Secrets to for creating a Great Online Course Sales Funnel
When you've been in a conversation regarding internet marketing, there's a good chance you've come across the word "funnel." There's more and more talk about funnels, and more as well as more companies are promising to assist you in creating your perfect funnel.
People are using funnels to promote things like premium coaching or memberships. So it stands to reason that funnels are an excellent idea to sell an online training course. They can!
So in this article, we're going to talk all things funnels. What makes a funnel work? What are the most important things to avoid? And we'll give you three options for creating your own funnel for your online courses.
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This piece...
What is an online course's sales funnel?
What is an online course sales funnel is NOT
What makes the sales funnel for online courses work?
Facts about online courses funnels
How do I make an online course sales funnel
How do you fill in your course's online funnel
How can you make an online class using
What is an online sales funnel for courses?
A sales funnel for online courses is a technique for selling that starts by attracting the most number of possible clients and then moves forward step-by-step towards the final, intended course purchase. The typical customer experience for the funnel begins with a no-cost or low-cost offering, such as an online webinar, a free gift (opt-in) or a an online community membership. Those who are qualified move through the funnel and ultimately, purchase the course!
A course's funnel may have upsells at one final stage, but often, course creators add things like one-on-one coaching, a private community, another course, or an event that is live.
On the way, the potential customer realizes (by investing a little time or money) you're the perfect person to aid them and then they are mentally ready to purchase the course. And that's awesome!
A funnel relies on a success ratio of leads to sales - and the recognition that not all buyers will purchase. That's okay. One of the keys to creating a successful business model for online courses is getting enough people in your funnel to ensure that enough of them get to the final step but it's crucial to tweak your funnel to make it more efficient. Then we'll go over everything!
A value ladder as well as the universal marketing truth
Here at Mighty We really love the concept of a value ladder, to refer to funnels. Since when your ideal student invest a little time or money (in exchange for a bit worth) then they will be able to trust your. As they trust you will be more willing to spend more time or money for more value.
And dang that's great math!
What is an online course funnel for sales is NOT
- High-pressure sales tactics. Let's face it that we've all experienced it. When you're not sure you're getting the right product or the person can help you, but you're PRESSURED to purchase - that's the worst!
- The "Buy it today" button. The purpose of a funnel is nurturing and delivering value. A funnel needs to contain at least two steps on its value journey.
- One offer. In essence the term funnel means multiple offers. This doesn't mean that it's all paid. Heck, your funnel might have 3 free things as well as an offer to buy a course. But there should be multiple points offering worth.
- Universal. There is no single-size funnel that fits all. There are definitely most effective practices, and ClickFunnels has created a strong name around the repeatable elements of funnels. However, a funnel that works for someone else might not work for your audience. You need to experiment.
- The bait-and-switch. Are you looking to construct an effective funnel? You must ensure that you are providing worth at every step. Anyone who requests their readers to download a poor useless PDF, and hopes to convert them into a $ 215 course, should be rethinking their strategy.
What makes an online course sales funnel work?
Trust
The strength of the funnel is trust. Feel it. Experience the power of the funnel. (IS this a Yoda quote? That ought to be!).
The ENTIRE purpose of this ladder of value is to earn people's trust. You must trust them to:
- They know the problem.
- You're the right person to resolve it.
- You're worth their dollars.
People work hard for the money. And most of us don't like throwing it around - particularly in these times of economic uncertainty.
What is the best way to earn people's trust?
Simple to do. Give value. Before ever asking for cash. If you can give greater value to your Ideal Student than is required to obtain it, they'll be loyal.
And once they've spent a bit of time or money on your product, and realize that the investment was worthwhile then they'll move on to the next stage!
Ideal for Students
To get the online course funnel to function, you require an ideal student. This is the focused model of the student who would pay for your course. There should be a need which you could help them resolve... That's why they should take your course.
How do you find your Ideal students?
First of all, get particular. "People who love dogs" is not an accurate description of an Ideal Student. In all seriousness do you know anyone who doesn't enjoy dogs?
We need to reduce it to. "People trying to train the puppy of their first year" may be the best candidate for the Ideal student.
So, as you're designing your course and course flow, you should meet with people that you think might make good Ideal Students! Discover their struggles as well as their challenges. Ask them would they be willing to spend money for an answer.
You can then develop what we refer to as an "Big" Purpose Statement to guide your course. It looks like this:
Offering Value
We've talked about the importance of value over. However, once you've found the Ideal student, the next step is to present them with all the information they need - and give an upfront value. If you're planning a great high-end treat that will show you're TOTALLY the right person to help you, think about what do they require to know?
In the case of those who have just had a dog, perhaps it's the PDF that has a sample dog-training schedule. Perhaps it's a webcast with the tips to train your dog.
It is only possible to provide value when you are aware of who you think the Ideal student is. What's awesome? If you provide value to your customers, they'll trust you more. Amazing stuff.
Software
Okay, last but not least, most funnels need some software. What are you looking for? The answer will depend on the type of funnel you design. In general, however an online course funnel will require software to generate leads, software to nurture leads, and software to give the class.
It can be somewhat confusing, but truthfully, it's is a fantastic online learning tool is like all of the above to help users.
But here's the stuff that you may require software for:
Attracting Potential Customers |
Delivering Value |
Selling the Course |
|---|---|---|
|
Paid Ads |
Webinar Platform |
Point of sale |
|
|
PDF Downloader |
LMS or streaming platform |
|
Social Media |
Community platform |
Chat and messaging |
|
A site (SEO) |
Software for email |
Community |
|
A podcast |
Event platform |
Analytics |
The kind of funnel you're building will dictate the software, but we'll get into that.
The truth about online course funnels
- Only a percentage of people are likely to buy your product - this is called the "conversion" rate. Nobody creating a funnel ever expects 100% of people to buy the thing. Expect anywhere from 1-10 percent maximum.
- Funnels require the time to test. You can be sure that the first funnel could lead to your goal however it's very unlikely. It's likely that you'll have to come up with a solution. Yet, as the founder of ClickFunnels Russel Brunson has said - You're only one click away!
- A funnel that is effective can make millions. Have reasonable expectations, however, be aware that many course creators run people through a funnel repeatedly until they have found one that's effective.
- Funnels must generate more revenue than they cost. Marketing is a process where the acquisition cost is an important number. If you are aware that every dollar you pay for Facebook ads you get $30 back in course revenue, you may just keep feeding that funnel!
How do you make an online course sales funnel
There's not one single way to build a sales funnel to sell an online course. You must choose what best suits your needs and your audience. Let's look at a few, including the one that we secretly think is the best. But you can mix and match the.
Sequences of Email
This sales funnel of an online course is as old as the internet. You've seen it in the past. You landed on someone's website and they offered you a "Cool pdf" or "Free Training." You handed over your email address and started getting some emails from them.
If it is successful, an email sequence builds an increasing amount of trust. It is easy to imagine your Ideal students waiting eagerly for the next one, hanging on every word you speak. In order that when the invitation to sign up for the online course comes around, they'll say "Gee Oh, my God, that's awesome!" !"
This is the ideal scenario.
You know the way email functions. There's a good chance that you've been on 39 different list of email services and your wonderful missives end up in their junk-mail box after a while.
SO, you've got to figure out if it's a good fit for you and the people you're targeting. Also, it could certainly be element of a larger funnel. If you're on a smaller mailing list (e.g. 100 people) having an additional 2% of them to purchase will not make a difference. If you're dealing with 100,000 people and 2% of those purchasing is quite a bit of revenue!
Webinar
You know this one too. This is where you sign-up for the "Free Training" - usually through advertisements posted on Facebook, Youtube, or LinkedIn. It's a way to watch the video either live or pre-recorded. (Or the video is prerecorded, however they make it appear live. Those sneaky sneakers. )
It is a movie that you watch, and then they offer some benefit Then, at the end they offer you the chance to buy or redeem a coupon or an offer to bring your attention.
The reason webinars are more effective than email is the fact that they can establish trust faster. Video has a certain quality that makes it super effective. You can gaze the other person in the eye, ask a few questions answered (maybe) then determine if they're best fit for you.
If you're so inclined, you'll buy!
Community Funnel
Best sales funnel for online classes
So the final value ladder we'll talk about is one of community. At Mighty we are incredibly passionate about great communities.
And in fact, a community can do everything the traditional sales funnel can do and more. People can learn about your community. They can join (either at no cost or with the cost of a fixed amount). It's easy to join and let members join in the conversation already going on between you and other members.
Your community is populated with amazing content, interactive Q&As and webinars. You also stream live and live events or any other thing you want. You provide a great deal of value on a large scale.
When the time is right to market your course online, you've got an existing audience of individuals who are aware that they trust, love, and like your business. They trust you as the person who can help them, and they'll pull out their purses and pay for it!
It's true that if you get the Ideal Students and the Big purpose right, it's easy to give value and build trust within a community. It's not even a task at alone, but other members will be able to contribute value thanks to the network effect. This makes it the top online funnel for online courses.
How to make your online course funnel
There are lots of different ways of bringing people into your funnel. Here are a few ideas!
- Paid advertisements
- Social media posts
- Posts on social media groups
- sharing with friends
- Publishing on your website (SEO)
- Based on an existing email database
- Making partnerships with other like-minded creators (get the attention of their target audience)
- Podcast appearances
- Guest posting
How to create an online class using
If you're eager to create your own online course funnel, read this a quick overview of how courses work in Mighty.
Ready to start?
Have you read this information and are you excited to create your own funnel? There's no better way than a great funnel to make an online course sell. So if you've got something you want to impart, it's time to start creating the funnel!
For those who want to create the community funnel (or webinar - let's be honest - you can do both) Come and try Mighty! We're a software for culture that lets you combine classes, communities content, as well as commerce. Flexible Spaces let you combine features like Live streaming, an LMS discussions forums, chat and messaging, Q&As, member profiles, and much more!
And it's really easy to sell your courses in one of 135 currencies and even make money by token-gating. And your students can take the course using an excellent app that works on every device.