If you have created an epic online course, there’s no point keeping it a secret. After all the hard work you will have put in behind the scenes, now is the time for your course to take centre stage and garner the attention it deserves.

However, doing this can be a lot easier said than done and – sometimes – it can be difficult to know how to market your course online successfully.

The digital landscape is constantly changing and if you want to succeed in it, you must have a marketing strategy that works.

So, with this in mind, we thought we’d highlight a few of the key dos and don’ts to consider when marketing an online course. Let’s get started.

Market Courses That Are Always Open

Do: promote your course, even if it’s always open! Just because you have launched a course which runs 24/7 doesn’t mean you shouldn’t put effort into promoting it.

While 24/7 courses mean anyone can make a purchase at any time; without the right marketing strategy in place, nobody will even know it’s there. Therefore, use the marketing tips in our content marketing tips to target your course to the right audience, and be sure to check out The Agency Accelerator podcast to help your business progress even further.

Don’t: let your course just sit on your website doing nothing in the hopes that someone, one day, will stumble across it and share it with their ten thousand followers. Because, being frank about it, that’s extremely unlikely to happen.

People need to know your content is out there and available, but it’s up to you to show them that.

Create Custom Content

Do: create helpful content that provides a solution to your customers’ needs. Great content helps generate awareness and increases engagement. Starting the marketing process with content creation gives you a fantastic platform from which to grow your business and successfully market your courses for longer.

Starting a blog is a great way to demonstrate your expertise, help your audience, tap into your competitor’s traffic and develop a trustworthy and reputable presence online.

Likewise, if you learn the basic principles of SEO and apply them to your blog posts, you can establish more online visibility and a more devoted audience. You can always get help from professionals or an agency, for promoting an online course, as they have both the resources and the expertise to drive results for your course.

Don’t: neglect content. When it comes to promoting online courses successfully, quality content helps to get your message out there.

Without it, your courses are unlikely to be found. So, always remember that content is an essential part of any marketing strategy.

Promote Social Proof

Do: promote social proof on your website. Social proof takes many forms, from testimonials on your website, and customer ratings on your online store, to logos and quotes from other people you have worked with.

Social proof lets your audience know that you are someone they can trust. While you won’t have testimonials in the beginning, once you start selling your courses, it is essential to ask for customer feedback. So, once those positive reviews start coming in, be sure to add them to your website.

Don’t: neglect to seek reviews from your customers and promote them on your website. If you are not using social proof as a part of your marketing strategy, then you are missing out on a lot of opportunities to engage and convert your audience.

Without social proof, people are unlikely to make a purchase because they don’t know if you can be trusted. It’s up to you to prove to them that you can.

SEO Is Essential

Do: optimise your website. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is one of the most essential components of any marketing strategy – not only does it drives traffic to your site but it also increases online visibility and improves conversions.

However, SEO is also a long-term investment that requires ongoing work and maintenance. It’s not something you can just write and then forget about. Therefore, you might find hiring a consultant or SEO marketing expert to be the most effective way to manage your website’s technological aspects.

Don’t: neglect SEO. Without a strong SEO strategy, your website won’t rank in Google which means people won’t be able to find it.

In other words, if you want your online courses to be seen and purchased, you need to invest in SEO.

Create A Social Media Strategy

Do: consistently promote your online course on social media. To create a social media strategy that is going to effectively market your online course, start by defining your goals, deciding a posting schedule, and building a loyal following through consistent posting.

Take the time to identify the social channels that best resonate with your target audience – who they are, where they’re based, what they look for – and then utilise that information.

The key to any successful social media campaign is having a strategy in place from the get-go.

Don’t: start promoting on social media without a plan. While it may be tempting to just create posts when you’re feeling inspired or motivated to do so, this can cause content to be very sporadic for your audience, warranting higher unfollow rates and lower engagement.

Final Thoughts…

Unfortunately, it’s no longer enough to create a course and share it with a few of your friends in the hopes it will eventually find a wider audience. Nowadays, you need an effective content marketing strategy in place to boost your sales and increase your audience.

However, by following the advice listed above, you will be able to do exactly that, getting your online course seen by the masses.