What are the reasons you should provide a free email course + tricks and resources |
The free online courses you offer will help you create leads, sales, and more confidence in yourself as a creator. Get the scoop in this guide.
That's where free email courses can help.
A course via email can be delivered in any format you'd like including text alone, or a mix of audio, text and visual materials.
In addition, they are flexible and flexible, but a free email course helps you test your idea for a course, so you can make paid courses at a later date that the audience is eager to purchase.
A free online course will assist you in getting started so you be more confident and experienced as a creator of courses.
Sounds perfect, right? It does, we think. But before we dig into the details of how the free courses in email can help both your customers and you, let's make sure we're at the same place on what the term "email course" means.
What is an email course?
A course via email is a set of classes with a focus on a single subject and delivered through the use of email.
Email courses can include whatever contents you would like.
Text-only emails are popular however, you may also include hyperlinks to podcasts and videos, downloadable content, and external links, too.
The Planning for Postpartum email course comes with a downloadable "Postpartum Planning Packet" as well as the content of emails, as an example.
The Meditations offers students access to an ebook and wallpaper bundle after receiving the welcome email.
There are certainly a lot of options when it comes to emails for courses.
However, that's not where their versatility ends. With the ability to be flexible in terms of content that you provide Free email courses may be extended to as long as you'd like.
The Plan, Build and launch your Dream Website in Only Five Days The course in email is, as the title implies, just five days in length.
In contrast, The Successful Mompreneur Free Course offers lessons for 28 days.
Basically, there are no hard-and-fast rules about email courses except that they must be provided via the use of email.
The sky is the limit, as they say.
Now, this covers the basics of what is an email-based course however it leaves the question: why should you bother offering one, even a no-cost one?
What is the reason to create a no-cost email course?
Email courses can get would-be customers to step into a creator's sales funnel. Free email courses can also aid creators in proving their ideas for paid products.
Four main motives for launching an email course:
To lead more people into your sales funnel
For potential customers to have a free way to assess the quality of your product and brand
For cross-selling or upselling your paid products
Do you think it's as if it's too good to be real? Let's take a look at how an email-based course can assist you in each of these goals.
Firstly, an email course can help you quickly and affordably determine if your product idea -- whether it's a huge course, ebook, or even a membership websitecan be worth the effort.
Direct feedback from your customers can yield much more valuable customer information than sending out a blanket survey on the potential types of products.
You can also modify or remove lessons or topics, as well as content in your course via email in response to feedback.
When you are satisfied that the email course is reaching the level of its effectiveness, you may turn it into a paid product.
Amazing Food Made Easy The course teaches food bloggers how to make various products for sale they have turned their email course into an recipe book .
Depending on the course's content, you could easily turn your lessons via email into the form of an ebook, planner notes, course materials, a membership site, or another entirely.
If your course for email is an idea for your product prototype, or an individual product you can use it to help more customers enter your sales funnel.
Once you have a dedicated channel (email) for receiving your subscribers' attention, you can send educational and promotional content that might be interesting to them.
70% of customers would give a brand their email address in exchange to receive exclusive information. An email-only course is one way to deliver that.
When your program is finished, you can continue sending content to your subscribers (assuming they've given you their permission and of course) via a newsletter that is sent out weekly.
Free content can also give customers a free, no-obligation method to evaluate your offerings and decide whether it's worth purchasing for the near future.
It is possible to use the information you collect about your customers' email behaviors, from emails they've previously opened and engaged with to items they've expressed an interest in, to send them product recommendations.
Eighty-two percent of people would be willing to divulge their personal details to receive personalized recommendations. The segmentation of your list, and the use of simple personalization techniques can help to recommend the most appropriate paid products to the right customers at the appropriate moment.
Consumers also want businesses to provide more discount offers on their site and via email to items they're interested in.
However, don't turn your email course into a days-long sales pitch. The students have signed up to receive useful content and that's what you should focus on giving them above anything else.
However, once in a while you might want to discuss how a purchased product from your company could provide further insight or guidance, or assist them in achieving the same goal.
In order to address our initial question -- why should you provide a no-cost email course? Since there's no other method that are better at attracting leads with a high-quality profile as well as proving your ideas for your products particularly on a tight budget.
And, if you follow these best practices you'll be reaping all these rewards.
8 free email courses that are the most effective techniques
Tips #1: Select the right topic
When designing your email course do not just choose a topic you think is going to work.
Pick a topic that is relevant to your clients as well as the topics you can effectively educate them on.
For that reason, ensure that your class focuses on a single topic that offers two or three key takeaways. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's email course is a good example, focuses on helping those who are struggling with debt to control it and achieve their financial targets.
Ilchi Lee's email course helps students start their new year off on the right foot through the practice of meditation as well as inspirational messages.
The ability to narrow your focus on a single topic will prevent the creation of a course that would take too long to complete or which could be more effective as a longer paid course.
A focus on one subject can make readers feel like they've learned something useful and concrete, as opposed to a smattering of information.
Okay, now that you have the course topic and lessons settled on You're (almost) prepared to make the magic happen however, it's not quite. You must first adhere to our next suggestion.
Tip #2: Create a fantastic landing page, and post-opt in page
There won't be lots of email sign-ups if you're email course is hard to find.
The same goes for when your sales pitch is as bland as a boiled potato.
Design a straightforward landing page that has convincing sales copy that persuades users to sign up for your email list. Learn more about using copy as your top online salesperson for an update on your copywriting.
Your landing page doesn't need to be very long, nor do it have honey-tongued promises.
Instead, you must be clear about the benefits your program offers and how it can assist your customers in overcoming a pain or achieve a goal.
The She Approach , for example, has a short attractive and visually appealing site that provides an overview of what their course covers and what students will gain from.
Entrepreneur Brennan Dunn's Double Your Freelancing landing page is similarly easy, but with an impactful addition -- a testimonial from customers.
Customer testimonials could provide the social proof that others took the course and have benefited.
As these examples show, it's possible to create an appealing landing page for an email course even if you're not a web creator or copywriter.
However, a captivating page is just one part of the puzzle. You'll also need a complementary post-opt-in page.
Post-opt-in pages are an email page your subscribers will see once they've chosen to opt-in to (i.e. or signed up for) the emails you send to them.
While many authors utilize their "post-opt-in" landing pages to say "thanks," they can be so much more.
As an example as an example, you could provide students with a the opportunity to remind them of what they can expect from your material and when soon they'll be receiving the very first lesson.
You can also provide your details to them in case they don't get your email messages for any reason.
This landing page for post-opt-in from Nutriciously stands out as a great instance.
They not only thanked me for signing up, but added:
They told me when I should be expecting my first email from them
What do I do if did not receive the email?
I was shown some of their recent post
They gave me a short-term discounted price for the Vegan Starter Kit
This is the basic idea:
A landing page is your opportunity to convince would-be customers that your course is worthy of enrolling into. Outline how they'll benefit from enrolling in your course. And you'll have half of the task to attract and convert leads has been won.
Then, get ready to greet them with an enthusiastic welcome.
Tipp #3: Make sure to send an invitation email
Prior to sending the first email for your lesson It is recommended to make sure you send an email welcoming your students to help students prepare for the course.
In addition, your welcome email can:
Present yourself and introduce your company
Explain the way in which the course is organized
Inform students about the concepts they'll be learning in the course.
Include links to materials required to complete the program
Contact information should your students have questions
Let's examine some of them.
Nellaino sent me the email that follows to sign up for the free Pinterest marketing course . This email introduces its creator and also reaffirms the reason that Pinterest is worth learning about.
The email goes on to outline what students are expected to learn and outline the structure of the course. The message concludes by asking readers to ask a question (and offering a possible response by Petra).
The email also included the link to purchase the online course for a nominal cost if they'd like to access the entire course in one go instead of spread out over five days.
Two Little Birds took a slightly different approach. They included links to resources students could utilize during their courseincluding a digital download, and an online group on Facebook.
The welcome email explained how the course would work and gave students an assignment for homework to complete.
With welcome emails now out of the way now let's dive into the primary focus of online classes: lesson emails.
Tip #4: Write juicy lesson emails
The subscribers signed up to your mailing list were they thought you might have something exclusive that was worth giving their email addresses for.
Do not disappoint them.
Don't write lesson emails which provide a handful of knowledge and then call it a day. You should instead add your own perspectives or personal experiences to explain what this information is essential and what it has done for you or your students over the years.
It is also possible to send out emails in lessons to offer users with access to other helpful material such as video and digital downloads or blog posts.
We'll use the email course of Catch Budapest as an example. They utilized the lesson in email below to provide a short overview of the video class. Then they included a hyperlink to the video in the email.
Alongside useful tools You can also add homework assignments to help students implement what they've learned in practice, and get more from every lesson.
For instance of this, the 4th lesson email of The The Your Way to $85k course included homework asking students to set a target goal.
That's the middle and beginning of an email-based course that leaves one final aspect: the conclusion.
Tip #5: Write a solid conclusion email
Your email message to end your email course does not have to say "goodbye," but it must provide some kind of closure.
In the first place, it must summarize the main points of the lesson and explain the ways your students could apply them to their own lives.
It's also beneficial to inform your students about the next steps to follow to ensure they reach their objectives.
Don't be afraid to direct students to your paid products or services if you are confident that they will assist them with their problem areas.
In their final email, House 214 Design recommended students join their House 214 Design School program to design their home of their dreams.
You could similarly suggest a class, membership program, digital download, or coaching program you think could be beneficial for your students.
Okay, now that email structure out of the way, let's talk about some ways you can enhance the quality of your email course.
Tip #6: Try to keep your email messages simple but interesting
39% of respondents stated that they would not open any emails from a brand because they thought the prior email(s) did not interest them.
So, it's important to create each email as the perfect meal your recipients are eager to cook.
Questions work well for subjects, and so are bold and seemingly unorthodox statements.
In particular, I couldn't help but open this email course from AWeber which has the subject headline "BYO mac and cheese."
Why would an email marketing firm discuss cheese and macaroni? I needed to discover.
Announcements, statistics, and the ability to access an exclusive offer can work well also.
Although subject lines for emails are easy to overlook, don't forget to 64% of consumers say a subject line is important when deciding whether they want to open an email, or not.
Apart from the subject line, make your email preview interesting. The preview of your email is an incredibly short piece of text that appears after the subject line of your email in a subscribers' mailbox (check out this guide to creating a perfect email preview to increase your open rates).
Similar to the subject line, your preview text is an insignificant addition that can pack an enormous punch. 29percent of customers reported that the preview text had an impact on their decision to open an email, so it's definitely worth attending to.
Apart from writing excellent email content, take a look at our next point to add your emails that"je ne sais quoi.
Tips #7: Give your emails something visually appealing
Emails that are text-only can be used by small and big brands alike.
That will be . . . fine. It's just a little boring.
What better way to add visually appealing elements, such as GIFs pictures, GIFs, or infographics to your emails?
Doing so cannot only create a distinct impression for your email messages but also makes them more educational and interesting to the people who read them.
Let's take the introduction of Lightroom Class's free email course as an illustration. This course contains screenshots of the relevant material in their lesson email.
In addition to static images, think about using GIFs in your emails. 56.5% of marketers employ GIFs in emails at times frequently, regularly, or at all times.
Check out the way Marie Forleo includes a GIF in her email regarding the beginning lesson in her All Is Figoutable short-term course.
Additionally an additional one or two to your email messages could provide a nice break from the text.
Be cautious. If you're not planning to go for the Buzzfeed style of brand, too much of the GIFs can quickly derail the seriousness of your message. Some spice can be good however too much on the other hand, could irritate many pallets.
Same goes for our last tip this morning.
Tip #8: Reduce promotions at an absolute at a
There's no doubt that emails are a fantastic tool for creating prospects and sales.
14% of people have said emails from businesses encourage them to research a product. A further 28% said an email from a brand often inspires them to purchase another purchase.
Keep your promotional efforts to the minimum, which is around 2 to three emails is sufficient regardless of whether the item you're promoting is relevant to your free email course.
You don't need to pester your clients with promotional emails and turn them off from your course.
Phew. After we've discussed the best ways to design an amazing email course now let's talk about the tools might be required for it.
You'll need the tools to create your very first email-based course
This is all you need to need to provide your email course.
If you want to add some flair, try using an application for graphic design such as Visme, Canva , Venngage , or Visme to create electronic downloads, as well as other graphic.
If you're thinking of using videos for your classes then you'll require a platform like Wistia or Vimeo to provide the video content, as well.
(Again, something can take charge of itself at one time, but I digress.)
Now, those are only two elements -- four more if you're looking to give your project some pizzazz.
But if you're among the 86 percent of medium and small entrepreneurs who prefer working on other tasks in their business instead of marketing, there are several options.
Whichever you pick What ever you decide to do, these are the things you must remember:
The free email course has a lot of benefits and very few disadvantages. For creators looking to release a full-fledged online course or already have one on the market They're an excellent opportunity to build leads, build relationships, and also give your list-building serious staying strength.
Lead more customers into your sales funnel with the free course via email
Email courses for free are a low cost and relatively low effort way to attract more leads and guide customers down to the sale funnel. It's also a pretty dandy way to validate your paid product concepts, too.
When designing your email course, you'll want to keep the following best practices to keep in mind:
Choose a subject that is valuable to your customers
Build an irresistible opt-in site and post-opt in page
Send a welcome email
Keep your lessons' content fresh and value-packed
Send your closing email to provide a sense of closure
Send simple and intriguing emails.
Give your emails visual flair
You can promote products without being overly aggressive
It doesn't matter if you're a seasoned maker or are still working on your first item, these classes are a great way to generate more leads without much effort on your part.
The highest reward and the least effort sounds quite for me. It's just as appealing as it'll make your business sound.