Digitally She Does It Podcast

EPISODE 94: 15 creative ways to promote your online course [PART 2]

• Karen Davies • Season 1 • Episode 94

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In this episode of Digitally She Does It podcast, I explore 15 innovative and strategic ways to effectively promote your online course. Whether you're building your first course or seeking fresh ideas to boost your current promotions, this episode is packed with actionable tips to increase visibility and drive enrolments.

I’ll go beyond the usual social media and email marketing tactics, showing you how to think strategically and diversify your efforts to reach the right audience. From expanding your reach to targeting new markets, this comprehensive guide offers creative and out-of-the-box promotional ideas that will help elevate your course marketing.

Whether you're an experienced course creator or just starting your journey, this episode provides the inspiration and resources you need to take your marketing to the next level.

Tune in to stay ahead of the curve, and don't forget to subscribe for more insights every Wednesday!

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Karen Davies [00:00:00]:
Hello and welcome to the Digitally She Does It Show. This is episode 94 and in today's episode I'm going to be sharing another 15 powerful ways to 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, an 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 [00:00:59]:
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'm 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'm going to be continuing on from last week's episode where I shared 15 powerful ways to promote your online course. And so in this episode today I'm going to be sharing 15 more ways for you to get your online course in front of the right people. But before we dive into today's episode, I want to talk about the digital creators hub. If you are not in there, you need to get yourself in there.

Karen Davies [00:01:51]:
It is completely free and this hub is a treasure trove of resources that's going to help you get started online. I've got resources, I've got a planning tool, I've got templates, I've even put in my favourite tools that help me to run my online business. It's completely free. To gain access, just head on over to www.karenhyphendavies.comforward/hub because there's no better time than today to get started with your online business. So go grab these free resources and start your online business. Okay. So back to today's episode and today I am sharing 15 powerful and creative ways to help you to promote your online course. So if you have an online course, this episode's gonna be great for you.

Karen Davies [00:02:49]:
If you're in the process of creating your online course, this is going to help you when you come ready to sell it. And if you're thinking about creating an online course, maybe you're in the early stages and maybe this is something that you're interested in doing or you're curious about what's involved then hopefully today's episode will just lift the lid on how you can actually promote it. And my goal is to just break it down to make you aware of you don't need any big strategy, you don't need a marketing team, you can do this, you can promote your online course, you can get it in front of the right people and you can make those sales And what I'm gonna share with you today is going to help you with that. So in my episode last week, episode 93, I shared 15 creative ways that you can promote your online course. And in today's episode, I'm going to expand on that. But in today's episode, we're going to be getting a little more strategic. Now you already know the basics. If you've listened to last week's episode, you know that you can promote through social media, through email marketing, and, of course, through webinars.

Karen Davies [00:04:12]:
But how do you get more strategic? How do you boost visibility without just relying on the same platforms over and over? And remember we don't own these platforms. We have no ownership over Facebook, over Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, any of these platforms and they can literally change them overnight. So we need to get more strategic in the way we approach what we do so that we can get our courses in front of more people. And so in this episode, I'm going to be sharing some more ideas that can help you drive even more traffic to your sales page which will boost your enrolments and make you more money because there's no point having an online course if you're not going to promote it and sell it. So let's get started. So number 1, and this is often overlooked, it's a very simple thing that you can do straight out the gate and that is add your online course to your email footer. Now just think about this, how many times a day do you send out an email? Now imagine including a link to your course in your email signature. It's completely free so it doesn't require you to spend any money on anything and it's actually non intrusive.

Karen Davies [00:05:37]:
But what it does do it keeps your course at the top of the minds of every time you hit send. So it's really simple, really easy to do. Add your online course to your email footer. Go get the URL, write the text, click here, and add the link to your email footer. Number 2. You can attend networking events because even though it's great to promote it in the online world, don't forget that people are showing up at networking events and they're networking. They're exchanging business cards, they're exchanging details and they're looking to connect with other people and it's the perfect place for you to actually have conversations that lead people into your online course. So don't underestimate the power of face to face networking.

Karen Davies [00:06:38]:
Attend events, go to conferences or do meetups in your niche. Build those connections and hand out your business cards. And don't forget you can have a QR code on the back of your business card that can actually link to your online course as well. So you can have that on one of your marketing touch points that will be with those people that you give it to. And people are curious. They're going to scan in your code and they're going to check it out. People are more likely going to trust and engage with somebody that they've met in person. So don't underestimate the power of networking events.

Karen Davies [00:07:20]:
I go networking a lot. I really enjoy it. So it doesn't matter how how much time I spend in the online world, I will always make time to attend networking events. I even go to big events. Events where I get to learn stuff. Where I get to meet other people. It's so important not only as entrepreneurs to be able to meet other entrepreneurs but it's part of our growth as well. And even though I really enjoy spending time in the online world we still need that person to person connection.

Karen Davies [00:07:57]:
So don't underestimate how powerful networking events can actually be. Okay. So number 3. Collaborate with other experts in your industry. Because one of the best ways to grow your audience is simply by tapping into somebody else's. So think about inviting an expert in your niche to collaborate on a webinar or maybe one of your workshops or maybe just to even provide a live q and a session to your audience. By com combining your audiences you both get the chance to introduce what it is you're offering and you get to expand on your audience as well so you get to bring new people into your world which means that you get more eyeballs on your course as well because you get to talk about that. So think about collaborating with other experts within your industry.

Karen Davies [00:08:56]:
Go networking, meet people and collaborate with them because that is going to broaden your audience and bring more people into your world. Number 4. Online course directories. So there are platforms out there like Class Central or Course Talk and these are online course directories that exist to help learners find relevant courses in specific niches. So you can go and list your course on these platforms in a really easy way that's going to help you to reach a new audience. And people are browsing on these directories all of the time looking to invest in courses. So you you're promoting to people that have that mindset of wanting to learn. So go and check out these online course directories and see if it aligns with your course and whether you can put your course on there.

Karen Davies [00:10:00]:
Number 5. Google Ads. When people want to learn about something new often they will go to Google first. So you can run Google Ads with targeted keywords that relate to your course which means that when people put in these keywords online in Google your course is going to come up. Now you need to make sure that you're writing really good compelling ad copy and that you've got the right visuals in place and have all of that good stuff nailed because ultimately you want to entice them to click through to your online course landing page. But Google Ads is a great place to go if you want to reach more people and you want to serve a wider audience. Of course, there is a little bit of, financial investment included, so you are going to obviously have to pay to run these ads. But then at the end of the day, if you're going to get sales from running these ads, then you're going to make your money back.

Karen Davies [00:11:11]:
And I always think that these things that we do, they are an investment in your business. And sometimes we have to invest in order to grow. Okay. Number 6. Think about bundling your course with other products that you offer. So if you've got templates or maybe you've got ebooks or maybe you sell other digital products that complement your online course then think about offering them together as a package. Not only does this increase the perceived value but it also sweetens the deal for potential students who may be sitting on the fence about buying your online course. So if you have anything else in your business that you can include in the offer, then think about doing that because that might just swing the vote for them and get them to purchase your course.

Karen Davies [00:12:08]:
So think about what it is that you have, maybe something that you use with a client, and can you include that as a bonus in your online course? So really think about bundling because people love to get a lot for their money. Number 7. You could host a challenge. So this is an exciting way to engage your audience and to generate interest around what it is you do. So for example if you have an online course that teaches somebody to do something then think about creating a challenge that gets them to the place where they're then ready to take your online course. So what do you need to do in order to get them ready and primed to take the next step which is your online course. So a challenge is great because it means that your, participants can come in. They can work through the challenge.

Karen Davies [00:13:18]:
It could be 3 days, 5 days, 7 days, whatever works for you and then they walk away with a quick win. And what this does it kinda it sets you up as the authority, puts you in the seat as the expert, you're giving them a quick win through your challenge so it lines them up nicely for them to take the next step which is of course to buy your online course. Also the challenge is a really great place to start building momentum. So when people are on your challenge and they do the activities or they do the things that you've set for them you're building momentum and that momentum can then carry through into the course as well. Challenges are very popular. They're really good fun and you can also build your audience as well. So really think about hosting a challenge because it could be a really great way to get your online course in front of more people. Okay.

Karen Davies [00:14:23]:
Number 8. You can use testimonials that you've gathered in ads. So you can do this with Facebook ads or even with Google ads. Social proof is such a powerful thing. So if you have a video or maybe a written testimonial from somebody that you've worked with, you know, where your online courses come from so it's all relative, then you can turn these into ads or social posts. And these real life success stories can speak volumes to potential students who may still be on the fence. So using testimonials and reviews are a really great way to give you credibility but to also demonstrate to the prospective student that you know your stuff and you're gonna get them a result and that their your online course is worth investing in. Number 9.

Karen Davies [00:15:19]:
You could publish an ebook. So if you've got lots of valuable content in your course then you can take some of that content and you can create an ebook and you can publish it on Amazon or you can use that as a lead magnet, a freebie to drive sign ups. And, of course, you can put in links in this ebook where people can actually click on the links and go straight to your landing page that talks about your online course. So that's a really powerful way because you could give something for free or you could sell something at a lower price point but it promotes your online course within the book and then you could even use the final page in your ebook with a visual that promotes your online course. So this is a really great way again to build your audience to showcase your knowledge and your expertise and to drive people to your online course as well. Number 10. You could create a Facebook Messenger bot. So bots are seemingly quite popular.

Karen Davies [00:16:29]:
People like setting them up. It is automation really. Facebook Messenger bots are a really great tool for engaging prospective students. So if somebody is looking to ask a question, you can set up a bot to automatically respond to any inquiries that you get about your online course and this bot can share details and it can guide people towards enrolling as well. So this could be something that you could set up that helps people find your online course because it's an excellent way to keep the conversation going about your course 247. You do not need to be there. You can set up automation. Number 11 is you can actually create interactive quizzes and people love a quiz.

Karen Davies [00:17:25]:
You can make it really fun. And the great thing about this is you can create an interactive quiz that links directly to your course topic. So for example, if you are doing a course around, you know, entrepreneurship for example, you can create an interactive quiz that asks them what type of online entrepreneur are you. And at the end of the quiz you can then lead the people that fill it in directly to your online course as the next step in their learning journey. So the quizzes are great, they're engaging and also they have a high completion rate as well, which means that for you it's a really great way to capture leads and of course to build your email list. Number 12. You can post on a platform called Medium. So if you are somebody that likes writing then what you could do is you could publish valuable articles on a platform called Medium because this platform has a built in audience And by writing content that relates directly to your course topic, of course, you can position yourself as the expert.

Karen Davies [00:18:44]:
But you need to make sure that if you do do this you've got really strong call to actions at the end of all of your articles which of course will guide any readers to your online course as well. But Medium is a highly optimised site. It's very popular with people that like writing and people that like reading as well and so you can use this platform to get more eyeballs on your online course as well. So it's definitely worth checking out. Number 13. You can create visual infographics. Now I'm a visual person. I love an infographic.

Karen Davies [00:19:25]:
Infographics are not only visually appealing but they're highly shareable as well. So you can create graphics that basically summarises key points from your course content and then you can share them across your social media platforms as well. Number 13. You can create visual infographics. Now I love an infographic. They are not only visually appealing but they're highly shareable as well. So you could create a graphic in Canva that summarises key points from your online course and you can then share them across social media platforms. So you can actually promote your online course using these infographics and you can include a call to action that sends people to your online course landing page as well.

Karen Davies [00:20:18]:
But infographics are very powerful and engage people and that's the point. And you can create an infographic really easily in Canva because they have templates. So it's definitely worth thinking about doing this so that you can get your course content out there. Number 14 is that you can offer a free coaching call. Sometimes all somebody needs to make the leap is a little one on one time. So you could offer a limited time free coaching or strategy call to students that may be sitting on the fence, maybe a little bit unsure whether your online course is right for them or maybe they just simply have some questions. Now what this will do it gives them a personal touch point and this is going to help build trust and also give you the chance to explain how your online course can help solve their problems. So free coaching calls are a great way to engage potential students bring people into your world and convert them into a paying student.

Karen Davies [00:21:30]:
Last but definitely not least is number 15 and you can create a course trailer. Now there's a lot of tools out there that will help you to do this but think of it like a movie trailer but for your course. It can be short, it can be snappy and it can be a video showcasing the value of your online course. And the great thing about this is this can then be shared across social media platforms. So you could either have it on YouTube or you can even place it in ads as well. And the thing is people engage with video so they're most likely going to engage with your video content and of course this gives them a sneak peek of what's in store as well. And that can help to entice people into your online course. And of course if you have a call to action as well then that can link directly to your landing page.

Karen Davies [00:22:28]:
But it's also something fun to do and you can have this on your landing page as well. So this can be a really great way of sort of talking about your online course or what's involved, what the results are going to be, how that's going to translate in their life and really sort of showcase the benefits of why they need to buy your online course. So you can get creative. As I said there's lots of tools out there would that will help you do this. I mean you can do this in Canva. It doesn't have to be anything fancy. There are templates that you can use but it's just a great way to pull a bit of a different spin on talking about your online course. So there you have it.

Karen Davies [00:23:14]:
They're 15 strategies that will help you to get creative with your online course promotion. So whether you're going to use the online course directories or maybe collaborate with other experts or maybe just engage your audience with interactive challenges there are no shortages of ways to get people into your online course. You just need to be creative and you just need to get it in front of the right people. Now consistency is key. You need to show up, you need to be consistent and you need to persevere and sometimes it requires you to mix in different methods. It really is down to what it is that you're teaching, so what your online course is about, who your audience are, where they hang out, and what they need from you as well. So give these strategies a try. You don't need to do all of them.

Karen Davies [00:24:19]:
Pick 1. These 2 episodes, episodes 93 94 there are 30 ways to promote your online course. So give them a go. Try them out and have fun with them as well. And remember first time is always going to be the hardest when you start something new. But the more you do something, the more you give it a go, the more you refine what it is you're doing the better at it you get. And marketing is ongoing. It's never a one time thing.

Karen Davies [00:24:53]:
So be consistent, stick with it, promote your online course, and get those enrollments, and you will have the income that you desire from your online course. 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 it with others who you may think will also benefit from listening to today's episode. If today's episode has sparked some inspiration and maybe you're eager to dive deeper into creating an online course then go and visit my website www.carenhyphendavies.com because there you'll find a treasure trove of free resources to kick start your digital journey. And if you're ready to take the next step and want to learn more about my all inclusive membership, Sell Your Brilliance Online, which is designed to guide you through the process of creating your very first online course with confidence and with ease, then head over to my website www.karenhyphendavies.com forward slash 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 dish She Does It Show. Don't forget to check out the show notes for all the links and resources mentioned in today's episode.

Karen Davies [00:26:23]:
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.