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How can you promote your new Courses to Your Existing Learners

Sep 6, 2024

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The most renowned WordPress expert, Syed Balkhi shares tools and useful tips to increase the revenue of your course by promoting it to existing students.

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You've poured your heart and soul into developing incredible online courses for your existing learners. The students have told you that they love what you offer and now it's time to take things up to the next level by creating fresh, innovative content.

The difficulty is to get your students to be interested in the latest lesson. If you have to track the new audience each time you design your course, you'll have to devote an enormous amount of time and effort on marketing.

On the other hand, those who have already purchased an online course from you already recognize you and trust your site, and are likely to purchase from your site and again.

The most important factor in making the process work is selling more. This powerful strategy can increase your revenue and provide even more value to your dedicated students.

You'll be surprised by the results it's easier than you think to use this technique and still not come across as overly aggressive or insincere.

Today, we'll show you some tried and tested techniques as well as tips that you can use to sell your classes to existing students.

By the end of this article, you'll know what you need to return to your site and make significant changes to your strategy.

Let's take a dive!

Find out more about your target Audience

Before you can start upselling it is essential to be aware of the people you're speaking to.

Figure out what courses they are taking, which subjects seem to generate most interest, and what topics they would like to explore next.

Screenshot of Monster Insights WordPress Google Analytics Plugin

Also, we suggest you ask your learners directly about what they want to see next.

Make use of the course survey, feedback forms via email, as well as customer support chats as ways to gain insight into your readers and the expectations they have for your content.

The key is to focus on the right questions which result in actionable answers.

The information provided will assist you in making informed decisions when you're trying to reduce the list of possibilities or decide who would be the most benefit from your course.

Structure Marketing for Existing Learners

When you have a clear understanding of your target audience It's now the time to develop marketing strategies which are in line with their needs objectives, aspirations, and a few pain points.

These strategies can help present your upcoming courses and generate excitement by demonstrating how they will resonate with current students.

Leverage Email Marketing

You'll want to segment before you start sending out messages. Segmenting essentially means dividing the audience into different groups based on factors that are unique to your company.

In this instance you may want to consider dividing your list based on courses completed, completion rates and levels of engagement.

This allows you to design targeted ads that cater specifically to the needs of each audience, which means they are more likely to convert.

You can also use this occasion to tailor the offer you're delivering to customers.

Writing compelling subject lines and specific content that demonstrates how your new course builds on the lessons they've learned previously is sure to increase engagement and sales.

In context, personalizing subject lines will increase your rate of open by 22%.

RELATED >> What You Need to Consider Segmenting Your Email Lists •

Special Previews and Beta Access

Everyone loves feeling special. The ability to give your audience a an insider's view of your new program before going live can win them over and lead to them taking actions.

It was our experience that giving a limited number of users access only to the site helped to create anticipation, and resulted in more day one sales.

It is possible to use this to turn existing learners into paying customers. Consider offering the limited amount of beta spots at a discounted price on a first-come one-time basis.

If you are able to offer learners the opportunity to pay less, you can ask for detailed feedback so you can optimize your new course before it goes live.

This method not only aids you refine the course but also builds an ethos of belonging among the first few people to adopt your course.

Implement a Loyalty Program

You could offer points for courses completed and previous purchases, which can be used to get discounts for new purchases. This type of sales loop encourages people to keep purchasing from your store.

For example, after buying three lessons, the student may move from the bronze tier to silver. This means a bigger discount on future lesson plans.

Giving exclusive benefits to customers of the higher levels of service, like one-on-one training sessions or the ability to take advantage of bonus courses is an effective method to draw people's attention by presenting an upsell.

Harness the power of Social Proof

Nothing is more persuasive than successful stories. Showcasing testimonials from students who've had a positive experience from previous classes helps you to sell your product to new people however, it's also a efficient way of grabbing the attention of your existing clients.

The concept of social proof is known as the concept of social proof. Social proof simply means that individuals are more likely trust you and your products if they see that others and other organizations trust you.

If someone truly enjoyed your baking classes but isn't certain if they should take the expert-level cooking course in your upsell, a handful of well-placed reviews could easily influence their decision.

It's easy to see how others might have, including beginners, discovered valuable lessons and assume that they will, too.

Innovative Pricing and Packaging Pricing and Packaging

If you are considering upselling, the way in which you package and price your digital courses will have an enormous effect on your performance. Here are a few methods to keep 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 After the completion of an educational program, recommend your course as the best opportunity to learn more. It should be clear that the new program builds on the lessons they've learned, so existing users see the value.

Optimize Your Upsell Flow

Now, let's look at some practical ways to maximize your upsell funnel and turn more potential customers into existing customers.

The timing is crucial when it comes down to selling. If you manage to reach an individual at the right moment, for instance, after they complete a course, you have an increased likelihood of getting an upsell.

If the student found an advantage in the initial class and would like to study more, they'll take up your offer immediately.

You can present this deal by email, or even on the final page of the program.

Our advice is to make sure that your email you send is automatic and triggered by them completing the course so there isn't a large gap between when they wrap their final lesson and receiving the message.

We've found seasonal events are the perfect opportunity to launch new products particularly if they're packaged together with other goods and discounted.

If you're at a point where you need reviews for your new course, this method could be very helpful. People are more likely to give you favorable feedback if the course provides value and they get it for less than the full price.

It is also possible to ask students to add your course into their carts whenever they're in the process of shopping for something that's been available for a long time.

In essence, Order Bumps let you ask visitors if they would prefer to add an item in their cart before they checkout - and it works wonders for course creators and membership sites.

Highlight Your Value Proposition

So, paint a vivid illustration that illustrates the tangible advantages customers will experience when you offer a new training course.

Will it help them land a promotion? Start a successful side hustle? Learn an entirely new skill? Enhance your social skills? Focus on these tangible advantages so that your group of people has an incentive to take action.

What sounds better: a automated list of modules, ETA, and prices or an in-depth and engaging post that explains how you, as a learner can expect good results from each of the modules? Most people would choose the latter.

Also, we suggest that you address the most common objections head-on. In the case of time, for example, if it is an issue, make sure to make sure to highlight the way in which the course can fit into the busy schedules of.

If it's about money make sure to emphasize the ROI on your investment or value in the knowledge you're imparting. Your job is to show that the advantages outweigh these different concerns.

Don't forget that your current learners are already trusting you.

It is possible to make your most out of this partnership by being transparent and explaining why you have created this program and the way it meets their needs and will help to achieve a desired goal or over come a roadblock.

Measure and Improve

You can't improve what you don't measure. When it comes to upselling measuring the proper metrics is important for understanding what works and what doesn't.

It is important to begin by checking your conversion rates and the proportion of students that have already purchased the new class. This can help you figure out the extent to which people actually accept the upsell offer.

Also, keep an eye on your average purchase value (AOV). If customers that are returning to purchase more classes, then your plan could be paying dividends.

It is the goal to raise the amount people spend by a little bit and still offer them value to make it worthwhile.

Also, it is important to be aware of your average customer lifetime value (CLV) This is the value of time spent by a client with you over duration of.

Effective upselling can increase the students spend time with you throughout the year. If you're seeing your CLV go up, you're definitely on the right path!

Conduct A/B Testing

Aside from measuring your results, you should also consider methods to enhance your results with Testing A/B. A/B testing involves testing two variations of an offer, campaign or another type of marketing materials to determine what version yields the most outcomes.

You could, for instance, alter the headline on your upsell landing page for a portion of your visitors to determine if the updated version outperforms your original choice.

Similarly, you can test upselling customers at two different times, once as soon as they complete a course, and the other group will get an email next early morning.

It is important to come up with an approach that is resonant with your learners and encourages users to continue engaging with your site.

Be aware that improving your product can be a continual process. You'll want to continue A/B tests even once you've found something that works well.

If you're not experimenting, you could be not utilizing the opportunities to reach your audience. Keep this in mind and be sure to regularly review your performance metrics, examine your results from tests and prepare to make changes based on your findings.

Final Thoughts

Upselling to existing learners can be about building trust, boosting revenue, and making sure that people always discover something fresh and useful when they visit your website.

Strategies and the best practices discussed here today have assisted us to increase our sales throughout the years and we're confident that these strategies will aid your business, too.

It requires patience, time, and persistence to nail selling, however we are confident that you've got all the necessary information to begin your journey, or move your strategy to the next level.

Are you able to offer a better way of selling your online courses to existing customers? Please share them with us by commenting below.

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Syed Balkhi       Syed Balkhi is the founder of WPBeginner which is the biggest free WordPress resource website. With over 10 years of experience, he's the leading WordPress expert in the industry. Learn more about Syed as well as his portfolio of companies by being a part of his social media platforms.