How can you promote your new Instruction to existing students

Sep 6, 2024

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Leading WordPress expert Syed Balkhi shares tools and practical tips for increasing the revenue of your course by promoting it to current students.

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You've poured your heart and soul into creating stunning online courses to your existing learners. Your audience has expressed that they are thrilled with your content, but now you're ready to take things to the next level with fresh, innovative information.

The difficulty is getting your existing learners to take part in your new course. If you have to track the new audience every time you create your course, you'll have to devote an enormous amount of time and energy marketing.

But, on the other hand people who've already bought your course recognize you and trust you, and are more likely to buy from your site again.

The most important factor in making the process work is upselling. This powerful strategy can increase your revenue and offer greater value to your committed students.

It's true It's much easier than you think to use this technique and still not come across as aggressive or salesy.

We'll present to you some proven techniques and tips that you can use to upsell your new courses to your existing learners.

When you've finished this blog, you'll know what you need to return to your site to make important adjustments to your strategies.

Let's take a dive!

Find out more about your target People

Before you begin selling, you need to really get to know who you're communicating with.

Figure out what courses they're taking, which topics seem to spark the most interest, as well as what they want to see in the future.

Screenshot of Monster Insights WordPress Google Analytics Plugin

It is also a good idea to ask your students directly their ideas for what they'd like to learn more about in the future.

Utilize course surveys, feedback forms via email, and customer support chats as ways to learn more about your audience and what they expect from your content.

The trick is to formulate questions with a specific focus that result in actionable answers.

The information provided will help you make informed decisions when you're trying to narrow down a list of possibilities or decide which audience would benefit most from your course.

Structure Marketing for Learners who are already in the classroom

When you have a clear understanding of your target audience, it's the time to design marketing strategies which are in line with their needs as well as their goals and pain points.

The strategies below will assist to showcase the new course and build hype using methods that are resonant with existing learners.

Leverage Email Marketing

It is important to segment your audience before when you begin sending messages. It is basically dividing the audience into different groups, based on the factors that are unique to your company.

In this case, you should consider segmenting your lists based on the courses that you have taken, the rate of completion, and engagement levels.

This allows you to create targeted campaigns that speak specifically to the needs of each audience This means that they're more likely to convert.

You can also use this occasion to tailor the offer that you're sending out to your users.

Making compelling subject lines as well as customized content that emphasizes the ways your course will build on what they've already learned will lead to more engagement and sales.

To give you a sense of context, utilizing personalized subject lines alone can boost your rate of open by 22 percent.

RELATED How You Can Segment Your Email Lists >

Provide Exclusive Previews of the HTML0 or Beta Access

Everyone likes feeling unique. Offering your existing audience sneak peek at your new course before it goes live can win them over and lead to them taking steps.

It was our experience that granting a select group of users exclusive access resulted in increased anticipation and generate more day-one sales.

This could be a great way to make existing learners paying customers. Consider offering a limited number of beta slots at a reduced price on a first-come second-served basis.

For the sake of giving students a lower price, ask for more detailed feedback so that you can optimize your new course before it goes live.

This approach not only assists you refine the course but it also helps create the feeling of ownership for your early adopters.

Set up a loyalty Program

You could offer points for courses completed and previous purchases that can later be redeemed for discounts on new orders. The kind of sale loop encourages people to keep buying from your site.

In the case of three courses, a learner may move from bronze level to silver. This means a bigger discount on future lessons.

Benefits that are exclusive to more prestigious levels, such as 1:1 training sessions or access to bonus courses, is an effective approach to attract people's attention when you present an upsell.

Harness the power of Social Proof

Nothing is more persuasive than successful tales. Showcasing testimonials from students who've enjoyed your courses in the past helps you to sell your product to people who are new, but it's also a effective way to get the attention of other existing customers.

This is known as the concept of social proof. It is basically when customers are more likely trust you and your products when they know that other people and organizations also trust you.

If someone truly enjoyed your baking classes but isn't sure if they want to take the expert-level cooking course that you offer as an upsell, a handful of good reviews will easily influence their decision.

It is evident that other students might have, including beginners, discovered value in the lesson and think that they would, too.

Innovative Pricing and Packaging Pricing and Packaging

If you are considering upselling, how you package and price your digital course will have an enormous impact on your success. There are several tips to bear at hand if you wish to nail this aspect of your upsell strategy for students who are already taking classes:

  • Create a Cross-Sell strategy Create a Cross-Sell Strategy At the end of an educational program, recommend your next lesson as a great method to keep learning. It should be clear that your new lesson builds upon the lessons they've learned, so your existing customers can see the benefit.

Improve Your Upsell Flow

Now, let's look at several practical strategies to maximize your upsell funnel and convert even more learners to customers who are already in your database.

The timing is crucial when it comes down to selling. If you are able to contact a user at just the right time, such as following their completion of an online course, you'll have a much better chances of landing an upsell.

If the student found worth in the course, and is eager to know more, you'll see them agree to your upsell offer nearly immediately.

It is possible to present the offer via email, or at the end of the class.

We suggest making sure that your message is automated and triggered by them completing the lesson so there isn't a big gap between them wrapping up the last 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 items and are heavily discounted.

If you're at a point that you require reviews on your new course, this strategy could be very helpful. People are more likely to be positive about your course when the course is worth their time and is priced lower than what it would cost.

Consider asking learners to add your new course into their carts whenever they're in the process of shopping for something that's been available for a long time.

Essentially, Order Bumps let you request visitors to want to add a particular item in their cart before they checkout - and it works wonders for course creators and membership sites.

Make Your Value Proposition Stand Out

Therefore, draw a clear illustration that illustrates the tangible benefits customers can experience if they purchase your course.

Could it assist them to get the job they want? Start a successful side hustle? Learn a new skill? Improve in social situations? Concentrate on the tangible benefits so your target group of people has an incentive to act.

Is it better to have a robotized list of modules with price, and ETA or a thorough and informative article that describes what you, the student will see good results from each of the modules? Virtually every person would pick either option.

Also, we suggest that you address the most common objections head-on. For instance, if time is a concern, emphasize how the class fits within the busy schedules of.

If the issue is money-related make sure to emphasize the ROI on your investment or value in your teaching skills. It is your job to demonstrate that these benefits are greater than various concerns.

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

Make your most out of this partnership by being transparent and explaining the reason behind this course, and why it is addressing their requirements and helps to achieve a desired goal or over come a roadblock.

Enhance and measure

It's impossible to improve on what you don't measure. When it comes to upselling monitoring the appropriate metrics is important for understanding the factors that work and which don't.

You'll want to start with checking your conversion rates, specifically the percentage of existing students who purchase the new course. This can help you figure out the extent to which people actually accept the upsell offer.

It is also recommended to keep an eye on your average order value (AOV). If customers that are returning back and buying multiple new courses, your strategy will likely pay off.

It is the goal to raise the amount of money people invest just a bit, and still offer them worth to justify the cost.

Also, monitor your average value for customer lifetime (CLV), which represents how much a person spends with you over duration of.

A successful upselling strategy should boost how your student interacts on your behalf over the course of time. If your CLV is climbing up, you're on the right track!

Conduct A/B Tests

Apart from analyzing the results You should also think about how you can improve your the A/B test. A/B testing involves testing two versions of an offer, campaign, or another piece of marketing content to find which version gets the best results.

For example, you could modify the headline for your landing page with an upsell for half your audience to determine if the updated variant is more effective than your previous.

Similar to that, you could test upselling customers at two different times when they have completed a course then the second group will get an email next early morning.

The aim is to create a plan that resonates with your visitors and motivates them to keep engaging on your website.

Be aware that improving your product is a continuous process. The goal is to continue with A/B tests even once you've found some thing that performs well.

If you're not testing and testing, you may be losing opportunities to reach your audience. In this regard, ensure that you regularly check your performance metrics, examine your test results, and be ready to adjust your strategy based on the information you gather.

Final Reflections

Selling to current learners helps to build rapport with existing customers, boosting revenue, and ensuring people can always find something new and valuable when you visit your site.

The best practices and strategies discussed here today have assisted us upsell over the years and we're confident that these strategies will aid your business, too.

It requires time, patience, and persistence to nail the art of upselling. However, we are confident that you have the information you require to begin your journey, or to take your current plan to the next step.

Have you got any suggestions for selling your course online to current clients? Share them with the community in the comment section below.

Don't forget to sign up to our newsletter for additional tips to increase your revenue for your online class or membership website.

Syed Balkhi       Syed Balkhi is the founder of WPBeginner The largest and most free WordPress resource site. With more than 10 years' experience, he's the leading WordPress professional in the business. You can learn more about Syed and his portfolio of firms by joining his social media channels.