Have you ever wondered why some course creators succeed and others fail? Well today I want to share the secret with you!
Let’s start by assuming that the course is fantastic. You have to start with a really amazing course that delivers.
After that, the number 1 reason that most course creators fail is that they don’t promote themselves very well.
Really good course marketing is all about two things:
- Making the numbers work. You have to get your message in front of enough qualified eyeballs, enough times to make sales.
- Having a relationship with your potential buyers. It’s incredibly difficult to sell directly to someone who has never heard of you before.
Part 1 – Making the numbers work: This was one of the hardest lessons for me to learn when I started marketing online (back in the dark ages before Facebook and even before Google was popular)!
Let’s do some quick math for a second. Assume you have a freebie or lead magnet you are using to give away to introduce yourself to potential prospects. And assume you have a 20% conversion rate. That means for every 100 people who visit your page to sign up for your freebie, only 20 of them will optin.
Then let’s assume you have a 1% conversion rate on selling your course. That means for every 100 people who see your course offering, only 1 of them will actually buy.
So in order to get ONE order, you have to get your freebie in front of 500 people (500 people x 20%) = 100 people that see your offer x 1% = one order.
Yikes!
The first time I really understood this math, I was in shock (and pain honestly). I mean, really, 500 people for one order?? That felt like failure to me! You’re talking to the girl that always wanted As and had at least a 90% grade.
Marketing math is not school math!
And 1 out of 500 cold prospects is actually pretty good.
You can play with the numbers and see that increasing your conversion rates will definitely help some – just try to be realistic about your expectations. I see so many people say, “I have 600 people on my list and did a big launch, and only 7 of them bought” and they are super disappointed.
But this is actually pretty good marketing math.
Part 2 – Having a relationship with your potential buyers. Having a close relationship with your potential students can also really help with this math.
MaryEllen Tribby of Working Moms Only has this fantastic quote, “People have to know, like and trust you – AND they have to believe that you can help them.”
So one of your goals when promoting your course is to help your students believe that you can help them transform when they take your course.
You can do this with case studies and testimonials from actual students. You also can share your struggles with them. Plus you can have other experts recommend you to their community.
Now Take Action…
To make the numbers work, here are a couple action steps:
1. Make sure you have a really fantastic freebie/lead magnet and track the conversion rate on your page. Always be testing and improving the conversion rate. (My favorite tool to do this is Leadpages – they have built-in conversion tracking AND split testing so you can try out different landing pages and see which ones work better.)
2. The good news is there are lots and lots of ways to get your freebie in front of your potential students. I actually don’t recommend using Facebook ads right out of the gate. You can spend a lot of money testing and not seeing results. First, dial in your freebie and landing page, and then pay for ads.
Here are a couple easier strategies that don’t take a lot of dollars to get started:
- Find blogs that serve your audience and do a guest post (with a link to your freebie at the end).
- Find podcasts that serve your audience and offer to be a guest.
- Do Instagram Live videos and tell your audience about your freebie.
To build your relationship with your subscribers:
1. Connect with them regularly and let them get to know you. On her podcast this week, Amy Porterfield insisted that you need to create content every single week as either a blog, a podcast or a YouTube video. Commit to the regular schedule for 6 months and see how that helps build your audience.
2. Promote your content thoroughly. Sometimes we get so busy creating that we forget to promote the content! MissingLettr is one of my favorite tools for regularly promoting my blog posts. It lets me create campaigns where my blog posts are shared regularly throughout the year. Right now I have 9 campaigns promoting my content automatically. I do a one time review and setup for each blog posts and the social media updates go out automatically for the next year. It’s a huge time-saver.
3. Be vulnerable with your audience. Share your struggles and your pain – including how you overcame them. This helps them believe you know what they are going through.
I have lots of actions for you today – can you schedule some time to implement them this week?? And let me know how it goes.
To Your Success!
Julie
PS – Did you know? There are really only 4 systems you need for a super successful online course business, and I’ve got the perfect resource to help you with them. ⭐️ I’ve pulled them together in a FREE special report and you can grab yours here.
Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash