Selling knowledge online is a big business these days because more and more learners are keen to join online courses. It’s a lot easier than returning to school for working professionals. Students can enroll in them without struggling with the barriers of locations. The pandemic fueled the popularity of these programs further.

As a seller, you can expect tremendous gains in the e-learning market because it is thriving today and has huge growth potential. It is also a great source of passive income as you create content once and sell it multiple times. The market size was over 300 billion USD in 2022 and is projected to grow at a whopping compound annual growth rate of 14% in the next decade.

But great opportunities also translate into massive competition for sellers. Gaining visibility for your online courses is the hardest part of selling them in a competitive space. Even the best content may not sell without a strategy. Like any other product or service, a robust marketing plan is the only way to get a fair share of your target audience.

Let us share a few valuable lessons for marketing your online course as a beginner.

Lesson #1: Collaborate With an Expert

The e-learning space is rife with competition, and standing out can be challenging. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach that ensures viable results for selling your course. Being a beginner complicates the situation further. The best piece of advice is to collaborate with a reputable course marketing agency for a tailored promotional strategy.

According to Smart Brand Marketing, online course sellers should avoid information overload and rely on valuable insights to create a strategy that works for them. Consulting an expert can help you choose the right path, so you must do it from the outset instead of taking a hit-and-trail approach that may or may not succeed.

Lesson #2: Identify Your Target Learner Persona

Did you know that 90% of companies rely on buyer personas to boost business? Like any other business, selling online courses is about knowing your target buyer. In this case, you need to create your target learner persona to define your ideal students. The step comes before crafting a marketing strategy because it enables you to create a marketing message that connects with the audience.

Your strategy should address their needs, desires, and pain points for the best results. You can also determine the ideal promotional channels by understanding your target audience demographics. For example, young learners will likely rely on social media promotions to choose e-learning options, while professionals show interest in direct emails and newsletters.

Lesson #3: Highlight Your Unique Selling Proposition

When creating a marketing plan for your online course, you must realize that you will have to compete with several similar products. Highlighting your USP is the key to a successful strategy. It does more than differentiate your course in a crowded space. It also presents you as a subject matter expert and builds your following for the long haul.

Start by digging deep into the competitors’ products and checking the aspects they have missed and that you have covered in your course. Include these differentiators on your sales page and in your promotional message to get extra attention.

Lesson #4: Create an Ideal Promotional Mix

Once you know your audience and USPs, it is time to create an ideal promotional mix to maximize your course’s outreach. The key elements of a course marketing plan include a website page, blog posts, social media posts, targeted emails, YouTube videos, podcasts, ebooks, and webinars. You can choose an ideal mix by considering your audience.

Another idea you should not miss out on is customer testimonials because they are far more valuable than any other promotional tactic. Encourage and incentivize your existing buyers to endorse your course because word-of-mouth can take you the extra mile, even as a beginner. Remember to promote at local events because they are as valuable as online promotions.

Lesson #5: Build a Sales Funnel

While building a sales funnel may sound too complex to a beginner, it can give you a clear advantage in the long run. A sales funnel defines a process that guides potential customers toward a purchase decision. Creating it is about combining the aforementioned steps, but it requires consistency and planning.

You need to know what works and focus on it to maximize sales. You can even find a way to make buyers jump straight to your online course more than others. Once you have a sales funnel, you can scale up your marketing efforts for the next ones.

Conclusion

Selling an online course is not rocket science, regardless of the competition in the landscape. You can master a sales strategy, even as a beginner, provided you learn these lessons early and implement them every time you have an offering for your target audience.