5 Reasons Your Online Course is Not Selling…and What You Can Do to Fix Them
The number of online courses available has risen enormously in recent years, and for a good reason. For a business owner, an online course is a great way of spreading their knowledge to a global market while also increasing their income. For a student, this type of course is a way to take control of their education and learn whenever and wherever it’s convenient to them.
But quality hasn’t always increased with quantity. While there are more and more courses available online today, many are worthless and never deliver on the results promised. At the same time, with technology always improving and more choices available, people’s expectations of what they’ll get out of an online course are higher than ever.
A successful online course delivers on what it promises in a professional and accessible way. It leads students to a specific outcome, and leaves them more skilled and capable than before they started the course.
But before a course can achieve those outcomes, people have to buy it. That means getting it in front of the right prospects and converting them to paying students. However, marketing an online course is often the biggest challenge for course creators.
Here's a look at some of the common mistakes people make when marketing their online courses. And, most importantly, I’ll share with you some ways to avoid making these mistakes when launching your own program.
Why Aren’t My Courses Selling?
Before you dive into marketing, take a good look at your online course as it is today. Make any necessary changes either in the course content or delivery method. Reaffirm that your course delivers on its promises.
If you know you have a valuable program that solves a problem for a particular group of people, then you’re ready to start selling.
However, a course doesn’t sell itself. You have to do your part to bring it to people’s attention.
This is where the problems start and where business owners make key mistakes.
Mistake #1:
You Don’t Have Clear Goals for Your Launch
When you’re launching a product (in this case, your online course) you must be clear what you expect.
Clarifying your goals means you know what to aim for. This clarity will keep you motivated and focused on the outcomes of your launch. And when you achieve those goals, you can feel satisfied that you accomplished something great.
Of course you want to see sales, but how many? And how do they fit with your other revenue goals for the year?
Avoid this mistake by doing the following:
Decide on the type of launch, as this will influence your goals:
A timed open/close launch will allow you to set specific goals from that launch.
An evergreen strategy where your cart remains open all year-round means you’re looking at annual goals.
Answer these questions:
Why are you launching this online course now?
What percentage of income does your launch need to bring in?
How many open/close launches do you intend to run per year?
What sales targets do you need to hit?
Mistake #2:
You’re Sending People Directly to a Sales Page That Doesn’t Convert
Your sales page is crucial to your online success. But however effective it is in getting your message across, you will miss out on sales if you send people who aren’t ready to buy yet straight to your sales page.
There are two parts to this mistake:
1. You’re sending people directly to a sales page
2. Your sales page doesn’t convert them into buyers
Think of sales like a personal relationship. Would you be surprised if your date asked you to marry them on your first night out? Yes, and you might run away screaming. Sales, like marriage, need to be built up to.
Avoid this mistake by doing the following:
Don’t send people to the sales page straight away
Set up a sales funnel and bring new people in at the earliest stage. Offer them useful and insightful content which will help them solve a problem. They’ll see how valuable this is and want to learn more from you.
Then offer more in depth-content in return for their email address, and subsequently build the relationship through email contact.
This way, you develop interest in you and your course, and you take people gently through a logical process towards the point of sale.
Revamp your sales page to make it more powerful
When you get to the point of sending someone to your sales page, you need to be confident that it will lead them to buy. Look at your page, test out separate elements, and choose high-converting templates with video.
Ask yourself these questions:
Headline - Is it catchy? Is it unambiguous?
Sub-headings – Do they encourage people to read on?
Course benefits - Can potential students understand what they will gain from the course?
Course features – Is your course process clear so people know what they are committing to?
Incentives to buy – Are you giving bonuses for rapid sign-ups? Or discounts for the first 10 people who register?
Calls to action – Are they compelling?
Payment – Is it easy for people to pay? Are you offering payment plans?
Image, color, and design – Is it consistent with your brand?
Mistake #3:
You Aren’t Building a Targeted List
When it comes to selling an online course, the world is your oyster. People can access the course from anywhere in the world, so you can have a truly global clientele. But that doesn’t mean everyone in the world will buy.
You know that identifying your target market is extremely important. You’ve done it before. Check that the target market for your online course is current by using demographics and psychographics to narrow down your ideal client.
Once you have this, your content can be written for them. The “spray and pray” method of marketing just doesn’t work. You must build a list of targeted leads. If you neglect to do this, don’t be surprised if people don’t buy.
Avoid this mistake by doing the following:
Think about your online course and ask yourself these questions:
Who did I design it for?
Who will benefit most from it?
Who is currently looking for it? (You might need to do some research on Google for this one)
Once you have the answers, check back with your ideal client avatar to make sure it’s aligned.
Mistake #4:
You Aren’t Giving Prospective Clients the Chance to Get to Know You
As we said before, a marriage proposal on the first date isn’t the ideal way to win someone’s heart. Selling prematurely to your leads isn’t the best strategy to win their business. Even if you have people in your sales funnel, they aren’t necessarily ready to buy.
Sales are about people selling to people, even in a digital world. However, people are wary of spending money on someone they don’t know; even more so if they’ve fallen for the hype of exaggerated marketing in the past. The more you come across as approachable, knowledgeable, and helpful, the better chance you have of selling to them at the right time. But they need more ways to get to know you than just the content you post on your blog or social media.
Avoid this mistake by doing the following:
Give your sales funnel a person touch from the get-go. Put an introductory video on your website so people can see your face and hear your voice and begin to build trust with you.
Tell the story of your own challenges and how you’ve overcome them
Share updates about what’s happening in your business and life (as appropriate)
Livestream through Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube Live
Set up a free webinar to answers people’s questions and give live help
Record testimonials of other people talking about you and your work
Mistake #5:
There Are Technical Glitches in Your Sales Process
Last and certainly not least are technical issues. A launch is full of many moving parts which need to connect and work together seamlessly.
Sometimes technical problems are unavoidable – your site goes down, you lose your Internet connection, you get a virus on your webpage, etc. These have to be fixed and may require external help to do so.
But there is no excuse for poor connections between the components of your marketing for the launch of your online course.
One of the crucial tools that needs to work seamlessly is your shopping cart. If you’ve ever gone to a sales page wanting to buy, then pressed the cart button and got an error message, you’ll know this. You probably left the page without purchasing the product - your visitors will do the same.
Avoid this mistake by doing the following:
Double (and triple) check that all the connections work a few weeks before the launch date. Then check again two or three days before your cart opens. Get a friend to check too, or your VA, so you know that all the sequences work and people get what they sign up for.
Make sure your shopping cart is programmed to take the currency you want. Set up a dummy payment to your account to ensure money can be taken in the greatest variety of ways, e.g. credit card, electronic wallet, etc.
Use online tutorials if you are uncertain about any connection.
Look at the mobile and tablet views of your sales page in addition to the desktop view. Many people buy from their smartphones, so your copy needs to look good on this format too. If it doesn’t, then tweak it.
Use an all-in-one platform that does all the connecting up for you if you’re unsure of your technical abilities.
Time to Start Selling!
When it comes to selling your courses, your aim is to avoid the avoidable mistakes.
Let’s recap on what you need to do to sidestep these key errors:
Define clear goals for your launch
Build a sales funnel that attracts interested people at an early stage
Create a high-converting sales page with video
Generate as many opportunities as possible for your audience to get to know, like, and trust you
Test and re-test all technical systems so there are no glitches in the process which could turn clients away.
We identified five key mistakes here. Get these fixed early on to help both you and your clients.
Are you ready to get your online course into the hands of more people and fuel your business growth? Or are you ready to build an online program for the first time?
If you're ready to start selling on a one-to-many basis and helping transform more lives, then check out my full program, Bliss.
With it, I will walk you through a step-by-step process leading to a successful launch, giving you the results you deserve moving forward.
