If you’re reading this, then you probably…
Have a digital course
Are thinking about creating one
Or have already started developing one
Maybe you’ve got some ideas for what could become a digital course, but you’re not quite sure how to get from the brainstorming stage to actually launching.
You’ve probably also heard the horror stories of people investing hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars into digital course production but hearing crickets when their product went live.
A well-produced digital course has the power to change people’s lives, but only if they actually know about it. If people can’t see you or find you online, then they can’t buy from you. Simple as that.
There are so many ways to market a digital course, but this post will focus on five of the most common tactics.
- Lead magnets
- Sales pages
- Email sequences
- Social media content
- Webinars
How to Create a Sales Page for Your Digital Course
A sales page is one of the most critical marketing materials for an online course. This is the page on your website that describes your program and ultimately entices someone to sign up. It’s where your students will decide whether they’re in or they’re out, so every single word on this page should contribute to the ultimate goal of converting them from a website visitor to a paying customer.
Before you sit down and start writing your sales page copy, you should first craft a course promise, which is similar to a unique value proposition in that it explains the results or transformation that your students will achieve. This is a statement that explains who your course is for, how it can help and why it’s beneficial. For example, here’s a course promise for my course, Digital Course Academy:
“The most comprehensive program for creating, launching and selling your digital course Digital Course Academy®️ is the only implementation program of its kind that not only shows you exactly how to create and deliver your online course like a pro — but how to get it into the hands of dozens or even hundreds of customers every month.”
Once you’ve nailed down your course promise, you can start on your sales page. The most effective sales pages typically have:
- A compelling headline to capture the reader’s attention
- A story that frames the problem and establishes the need for your product
- Bullet points that illustrate how your course will solve this problem
- The solution/offer section that introduces your course
- Bonuses to increase the perceived value of the course
- Testimonials to show the types of results students can achieve
- An instructor bio to add credibility
- An FAQ section to overcome objections
- Pricing details such as a pay-in-full option and payment plans
- A clear call-to-action like ‘Sign Up Now’ or ‘Join Today’
- A risk reversal, like a satisfaction guarantee or refund policy
How to Create a Lead Magnet for Your Digital Course
Building your email list is a crucial part of marketing an online course, and a lead magnet can help you get there. Unlike a sales page, the goal of a lead magnet isn’t to drive an immediate sale. It’s to offer valuable information in exchange for an email address, so you can earn your audience’s trust by nurturing them through your sales funnel over time.
There are many popular types of lead magnets. The first and most popular is the free PDF download, also known as a ‘freebie.’ And this popularity isn’t without cause; a lead magnet can be customized to work for almost any marketing initiative or product and can be easily promoted and downloaded.
The key is to make sure the content can be consumed and implemented quickly. Downloads that help your subscribers get a quick win or learn a new insight tend to convert better than lengthy ebooks and guides.
Other effective lead magnets include a free ‘mini-course,’ on-demand webinar, or audio guide. You might already have a lead magnet without even knowing it. Instead of spending time and resources creating something new, you could turn a popular blog post or case study into a lead magnet by simply sprucing up the design and adding an opt-in.
How to Create an Email Sequence for Your Digital Course
An email sequence is a series of emails sent to your audience to promote your course before, during, and even after your sales period. An email sequence aims to inform, attract, and eventually encourage your email subscribers to enroll in your program.
It takes more than a sales page or a lead magnet to drive most consumers to make a purchase. There are three key stages that every customer goes through. The first stage, ‘Awareness,’ is when they’re aware that they have a problem that needs fixing. They reach the second stage, ‘Consideration,’ when they start to look for possible solutions to that problem. The third stage, ‘Decision,’ occurs when they’re ready to buy.
As you develop a relationship with your subscribers, you can introduce content that helps them progress, not only from one stage to the next in your nurture sequence, but also in their own
efforts and businesses. In other words, you want to make sure you’re providing them with content that consistently adds value to their lives while costing them nothing. This approach will help you build trust with your audience, so by the time you’re ready to sell, they’ll be ready to buy because you’ve helped them so much already.
And once you're ready to buy, you can create a promotional email sequence that follows the steps of the customer journey rather closely, including include emails that:
- Unveil the offer by providing a big-picture overview of the course
- Provide details and (possibly) offer a fast-action incentive for purchasing
- Share testimonials and positive results as social proof
- Reveal your ‘why’ to explain why you created your course and how it solves your customers’ problems
- Overcome objections that your audience might have about investing in the offer
- Communicate urgency by indicating that your course registration is ending soon
How to Create Social Media Content for Your Digital Course
When you’re promoting an online course, you need to show up in front of your audience as much as possible — ideally daily. Creating social media content is a great way to do this, but it can also be incredibly time-consuming and hard to develop new ideas on the fly. However, posting the right way on social media — knowing what to post, where to post it and how often to post — can quickly grow your email list and help you to attract the perfect community for your course.
Start by choosing one to three social platforms where you’ll show up every week. I recommend Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, but it’s more important that you choose the platforms that your audience uses so you can meet them where they are. Once you’ve chosen your platforms, you need to create a system that allows you to post consistently. Consistency is key because without it, your audience won’t know what to expect and will be more likely to ‘check out’ from your content on the occasion that you do post.
“But Amy, what should I post?” you ask. Well, remember that gorgeous PDF download you made? Get inspired there. You can extract quotes from it. Create images from it. You can do a ‘direct post’ encouraging your followers to, “check out my guide on XYZ.” I also recommend creating posts that provide value via links to your high-quality, free content (which might contain a call-to-action for your product). These are known as ‘indirect posts' and can be utilized to drive traffic to your podcast, YouTube channel, or blog — providing even more value for your audience.
Unsure of where to begin on your free content creation journey? Check out my recent post where I break down how to choose the right platform for your free content and start creating!
One final tip for posting on social platforms: don’t forget to be YOU. It doesn’t matter whether your company is B2B or B2C — people do business with people so don’t be afraid to let your personality show and let people into your life AND business. And of course, don’t forget to ask questions! If you’re unsure about something, ask your audience — which has the added benefit of encouraging engagement on your posts; something that all social algorithms prioritize when feeding your content out to newer audiences.
How to Use Webinars to Sell Your Digital Course
If you want your audience to invest in your course, then you need to show them that you’re worth it. In other words, you need to build trust with them and one of the best ways to do that is through education.
This is where webinars come in. A webinar is a live digital presentation that is delivered using video conferencing software. It’s also the most effective way to sell a digital course. Just like your free download or social media content, a webinar is an opportunity to share valuable free content with your audience.
However, unlike these other materials, a webinar gives your audience a taste of your teaching method, delivery, and personality, which can be hard to convey through text or images alone. If your webinar attendees like your style, they’ll be much more likely to buy your course and much less likely to request a refund.
Webinars are also a great way to attract your target customers, build your email list, and build a relationship with your audience, as you can communicate with them before, during, and after the event. Ultimately, if someone is willing to spend an hour or more with you on a live webinar, then they’re probably pretty serious about learning about this topic and those are the people you want to reach.
I know that webinars can be a little intimidating so here are a couple of tips for you to help you nail it:
- Practice, practice, practice! You don’t need to memorize everything, but you want to be familiar enough with your material that you feel comfortable delivering your presentation without your notes. Speaking of which…
- Ditch the script. Once you’ve run through it a couple of times, try delivering your webinar without your script. You want your audience to be energized and get a feel for your personality, and reading off a script will do the opposite and make you sound like a robot.
- Less is more. You don’t want to overwhelm your audience with too much content. Aim to provide them with valuable content but also leave them wanting more. Remember: you still want them to buy your course at the end!
Congrats! You now have a digital course content marketing game plan that will ensure you’re communicating the right information to the right people at the right time.
Now, if you really want to be ahead of the curve, make sure you grab my free Ultimate Course Creation Starter Kit. This kit will help you avoid making the mistakes I made when I was just starting as a course creator so you can feel confident about building and selling your digital course. You can get instant access to the guide right here.