7 Marketing Ideas for Online Courses

Online learning has grown by leaps and bounds. More students than ever are taking online courses in primary and secondary school, and more adults are expanding their education with classes from experts. It’s easier than ever to share your knowledge with others. However, this influx of online courses also makes it more difficult to stand out and get potential students’ attention. Use these marketing ideas for online courses to reach your students and expand your classes.

7 Marketing Ideas for Online Courses

1. Understand Your Students

To reach your potential students, it’s important to understand who they are and what they’re looking for. One of the first marketing ideas for online courses is to make a profile of your ideal student. Consider the following questions as you create a buyer persona. Depending on the course you’re providing, some of these questions will be relevant and others will not.

• What career are your students in?
• What hobbies are they interested in?
• How old are they?
• Where are they likely to be located?
• What social media might they use?

2. Highlight Students’ Testimonials

Your previous students are some of your best ambassadors. Highlighting your students’ testimonials and experiences is a great marketing idea for online courses, and a great way to attract new students. There are many ways to showcase your testimonials. Here are just a few.

• Use testimonials on your download or purchasing page
• Share testimonials on social media
• Include testimonials in drip emails
• Use testimonials on a free download page

3. Showcase Your Credentials

Your expertise and accomplishments are some of your best advertising tools. Showing off your credentials is more than a marketing idea for online courses; it’s a way to show your students that your course is valuable and you are a trusted expert. Show your credentials and accomplishments on your social media, website, platforms where you provide your course, and wherever your students are likely to learn about you and your course.

Whether you are teaching a professional course, a hobby, a lifestyle course, or something else, the following may be helpful in showing your expertise:

• Something you’ve built, made or completed related to your course
• Your education or certificates
• Years of relevant work experience
• Notable experts or celebrities you’ve worked for or with

4. Provide a Free Course

A free sample is a helpful marketing idea for online courses. This will show your potential students a bit of what you have to offer, and it can help them decide whether or not the course will be helpful for them.

You might take a section of your course and provide it for free, or create an extra course. This might include a video, a downloadable booklet, checklist, slideshow or another piece of media. If you offer this as a free downloadable bit of content, you can gather email addresses and generate leads.

5. Use the Right Platform

There are many platforms you can use to share and sell your course. Which you choose will depend on what type of course you’re offering, what type of media you’re using, and other factors. You might use multiple platforms to reach larger audiences who might prefer certain platforms, or you might focus your efforts on a particular platform. Consider your options carefully and be sure that you’re using platform(s) that make sense for your content and your audience.

6. Work with Other Experts

Consider how you might combine your expertise with others in your field, or in adjacent fields. You’ll double your reach and double the expertise and knowledge in your course. This might include any of the following:

• Combining your course with another expert’s
• Including another expert in a portion of your course
• Featuring your course on another expert’s platform
• Offer to include parts of your course in another expert’s

7. Leverage Social Media

Social media can be a powerful tool for reaching out to others, and a valuable marketing idea for online courses. When considering your social media content and creating your social media calendar, refer back to the student profile you created and consider what type of content your students would be most interested in and intrigued by. Feature parts of your course, valuable advice or tools, testimonials from students, slideshows or infographics, and more. This will get your students’ attention, show your expertise, and position your course as a valuable resource.

There are many ways to market your course. Which you choose will depend on your course content, audience, cost of your course, and more. Be consistent, use content that your audience will find valuable, and showcase your own expertise to show that you’re an expert. Refine your marketing ideas for your online courses as you learn more about your audience and available platforms.

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