how to sell a course online

As a review, here is how to sell courses online:

• Choose a course topic
• Validate your idea
• Pick a course platform
• Create your course
• Pick a pricing structure
• Build your sales page
• Optimize your sales funnels
• Promote your course
• Sell your courses via e-learning platforms
• Upsell other courses or services

Full Answer

How to create and sell a profitable online course?

Validate Your Online Course

• Validate By Asking. A simple way to validate a course is to survey your existing audience. With a software like Typeform, you can create a really engaging survey.
• Pre-Sell Your Online Course. You may also want to consider pre-selling your course. ...
• Launch a Pilot Course. After her pre-sale experiment, Dorie sent out another email to her broader audience. ...

How much can you make selling online courses?

The data shows that:

• 27.9% of schools on the platform have earnt over $75,000 (total revenue over time)
• 14.7% have earnt between $50,000 and $75,000
• 39.4% have earnt between $25,000 and $50,000
• 17.9% have earnt under $25,000

How much should I Sell my online course for?

The biggest question many people have is “how much is my car worth ... too. There remain, of course, many ways to sell your car online. But with just a little preparation, and by following these common-sense tips, you can get the best return when ...

How can we sell online courses and make money?

• Easy-to-use platforms have simplified online course creation
• You can offer courses that complement your existing business
• Create passive income by re-selling the same online course continually
• Use an online course to lead customers to your other product offerings
• Online availability brings in clients from all over the globe

Is selling online courses profitable?

Are Online Courses Profitable? Yes, they are. Online courses offer one of the best business models to digital entrepreneurs. The demand is rising and people are more than willing to pay for them, and they are one of the top ways to make money online.

Which platform is best to sell courses online?

Udemy. ... Skillshare. ... Thinkific. ... Teachable. ... Ruzuku. ... LearnDash. The University of Michigan and Yoast uses this platform for sharing their courses. ... Podia. With just three simple steps, Podia lets you create an online course. ... Kajabi. It is one of the best and high-end Online training platforms for selling detailed courses.More items...

On what sites can I sell my courses?

The 11 best platforms to create and sell online coursesUdemy for launching your first course.Skillshare for teaching creative skills.Teachable for creating an online school with advanced marketing.Podia for selling digital products and memberships.Thinkific for building a course from scratch.More items...•

How do I sell a training course?

Among the last best ways to sell training content online is to tap into your community of users and have them recommend your courses and learning materials to their own circles or through social media and other channels. People often buy online training content based on the recommendations of others in their community.

Can I sell my course on Udemy?

Udemy makes money from selling online courses, so it's in their best interest to sell as many courses as they can, and this means they actively promote your courses for you. There is no other website like it in existence. It's the easiest way to make money online in 2016, and it's just the beginning.

How do I set up an online course?

How to create an online courseChoose the right subject matter.Test your idea.Research the topic extensively.Write a course outline.Create the course content.Bring your course online.Sell your online course.Market your content.More items...•

How do online courses make money?

7 Ways to Make Money Selling Online CoursesCharge up front. ... Offer the course for free, then charge for certification. ... Charge a subscription. ... Use a tiered payment system. ... Pre-sell your course. ... Sell your online course for free—then funnel it into a product or service. ... Sell course licenses.

Can I sell my course on multiple platforms?

The answer is — it depends. In some cases, you can sell the same online course on more than one online course platform. In other cases, you can't.

How do you generate leads for online courses?

Either way, here are 11 ways you can generate leads by marketing your course to the public.Know Your Audience BEFORE You Create Your Course. ... Understand What Makes Your Course Unique. ... Monitor Your Competition. ... Take a Survey of Potential Students. ... Use a Platform that Offers Flexibility. ... Use Multiple Promotional Platforms.More items...

Can anyone sell an online course?

The best news is that anybody can create and sell online courses. All you need is some knowledge and the ability to speak on a subject with passion. Kajabi is everything your online business needs. All in one place.

How do I sell a course to a company?

[Checklist] Is Your Membership Site Ready to Sell Training to Companies?Make a list of companies that would benefit from your training courses. ... Create an outreach email campaign. ... Show social proof. ... Follow-up and be persistent. ... Follow-through.

How can I sell online courses without following?

1:4912:26How to Sell An Online Course Without A Following | Dan Henry - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipYou know a huge following of people that were not sure if they are gonna buy. Put all that time andMoreYou know a huge following of people that were not sure if they are gonna buy. Put all that time and effort into building this huge list of people. Instead.

What's the best way to sell your online course?

Truth is, there is no single best way to sell your online course, but there are some tactics that seem to work pretty well universally. First and f...

How important is social media to sell courses online?

It depends on a number of factors. First, do you have a target audience that is really active on one or more social media channels - e.g., Facebook...

How do courses on personal development do?

Personal development courses can sell very well. As I note in this post on e-learning statistics, the data we have on top online courses "suggests...

How effective is offering free content as a lead magnet?

In most cases, offering free content is essential - that's why we talk a lot about content marketing here on Learning Revolution. Publishing conten...

What's the best way to determine who your target customers are?

As an expert in whatever topic you plan to teach, you probably already have a good intuitive sense of the people who are likely to be interested in...

What's the best way to drive traffic to your online courses?

The best way to generate traffic to your online courses is to get a highly relevant value proposition in front of the right people. Of course, that...

Video is an important area for success. What are the best video hosting platforms I can use?

Video is important as a part of delivering an educational experience your learners will find engaging. It's also a critical part of selling your on...

Why should you create and sell courses online?

Because there are people who want your expertise … and there’s money to be made! Online courses and e-learning are a massive opportunity:

How many options are there when it comes to hosting and selling your online course?

There are three options when it comes to hosting and selling your online course:

How to structure payments for online courses?

There are 3 basic ways you can structure payments when you sell online courses. These include: One lump sum payment for lifetime access to the course. Lower, recurring membership fees (e.g. monthly payments) Multiple payments, or a payment plan, where the audience can spread a one-time cost over multiple payments.

What is an online course platform?

An online course platform is a hosting solution specifically designed to help course creators grow their business. There are four types of online course platforms.

How much does an online course cost?

For now, you’re going to have to do some calculating and testing. Online courses can cost anywhere from $5 to $2,000. Your first online course is probably going to fall somewhere within the $50-$200 range.

Why do you need to market your online course?

Just because you build it doesn’t mean they’ll come. You’re going to have to market your online course for it to be successful. Marketing is building a relationship with your customers, with the ultimate goal of getting them to purchase or engage with your business.

What is the first step in creating an online course?

The first step you should take when creating your online course involves figuring out what specific subject you will teach.

Why are FAQs important for online courses?

FAQs are a staple for online course sales pages because they work. Having them neutralizes fear, uncertainty, and doubt.

How to show what's included in a course?

Show what’s included in your course by covering what each section offers and how learners will benefit from them. And that’s the key. Identifying benefits derived from learning outcomes will help prospects quickly appreciate the value of your course. Use bullets with benefits for each part of your course. Also, include images of your course content to give prospects an idea of what they are getting.

How to help prospects appreciate your course?

Identifying benefits derived from learning outcomes will help prospects quickly appreciate the value of your course. Use bullets with benefits for each part of your course. Also, include images of your course content to give prospects an idea of what they are getting.

How to use storytelling in sales?

Effective sales pages use storytelling to draw audiences in. They touch on pain points and then present a solution. Your sales page must do the same. With the help of your customer persona document, draw on the challenges, pain points, needs, and desires of your ideal customer and incorporate them into a well-structured message.

What is sales page?

Sales pages are meant to be highly effective tools for converting visitors into paying customers. To generate sales, your sales page has to be able to sell ideas, do away with fear, uncertainty, and doubt, and have a call to action that closes the sale.

What is funnel in marketing?

A funnel is a mechanism for attracting, educating, and converting strangers into customers. Funnels include various components such as traffic sources, sales or landing pages, order-taking tools (payment gateways), and communication devices (email for nurturing).

Is it hard to set up an affiliate program?

Affiliate programs aren't difficult to set up either. If your course is on a platform like Udemy, Teachable, or Kajabi, you have automatic access to an affiliate suite of tools These tools may include an affiliate dashboard for tracking sales, traffic, and payouts.

The Most Profitable Way For You To Sell Courses Online

We’ve seen a major shift in how people sell courses online. One that has made courses more profitable, easier to run, and retain more students long term.

How To Sell Courses Online In 2022

You’re going to start by taking a “zoomed out” look at your online business and define the niche you’re going to create tutorials for. As our founder, PJ, always says:

How Your Book of Memories Transformed Her Business By Moving To Uscreen

Your Book of Memories (YBM) is a business that teaches people how to build DIY memory albums through high-quality instructional tutorials.

Feeling Inspired?

Sell courses online. Reach the people you want to reach. Spread the messages you want to spread. Make the money you want to make.

Are online courses profitable?

If you are still reading, then you have probably decided that to sell courses online is worth it for your business, but you may still be wondering “Are online courses profitable?”

How do you create a successful online course?

Now, let’s continue on from looking at profitability to considering what it takes to create a successful online course. After all, when the aim is to sell courses online, a profitable course implies a successful course and vice versa.

How can I convert prospects into customers?

And at this point, you should have all the major pieces of the puzzle, only now you just need to know how to position them to create the picture that will turn prospective learners into paying customers.

How to sell online courses?

Selling from your own site is just one option. Another way to sell online courses it to put your courses into a marketplace site – that is, a site that offers a large catalog of options for learners who are looking for online courses. Examples include sites like Udemy and Skillshare. (For a range of options, see this post on Udemy alternatives .)

What are the upsides of selling online courses?

One of the main upsides of selling online courses – especially on-demand, self-paced online courses – is that they are digital products. This means that the cost of delivering each additional instance of the course after the first one is small – often close to zero. Seems like an obvious point, but I continually see course sellers overlook it as they obsess about saving a few dollars on their online course platform or refuse to invest in high quality instructional and graphical design.

How does how much you charge for a course affect your profitability?

Naturally, how much you charge for your course directly impacts your profitability per course sale and overall. My experience has been that most course sellers do not charge enough, mostly because they have not convinced themselves of the high value their courses. I encourage all course sellers to try the Triple Your Price Exercise as a direct path to higher profitability.

What is the hallmark of a highly successful online course?

Last, but far from least, the hallmark of a highly successful online course is that it actually leads to learning. That may sound obvious, but if you don’t really understand what your learners need, don’t take instructional design seriously, and don’t have a solid plan for supporting learners throughout the learning process, then the likelihood of the experience really having an impact is low.

How many email sequences do you need to sell online courses?

Ideally, you need two email sequences to sell online courses. The first one is for the buyers of your course. You should welcome them into your course and walk them through it.

What is preselling a course?

Preselling is a great way to validate that your course idea is on the right track. You can also implement their suggestions as you go. Another option is where you're not preselling your course, but you spent the last month or two creating it. Now you want to give it a try with your first batch of clients.

What is a sales page?

A sales page (also called a landing page) serves a few purposes. For one, it usually has a link to the checkout page, which is where the prospect enters in their credit card information and pays for and enrolls in your course. You definitely need that!

How to get your sales letter and email sequences right?

Spending time putting yourself in someone else's shoes helps you get your sales letter and email sequences right. You can definitely ask your prospects about their pain points, but also just thinking about them helps.

Do you need a website to sell a course?

That means you need a bare minimum website , some quick traffic wins, and a lead magnet to entice subscriptions.

Can you put a checkout page on a sales page?

Sometimes the checkout page can be embedded right into the sales page, and that's fine too. If it's a separate checkout page, it's great if you can add in a couple of your best testimonials or success stories. Also include the money-back guarantee, as well as the list of the materials they get.