.

You can bridge the gap between people's native language and their learning environment by translating your course into multiple languages.

Tools/Platform

FreshLearn

Benefits

1. Translating your content into different languages can increase consumer trust and revenue.
2. Improves SEO/SEM and thus can significantly increase website content traffic,
3. Can generate higher conversion rates.

Drawbacks

1. No drawbacks

Be consistent

The importance of consistency in your course creation and promotion is far greater than you may realize. Being consistent allows you to raise awareness, build trust, and efficiently and profitably deliver your course. Your online course is more likely to fail if it lacks it.

Tools/Platform

No tools are required to be consistent.

Benefits

1. It helps you build a community.
2. Consistency gets you noticed.
3. Steady growth.

Drawbacks

1. It can be tough to be consistent.

Conclusion

To make this list even more actionable than it already is, start your online course with FreshLearn. Everything that is important to you while building the course is accessible with a single click. Upload videos, embed videos from popular players, create documents, add documents, add audio, and create the quizzes at the chapter level.

Have fun creating something that many people will want, and good luck!