One of the biggest fears people have about creating an online course is the thought of creating this amazing program, pouring your heart and soul into building it, and then when it comes to launch day… NO SALES! Putting all that time and effort into something so near and dear to your heart, only to have no one see it would be heartbreaking.

I mean, could you imagine? All that effort down the drain?

This is not going to happen to YOU though, because you know the importance of having a marketing strategy in place for selling your online course and I’m here to help you get that plan in place. Here are five marketing strategies that have proven to be extremely effective for marketing online courses and programs.

 1. Start a free Facebook group

I’m a big fan of using Facebook groups as a lead generation and nurture strategy.  Unlike business Facebook pages (that show your posts to less than 2% of your followers), every post shows up in your members news feed once someone has joined. In addition to that, these are highly targeted leads because they have already raised their hand and told you they are interested in your topic when they chose to join the group. Keep in mind, running a successful Facebook group takes work. The goal is to build relationships with the members and earn their trust by providing genuine and get people to actively engage within the group.

Tips on how to build your Facebook group

1. After someone opts-in for your free lead magnet invite them to join the group on your thank-you page.
2. Send an email to your current subscribers letting them know about the exciting new Facebook group you started.
3. Encourage members to invite people they think would benefit from the group.
4. Promote it on your website the same way you would a lead magnet (because essentially that’s what it is)
5. Finally, you can even run paid advertising for it with Facebook ads.

2. Affiliate marketing and referral programs

If you look at some of the most successful brands in the online marketing world, Marie Forleo, Ryan Deiss, Brendon Burchard, you will notice that they each have an extremely strong referral partner/affiliate marketing program. Building a strong affiliate program can be a game changer and I think it’s a necessity if you really want to take your business to the next level.  By partnering with others who are already serving your ideal customer, you can gain access to highly targeted leads and get noticed by people you would not have been able to get in front of otherwise. Starting a solid partnership could be a whole blog series so I’ll share more of the nitty gritty details in future articles, but for now, make it a priority to build relationships with others in your industry and think about how you can help each other grow your businesses.

3. Speaking at events

Just because you are running an online business doesn’t mean all your marketing should be done online. Speaking at events that your ideal customer would attend is one of the best ways to showcase your expertise and position yourself as an authority figure.   This may be out of your comfort zone (it definitely is out of mine) but if you’re up for the challenge I highly encourage you to commit to one speaking event within the next few months. After the butterflies in your stomach subside I think you’ll be really happy you did.

4. Facebook ads

If you are going to invest in paid advertising, Facebook ads definitely give you the most bang for your buck. They work so well because you are able to target exactly who you want to see your ads. Is your target market female business owners age 28-35 that live in Chicago, IL? No problem, your ad can be shown only to people that fit that criteria! From there, you can lead them directly to your lead magnet funnel where you can start nurturing!

5. Create a three part free video series

A free video series is one of the most effective ways of promoting a course launch. Not only does it give you the opportunity to showcase your expertise and give a sneak peak into what your course will offer, but it also builds excitement about the upcoming launch. If done correctly, they’ll be begging for more once they see how much value you have to offer and by the end of the series, they’ll be sold. In a future article I’ll discuss exactly how to create a free video training series that converts so be sure to sign up for to receive notifications about my upcoming blog articles!