outsourceeasilycom Blog

How can you promote your new courses to your existing learners

Sep 6, 2024

Reader Disclosure

Leading WordPress expert Syed Balkhi shares tools and actionable tips on boosting sales to current students.

What's Inside          Toggle

You've put your wholeheartedly into creating stunning online courses to the learners you already have. Your students have said that they love the content you provide however, you're now ready for taking things up a notch with new, exciting information.

The difficulty is getting your existing students to invest in your most recent lesson. If you have to track the new audience each time you develop an instructional program, you'll need to spend a lot of extra time and energy marketing.

But, on the other hand those who have already purchased an online course from you already are familiar with you, have confidence in them, and are much more likely to buy from your site and again.

The most important factor in making this happen is the process of upselling. This strategy is a powerful one that can help you boost revenue and offer greater value to your committed students.

Believe it or not it's more simple than you imagine to apply this method and still not come across as overly aggressive or insincere.

We'll present to you some proven techniques and tips to use to promote your course to the existing learners.

When you've finished this blog, you'll know what you need to return to your site and make significant modifications to your approach.

Let's dive in!

Learn More About Your Target Public

Before you can start upselling, you need to really get to know who you're talking to.

Determine what classes they're taking, what subjects seem to generate the most interest, as well as what do they hope to learn in the future.

Screenshot of Monster Insights WordPress Google Analytics Plugin

We also suggest asking your students direct questions about what they would like to see next.

Make use of course surveys, feedback forms via email, and customer chats to gain insight into your audience and what they expect from the content you provide.

It is important to ask targeted questions that result in actionable answers.

The information provided will assist you in making informed decisions when you're trying to select a few possible topics, or figure out the audience that would most benefit of your course.

Structure Marketing for Existing Learners

When you have a clear understanding of your target audience, it's time to design marketing strategies that align with their interests as well as their goals and issues.

The following strategies will help present your upcoming courses and create excitement in ways that resonate with existing learners.

Leverage Email Marketing

You'll want to segment before when you begin sending messages. Segmenting essentially means dividing the people you are reaching out to into groups, based on the factors that are unique to your company.

If you are in this situation, you should consider segmenting your lists based on the courses completed, completion rates as well as engagement levels.

This method lets you design targeted ads that cater directly to the specific needs of each person This means that they're more likely to result in conversion.

It is also an chance to customize the messages that you're sending out to your users.

Crafting compelling subject lines and customized content that emphasizes how your new course builds on the lessons they've learned previously can lead to greater involvement and increased sales.

To give you a sense of context, utilizing personalized subject lines will increase your rate of open by 22 percentage.

RELATED >> How You Can Segment Your Email Lists >>

Special Previews and Beta Access

Everyone loves feeling unique. The ability to give your audience a an insider's view of your new program before going live may entice them and lead to them taking action.

It was our experience that granting a select group of customers access to a restricted area helped to create anticipation and increase day-one sales.

You could even use this to convert existing students into paying customers. Consider offering a limited number of beta spots at a discounted price on a first-come one-time basis.

In exchange for giving learners a lower price, ask for more detailed feedback so that you can improve your course before it goes live.

This approach not only assists in enhancing your courses but it also helps create an ethos of belonging among those who were the first to take on your program.

Create a Loyalty Program

It is possible to offer points in exchange for completed courses and past purchases, which can be redeemed for discounts for new purchases. This kind of loop can encourage customers to keep buying from your site.

As an example, after purchasing three lessons, the student may move from the bronze tier to silver. This means a bigger discount on future course plans.

Offering exclusive benefits for more prestigious levels, such as 1:1 training sessions, as well as access to bonus courses, is an effective method to draw people's attention in an upsell.

Harness the Power of Social Proof

Nothing is more persuasive than successful tales. Sharing testimonials of students who have benefited from your previous courses will help you sell to people who are new However, it's also an effective way to get the attention of existing customers.

This concept is called the concept of social proof. Social proof is simply when individuals are more likely trust you and your products in the event that they can see others and other organizations trust you.

If someone really enjoyed your baking course but isn't convinced to go through the advanced cooking classes included in the upsell couple of carefully-placed reviews can easily sway their decision.

They can see that others who were not so experienced, or perhaps novices, also found an educational value and assume that they will, too.

Innovative Pricing and Packaging Pricing and Packaging

In the case of upselling, the way in which you price and package your online courses will have an enormous effect on your performance. Here are a few tips to bear in mind when trying to be successful in this area of your upsell plan for current learners:

  • Create a Cross-Sell strategy Create a Cross-Sell Strategy When you've finished a course, suggest your course as the best way to continue learning. Explain how the new course builds on what they've just learned so your existing customers can see the benefit.

Improve Your Upsell Flow

We'll now look at some practical ways to maximize your upsell funnel and convert even more learners into customers.

The timing is crucial in the world of upselling. If you manage to reach users at precisely the right time, such as, after they complete an online course, you'll have an increased likelihood of getting an upsell.

If the student found value in the first course, and is eager to know more, you'll see them accept your upsell offer almost immediately.

You can present this deal via email, or on the final page of the course.

Our advice is to make sure that your email is automated and activated by the student completing the class so there isn't a large gap between when they wrap up the last lesson and receiving the message.

It's been our experience that seasonal events can be a great occasion to promote new items, especially if they're bundled together with other goods and reduced.

If you're in the position where you need reviews for your new course, this strategy can help immensely. It is more likely that people provide positive feedback if the course provides value and they get it for lesser than its full cost.

It is also possible to ask students to add your course to their cart when they're in the middle of shopping for something that's been out for a while.

Essentially, Order Bumps let you request visitors to prefer to add an item to their cart before they check out. It works wonders for course creators and membership sites.

Make Your Value Proposition Stand Out

Therefore, draw a clear illustration that illustrates the tangible advantages customers will experience when they purchase your program.

Can it aid them in securing the job they want? Start a successful side hustle? Learn an entirely new skill? Gain confidence in social settings? Focus on these tangible benefits so your target audience has a reason to take action.

Which is better? A robotized list of modules with ETA, and prices or a thorough and informative article that describes how you, as a learner will see positive results from each module? Virtually every person would pick the latter option.

We also suggest addressing common objections head-on. For instance, if time is a problem, you should highlight how the course fits within the busy schedules of.

If it's about money, emphasize the return on investment, or the value of the knowledge you're imparting. It is your job to demonstrate that these benefits are greater than various concerns.

Don't forget that your current students already have confidence in you.

It is possible to make your most out of this partnership through being open and transparent about why you have created this course and how it addresses their needs and will help them reach a goal or overcome a roadblock.

Measure and Improve

You can't improve what you don't know about. When it comes to upselling, tracking the right measures is essential to know what works and what doesn't.

Start with keeping track of your conversion rate in particular the percentage of students that have already purchased the new class. This can assist you in determining whether the students are really taking the upsell offer.

We also suggest keeping in mind your average purchase value (AOV). If your customers who are already loyal come to purchase more courses, your strategy could be paying dividends.

The aim is to boost how much people are spending in a small amount but still provide enough benefits to warrant the expense.

It's also important to keep an eye on your average value for customer lifetime (CLV), which represents the amount of time a customer spends with you over the course of.

Effective upselling can increase the your student interacts on your behalf over the course of time. If your CLV is going up, you're on the right track!

Conduct A/B Testing

Apart from analyzing the results You should also think about ways to improve with A/B testing. A/B testing is the process of testing two variations of a promotion, offer, or another piece of marketing content to find which one produces the greatest outcomes.

You could, for instance, modify the headline for your upsell landing page for half your audience to see if the new version outperforms your original choice.

Similar to that, you could try upselling to customers in two distinct times at the same time, one after they complete a course, then the second group will get an email in the day.

The aim is to create the best strategy that connects with your learners and encourages your learners to stay engaged on your website.

Be aware that improving your product can be a continual process. It is important to keep A/B testing even when you have found something that works well.

If you're not testing then you're not utilizing the opportunities to reach your audience. With that in mind, make sure you review your data, review your results from tests and be ready to implement changes based upon what you learn.

Final Reflections

The process of selling to learners already on your site helps to build rapport with existing customers to increase revenue. It's also about making sure people will always find something fresh and useful when they browse your site.

The strategies and best practices shared here today have helped us upsell over the years and we're confident that they will help you too.

It requires patience, time and perseverance to master upselling, but we are confident that you've got the information you require to get started or move your approach to the next level.

Have you got any suggestions for selling your online courses to existing clients? Send them to the community in the comment section below.

Don't forget to sign up to our newsletter for more advice on boosting your revenue for your online class or membership website.

Syed Balkhi       Syed Balkhi is the founder of WPBeginner, the largest free WordPress website for resources. With more than 10 years' experience, he's the leading WordPress expert in the industry. Learn more about Syed as well as his portfolio of companies by joining his social media channels.