How do you sell your new Instruction to existing students

Reader Disclosure

A renowned WordPress specialist, Syed Balkhi shares tools and actionable tips on boosting course revenue by upselling to students who are already enrolled.

What's inside          Toggle

•     Learn More About Your Target Audience
•     Structure Marketing for Existing Learners
•       Leverage Email Marketing
•       Offer Exclusive Previews or Beta Access
•       Implement a Loyalty Program
•       Harness the Power of Social Proof
•     Smart Pricing and Packaging
•     Optimize Your Upsell Flow
•     Highlight Your Value Proposition
•     Measure and Improve
•       Conduct A/B Testing
•     Final Thoughts

Your heart and soul into creating incredible online courses for your current students. The students have told you that they are thrilled with your content however, you're now ready to take things to the next level with fresh, innovative material.

The difficulty is finding your current students to be interested in the latest lesson. If you have to track the new audience every time you create an instructional program, you'll need to spend a lot of extra time and energy marketing.

However, customers who've purchased an online course from you already recognize you and trust you, and are likely to purchase at your store in the future.

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

Believe it or not, it's easier than you think to apply this method and still not come across as aggressive or salesy.

Today, we'll share a few successful techniques and tricks to use to sell your courses to your existing learners.

By the end of this post, you'll have the information you require to return to your website and make meaningful changes to your strategy.

Let's take a dive!

Know More About Your Target Audience

Before you start selling before you can start selling, it's important to understand who you're speaking to.

Figure out what courses they are taking, which areas seem to evoke most interest, and what do they hope to learn next.

We also suggest asking your learners directly about their ideas for what they'd like to look forward to next.

Make use of survey questions for your courses, feedback forms via email, and customer chats to understand your target audience and the expectations they have for your material.

The key is to ask targeted questions that result in actionable answers.

This information will help you make informed decisions as you reduce the list of possible topics, or figure out which audience would benefit most from your course.

The Structure Marketing Methodology for Learners Already in School

When you have a clear understanding of your target audience then it's time to create marketing campaigns that align with their interests as well as their goals and a few pain points.

These strategies can help to showcase the new course and generate excitement using methods that are resonant with existing learners.

Leverage Email Marketing

It is important to segment your audience before when you begin sending messages. Segmenting essentially means dividing the people you are reaching out to into groups according to factors that are unique for your particular business.

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

This process allows you to design targeted ads that cater directly to the specific needs of each person This means that they're more likely to be successful in converting.

It is also an opportunity to personalize the offers you're sending to users.

Making compelling subject lines as well as customized content that emphasizes how the new course builds upon what students have already learned can lead to greater involvement and increased the sale.

To give you a sense of context, utilizing personalized subject lines will increase the open rate of your business by 22 percentage.

RELATED How You Can Segment Your Email Lists >

Provide Exclusive Previews of the HTML0 or Beta Access

Everyone loves feeling distinct. Offering your existing audience sneak peek at your new program before going live can win them over and lead to them taking actions.

We've observed that giving a small group of users exclusive access created anticipation, and resulted in more day one sales.

It is possible to use this to make existing learners paying customers. You might consider offering the limited amount of beta slots at a reduced price on a first-come first-serve basis.

In exchange for giving learners a lower price, ask for more detailed feedback so that you can enhance your training before launching it.

This approach not only assists in enhancing your courses but it also helps create a sense of ownership among your early adopters.

Set up a loyalty Program

It is possible to offer points in exchange for courses completed and previous purchases, which can be used to get discounts on new orders. This kind of loop can encourage customers to keep buying from your site.

As an example, after purchasing three courses, a learner may move from bronze to the silver tier, which is an increase in discount for future lessons.

Offering exclusive benefits for the higher levels of service, like one-on-one training sessions and the ability to take advantage of bonus courses is a surefire method to draw people's attention in an opportunity to upsell.

Harness the Power of Social Proof

There is nothing that sells better than success testimonials. The presentation of testimonials from students who've enjoyed your courses in the past helps you to sell your product to potential customers however, it's also a efficient way of grabbing the attention of other existing clients.

This is known as the concept of social proof. It is basically when people are more likely to trust you and your products if they see that others and other organizations believe in you.

If someone really enjoyed your baking classes but isn't certain if they should go through the advanced cooking classes in your upsell, a handful of well-placed reviews will easily influence the course.

It's easy to see how others might have, including beginners, discovered an educational value and believe that they'll also.

Smart Pricing and Packaging

In the case of selling, the way you price and package your digital course could have a significant impact on your success. There are several strategies you should keep in mind when trying to be successful in this area of your strategy to upsell current learners:

• Design a Cross-Sell Plan - After the completion of the course, you can suggest a course as the best way to continue learning. Make it clear how the new program builds on the lessons they've learned, so existing users see the value.
  

Improve Your Upsell Flow

We'll now look at some practical ways to improve your upsell process to convert more students into existing customers.

Timing is everything in the world of upselling. If you manage to reach users at precisely the right time, such as when they have completed an online course, you'll have an increased chances of landing an upsell.

If the student was able to find worth in the course, and is eager to know more, you'll see them accept your upsell offer almost instantly.

It is possible to present the offer by email, or even at the end of the program.

It is recommended to make sure that the message is automated and activated by the student completing the class in order to avoid a big gap between them wrapping up the last lesson and receiving the message.

It's been our experience that seasonal events can be a great opportunity to launch new products particularly if they're packaged together with other goods and reduced.

If you're in a position in which you'll need feedback for your new course, this method could be very helpful. People are more likely to be positive about your course when the course is worth their time and they get it for lower than what it would cost.

It is also possible to ask participants to add your course to their cart when they are in the middle of shopping for something that's been out for a while.

Essentially, Order Bumps let you request visitors to like to add a specific item to their cart before they checkout - and it can be a huge help for course designers and membership sites.

Highlight Your Value Proposition

Therefore, draw a clear illustration that illustrates the tangible advantages customers will experience when you offer a new course.

Will it help them land the job they want? Start a successful side hustle? Develop an entirely new skill? Enhance your social skills? Make sure you highlight these advantages so that your group of people has an incentive to act.

What sounds better: a automated list of modules, price, and ETA or an in-depth and informative post explaining how you, the learner can expect positive outcomes from every module? Virtually every person would pick either option.

Also, we suggest that you address the most commonly-asked questions head on. If, for instance, time is an issue, make sure to highlight how the course fits within hectic schedules.

If it's about money make sure to emphasize the ROI on your investment, or the value of the skills you're teaching. It is your job to demonstrate that the benefits outweigh these different concerns.

Remember, the existing learners are already trusting you.

It is possible to make the most of this relationship by being honest and describing why you have created this program and the way it meets the needs of your clients and can help you achieve your desired goal or over come a roadblock.

Measure and Improve

You can't improve what you can't measure. In the case of upselling measuring the proper measures is essential to know what is working and what's not.

Start by keeping track of your conversion rate in particular the percentage of existing students who purchase your new course. This can assist you in determining whether the students are really taking your offers to upsell.

It is also recommended to keep an eye on your average purchase value (AOV). If customers that are returning to buy more courses, your strategy could be paying dividends.

The aim is to boost how much people are spending by a little bit while offering them enough benefits to warrant the expense.

Also, keep an eye on the average lifetime value of your customer (CLV) This is how much a person spends with you over the course of.

Effective upselling can increase the your student interacts with you throughout the year. If you're seeing your CLV go up, you're definitely on the right path!

Conduct A/B Testing

In addition to analyzing your outcomes, you should also consider methods to enhance your results with Testing A/B. A/B testing is the process of testing two variations of a promotion, offer, or another piece of marketing materials to determine what version yields the most result.

For example, you could modify the headline for your upsell landing page for a portion of your visitors to see if the new variant is more effective than your previous.

You can also test upselling customers on two separate occasions when they finish a class, while the second set will receive an email in the day.

It is important to come up with the best strategy that connects with your visitors and motivates them to keep engaging on your website.

Be aware that improving your product is an ongoing process. The goal is to continue with A/B testing when you have found some thing that performs well.

If you're not experimenting and testing, you may be not utilizing the opportunities to reach your audience. With that in mind, make sure you review your data, review your results from tests and be ready to adjust your strategy based on what you learn.

Final thoughts

Upselling to existing learners is about building rapport increasing revenue and making sure that people always discover something new and valuable when they visit your website.

The strategies and best practices shared here today have helped us upsell over the years and we're confident that they can help your business, too.

It requires patience, time and determination to succeed at the art of upselling. However, we're sure that you've got all the necessary information to start your journey or to take your current approach to the next level.

Are you able to offer a better way of selling your course online to current customers? Send them to the community in the comment section below.

And don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter below for additional tips to increase the profits of 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 of knowledge, he is the top WordPress expert in the industry. You can learn more about Syed and his diverse portfolio of companies by following him on his social media platforms.