Marketing Automation to Increase Revenue The Concept of Marketing Automation and what you can do to make it happen

Sep 1, 2022

Marketing automation is a crucial aspect of productivity and success for a company that offers online training to streamline the processes which divert your attention from the bigger overall picture. Discover how you can start today.

Would you believe us if we said you that your email list is the most profitable selling channel? This is true. Your the warmest and active prospects will be from your email list. Since the revenue generated by the marketing of emails is projected to reach 11 billion by the year the year 2023 ( Statista), your ability to send an appropriate amount of emails quickly is crucial.

It's crucial to be aware of the fact it's possible to generate new revenue streams through online education. With the tightness of budgets as well as other issues it's possible that you don't have the time nor the resources to implement an advanced email marketing system currently. This is where automation in marketing can help, helping you to hit your sales targets while making your customers experience memorable through autopilot.

In this article this article, we'll teach you the fundamentals of simple and affordable methods for setting up email marketing software that will:

  • Engage students and improve percentages of students who graduate from courses as well as certifications.
  • Effectively market to grow your autopilot program
  • Prevent churn and keep your streams of income steady

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     What does Marketing Automation mean to businesses as well as Organizations via online courses?    

Marketing automation is a software instrument that allows repetitive communication tasks in autopilot. Most likely, you're already getting emails from your favorite brand and retailers, with announcements of the latest sales or product announcements. Most people aren't aware that they are using automated marketing software to design and send out the promotions on a regular regularly.

Automating the marketing process for both companies as well as organizations that offer online courses goes beyond sending out newsletters via email or discounts. You can, for instance, utilize your automation tool to develop continuous lead generation funnels that will collect email addresses, and then deliver reminder messages to potential customers, then invite your prospects to purchase your online course. It is also possible to make use of Marketing Automation to deliver your course modules with the help of an "drip schedule" and send messages to students reminding them to meet the prerequisites of the course.

An easy and smooth course for students is directly dependent on the level of revenues that this course is expected to generate. In fact 59 percent of B2B marketers rely on email marketing as their most effective revenue generation channel. (Benchmark)

HTML0 The most common methods that businesses and other organisations that use online courses, make use of emails to market are:
Sending out educational content that pushes leads further down the sales funnel
Timely email messages that keep students engaged and advancing within their online classes
Offering additional online courses and learning products
Refinement and testing marketing strategies for maximum Return on Investment

     Why you should consider investing in marketing automation?    

Utilizing tools like marketing automation software and other tools, your organization or company can reach millions of students over the internet , and also run an online-based course business that is profitable. Smaller teams struggling for funds have been using platforms for marketing automation to reach their sales targets, show ROIand keep the focus on expanding their businesses.

Marketing automation simplifies crucial process that generate income without needing to manually measure or segmenting it, which is exhausting, difficult, and time-consuming. The software frees up time and mental energy to concentrate on more important matters. It is now possible to work onyour business instead of being focused on the task at hand.

Here are the main advantages of using marketing automation software is a must-have to leaders who want to scale an business:

Marketing automation is an essential element of the conversion funnel

The term is usually used to describe a "sales funnel" the "conversion funnel" depicts the path that a prospective buyer follows through the process before, during and following they become an undergraduate. The idea of thinking about the buyer's journey as a funnel can assist you to map out the steps buyers go through when they make their decision.

Conversion Funnel Example Graphic
  • The uppermost part of the page: Customers who are aware of their issues and are looking for solutions
  • Middle People who know which alternatives are on the table and start to narrow the choices they have
  • The final word:Customers who have completed sufficient research are now ready to take your call-to-action (CTA).

To improve your conversion rates to increase your conversion rates, you'll require continuous funnel optimization. Marketing automation provides you with the necessary data to assess each phase of your funnel, and identify points for improvement. The data will reveal the percentage of people who drop out of your customer journey and in what order, at what point it happens and the triggers it and the reasons behind it.

A digestible report that is produced automatically by your platform for marketing automation highlights issues in your funnel. It could be that your sign-up process is too complex or the message isn't hitting the right pain factors to trigger the right kind of.

Marketing automation allows you to understand your customer journey, from when a prospect first discovers your business/organization to when they become a paying student. The details about your customer's journey in order to:

Make sure your marketing content is adjusted to appeal to your targeted market:

Marketing automation allows you to connect with the people you want to reach via the proper channel, and with appropriate messages that are appropriate for the level of engagement. As an example, you can provide case studies or testimonials for those further along the path, rather than when they first discover about you.

Customers who qualify can be identified faster, so you can take the correct step:

Marketing automation software moves customers between funnel stages into a single stage, based on their actions and the actions they take. Here are some common scenarios of funnel stages

  • Subscriber
  • Lead
  • Marketing Professional Qualified
  • Sales Qualified
  • Customer

An example of moving through funnel phases is when a potential customer provides your email address for downloading an educational PDF. The PDF will be automatically changed to an "lead" status and notify you that the person is a possible client.

 Make use of Marketing Automation to Create Evergreen as well as "Always On" sales strategies

There are many moving pieces to be thought about when selling and advertising an online class. It is a time for campaigns, promotions and the ongoing production of educational tools and services. Implementing each of these channels isn't easy with no marketing automation.

Organizations and companies typically employ marketing automation software in order to organize and plan the campaigns and launches to permit their business or revenue stream to run like a perfectly-oiled machine.

Automating your marketing removes the necessity to do repetitive tasks like emailing, publishing on social networks and the updating of your website. Automating marketing lets you "set your goals and leave it" so that you can reach people at the appropriate time, regardless of the time zone , or work all hours. You could, for instance, program an email that is automatically asking for testimonials and feedback to be delivered 30 days after someone is done with the class.

  • There is no more hand-written email blastsIt could come as a shock to you that a lot of marketers continue to manually distribute email blasts and manually select the list to send to. Automate your marketing campaigns with the marketing automation process through the creation of rules and triggers.
  • It's time to stop muddled lead handoffs: Automation in marketing can to unify sales and marketing teams. You can prevent your teams from going back and forth about "warm" and "weren't-actually-warm" leads by setting up a lead scoring system that automatically ranks how sales-ready a lead is.
  • Create loyal customers using autopilot. Use your automation platform to build emails to promote upsells during purchases or remind customers of special promotions. Additionally, automation for marketing allows you to create loyalty programs to make your customers feel valued and special and will lead to repeat business.

Automatic Testing can be a great way to test and Improve Your Marketing Strategies for the Most ROI

There's not a perfect marketing campaign--just one you test and improve on with time. "Measuring ROI" is simply a fancy way to measure the extent of your marketing effort brought you to your ultimate objective. Marketing automation helps assess the effectiveness of your marketing efforts and send out marketing emails with two headlines for comparison of open rates.

     Determine Your Goals for Marketing Automation    

Making use of marketing automation in order to bring numerous students in the classroom is only the beginning. Automation also helps your business/organization keep students engaged, improves retention rates, and decreases churn. Your organization should ensure that the costs to acquire customers are less through giving them an outstanding learning experience could positively impact your profits!

These are the top parameters for your email marketing you should be monitoring using your automated marketing system:

Sales Conversion Rates

As SEO is getting more competitive and the price of advertising is increasing every year, one of your top priority should be enhancing the sales funnel. Think of the sales funnel a best way to get the ideal clients automatically.

You can imagine an sales funnel as a process that you can guide potential students through, leading to their decision whether or not to take the plunge (or opt out of enrolling) to enroll in your class. It's your duty to utilize your marketing automation system to not just draw new customers to your sales funnel , but to measure your conversion rate to allow you to adjust and improve.

Example of a Digital Marketing Funnel

The assessment of the effectiveness of your sales funnel is dependent on the complexity of your sales funnel. However, the most effective starting point is to look at the general efficiency of your sales funnel's conversion. Your overall conversion percentage is the quantity of prospective customers who make it to the end of your sales funneland become paying customers.

In order to determine the conversion rate of your business, divide the amount of paid students by the leads who came through the sales funnel. Divide the number by 100.

Conversion Rate Formula Graphic by

Customer Success (CS) Metrics

You're probably already familiar with the phrase "customer service" but the business-to business (B2B) market is characterized by its own terminology: the client's happiness (CS). Think of CS as a more sophisticated conscious version of the conventional customer service.

Support for customers is a function that answers inquiries and resolves issues at the point of contact Customer satisfaction can be attributed to the relationship you establish with your clients. It's a relationship that anticipates their needs and make sure they're satisfied by implementing a strategy for keeping your clients.

Here are some of the most important measures that can help you determine whether you're having success in your CS efforts and the ways you can utilize marketing automation in order to improve these measures:

  • The course has ended: To get the transform you promised to students, they must be able to reach the end of the course. Engaging your students in your class is difficult, especially in the case of busy professionals who are juggling multiple things. Utilizing automation for marketing, you could periodically send out emails that motivate and provide useful resources as well as ensure your students are accountable.
  • The time from the completion of your course: Even if your course is self-paced, you should monitor the amount of time, on average, your students need to complete your course. Additional assistance could speed up or even accelerate the course's completion. You can think of other options you can provide students to assist learners understand the material quicker and assist to remember what they learned faster.
  • Rate of failure for participants (for the course of certification): By understanding the reasons students fail, and which places in which they face the greatest trouble, it's possible to enrich your classes and provide students extra help. Send automated marketing emails encouraging students to retest.

HTML1 Customer Retention Rates

In the current economic climate, it is more challenging to find new clients (especially in B2B highly competitive marketplaces) This is the perfect moment to focus on retaining and decreasing churn. The retention of customers is an effective method of increasing student engagement while strengthening connections with your brand. The happy students can result in good referrals, and can provide significant word of marketing possibilities for your business or business.

Your communications should help the students who pay for your services feel appreciated and informed (especially in the case of an enrolment or subscription model). Utilizing marketing automation as part of your customer retention strategy is well-worth it in particular because B2B marketers report that the latest features and product announcements within marketing emails have the ones that get the highest click-through rates. (HubSpot Blog Research 2021)

Sales from Upsells and Cross-sells

It's not just about enticing a student to purchase another item. There are many ways to help your students to feel satisfied when you are looking to improve the value of their purchase over time. Marketing automation is a solution to the primary reason behind customer churn as well as students: the lack of engagement and concentration. Make use of your marketing automation system to maintain existing customers, or to upsell them onto other offerings, or cross-sell to other programmes.

Three methods that automating marketing in general can increase cross-sell and upsell opportunities:

Easy onboardingBuyers aren't perfect Some students start to feel it within minutes of purchase. This is why sending out messages promptly when students have been enrolled is crucial. Your message's clarity puts buyers' minds at relaxed, and reassures them that they've made the right choice. Set up an email trigger to greet your clients. greeting email trigger in your marketing automation software to ensure that customers understand the steps to follow and what they can expect.

Give students all the necessary information What's your method of delivering the necessary tools, assistance methods, procedures and other resources to help them get started? An email welcoming them will aid in making the student feel more prepared to begin learning. Include all links, attachments, and the other resources they'll need to start with no confusion.

Engage students in each section of the course: Make sure your students feel supported and acknowledged when they complete the module. In order to keep them interested You can create regular check-in emails. These check-ins offer students an opportunity to talk about their issues or ask for assistance so you can troubleshoot issues before they result in the churn.

     How Do Marketing Automation Function?    

Marketing automation is the combination of tools to make it easier and less complicated to accomplish the time-consuming jobs in today's jobs of marketing and sales. By automatically identifying as well as "tagging" leads so that you can give them enough time to them and also making an online hub to host advertising campaigns, automated marketing helps to streamline the online educational process so that it can develop and grow.

Active Campaign Funnel Example

Imagine not having to press "send" with every communication, email or article you write. At the end of the day, messages are sent in a way, automatically and based upon a set of directions referred to "workflows."

A marketing workflow is an set of procedures that an automation program automatically executes to conclude a project. The software you're using could have already-built templates however, you are able to create them from scratch if you're looking to alter the workflows.

In order to understand how the marketing automation will work in your specific firm or business You must first be aware of the three primary elements you'll need to use to meet your goals in relation to enrollment and sales

  • Triggers Triggers
  • The journey of the client (conversion funnel)
  • Segmentation , personalization, and even segmentation

Triggers Triggers

Triggers represent the messages that your platform's marketing system gets, which means it will know who to send emails to and when to deliver it. Your platform will operate according to "if/then" regulations. These rules look like this: If an interested customer downloads our guide on how to use the platform, users will begin immediately receiving our weekly informative email with the same topic.

Triggers provide a more personal customer experience, in contrast to typical 50percent off email you get from your favourite clothing retailer. Based on the Smart Insights trigger emails achieve 71% more open rates, and a 102% greater rate of click-through than standard email newsletters.

The most popular types of triggers for email that can be useful to businesses as well as organizations that offer online courses:
Welcome emails:

An initial welcome email will be sent out including instructions for the next step, after the student is registered in your online course.

Nurture emails:

They usually send out emails following the time someone is "opted into" via downloading your content or signing up for your email newsletter. Each nurture email triggered helps potential students get to know you and your business/organization, why you're special, and how your unique expertise can help them. The biggest names in course design like Miss Excel have an email newsletter that keep subscribers informed.

Retention/engagement emails:

Utilizing Marketing Automation to Direct the customer's journey

In an age where inbox zero is the top choice by many, giving your email address is no simple task. Email subscribers are more likely to buy and engage because there's more at stake in giving your email versus giving a 'like' or a 'follow.' In other words, the inbox is valuable real estate for marketers.

The most popular entry point for prospects is opting in to (usually cost-free) information that is valuable. A free item of value (also known as the gated asset) you provide could include a webinar, a free download or other marketing content that caught their curiosity enough to open their inbox.

Once someone has opted into your mailing list, make use of your platform for marketing automation to follow up with them throughout each phase of their journey. Be sure that your messages are tailored to the following stages to make sure your clients feel valued, acknowledged, and respected.

The Awareness Stage (Top of Funnel)

When you've piqued a prospect's desire to buy your product or service and value, they move to the next step of the journey of a customer which is at the point that they're aware of your name and your services. It is at this point that prospects are deemed to be "top of funnel." Most common ways of transforming someone from acquaintance to an expert is

  • Organic or social media content
  • Paid ads
  • Blog posts
  • Education videos (YouTube and LinkedIn)
  • Newsletters

The Stage of Interest (Top/Middle of Funnel)

The stage of interest is when the lead is simply learning about your existence to gaining an interest in the service you offer or your company. Based on the knowledge they gained during the awareness phase and a realization that your program couldfit to their circumstances and help them in achieving their objectives. They would be interested in learning more.

Don't make the common marketing mistake of thinking that if you have a student who is interested on your list, it's the perfect opportunity to be bombarding potential customers with promotional and discounts. You must continue to provide value that keeps them engaged and curious about the changes that you can assist them with getting to.

There are instances where companies, like in Miss Excel's case use an email-based newsletter to nurture their subscribers. However, there are a variety of strategies to keep their those who are new to the service satisfied, including

  • Email drip campaigns
  • Catalogue of items
  • Demonstrations
  • Free samples
  • Whitepapers, guides, and guides

HTML0The Desire Stage (Mid/Bottom of Funnel)

Once you've been noticed by a prospective customer, they'll be looking for an incentive to buy. In the"want" phase, they'll take a more active approach to requesting details about your products while thinking about purchasing. This is also called the "consideration" stage.

The mid-to-bottom stage of your funnel to convert will allow you to offer the right educational content, details, and support to your customers in making crucial decision-making.

HTML0The Stage of Action Stage (Bottom of Funnel)

The point at which action is taken is when a lead converts into a buyer who makes. The leads at this point have the desire and motivation to make a purchase with your company. It's up to you to impress your prospects with the last push. Some examples of the information that can convert an individual from admiring your message to making a purchase include:

  • The case study and the testimonials
  • Pricing pages
  • Special deals

Enriching your Marketing Emails to resonate with personalization

The ability to personalize subscribers "first name" of subscribers to email is not a new strategy to increase conversion. With more details than ever to hand Marketing automation lets users send the subscribers regular emails that are relevant to their needs and based on the actions they take.

The following are three best strategies to tailor your emails to keep your readers entertained.

  1. Allow users to automatically segment through the internet-based survey

Based on the business your company is in, and also the content of your class It's possible that you don't want to give "101" information to students who are looking for more advanced techniques. If so, consider making an announcement in your welcome emails to ask the reader what type of content they'd like to receive based on the experience they've had.

  1. Send emails based on your location and the date.

For the best results for your marketing campaign maximize your marketing efforts, it is important to send out your emails at the dates and times those who are most likely to be reading the messages. The ability to separate your email messages by timezone enables the scheduling of emails that will increase opens and clicks.

  1. HTML0 Segmenting emails on basis of demographics

The basic strategy for segmentation that marketers begin with is the use of demographics. Demographic information is automatically collected by using an opt-in form. fill out the opt-in forms. The demographics you'll need to include on your opt-in forms include the age, gender, place of work, and the income. This is not a revolutionary technique, but the demographics will enable you to customize your messages to individual buying preferences.

The more details you collect on your customers during the registration process, the deeper you'll be able to identify the audience. Be careful to not ask for too much information as this could make people nervous and not register.

     Execution What exactly is Marketing Automation    

If you've a better understanding of the notion of marketing automation, and what impact it can have on the growth of revenue and retention now is the time to implement. By following the steps listed below and you'll soon be able to take advantage of the an opportunity to connect with millions of students annually.

Step 1: Create an email list that is segmented of email addresses with tags

Personalization is the most important factor in creating segments for your customers. One of the most effective places to look for segments is when subscribers are able to enter the funnel. It's about figuring out  how they got on my list of email subscribers?' Then, you'll be adjusting your email content to suit them.

Automation in marketing can aid in automating the segmentation of your lists by being able to label users according to sites they have visited.

Step 2. Distribution

Distribution is a simple way of sending relevant content to your customers. For example, whenever you make a blog post on your site , you want it delivered automatically to readers. It is possible to set the email frequency to once a week or once twice a week, contingent on the frequency at which you publish content.

Step 3: Configure automated sequences

step 4: Configure your funnels, which are automatically created

The funnel you create is the sequence of actions you take your prospects through so that they can become clients when they are done. The automated funnel you create will comprise various marketing options such as emails, social media as well as landing pages.

HTML0 See It in action The Ecommerce Course Funnel Snapshot

Imagine hosting a webinar to promote your class in eCommerce successful strategies. In order to promote the event, you should plan some promotional tweets as well as LinkedIn postings prior to your scheduled event. Social posts will direct users to your registration site, that is where participants can submit the information required in order to sign up for the webinar.

If you register for an online webinar, the automated marketing platform will tag them in the form as "interested by eCommerce" as well as "registered to attend a webinar.' Instead of waiting for them webcast, you could create an autoresponder to send to leads you have identified. The sequence can include useful content that's pertinent to eCommerce as well as nurturing them further and improving the rate at which they convert to the webinar.

Although some leads may not convert from the seminar, providing them with valuable details will help them stay at the top of your list, and you'll be in a position to keep them interested by nurturing them with other automated sequences. The result is an engagement loop which makes them ready to launch your next campaign.

     Beware of These 3 Top Marketing Automatization Sins    

Your email marketing involves significant amounts of energy and time, therefore you want to avoid potential pitfalls that could sabotage your success. In the best case, these mistakes could prevent you from getting maximum return on the investment in automation for your emails. If you're not vigilant, you might unintentionally turn people off, sabotaging the growth of your email lists.

A mistake is to not set a goal and strategy prior to entering into marketing automation

     Instead, do this Start by setting goals for your email marketing strategy.

Second error: You're focused on sales and not taking care of your customers.

The focus of your attention could be on sales if you're writing excessive emails, or the emails you send do not offer sufficient quality to keep your readers interested. The most costly errors when marketing via email is creating messages that focus on your own company rather than helping the customer with their concerns.

"A shocking 78% of those interviewed with HubSpot Research have unsubscribed because the brand sent an excessive amount of emails."

Instead, Prioritize high-quality over quantity in your email messages to ensure you don't send unprofessional mailers.

Before sending any email, consider if the contents of this email will be enough for my customers to want to read more Are I following the guidelines of marketing via email? Make sure that I've provided value prior tobefore marketing your service. Make sure you strike an appropriate balance between educational messages, worth-based emails as well as sales emails.

The third error is the use of one-size-fits all campaigns.

Your database is full of leads that are qualified, however you're using your marketing automation software to distribute identical emails to each customer. If you don't segment your leads method, your subscribers will be lost since your messages won't be appropriate or helpful to them.

Instead: Start with a basic stage of segmentation. Later, increase your scale at your own pace

The main reason behind segmentation is to provide accurate information to the recipients of your email. You may lack the expertise or capabilities for deeper segmentation. In the case of running a tiny marketing department your team may not have the time to design a number of email sequences for different audience segments. In that case begin by creating the basic ones including the geographical location so that your messages are sent at the times that those people are likely to view they.

The Last Word on Course Entrepreneurs and Marketing Automation

As a business offering online training, you're focusing on top-level operations that produce revenues. Automation is vital to the growth and productivity of your business in that it streamlines processes and diverts your attention away from the overall view.

Connect your Marketing Automation System Through a Flexible, Dependable LMS

With Plus, you can create, design, market and sell online courses accessible to customers as well as your business partners. What's the best part? It integrates with the marketing automation software that can make a significant part of increasing your income potential by providing courses, memberships, or even certificates.

There are a variety of Marketing Automation Platforms available on the App Storeor connect it to one you've created your own.

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