First and foremost, build a VALUE-PACKED and UNIQUE training.
Afterward, you need to be smart about using different channels to market your course.
After talking to a few course creators, we’ve created this article so that you can find all the information on how to sell training courses online in one place. From different sales strategies to more practical advice, it’s all in here.
You’ll also get full access to 8 cold email templates to promote your online course, reach out to hesitant buyers, and push people down your sales funnel.
Here’s a quick overview:
1) Understand the sales funnel. Master all 4 stages and learn how to move people towards conversions in a much more effective way.
2) Cold email templates. Get inspiration from the lemlist team to amplify your impact and increase conversions.
3) Other channels for selling courses online. Learn 7 more opportunities to market your online course.
4) Platforms to help you create, manage and sell your training. From all-in-one solutions to marketplaces and WordPress platforms.
Selling courses online: understand your sales funnel
Before we get into the funnel talk, there’s a super important point we all need to comprehend.
The world does NOT need another course.
Plus, all the information is already free.
It makes more sense to ask Google to answer questions for me. Approximately argentina phone number list 10-20% of the content we’ll see for any query will be pretty awesome.
Regardless, the courses that will keep winning people’s trust (mine as well) and be profitable are those that provide MORE value than Google can.
That value is defined across two main benefits:
Sell your experience, something you worked on FOR A LONG TIME, where you have ACTUAL results (e.g. walk me through your FB ads, show me the funnel, audiences, the creative, and the secret moves).
You give people their time back instead of searching for this on their own
To provide these two benefits, it takes time and it takes skill. At least in my mind, as a former course buyer.
First of all, you have to understand the funnel.
Now, out of all the funnel images, marketing models, and extensive theory, this is the one that always clicked for me.
Stage 1 – Attention
It all starts with the attention. The most precious currency in the world of marketing.
Let’s assume the following situation. I’ve decided to create an online course. But, unfortunately for me, apart from my family, friends, and a few colleagues, nobody knows who I am.
So for me to go out, claim I’m the email outreach or recruiting expert, and try to sell you, it wouldn’t mean a thing, would it?
That’s where the attention rises above the surface and all those blogs with headlines “Create a course and earn $$$ fast” drown to the bottom of the ocean.
People are completely unaware of my existence and what my skills are. They haven’t come across my brand yet. And the golden rule for online courses I think is…
People don’t buy from the people they don’t know.
Luckily for me, there’s a way to crack this. It’s difficult, but not impossible.
You have to search for topics (or communities, groups, conferences, events, etc.) that are popular. These are usually the topics that drive a high amount of searches as people enjoy consuming them.
The only trick is that they have ZERO purchase intent.
In other words, you should NEVER EVER try to sell. You should either educate or entertain.
That’s how you get attention and how you make people aware that you or your brand exist.
To put it in practical terms, if I’m selling an email outreach course, I can for example document all my email outreach campaigns that got me good results in the past. Templates, explanations… everything! And then distribute it.
Or, if I’m a hotshot recruiter, I could create a video and explain how lemlist hired their Head of Growth. The story of how Guillaume and I met by the way.
After you read my outreach blog post or watch my videos, you get exposed to me, my face, and my brand.
Then you start to be aware of my existence. That’s a good start.
Now the objective is to maintain their attention with good content (a.k.a. giving value on a regular basis).
Stage 2 – Awareness
The second step begins when people acknowledge who I am and what my brand represents.
If they’ve followed me on Instagram, become a YouTube subscriber, signed up for my email list, or ended up in my retargeting funnel, they become aware.
This is where many people start selling. I think it’s a mistake that will cost them their customers’ attention.
Why?
They’re not ready to buy yet. It doesn’t mean some will, but the vast majority won’t.
The way I see the awareness stage is through people who were cool to follow me or like my stuff. They are in the market for the solution, but have still not shown a firm interest to go all the way.
What I need to do is be grateful for their attention and leverage the fact that they now know my name when they see my video in their news feed.
But if I interrupt their YouTube playlist with an ad pushing them to buy my course, I genuinely think I’m giving away the upper hand.
Instead, I’m gonna play it smart and focus on more content. Only this time, get more personal.
For example, for the email outreach course, I could create a 5-email sequence of a specific strategy in detail and ask them if they want to receive it.
Or, if I’m a recruiter, I might try to interview 5 top HR managers and put those videos on YouTube. Then I can invite people to join my Facebook Recruiting Community for free and exclusive access.