Digitally She Does It Podcast

EPISODE 93: 15 creative ways to promote your online course [PART 1]

• Karen Davies • Season 1 • Episode 93

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In this episode of the Digitally She Does It podcast, I am diving deep into a topic that every course creator faces: how to promote your online course effectively. After all the effort you’ve put into building your course, it’s time to share it with the world - but with so many marketing options available, it can be tough to know where to begin.

That’s why today’s episode is packed with value as I walk you through 15 of the best places to promote your course. From using your own website as a hub to tapping into the power of platforms like YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, and even TikTok, I’ll guide you through a variety of ways to reach your target audience. 

We’ll also cover paid options like Facebook Ads and the often overlooked power of email marketing, along with community-driven promotion strategies like Reddit, Quora, and online forums.

By the end of the episode, you'll have a comprehensive list of tools and platforms to use, as well as practical advice on how to leverage each one for maximum impact. 

Whether you're just launching your course or looking to boost enrolments, these tips will give you the clarity and confidence to start promoting your course like a pro.

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Karen Davies [00:00:00]:
Hello and welcome to the digitally she does it show. This is episode 93 and in today's episode I'm going to be sharing 15 powerful places where you can promote your online course. So let's jump right in and let's get started. Welcome to the Digitally She Does It Show. I'm your host, Karen, and I'm here to lift the lid on what it actually takes to create a successful business. If you are an ambitious creative ready to build a business on your own terms and without compromise, then this podcast is perfect for you. With my award winning approach to marketing and expert knowledge in creating online courses, this show will leave you feeling inspired, energized, and ready to bring those big dreams to life. Join me each week for a dose of motivation and marketing know how along with actionable step by step strategies to help you accelerate your businesses grow.

Karen Davies [00:01:01]:
So let's dive in, and don't forget to subscribe to all my upcoming episodes which drop every Wednesday. Hello and welcome. Thank you for joining me today. I am your host Karen and I really do appreciate you hitting that play button to listen to today's episode. Now, in today's episode I am going to be talking about promoting your online course but before I do I just wanna talk about the Digital Creators Hub. This is your one stop shop for getting started online. I have so many good things in the hub that's going to help you get started. I've got resources, planning tools, templates.

Karen Davies [00:01:46]:
I've even put in my favourite tools to get you started and I've also got some workshops in there as well so you can get started with mapping out your idea, getting clear on what that looks like so that you can get started online and actually create the business that you actually want to create. So in order to gain access to the Digital Creators Hub, go over to my website www.karen davies.com/hub because there's no better time than now to get started with your online business. So go enjoy these free resources and take the first step today. Okay. So back to today's episode and today I am talking about promoting your online course and I'm going to be providing 15 places where you can promote your online course because this is something that I get asked all of the time. I think there is a worry with, when you're starting out, that you're going to end up spending a huge amount of time creating something that you won't be able to sell and if, if that's a worry of, for you then please dig into my archives within this podcast because I've got so many episodes that talk about what you need to do to make sure that your course sells but one of the ways in which to get those sales is by making your online course visible. Now, promoting your online course is of course a crucial aspect of course creation. There's no point spending time creating something that you're not going to promote.

Karen Davies [00:03:36]:
After you've put in all of that hard work of creating your course, you need to get it in front of the right people and with so many marketing options available, I think knowing where to place it can feel quite overwhelming. So that's why in this episode I'm going to walk you through 15 best places to promote your online course online. So grab your notebook, grab your favourite beverage and let's dive in and get started. So, the first place that you need to be thinking about is your website. Your website is your home base. It's where you need to be driving traffic because your website is your little corner of the internet where you can talk about the things that are important to you and you can also showcase your brand and lead people to where you want them to go. So, what I would recommend is that you create a dedicated landing page for your online course. Make sure that it's engaging.

Karen Davies [00:04:41]:
Make sure that you've got the right content on there, the right copy, the right images and a really clear call to action, so that people know how to sign up for your online course. You will be surprised at how many people lead people to their website but they don't then have that call to action. So they're not informing their audience of what to do next and we need to make sure that whatever we're want our audience to do, we're making it really clear so that they know what it is we want them to do. So, make sure that on your landing page you have a clear call to action and that call to action could simply be buy now, sign up or do whatever. Whatever you want them to do in order to go and buy your online course. So your website is really key. You should have all the information about your online course on your website and it should be really easy for people to access a landing page or a sales page where you talk about your online course and so that they can sign up as well. Make it really easy for them.

Karen Davies [00:06:00]:
Okay. So the second thing is to think about YouTube because it's an incredible platform where you can show previews of your course or bite sized tutorials or just content relating to your topic matter. YouTube is a search engine which means that if people are looking for your topic and you've got the right keywords in your video descriptions and your titles then your videos are going to come up and you can then lead them to where they need to go to buy your online course. Now, the one thing I will say is that with any content that we put out online, we need to be providing value. So your YouTube video shouldn't be about selling your online course but what you could be doing in those videos is simply guiding people through something that's gonna help them and then lead them into your course afterwards. So you're not doing direct selling but your video gives them the information that they need to take the next step on their journey and you can use the description area to put in all your links including your landing page link, your sales page link from your website where people can then click go and find out more about your online course and then of course buy it. So YouTube is a really good channel. It's a search engine.

Karen Davies [00:07:32]:
Your content's going to live on there. So utilize that platform and also it's a really great place for you to showcase your skills, your expertise. The fact that you're an authority in your topic area and that you can create some really great value content that's going to support your audience as well. The 3rd place and this isn't for everybody because not everyone's audience is on this platform but if they are then think about using LinkedIn because LinkedIn is a great platform. It targets professionals. It's a gold mine for connecting with people. You can share posts. You can write articles and you can even feature your online course directly on your profile and how you would do that is you could obviously have that in the description area or you could create a really simple banner with a barcode that links directly to your sales page on your website.

Karen Davies [00:08:40]:
So that's why my first one was website. Get your website sorted first. Create a dedicated sales page and then from there you can aim to drive your traffic to that page. So make sure that you've got everything that you need in the LinkedIn description. So you're making it really easy for potential buyers to find your course and to buy your course as well. Okay. So place number 4, the next platform that I'm going to talk about is Instagram. Instagram is a really interesting platform because it's multi layered.

Karen Davies [00:09:19]:
You have a lot of different areas in which you can create content and share it with your audience and you can also use features within Instagram to expand into sort of new audiences as well. So you've got Instagram reels which is great for making short form videos and sort of animations that bring your ideas to life. You've got Instagram stories which you can do quick snapshots of your online course. You can do promotional things. You can do gifts and linked buttons and dynamic assets into your artwork that that take people to where you want them to go. So that's really cool because again you can expand into other audiences as well through IG stories but also you have the posts area that sit on your grid. So you can create a really powerful grid that brings people into your world where you can talk about your online course and you can promote your topics and and create content that's really engaging. So you can share student testimonials and behind the scenes footage of you creating your course or you could even create things around different topics in your course and you can it's just an opportunity to get really creative.

Karen Davies [00:10:45]:
So you can showcase your authority as well by creating things that illustrate that you are an authority in your space and that you've actually created an online course on this topic. And the other thing to think about as well is because online courses are all about giving people results, that can be part of your messaging and your marketing within the grid as well. So you can actually break a micro result down, like a small result and show them how they get there and then the call to action could be to buy your online course for the next step. So you can be really creative and use LinkedIn in a more visual way that's going to demonstrate the fact that you know what you're talking about. So absolutely get yourself on Instagram. If your audience are on Instagram, utilise the platform. The 5th place to think about is TikTok. It's not just for dancing videos.

Karen Davies [00:11:48]:
TikTok is a really great place to share quick engaging tips that lead viewers to check out your course. So as long as you've got your landing page or sales page available on your website then you can lead people there from the TikTok platform. So really think about whether your audience are on Tik Tok and if they are then show up on that platform. Number 6 is Pinterest. Now, I think Pinterest is underestimated and I think that a lot of entrepreneurs, creative course creators, most likely don't leverage the Pinterest platform because they don't understand it. Pinterest is a search engine exactly like YouTube. If you post content on Pinterest your content will live. Meaning that people can go and find it a year down the road.

Karen Davies [00:12:50]:
If you are only focusing on posting on social media platforms like Instagram and LinkedIn and Facebook, your content lives in that moment but it very quickly disappears. So really what you want to be doing is thinking about how you can maximise the potential of what you're creating and this is where Pinterest comes in as a really powerful platform because people that are searching around your topic will find it in Pinterest and the great thing about Pinterest now, like YouTube, is that results are showing up on Google as well. Which means that you're going to widen the potential for people to see your stuff. It's really great for visual learners and lifestyle focused courses and Pinterest can drive serious traffic to your website. I've bought courses off Pinterest. I think it's a fantastic platform and what's great about it is that you can pin posts that link directly to your sales page. So it's definitely worth if you have a demographic that is predominantly females and maybe what you're teaching is very lifestyle focused, maybe you're a coach, maybe you're health and wellness, then think about Pinterest because I think I've been exploring Pinterest over the past, I don't know, 6 months and it's absolutely brilliant. I can see the difference of the traffic going to my website just by pinning on Pinterest.

Karen Davies [00:14:27]:
So absolutely, Pinterest is a powerful place to promote your online course. Number 7 is Twitter or X as it's now known. You can post real time updates, success stories, create valuable snippets of your content and the thing about Twitter is that it is fast paced so it's perfect for keeping your course at the top of people's minds as well. Again it comes down to whether your audience are on on X. They may be, they may not. Part of knowing where to promote your course is knowing where your audience hang out but X is a powerful platform and if your people are on there, utilise it. Number 8 is Facebook ads. Facebook ads is very powerful.

Karen Davies [00:15:19]:
You can leverage Facebook super targeted ads to get your online course in front of the right people who are going to be interested and you can even use retargeting to reach those that have obviously visited your site but maybe they haven't yet enrolled. So Facebook ads gives you that opportunity to reach more people and to get your course in front of more eyeballs which at the end of the day is really what you need to be doing. Making your course as visible as possible and the great thing about Facebook ads is that it doesn't need to be expensive. You can run ads for as little as £5, $5 a day and get really great results. The the barrier to entry is understanding how it all works but once you've mastered that it is a great way to drive traffic and to bring awareness to your course. Number 9. Email marketing. So with email marketing it's re it's a really powerful thing to be doing because if we're spending all of our time on social media promoting ourselves, we're obviously capitalising on the fact that we're able to use these free platforms but the downside is we're not owning these platforms.

Karen Davies [00:16:37]:
So Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, all of these platforms they can completely change overnight and everything that you build up in the algorithms that can all go because we don't own it so we have no control. The thing to think about with your email list it's your asset. You own it. Which means that if you're bringing people into your world because they're signing up for your content then you get to engage with them on a regular basis and you know that they are targeted. They are subscribers that are interested in what you have to say and what you have to offer and I think with email marketing it's probably one of the most powerful strategies you can implement in your online course business. Okay. So number 10 is a platform called Reddit. Now, Reddit is great because you can find articles relating to your niche and what happens on, sort of, the Reddit platform is that people contribute.

Karen Davies [00:17:45]:
So it might be that somebody has posted something about a certain topic that's related to the thing that you're teaching and you can go onto that platform and you can provide articles, provide answers, share valuable insights and even share your course when it's relevant and helpful. But on this platform it would it's really easy for people to do show up and promote. So you just need to make sure that with whatever you're doing you are showing up in an authentic way that is trying to help people. So it's always about helping people first and then selling something second, but the Reddit platform does give you an opportunity to reach out to more people and to talk about the thing that you've created. Number 11 is it's a platform called Quora q u o r a. This is a platform that answers niche related questions. So again, a bit like Reddit. You can go on there.

Karen Davies [00:18:52]:
You can ask a question and then people will will answer it. So if, again, if somebody is asking questions about a topic that is related to your course, it is a great place for you to show up and be of value and to provide answers and insights and also a place to share your course as well because your course may be the solution that they're looking for. So not only is this building authority for you but it's also a great traffic driver as well. So definitely check out this platform because it's a great place to hang out, be of service, answer questions and drive traffic. Number 12. Showing up in online communities. Whether you like Facebook or not, it does have the community feature with the Facebook Groups. There are also other platforms called Growth Hackers and Product Hunt which are niche specific forums where they have online communities that are asking questions and engaging in conversations and just they're there because they're interested in connecting with other people within a certain space.

Karen Davies [00:20:16]:
So this could be a great way for you to show up, again, be of service and value and promote your course. Becoming part of these online communities is a really great way to build your following, drive traffic and get more exposure around what you do as well. Now number 13. I've just mentioned it is Facebook groups. So I'm gonna have Facebook groups as separate one because Facebook groups are powerful. There are so many Facebook groups around. There's a Facebook group pretty much related to any topic and the people have started up and within these groups you're going to find people that are interested in that topic. So, if there is a Facebook group that is relevant to your topic or your industry where they're mentioning stuff around what you're teaching then it could be a great place for you to show up and hang out and of course for you to mention your course as well.

Karen Davies [00:21:18]:
Again, it's all about being genuine so that you're helping the community but if your course is going to be the answer to somebody's problem then of course you're going to be promoting it. So Facebook Groups is definitely one not to be overlooked and you can you can make a lot of connections within these groups. I have, in my own business I I've connected with quite a few people just by being in Facebook Groups just by starting discussions around certain topics. So, so these places are really powerful. Whether you like Facebook or not, Facebook groups for online course creators is the place to be. And then number 14. Blogging. Blogging on your website is a really powerful way to promote your online course.

Karen Davies [00:22:13]:
It's also a great way to increase traffic to your website because every time you release a blog on your website you are creating SEO behind your site which is obviously what Google looks to when they're ranking websites and web pages. So the more you can blog, the better it's going to be for your website ranking and it also tells Google that your website is active, it's relevant and people are interested in it which is going to improve your positioning with the algorithms as well. So there's a lot of benefits just from blogging. Now, the great thing about blogging is that you can talk about something in relation to your course and then you can provide a call to action at the end that drives people to that landing or sales page that is all about your online course. So you can use your blog to direct readers to your course page. Also, if you include a Pinterest strategy where you're pinning your blog posts on Pinterest, then you are further increasing the potential for to direct new traffic to your online course as well. So blogging is incredibly powerful and actually it's because of all the other mediums that are available now, you know, with creating video and podcasts and all of this, I feel like blogging has kind of dropped a little bit in terms of people's intentions of getting their content out there. So less people seem to be blogging now because they're jumping behind the mic or they're recording videos but actually there are a lot of people out there that want to read blogs.

Karen Davies [00:24:10]:
They want to read articles relating to the topics they're interested in. So don't underestimate the power of blogging on your website and the thing is when you do blogging you always have evergreen content that you can then promote on social media that is of course going to drive traffic back to your website. So this is a great way for you to increase traffic, position yourself as the expert and of course promote your online course. Now the other thing to do as well if you are time poor, is to consider bringing guests into your blog, so that you can do guest blogging as well. So bring guests into your blog and get them to write articles that may have a synergy with what you're teaching. So you don't always have to create the content. You can go and find somebody to create that content and then you can utilise their audience, as well as your own to promote their content, then that can then of course lead to your online course. And then in terms of guest blogging as well, you can go a guest blog on other people's blog and drive traffic back to your blog or your website.

Karen Davies [00:25:29]:
So you can piggyback off other people's audiences and drive traffic from their website to your website as well. So there's lots of things that you can do with blogging that will help to promote your online course. And then number 15 are webinars. Now I really enjoy delivering a webinar. It's taken a bit of time. I won't lie to you. In my last episode I spoke about my own personal journey with webinars. I call them master classes.

Karen Davies [00:26:03]:
I prefer a master class title only because I like to teach something. Because I feel like if you're going to deliver a free webinar you do need to be teaching something of value but there is no reason why a free webinar can't also act as a mini preview of your online course because it's a really great way to build rapport and then to pitch your course at the end of the presentation. Now of course with with everything it's about showing up, adding value, being of service and then promoting your course because it's relevant. But webinars are a really great platform to use to build that authority, to build that know, like and trust and to get your course in front of a lot of people. So if you haven't thought about it then it's worth considering running a webinar because it's a really great marketing tool and not only that you can create a huge amount of content just from running one webinar. Okay. So there you have it. 15 powerful places to promote your online course.

Karen Davies [00:27:18]:
Now remember when you are in the promotional stage of your online course it is an ongoing process and and often success will come from a blend of multiple strategies. For example blogging and using the Pinterest platform and then you can even build your email list from your blog as well. So you can create multiple strategies that sort of blend with each other just by having a simple process in place. But I think what's really important is the experimental stage. You need to experiment with different platforms to see what's going to work and you need to track your results so that you can adjust them accordingly because one way alone may not be enough so it's worth bringing other strategies in to increase not only your visibility but of course your results as well. Thank you so much for tuning in to today's episode. I hope you found this episode of value and of course please do feel free to share with others who you may think would also benefit from listening to today's episode. If today's discussion has sparked some inspiration and you're eager to dive deeper into creating an online course then go and visit my website at www.karen davies dot com because there you will find a treasure trove of free resources to kick start your digital journey.

Karen Davies [00:28:57]:
And if you're ready to take the next step and you want to learn more about my all inclusive membership, Sell Your Brilliance Online which is designed to guide you through that process of creating your very first online course without any overwhelm then head over to my website www.caren davies.com/membership. I will be back next week with another episode but until then have a great week. I hope you enjoyed this episode of the digitally she does it show. Don't forget to check out the show notes for all the links and resources is mentioned in today's episode. New episodes drop every week on a Wednesday. So, why not rate and subscribe so you never miss an episode. Thank you for tuning in today, and I will see you next time.