Secrets to a Killer Sales Page that Sells More Courses

photo of woman signing up for an online course

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You’ve created an awesome online course, and you know it will have a huge impact on people’s lives, if they’d only sign up!

Although you’re probably great at explaining concepts in a way that others can understand, marketing your course and getting people to sign up requires an entirely different skill set.

If you haven’t yet developed your online course, be sure to read Creating and selling online courses: what you need to know.

How to create a sales page that inspires others to sign up for your course

Before you start working on your page, make sure you understand who your target student is. Answering these questions will help you get started.

  • Who will benefit the most from taking my course?
  • What problems do they have that my course can solve?

The more you know about your potential students, the more you can personalize the sales page to clearly address their specific needs.

What you need on your course sales page

  1. Start with a convincing headline. Write a unique value proposition that explains how potential students will benefit by completing the course.
  2. Open with a story. Highlight a problem that your students may have. Tell a story to demonstrate that you not only understand their problem, but you also have the solution (your course).
  3. Incorporate social proof throughout the sales page. Former students are your best advocates! Use text and video testimonials to show future students how your courses have helped others just like them. Social proof helps build the trust needed to encourage people to make a purchase.
  4. Add an FAQ section towards the bottom of the page. This is a chance to answer common questions people have, while using target keywords you may want to rank for.
  5. Spell out your offer and any bonuses included. Describe the different modules in your course to help future students visualize what they will learn. This allows you to address the solutions your course has to future students’ problems.
  6. Remember to talk about the transformation! Explain how your students’ lives will improve when they apply their new knowledge.
  7. Add a money back guarantee. This will help people feel more confident when purchasing your course.
  8. Include multiple calls-to-action. Display prominent “Register” or “Buy” buttons throughout your sales page so they are easy to access when the student is ready to enroll.
  9. Create a sense of urgency. People are more motivated to act on an offer when they have a limited amount of time to do so. Consider adding a countdown timer offering “limited time only” bonuses as an incentive.
  10. Address objections. Sales calls provide the opportunity to respond to potential students’ objections as they come up, but when selling online you have to anticipate reasons people may not want to enroll and implement creative ways to address their objections. For example, if students may find the cost of your course too expensive for one purchase, offer payment plans as a more affordable option.

Including the above elements on your sales page will help you speak to potential students directly. Showing that you understand their problems and building trust will help them feel confident in making a purchase.

Let’s talk!

Have you seen any really great course sales pages? Share a link in the comments and let us know what makes it stand out for you.

If you offer an online course, please share a link to your sales page. Based on the above recommendations, is there anything you think you could improve?

Photo by Anna Shvets on Pexels

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Janet Barclay

I eliminate stress for my clients by hosting, monitoring, and maintaining their WordPress sites so they don’t have to worry about security, downtime or performance issues. When I’m away from my desk, I enjoy reading, photography, cooking, watching movies, drinking tea, and spending time with my family.

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8 Comments

  1. Linda Samuels on July 25, 2022 at 11:27 am

    This is just what I needed to read. One of my goals for this year is to push out my own workshops. Typically I have been asked to present for a group or organization. And I love doing that. However, I’d like to create a new offering. I’ve been getting advice from a variety of people. The points you made confirm the other information I’ve been collecting. You asked for great course sales pages to share. I don’t have any. I often find them too “sales-y” for my taste. But if you have an example or two that you especially like, I’d love to see them.

    • Janet Barclay on July 25, 2022 at 12:51 pm

      That would have been a good addition to my article, wouldn’t it?

      I agree, many examples are so salesy that they’re offputting, but a few years ago I signed up for a fairly expensive course (which was well worth it) so I went back to their website, since obviously it worked for me. They’ve changed the business name and probably the page content since then, but I still think it’s a great example: https://www.agencymavericks.com/wpelevation-blueprint-join/

      It has all of the elements I mentioned, except for the sense of urgency. When I took it, there were scheduled start dates, but it doesn’t look like that’s the case any longer.

  2. Julie Bestry on July 29, 2022 at 2:09 am

    This post couldn’t have come at a better time. I’ve been putting off creating digitized courses for too long. Just in the last few weeks, I’ve been watching some webinars on course design and marketing, and (as usual) dismay over the technical aspects holds me back, but this marketing guide is fabulous!

    Do you have any thoughts on LearnDash, a course platform that is available as a WordPress plugin? I’ve watched some demos and it looks pretty great, but I always trust your judgment, Janet!

    • Janet Barclay on August 2, 2022 at 6:17 am

      LearnDash is really good! One of my clients, who doesn’t consider herself to be all that tech savvy, set it up herself with minimal assistance from me. However, another client found it too difficult and moved away from it. I’ve only used it as a WordPress plugin, but they now offer it as a standalone site. There is a demo site you can check out at https://demo.learndash.com/.

  3. Marie-France | Lifebook Leader on July 29, 2022 at 5:17 am

    Great post Janet! I’m in the process of creating my first online course and your tips will come in very handy as I build my sales page. Thank you for this!

    • Janet Barclay on August 2, 2022 at 6:17 am

      I’m so glad it was helpful – good luck with your course!

  4. Lisa Gessert on July 31, 2022 at 8:45 am

    Excellent Janet , thank you for the wealth of information. I was just talking to friends last night at dinner how I truly don’t want to retire from the field of organizing and was wondering what to do to help other organizers instead. This is really giving me the push I need to take my expertise to the next level!!

    • Janet Barclay on August 2, 2022 at 6:18 am

      That’s a great idea, Lisa! I can’t wait to see what you come up with.

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