How Do I Create, Market and Sell an Online Course at a Premium Price?

I love this question because it’s a three-part question! I’m going to break down my answer into three parts, focusing on the creation, marketing, and selling of an online course at a premium price.

Part 1: Creating a Premium Online Course

Step 1- Build a Framework: In my opinion, the best way to begin creating a premium course is to build a framework. When I say framework, I mean a framework that solidified the standards of your business. So in the education world, our curriculum and the standards of our curriculum are the foundation to everything that we should be teaching. The framework for your business should be the same. 

Now your framework can have 3, 4, 5 or as many parts as you’d like (though I wouldn’t recommend a 15-part framework) but you want to be sure that the framework information within it is digestible for your audience and potential students. 

One of the biggest reasons I say you need a framework for your online course is because frameworks are Intellectual Property (IP). You want to get a framework in place for your course and your business because your particular framework is what is going to set you apart from everyone else with a premium online course. Your framework is an asset that is going to make you unique. Creating a framework and your own IP is also a wealth building strategy and a source of power. 

Now there’s a whole other conversation about how IP has historically been used in our country as a tool of oppression (specifically the theft of IP and discreditation of IP from those oppressed to those in power), but the bottom line is, create your framework and make sure you own it. When it comes to doing good in this world, it requires strategies of power and IP is one of those strategies. 

Step 2- Beta Test Your Course: Next you’ll need to beta test your online course in the form of a small group coaching program. Online courses take time to build, so rather than completely shutting down business and not bringing in revenue for the time it takes you to build, edit and test your online course, you can use the testing period to your advantage. 

Beta testing is a great way to get as much quality data and feedback on your course before fully sharing it with your audience. This does not mean that your beta group should be free, because while you are getting feedback on the curriculum, structure, sequence and support, those clients in the beta group are getting access to your premium online course and again, your IP should not be free! 

Beta testing is going to help you refine and elevate your course before launching, so that when you’re officially ready to share your course with the world, you feel confident and affirmed in what you’re putting forth. 

Step 3- Pre-Sell: The last thing you’ll want to do in this part is to pre-sell your course because honestly, I would never recommend someone create a course and then try to sell it. I would never recommend this because a pre-sell gives you data on the amount of people that are interested in your course. You want to be sure, if you’re going to spend the time to create an online course, that there are going to be enough people interested to make the time invested in creating the course worthwhile. That’s why I’d recommend pre-selling the course, to get some affirmation that there is an interest and audience for what you’re selling. 

Pre-selling can also help you create a structured timeline for creating your course. Say you open your pre-sale three months before you’re opening the course. That’ll give you two months to create the course material and another month to beta test your course. 

I’d also recommend coming up with a bonus for those who purchase your course in the pre-sale period, to encourage more people to invest. The bonus doesn’t have to be elaborate, it could be a 1-on-1 call (depending on your availability), access to an additional lesson from you, longer access to your course, anything! 

Part 2: Marketing a Premium Online Course

Step 1- Characterize Your Target Client: When you’re charging premium pricing, you are creating a character profile for your target client. For example, a premium pricing client is more likely to purchase a Peleton Bike, than a client who is not interested or familiar with premium pricing. That client is more likely to purchase a stationary bike and a Peleton Class Membership. 

There’s nothing wrong with either client, but there is a difference. You just need to be cognizant of that when you’re planning your marketing strategy. 

Step 2- Master Your Messaging: When you’re talking about marketing, messaging is always important, but now that you’ve added a layer of having a client that is expecting a premium experience, your messaging and language is even more important. 

There’s a difference between flying economy and first class right? In first class, you’re expecting a bit of an aerial red carpet, extra pretzels, more leg room, a blanket, a lil sumthin’ to drink. Those are all things that I expect as a first class, premium customer. Your client is also going to expect a premium experience from you, your team and your course when you sell a course at a premium price. 

When you’re marketing, you want to ensure you’re communicating not only the premium nature of your course, but also the high value your client will receive by joining the course. To do this, you want to talk about the aspirational vision that your client might have when they join your course. 

In your messaging, rather than talking about where your client currently is, you’ll want to talk to them about where they want to be. You want to share with them what it will take for them to reach their goals and how you and your course factor into that equation. 

For example, rather than saying “when you’re first starting out as a principal…” you can flip that to an aspirational tone of “in order to get to being the highest performing leader in your school district…”

The first sentence leads with where your client already is, and the second takes your client exactly where they want to be. 

Part 3: Selling a Premium Online Course

Step 1- Ensure You Have Multiple, Consistent Touchpoints: You’ve probably heard me say this a million times, but only 2% of people buy a product the first time they see it or hear of it. 2%! That means you need to increase your visibility and touchpoints where potential clients can see you and hear about your course. This is all a part of building trust with your audience, because let’s be honest, your client needs to trust that your course is going to get them where they want to be and one of two instagram posts will not get them there.

Step 2- Choose Your Sales Strategy: So when we’re talking premium prices, you need to move beyond just telling your audience to come to the webinar and selling your course there. As I said before, potential clients need more than one touchpoint with you to build enough trust to spend money with you. 

Lots of people do sales calls, where they get on the phone with a potential client to answer any questions they have about the course and talk them through the experience and any concerts they might have. 

Another strategy to use is called social selling. This is when you or your sales team uses social media to connect with potential clients and build relationships. A lot of the relationship and trust building is done through DM, but it operates similarly to sales calls in the sense that you’re answering the potential client’s questions about your course. 

You can also do the same thing through email. I’ve seen people send emails with videos about the course and that is how they build up a rapport with their potential clients. 

Ultimately, the most important part of any sales strategy is building a relationship with your potential client. Spending money is an act of trust, and the only way your client is going to be able to trust you is if you’re visible (through multiple touchpoints) and available to answer their questions about your course.

Phew! I know that was a lot of information, but it was such a great question I couldn’t resist doing a little deep dive! I hope breaking down this process was helpful to you 🖤

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