6 Not So Secret Ways To Market Your Online Course

Marketing a business online is no easy feat. I can't tell you how many hairs I've wasted in anger every time I hear someone say something along the lines of "I'm sure this approach to marketing will work, but I lack the time execute it." It's not uncommon for me to wish to reply with, "Well don't you worry and with this attitude you'll soon have plenty time to do your own thing after your competitors put them out of business." However I always respond with a smile and provide a reason why people must not overlook "the little aspects" that are essential to promoting a company online.

I'm Brandon Hassler and I am the Founder & Chief Executive Officer Market Campus. Market Campus. Simply put, we show business owners and entrepreneurs how to create a strong online presence and, ultimately, increase revenue. We started in July 2014 offering classes in digital marketing that were held physically in Utah. Because of this, we widened our classes to students who are online in December of 2015 and currently have students learning across more than 40 countries around the globe.

I wanted to team up with you and show what's worked for us. I hope you'll find ideas and be able to improve how your course is promoted.

  Want more than six ideas to promote your course? Take a look at this video:

  Here are 6 "not too secret" methods to promote your online course. These strategies have worked well with us.  

  1. SEO & Keyword Research

You've probably read a million instances that search engine optimization (SEO) is dead. Wrong. As long as there are search engines the optimization process will continue to exist. The search engine isn't the only one to exist, but billions of search results occur every single daily on Google all by itself. In Market Campus, we've put a lot of time and effort into optimizing our pages to be search engine friendly, but even more important, the end user.

Prior to optimizing your site for search the first step is to determine the key phrases you intend to focus on. One of the easiest ways to accomplish this is by using keyword Planner that is a free tool offered by Google. Begin by entering some phrases that you feel the customers you want to target are looking for. If your course teaches people how to code, then you can type phrases such as:

• "learn how to code"
• "learn to code online"
• "how to learn to code"
• "online coding course"
• "best method to get started learning to code"

As you do some searches for yourself on Google You may come across additional phrases you could also add to your list. The Keyword Planner will show you the Keyword Planner shows estimates on the search volume per month behind each phrase.

Under that section, they'll recommend additional keywords that you can target based on the terms you've already entered. The information will provide a quick snapshot of the interest (or lack thereof) for your particular course. Also, you can see how competitive some of the search terms are. The image above will notice that "Suggested Bid" is on the upper range. This is usually a sign that ranking your courses on that particular keyword might be difficult, it's also an indication that customers are spending money for products or services. If you're searching for keywords that receive quite a bit of traffic, but with a low or blank recommended bids, it could be a sign consumers don't want to spend for the course as much (or at all) as they would for something similar to learning to code.

This Keyword Explorer tool gives you a far more sophisticated report on the likelihood of your site attracting visitors from the specific search term.

We don't have time to go through the steps to follow for effective keyword research as well as SEO. However, this is something that we explore during the course we offer called Market Campus class. In the meantime, this will make your mind spinning, and enable you to conduct some study to lay the foundation to your SEO strategies.

  2. Hijack Questions/Communities

Remember, you took the course knowing the number of students who try to figure out the skills you've taught. What are they doing to achieve this? They're asking questions.

One of the first things I do is to ask Google questions that my potential clients might be asking. In this case I did a search for "best digital marketing training".

Notice the #1 organic result? Quora. It is a site that I have the power to alter or influence, and it just so happens to be pulling in a lot of eyeballs. I went to Quora and, in my response I offered Market Campus. I've even asked my former students to go on the Quora inquiry and recommend Market Campus. My reply has had thousands of views. This particular post has attracted a lot of paid customers. Quora is one of my favorite (and most effective) sources to find qualified leads.

It is also recommended to visit Quora.com and typing your course niche in the search box. It will show every single question posted on Quora that is related to the subject you are teaching. To help automate the process I suggest you use Google Alerts and setting something that is similar to these:

  site:quora.com "digital marketing"  

You would obviously change "digital marketing" with your niche. Make sure you make use of quotation marks around the term you'd like to receive alerts to. It will allow you to receive alerts each whenever Google finds a new page on Quora that contain the phrase you are targeting.

These are people who are in search of solutions which you can provide. It doesn't get more qualified than that!

FUN FACTHow did we come across ? It was because 's Chief Executive Officer, Greg Smith, replied to a Quora query that we stumbled upon.

This same approach works on websites like Yahoo Answers, Reddit and numerous others. I would also suggest taking benefit of Facebook Groups. You can simply type your subject into Facebook's search bar, filter it down to Groups and then you'll discover a myriad of groups of members who are interested in what you are selling.

Whatever the audience, always provide value in your answers. Always. Don't also use every answer as an advertisement for your course. That is tacky and could appear like an unprofessional spammer. In my responses, I always try to include some substance to the answer and will occasionally mention Market Campus if it makes the answer stronger.

  3. Email Marketing

The obviousness of this is that I don't even need to discuss it. It is a huge loss of income by not engaging in the process of contacting potential customers and collecting data. In the case of Market Campus, email is the largest source of revenue. Particularly when it comes to courses that are priced higher. The majority of people won't buy your course during their first visit. Do you know how to stay in touch with them?

For collecting emails, we use the free version of MailMunch and couldn't be more content. It is recommended to test different types of box (pop up and floating bars, scrolling box, etc) to determine which one works best for your users. Another great (and free) service you could try is SumoMe.

If your course offers any type of trial or free trial, you should be certain to utilize a no-cost service like Zapier (which works well with ) and then automatically add those signups to your "potential customers" group on your email marketing platform.

  4. Validation (social evidence)

There is a good chance that the majority of people that visit your site have not heard of the company prior to visiting. If they are willing to pay your cash, they need to make sure that they're receiving worth for their money. Sadly, the online education market is full of shady courses and scams with poor content. Even though your course might be great, you need first build the trust of the customer.

Video has the ability to trigger so many more emotions than plain text. Humans are drawn by people who are similar to them. It's a simple reality of human nature. Use that to your advantage with your advertising and marketing strategies. Do all you can to earn their trust.

You may also need invest some money or time to create a solid design. There have been many students who sign in and tell us the attractive and appealing design of our website made them feel much more confident about making purchases. Market Campus currently uses the X Theme for WordPress to design its website and we love it.

  5. Make Them Money

It's along the similar lines to validation, and is a huge oversight that we made early on when advertising our courses. Our marketing focused so much on our teaching that we didn't really discuss why it's valuable to learn. Check out the following phrases:

COURSE A "Learn the latest methods of digital marketing and how to improve you marketing!"

Course B "Learn the latest tools, techniques and strategies to drive more traffic to your website and ultimately increase your sales."

Let's say you were forced to spend $500 on one of those programs. In light of those two words Which one do you think would be the best choice? Most people choose Course B. Why? The reason is because the term focuses on the end result. Keep in mind that the course you offer is a commitment. You must prove to your potential customers that by they investing X dollars in your program, they'll get something in return. When is the last time you bought something with the expectation that would receive a lesser amount as a result? Most likely, never.

As an example, people don't hire a personal trainer for the sole reason of getting into shape. They'll certainly get into shape but what they're actually investing in is the beach body create a feeling of confident in themselves. They're investing for the end product! Exercise is simply the process to get to the end outcome. Fitness instructors don't promote exercise; they market the outcomes. That's why each fitness ad you see at 2 am focuses on the amount of the weight will be lost, and how good you'll be feeling about yourself. Are your marketing efforts focusing on the final result/value?

  6. Retargeting Ads

YouTube allows you to get greater exposure than an Super Bowl ad will for less. Market Campus pays Market Campus, we pay roughly $0.06 for each time someone views any of our pre-roll ads on YouTube. YouTube counts as a "view" as a person who's watched 30 seconds or more of the ad or has watched half the commercial, or whichever comes first. This means that you do not have to pay for anyone who clicks"Skip Ad" or the "Skip Ad" button after having waited five seconds. Branding for free!

  Are you ready to utilize digital marketing to grow your online course business?  

I truly hope that this blog offered some helpful insight as ways to get some traction going for your online courses. There are many other ways to go about marketing your online course, however those I've presented to you below are ones the majority of online course designers will be able to apply quickly.

Brandon Hassler is the Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Market Campus, a digital marketing institute that has helped students across the world improve their digital marketing skills. Throughout his career in marketing, Brandon was a part of several of the largest firms in the world which include Adobe, Vivint, Intuit, Discover, ESPN, and Dell. He is a huge fan in digital marketing and enjoys sharing that love with others.