3 Ways to Grow Your Online Course Business

By: Justin Ferriman • September 19, 2017
Filed Under:

Starting a business selling online courses takes time and energy but is only half of the battle. You also need to formulate a growth plan.

The skills needed to launch a business and grow a business aren’t always the same. There is some cross-over, that’s for sure – but the mindset is completely different.

When you were creating your course you were working to get all of the pieces working together.

  • Create course content
  • Set-up a website
  • Configure shopping cart
  • Create content for marketing purposes
  • Add support mechanisms

This took you a lot of time, planning, and testing.

And if all went well then you were able to launch and make some initial sales with your course. Assuming you were doing marketing well in advance then you probably are reaping the benefits of additional sales after your launch.

Increasing Your Bottom Line

Sales are great. But more sales is always better.

After an initial launch period every business needs to find ways to increase their exposure and to grow. If you are making some steady course sales then you know that you have a proven market. Here are some ways that we have seen other course creators expand their reach and increase their bottom-line.

Create Complimentary Products

This involves selling to your current customers which is often the easiest sale you can make. Create products (physical or digital) that are relevant to your course material.

For example, maybe you can create some Advanced lessons as an up-sell to your course that teach some special techniques.

If your course is on physical fitness, maybe you up-sell a physical workout journal. You can get creative with these.

Offer Complimentary Services

Maybe your course teaches people how to do something. Even if you teach them, they may realize that it’s not something that they want to do.

In this case, it’s a perfect time to offer a “done-for-you” service. You can really charge a hefty price for services because they take you (or your staff) time to do.

You can create scarcity by only accepting a certain number of customers.

Pursue Partnerships

Start an affiliate program and begin giving people a cut for promoting your course – but be strategic about it.

Reach out to people in your network who have an influence and audience. Give them a generous commission for recommending your course.

Here’s a tip: contact non-profits and partner with them.

Non-profit organizations are always open to hear ideas about how they can bring in more revenue. Give them a nice cut of the revenue, and also allow them to offer special discounted pricing for your offering. This way everyone wins: you, the non-profit, and the people who purchase.

These are just three of the quick ways that you can grow your course business into the next year and beyond. As you realize more success then new opportunities will become apparent, and as a business owner it’s your job to spot those opportunities.

Justin Ferriman

Justin started LearnDash, the WordPress LMS trusted by Fortune 500 companies, major universities, training organizations, and entrepreneurs worldwide. He is currently founder & CEO of GapScout. Justin’s Homepage | GapScout | Twitter