If you’re reading this, chances are, you’re trying to find ways to promote your course in order to get more people to sign up.

You might have spent some time creating your teaching content for platforms like Udemy and Skillshare, or you’ve already been offering your course for some time. Either way, we’re hoping this article will help you discover or remind you of alternative ways to get the word out about your online course! 

1. If you haven’t already, figure out your ideal customer

This part might be easy if you’ve already been running your online course for a while, but with trends and needs shifting, revisiting who your ideal customer can prove to be useful. Besides, what’s the point of creating a course if you’re not sure who it’s for? 

Things you need to know about your ideal customer include demographics, their challenges, what matters to them, and what their wants are. Check out Do course creators need ideal customer profiles? by Contentsparks to learn more. 

2. Figure out what’s unique about your course

Research your competition. What are other course creators offering on the same or similar topics? How does yours differ? What value can you add that they won’t find in other courses? These are all questions you’ll need to answer and include in your marketing messaging to stand out. 

Tip: Have a look at how your competition is marketing themselves on social media. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel if there are formulas that already work. 

3. Use social media to build your reputation

Ok, this might feel like an obvious one, but let’s take this beyond your standard social media shares.  If you haven’t already, check out spaces online like Quora, or Reddit, for people who are asking questions related to your online course. Start answering questions and position yourself as the go-to subject matter expert. 

Leverage groups on LinkedIn and Facebook to engage in conversations to help you become more visible to your ideal customer. 

4. Collaborate with key players

Reach out to podcast hosts, YouTubers, bloggers, and other relevant individuals who are talking about topics that can easily be tied back to your online course offering. Leverage their following and collaborate by being a guest on their podcast or YouTube channel, ask to do Instagram takeovers or guest write a blog post for them. These are just a couple of ways you can get your name out to a wider audience. 

5. Make promotional videos

Experts say that if content is king, then video is queen. Just like in chess, the queen is the most powerful piece! So let’s tap into that power by creating promotional videos for cross-platform sharing. 

This would previously seem like a daunting task, but with Detail’s AI-generated highlights, you don’t even need to skim through your videos to find the most important parts, Detail does it for you! And what’s more? You can get the vertical version of your videos for Youtube Shorts, TikTok and Instagram Reels with just one click!

6. Host a free webinar or online Q&A

This is a great way to give a taste of your online course to people who are interested in your topic. This helps position you as an expert and build trust with your audience. Make sure you record it to use snippets, or the full video for promotional purposes afterward.

7. Give people a free sample 

One way of getting people to register for your full online course is to offer free access to the first lesson or module. This will give them insights into your course structure, quality, and teaching style, and hopefully make them want more.

8. Collect reviews from former & existing clients

If you’ve already been running your course for some time or even offered 1-2-1 consultations or coaching, reach out to your customers for feedback to share online. This will not only strengthen your credibility, but it can even help your search ranking. 

9. Optimize your website

Speaking of search ranking, if you don’t have a website already, this is the best time to create one. 

Make sure you do a keyword search to get insights into what words to use on your website. There are loads of free keyword research tools available to help you get started. 

Remember to adjust all other places you have an online presence. YouTube, for instance, has its own SEO you can leverage. 

10. Run ads

If you have a budget for it, run ads on Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, or other platforms to increase your visibility and reach. 

Google ads are a great way to get your course in front of people who are already searching for your topic, and LinkedIn ads can help you narrow down your target audience by region, title, industry and much more. 

Still need to create your online course?

If you’re just getting started with creating your own online course, Detail can help. Download Detail on the App Store and check out this guide on creating a video tutorial in minutes.