How to Sell Online Courses: Easy Step-by-Step Guide [2023]

Stylemix Editorial Team

Congratulations on creating your online course!  At this stage, it is important to know how to price your online course correctly to get a great reward for your hard work.

Creating an online course takes time and effort as there are many decisions you need to make.  You will need to choose the right topic, present your content in a friendly way, and choose a platform to host your course among other things. 

To make your efforts worthwhile, it’s critical to understand how to price your online course.  In this post, we will share some valuable tips to use to determine the cost of online courses so that you turn your venture into a profitable business.

How to Sell Online Courses in 2023?

What determines your online course pricing?

Every entrepreneur who invests their time and resources in creating an online course looks has an end goal of making a good income.  To make this dream a reality, it is critical to determine the rate to sell your course, which is not too low or too high. 

Here are some factors to help you determine how to price your online course correctly.  

Your level of experience and devoted time creating the course

The more skilled you are, the more valuable the knowledge you will share with your audience.  This has a direct impact on the amount you charge for it.  Coming up with your online course content takes time.  Keep a record of how much time you have spent creating this course from the very beginning to the end.  Put into consideration the amount of time it took you to master the skills.  Do you have practical experience only or do you have a degree, master’s, or PhD?  All this information is essential to help determine the value of your course for your future students.

The market prices range

This is the stage where you analyze your competitors.  This will help you get the awareness of the costs of your rivals.  If the value for your course is high in your opinion, you can go ahead and charge a little higher than your competitors.  However, it is important to provide value to your audience so they see the worth. 

The cost to market your course

Now that you know how much your course is worth, the next question to ask yourself is how much to invest in marketing.  Take into consideration the paid tools that you have used in all stages of your course creation.  Before you set a price for your course, take into consideration the expenses you will incur in marketing.  Do not go for marketing tools or platforms that will cost you too much and leave you at a loss.   

The impact of the course to the audience

Every course created has an end goal of changing lives.  You will need to ask yourself these hard questions to help you envision the end goal and thus the return. 

  • Will the course improve your student’s mental state?
  • Will they find a new job from this course?
  • Will the course solve a good number of problems?

Generally, the higher the value, the higher the price!  If the course helps solve some major problems for your students, they will not mind paying a little higher for its worth.  Then you can make a good profit in return.

Will the course save the student time? 

One reason why many people pay for an online course is to save time.  Today, there is an overload of information.  You can get information about anything at the click of a button.  However, to get clear information that does not waste your time opening links and more links, students look for more direct courses.  Informative and direct online courses saves them time and eliminates a high rate of mistakes and false starts.

The type of content in the course

Every student looks for a course that is interesting and captivating as well as solving problems.  If you provide your students with captivating workbooks, videos, and audio you will be meeting their needs in a major way.  You will also be able to price it at a favorable price for you and your students because it’s valuable.  

Some effective tips to help you make a profit from your course

Now that you know the determining factors to price your course, we have some effective tips to help you not just sell but make a profit.  They include:

  1. Know your target audience and their needs

Every marketing strategy has a target audience.  You ought to know who you are selling your course to and the main problems your course will address.  This knowledge will help you create a course that will bring value to your students.  To determine the value of your course, evaluate the following things: 

  • The purpose of the course and the possibility to achieve the desired results;
  • The uniqueness of your experience and a clear approach to how it meets the need;
  • Expected transformation by end of the online course.
  1. How will the course transform the life of the student?

This is a critical question you need to answer as you create the course.  This is what will directly influence the course pricing.  So what is the expected outcome after the course? 

  • Personal accomplishments;
  • Promotion at work;
  • Increased income;
  • Improved quality of life;
  • New skill or ability;
  • Improved relationships.

Depending on the category your course will influence and the level of impact it brings, you will be able to determine the cost.

  1. How much would you like to earn from this course?

It’s no secret, every entrepreneur wants to make as much as possible from online courses. However, disregarding your aspirations and expectations is the wrong approach to selling your course.  Your efforts and time taken to prepare for this course are an investment that needs to reward you. 

It is therefore important to calculate the amount of money you would like to make, and add your expenses for creating, launching, and marketing.  The costs will help you determine how many clients you need to attract each month.  Remember to make it feasible. 

  1. Consider the perceived value

Do not fall for the lie that cheaper products attract more clients.  Most people who look for cheaper options are not serious about getting adequate information from an online course.  Their primary intentions do not motivate them enough to finish a course and get the benefits that come with it.  So do not lower your course price to fit this group of people because they are not the ones you are targeting.

Underpriced online courses attract a perception from the audience that the value of your product is low.  Most are likely to hesitate if this course can transform their lives as much as they want.

Setting your price too low is the wrong approach to compete with your competitors.  Work out a solution for the pricing of your product and look for ways to reach out to the market that needs your course.  This is the only group that will appreciate the value and will be ready to pay the proper price.

  1. Set a budget for marketing

No matter how hard you try to promote your online course, it is impossible to reach every desired user.  You will need to factor in the estimated marketing expenses and add them to the final cost of your course.  Ensure that once you deduct all the expenses and investments, you will still make a good profit.

  1. Work out payment options

If you settle on a medium price, you can offer different plans and payment options to clients.  Introduce more payment options to take care of different people instead of using only one method. Here is an example of what to do:

  • Offer your students an option to pay in instalments.  If the course takes about 3 months, allow your clients to pay at least at the beginning of every month. If you break down $1500 into three payments, it looks more attractive than one large payment that can scare away some students.   
  • Full payment.  Those who choose to pay for the whole course deserve a more attractive price tag.  This is an attractive trick in many online courses and it works.
  • Tiered pricing.  This option is for the wise ones!  The more the client wants, the higher the price in a subtle way. Here is an example, let’s say a basic course is $600, while a course with a bonus of a week of practice in your company is $900, while a course with a bonus and one live session costs $1,350.

Finally,

This was a brief covering of how you sell your online courses.

We have covered important factors that determine the pricing of your online course.  It is critical to learn that there are possible consequences of devaluing your work, so don’t do it.  Selling your course at a price lower than its real worth has some disadvantages that include: 

  • You will not have money for advertising.  Paid advertising is expensive. The online course price should include expenses for marketing.  You cannot successfully market a course without paying for ads.  Organic traffic is no longer reliable to attract adequate numbers.
  • This can make you lazy.  Making a little amount of money will not motivate you enough to implement all the necessary marketing strategies.  You will not be motivated to look for new ways to advertise, edit your course or add on some new features.  To avoid this, make sure you work on this educational product to get decent pay.

Be proud of your work!  Every product finds its customer.  For example, Apple products have created a market even though they are known to be more expensive than other brands.  It’s the same for your online course.  You can’t be using a comprehensive e-Learning business solution and still charge a lower price.  If you undervalue your course, who else will consider it valuable and charge an attractive fee? 

Don’t compete with your rivals by decreasing the price of your product.  The solution is to give valuable content for a worthy investment.  All the best in pricing your online course.