Where Can You Find the students who will purchase your Online Course?
Making an online course requires an enormous amount of effort. You've probably put in hundreds (if more than hundreds) of hours into making certain that your classes are enjoyable and your instruction is clear, and everything looks just the way you want it. But now that your course has been completed, it's time to tackle the next major challenge on your journey to find students.
Because you can make the best online class in the world, but you won't have any impact in the event that no one ever uses it. (If trees fall in the woods, yadda yadda it's yadda.) There must be an avenue to reach to those who may be interested in knowing more about what that you're providing. The more potential students you connect with and the greater your success with your online learning business will become.
If you're the first course creator, this idea is likely to be overwhelming, and at times a bit overwhelming. What's the best place to you start? There are many areas on the web where you can begin reaching out to students -- and you're probably not a marketing professional. But how do you decide what ones are going to give you most effective outcomes?
The best 7 ways to advertise your course online and attract more potential students
What are the top creators doing to attract students to their courses?
- Social Media Traffic: 58%
- Listing of Leads: 34%
- Word of Mouth: 26%
- Paid Advertising: 23 percent
- Built-in Audience: 19%
- affiliate marketing 11%
- Online Marketplaces: 4 Percent
You can see that there are a whole bunch of different methods for you to search for potential students online. We'll now dig into the details to discover the best ways to use every one of them most efficiently, and the things you need to keep in mind as you decide what strategies you should prioritize.
Social Media Traffic
One of the biggest opportunities for any course creator to reach students is via social media. In the end, social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and LinkedIn are where most people are online. The first task is to determine which one (or combinations of them) is where your ideal student likes to hangout. Most of the time, it will really depend on the topic of your online course.
As an example, if, for example, you're offering a course like "How to Use Google Analytics" then you're probably trying to reach a professional audience. This means that LinkedIn might be your best option. If you've developed the course "Drone photography 101" Then perhaps photo-friendly Instagram could be a more appropriate fit.
Tips for Experts Be open to experiment with other social media platforms as well! Creators like Miss Excel have found enormous successes by playing with their methods. Instead of focusing her efforts in selling Microsoft Excel training courses on LinkedIn and Facebook, she connects with her customers primarily via TikTok. This is a fantastic option to distinguish yourself!
After you've determined which platform for social media best suits your needs then you'll have to start regular posting new content to build your audience and promote your online course. This can be done by posting snippets from your own course or creating content that's topic-adjacent. Whatever the case it is important to make use of tools like #hashtags and try to connect with other influential people to expand your reach.
Oh! And as Peter Fitzpatrick, VP of Payments at, says: don't be afraid to offer some of your best stuff at no cost...
Brandon gives really great material for free. Perhaps that's a bit like a risk. Why would his audience purchase his course if they can just get it for no cost on Instagram? However, sixty seconds isn't enough time to study everything you'll need to know in order to help the life of a child during an emergency! Once they've begun to learn the skill and are able to finish the task with his course.
List of Leads
Another method to attract online students is via a list of leads. The top creators on have spent years building up a long list of potential customers who have expressed an interest for their offerings or services in some capacity. Then, they can communicate with these people via email or message whenever they develop a new program.
However, how do you start off? You may not have an extensive number of potential clients who you can contact. It's the reason why this post is written. We'll discuss how you could begin building a list of leads for yourself...
- Create a newsletter newsletter can be an easy option to begin gathering email addresses. If you already publish blog articles in your SEO strategy or content strategy or content strategy, you could include a sign-up for newsletters in the footer of every post. Then, you can send out a newsletter each whenever you make a new post (and each time you launch the new course. )
- Create a lead magnet - Find something easy and attractive that your audience wouldn't be able to resist. Maybe it's a short ebook. Perhaps it's just a tool or template. Offer this bit of information for free to exchange the details provided by your customer You'll get a mighty list of leads in no time.
- Give a mini-course for free Mini courses is a fantastic method to draw online students, and can be directly related to your course's main learning offering. Use your mini course as an incentive to bring prospective leads, and then offer them an upsell via email, so they test your more expensive course.
One of the advantages of having an email list of leads is that you are able to continue developing it naturally over the course of. You own this relationship with your customers, and it is possible to return with them whenever you announce an additional course or product they might be interested in.
Word of Mouth
I'll always recall the first time that I tried applying to a job. "Sorry We're looking for somebody with previous experience," the manager said to me. "But how can I get the experience you want if you don't choose to hire me?" The manager responded with one of these: -\_(tsu)_/-
I'm guessing that's how people are thinking as you read this article. "How can I build a reputation if I don't have any pupils?" (Don't worry, I'm not about to shrug at you in response.) Actually, there's the possibility of building words of mouth, even if you do not have students. The process takes time however, it could yield substantial results. This is what I refer to as"the Beta Student Word of Mouth Program.
This is how you do it The first step is to select the potential students who might be interested in your online course. Then, you mail to each one of them an individual invitation to take a look at your course at no cost in your beta student program. (You can give them a special coupon code that will allow them to skip the payment.) Third, you ask each pupil for their feedback once they've completed the assignment. (This helps you improve your material and enhance its appeal. Finally, invite them all to leave you a review and post about the course through social media.
It's not likely that everyone you talk to will be interested in this, but if they enjoyed the work that you've put into it, they could be willing to go beyond the call of duty and become evangelists for your learning business. (And in the end they'll provide valuable feedback on your course content. )
Paid Advertising
If you're serious about attracting online students, then paid advertising is the most sure-fire way to get people clicking onto your course landing page. It is possible to test paid advertisements on social media platforms based on the demographics of the students you want to attract, or on search engines like Google according to the keywords you think your students might by typing in.
Of course, paid advertising is an entire beast in itself. It's easy to overspend if you're not careful and I would recommend being patient and cautious. Start out with a small monthly budget and see the amount of customers that it nets you. When you start to gain momentum, you'll want to test different kinds of ads and pictures to increase the cost per click (CPC ).
Built-In Audience
If you offer items or services that aren't part of your online course, consider using your database's existing one to try cross-selling your new product. Your customers are already familiar with and love you -- therefore, they're more likely make a purchase than a random person on the internet.
Affiliate Marketing
If you're trying your best to get new students all by yourself it's only going to be in a position to connect with a small number of individuals. What if, instead, you were able to work alongside other influential influencers and other professionals in your field to promote your online course to your benefit?
That's the beauty of affiliate marketing. It is the process of paying individuals to help bring customers to your online learning business. You can do this either as a 1:1 basis by reaching out to individual influencers are interested in working with, or in a ratio of 1:many through the establishment of an official affiliate program where you pay an amount depending on the number of students your partners bring into.
online marketplaces
Another option to consider selling your courses is on marketplaces online. However, the downside is that some of the top options, such as Skillshare and Udemy do not give you much control over the time and how your course will be sold. You're giving up control over the market, who is then able to decide on where within the algorithm you sit and how much your course will cost and also take over any students' contact details that sign up. (Oh it's also possible that they'll get a large share from your profit also. )
Are you ready to find students for your online course?
The great thing about the online course model is that there's no limit to how many students you're able to reach. You're not at the mercy of marketplaces or algorithms -- you have the option to reach out and find prospective students wherever that they could be.
Why are you wasting time to do? Try for free and get all the course creation as well as marketing and selling equipment you require to start your course as an aircraft. (No technical skills required! )