How to Sell a Digital Course Profitably in 2023 – Course Sales Blueprint
If you want to sell a digital course in 2023, pay attention.
I have been creating and selling digital courses for 3 years now.
Heck, I even had to build my own Course hosting software for African creators → Kobocourse.com
I have seen course creators come and go. I have seen hundreds and hundreds of courses with little or no sales.
And it worries me.
It worries me because creating and selling profitable digital courses will be one of the best income generators in the coming years. Yet so many creators are not equipped with the right selling skills.
Here are 5 Mistakes that drastically reduce course sales:
- – Poor relationship with the audience
- – Lack of a Pre-launch strategy
- – Unvalidated Course ideas
- – Poor Course Titles
- – No warm leads
Let’s fix that!
Most course creators give up before they ever earn $1000 online.
My very first digital course was a total flop. I sold only 2 students on a course I had spent several weeks creating. I have since learned from my mistakes and put hours into mastering how to sell digital courses.
When you invest hundreds of hours creating a digital product nobody buys, you face:
- – self-doubt
- – self-ridicule
- – a sense of worthlessness
- – giving up on your dreams
- – $0 earned for all of your hard work.
Not. Good. At. All.
But the good news is, it can be fixed!
Here’s what you must do to make sure you create a digital course that sells.
Sell Your Digital Course Before you Create it
If nobody will pay for your course before it exists, chances are they won’t pay for it when it does.
Your course is the productized version of your system or formula. It exists in your head before it exists as a digital product.
The easiest way to know if your course idea will sell is to sell it as an idea first.
This could look like this:
- – 1:1 Coaching
- – A paid live class
- – A paid consultation
The idea is to get paid for the idea first. Once proven, productive.
I walk you through this exact pre-selling strategy in Selling the Invincible
Focus on Growing a Waitlist for your Course, not just Followers
Most creators fail to understand that followers do not equal buyers. If you want buyers, you need to capture, nurture and convert leads.
Do not try to sell your Course to just your Followers.
This is where most creators get it wrong. Your followers follow you because they enjoy your free content. You need to separate the people who want free, from those who are ready to pay.
This is where your Waitlist / Leadmagnet comes in.
A Waitlist is a specific group of people who are interested in the particular course you are offering.
A Lead magnet list is a group of people who have opted in to receive related content. You can use both.
But let’s focus on a ‘specific’ Waitlist.
Having a Waitlist for your Course helps you target the exact people you need.
Here’s how to build a targeted, high-converting Waitlist
- – Create targeted content daily
- – Make a CTA to Join your Waitlist
- – Offer an incentive to Join (e.g get 50% off when the course launches)
- – Make your Waitlist the priority
- – Ensure the Waitlist has a nurture email sequence
- – Spread your nurture emails over the period till your launch
- – Launch to your Waitlist first (make them feel special)
It doesn’t matter whether I’m trying to sell an eBook, host a paid class or sell a coaching offer, I always launch to a Waitlist.
This ensures you have a hot list of buyers just waiting to pay you when your course is ready.
Know Your Numbers. Walk Backward from the Goal
If you intend to earn $5,000 by selling your digital course.
How many people would need to buy your course and at what price?
If you price at $100, you’d need $100 x 50pple = $5000
Knowing your numbers is crucial. Now you have something to work with.
Let’s assume you’ll convert at 5%.
This means you’d need 1000 people who are the ideal /potential buyers for your course. How would you generate enough traffic and eyeballs to get 1000 targeted people?
Also, how long would it take?
Ideally, you want to plan to have 1000 contacts before your course launches.
Have a Clear, Optimized Traffic plan
To sell your course, you need people. Would you get these people via paid Ads or Organic content marketing?
If you said Content marketing, then you need a very clear, detailed content plan.
Plan 30-60 Days of content leading up to the course launch. Here are the main questions you must answer when planning your course launch content:
- – What social platforms would you create content on?
- – Where is your ideal audience hanging out online?
- – What topics would you focus on (must be related to your course)
- – How long would you create content to ramp up awareness?
- – How would you move contacts from social to your Email list?
Share the Journey of Creating your course
People buy into your story, your journey, and your methods.
They want to know what you are doing and how you are doing it. This is the basic human desire to be nosy. You should tap into that.
Do not be like the course creators who lock themselves up for weeks, creating their courses in isolation. Your course creation process itself is content.
Instead of “creating” new content to promote your course, document the process of creating your course and share stories of why you’re making this course.
That’s usually the content you need to eventually market the course.
Craft Compelling, Irresistible Course Titles and Introductions
Your course title can make or break course sales. A compelling title/Introduction can be the difference between a course that sells and one that flops.
This would usually be on your Course Sales page, Landing page, or Flyers.
Here are 5 Elements of a Compelling Course Title + Introduction:
- – The pain the course solves
- – The Future-paced benefit the student will gain
- – The hard things they would avoid by taking the course
- – Social Proof that this course will work
- – Time-frame for achieving the said result
You can easily use a Course Title Generator like this one to create endless course ideas.
Launch your Course to a Live Audience
One of the best ways to launch a course is to launch it Live. This would give you the chance to speak to a group of people and show:
- Problems your course is solving
- The benefits of solving said problems
- Who your course is for and who it isn’t for
- Why do they need to take advantage now
- The cons of not solving these problems
- Answer questions and learn objections
You can Launch your course Live using a:
- – Webinar
- – IG Livestream
- – Telegram Live
- – Twitter Spaces
- – Paid workshop
Power a Live-launch with an already-warmed Waitlist and you have the recipe for a sold-out Course launch!
Sell Your Course in A Sales Funnel
A Sales funnel will help you sell your course on autopilot even when you’re not online. Funnels do not have to be complicated either.
- – Map out your buyer journey
- – Identify how people will find /hear about you
- – What happens when they find you
- – How would you introduce them to your course?
- – What steps would they take to purchase your course
This sales funnel could look like:
The reader sees your Content → Likes your content → Opts in to get your Leadmagnet → Gets an exclusive deal to buy your course → Buys your course
There are so many versions of Sales Funnels but you only need ONE SIMPLE FUNNEL.
Here’s a Free Sales Funnel Blueprint detailing the 3 BEST Sales Funnels for Course creators.
To sum this up, your entire Course launch and sales begin long before you finish making your course.
You want to:
- – Get leads
- – Ramp up awareness
- – Grow a warm audience
- – Start earning money for your ideas
- – Sell your course before it is ready
Follow this complete roadmap and you cannot fail to have a profitable course launch!
When you are ready, here are 3 Ways I can help you now:
→ Selling the Invincible → A Simple system to Monetize your Knowledge and Go From 0 – $1000 Fast
→ Work with me 1:1 to build your Profitable Course Launch Strategy + Sales Funnel→ Book a Call here
→ Learn how to attract your target audience and grow an Email List of Buyers → Watch the Masterclass