Grow Your Online Course the Free Way: 7 Powerful Organic Promotion Techniques

So you've pushed yourself hard, turning your expertise into an impressive online course. Pat yourself on the back.

However, it's not yet time to rest. Learners can't subscribe and get the full value of your course if they have a hard time finding it. To reach a wider community, you must know how and where to promote your content.  

Coming up with an online marketing plan may seem like a herculean task, especially if you have no prior experience in online marketing. However, with the right set of digital technologies and strategies, you can easily gain traction and boost your sales.  

We've compiled seven highly effective organic marketing strategies for you here to help win more learners for your course. Here, we'll discuss strategies that attract organic traffic and refrain from including advertisements and paid campaigns.

1. Create buzz on social media

Identifying which social media platform the majority of your learners use helps you curate your marketing strategy. To figure this out, compare the demographics of the users on each platform with your potential learners.      

With about 1 billion people using Instagram every day, and 8% of them using it to research products and services, many brands of all sizes turn to Instagram to engage customers.

A common mistake many course creators make is promoting their content before increasing their follower base. It may seem counter-intuitive, but refrain from directly promoting your online course when building your social media followers.         

During your growth stage, post educational content that your target audience might find useful. This would also help increase your follower count.

Tips: Engage in public Facebook groups in relevant areas to gain followers and promote your courses.     

2. Optimize your course page for search engines

Around 75% of internet users use Google for their searches. The first five results on page one of a Google search get about 67% of all clicks.

This shows how important it is to optimize your online course to rank at least on the first page of Google. Many online course platforms like TrainerCentral offer a built-in SEO tool to help optimize your website for your desired keywords. You don't need to be a digital marketing expert to get your pages to rank high in search engine results. Just use your platform's SEO tool to optimize your business page.

3. Guest posts on other blogs

Guest blogging is where you post blogs on other websites in your field to increase traffic to your course page.  

A simple Google search will fetch you a list of all the websites that accept guest posts.For instance, if you're offering online guitar classes, just search "Online guitar + write for us" to find relevant websites accepting guest posts.

Guest posting on other top websites helps you attract audiences, who are difficult to reach otherwise. Also, inviting an influencer in your field to guest blog on your website is a great way to build your network and increase awareness of your content. 

4. Offer a sneak-peek

A preview or crash course gives new learners the taste of what the full course offers and also helps demonstrate your expertise on the subject. But be careful about giving out too much information in your sneak-peek course. Provide an outline of what topics your main course will cover and the value addition your learners will gain at the end of the course.

5. Conduct webinars to market your course

Webinars are effective way to create and distribute great content that can be repurposed for other marketing needs. For instance, you can share clips of your webinar in your social media platforms or use its transcript to publish a blog post. It also helps you build authority in your area of expertise and create greater engagement for your online course.

6. Building an email list for marketing

Building an email list of potential learners is an effective strategy to market your online courses. Well-drafted emails help establish a personal connection with your learners.

Take necessary precautions to build your email list through legitimate means. Also, be mindful not to spam your learners' inboxes. Sending out emails on a less frequent basis, such as weekly or monthly newsletters, will keep your brand in their awareness while being less intrusive.

7. Collect testimonials from past learners

Learner testimonials are powerful and can help build credibility not just for your online course but for your training skills in general.

Invite a few learners to try your course by providing early-bird discounts or offering the course for free. This simplifies and incentivizes the process of collecting testimonials to be featured on your sales pages.

These seven organic marketing strategies can be handy in promoting your online courses when implemented successfully. However, delivering superior content and a training program that will benefit your learners should be your prime focus. Good marketing may drive traffic to your course and increase sales, but only useful, impressive content will drive long term success.