How a Podcast Can Help Sell Online Courses
If you’ve been in the e-Learning industry for a while, you’re probably running out of marketing ideas to sell online courses.
And when that happens, it’s time to find a new way to communicate with your audience. That’s where podcast appears.
Sell Online Courses: Why Creating a Podcast is a Good Idea
What do you do when you’ve exhausted your lead magnets, wrote numerous blog posts and your email list is stagnant? You try something new!
In this article, we’ll show you how a podcast can transform how you engage with your audience and how it can help you sell online courses.
1. Accessibility
Podcasts are a brilliant form of content marketing for many reasons, but the main one is their accessibility.
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Listeners have the option to play podcasts wherever they want, whenever they want – while moving, exercising or doing the dishes, for example.
Likewise, it is a very accessible medium for online course creators.
Basically, all you need to start a podcast is Internet access and a voice recorder, and even your smartphone can do the trick.
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2. Scope
As we get tired of talking here, people have unique learning preferences, which means that to sell online courses to a wider audience, it is good to vary their methods of teaching and communication.
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Many people simply do not like reading texts or presentations, and there are even those who are not a video fan. So, give students options!
When you start a podcast, you have access to a whole new audience of people who love listening to audio. An audience you would hardly have reached otherwise.
Today, successful digital influencers and channels have much more than just one content format. They have podcasts, blog, YouTube channel, profiles on all social networks and more. The result is thousands of loyal fans who choose how to consume content depending on what they like.
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Consider how podcasting can open a whole new way of talking to your leads and prospects about your online course.
Making your content available in apps like iTunes, and Google Podcasts will help increase your credibility and reach of your podcast.
Be sure to choose a name that makes it obvious to listeners what you do and what you are going to talk about.
For example, if you create math online courses, you could call your podcast “All about the fantastic world of math,” so when people search for podcasts on that subject, it will appear in the search results.
As your podcast receives ratings and rankings in search results over time, more people are likely to find it organically.
3. Creative freedom
Podcasts are great tools to sell online courses because you can talk about any topic and make whatever advertising you want, at any time you want, in a relaxed and humorous way. Hard to do with a text, for example. In the audio, you could say something like this:
“Do you know that calculation that no one could solve for more than ten years? Not? If you did my online course you would know. But I’m going to enjoy the time here and tell you a bit about the famous formula that solved everything.”
There are also no rules as to the format of your podcast. It may have short or longer episodes, and follow the topics you cover in your online courses.
Tip: By offering a unique podcast discount code, listeners would have an even greater incentive to participate and purchase the course.
When starting a podcast to boost your sales, you can schedule a month of content where each week is based on a different online course that you offer.
But build great content, do not just focus on selling online courses and making money.
Content is your best tool to add value to your customers, so it should be the number one priority in absolutely everything you do.
With that in mind, planning your episodes and titles is critical to the success of the podcast.
Good titles should be based on curiosity or advantages. For example, “Major miscalculations and how to avoid them” is a better title than “Calculation Tips for Beginners”.
4. Credibility
In addition to gaining credibility with your podcast, you can also interview other authorities in your area to leverage your profile and reach.
How does this help increase your reach? Simple: After posting the episode (which can also be broadcast live), the first thing you do is send a thank you email to the guest, asking him/her to share the interview on their social networks.
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This helps increase your exposure, credibility, plus possibly will double your audience.
Create a list of the top ten people you could interview for your podcast and send them an email explaining who you are and why you would like to interview them.
To further expand your reach, you can also create a strategy for being interviewed in the top podcasts in your industry.
There is a podcast for every niche in the industry, and sharing your expertise in other people’s shows can also help you market and develop your own.
It doesn’t matter if you are a completely new podcaster, being honest, open and educated can take you far.
5. Flexibility
Starting a podcast in one way does not mean that it has to continue in that format forever.
You can change the duration, subject, presentation format, how often you publish it, and the type of person you interview.
Many entrepreneurs started out with a daily podcast, commenting on industry news and that’s how they became a success.
People wanted short, consistent, informative episodes that they could hear every day, anywhere, anytime.
But with time and audience solidified, many professionals have turned the daily podcast into a weekly show, for example. Whether for lack of time or the desire to make longer and deeper episodes, there have been changes, but that does not mean that its popularity has been shaken.
If the content transmitted maintains its quality, people adapt and continue a loyal audience.
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The beauty of the podcast is that you have the freedom to make in-flight adjustments to constantly innovate and enhance it for your listeners.
Over time, you will also find out how to better use it to sell online courses and how to make the necessary changes for this purpose.
Keep in mind that in addition to generating more sales for your course and adding value to the listeners, podcasts also function as another channel that your business can use to generate revenue.
Big and small podcasters monetize their programs through sponsorships and brand collaborations.
As you grow and develop, you can also create opportunities to attract these types of sponsorship to expand your business.
Starting a podcast can be immensely beneficial to who wants to sell online courses, but we know that making a podcast for the first time can be quite intimidating.
There is much to learn and improve over time, but with good planning, discipline and consistency, you can master this resource and achieve your goals.
How to Use Podcast to Sell Online Courses
Thanks to technology and the constant development of applications with the most diverse functions, eLearning teachers can create a more dynamic and attractive online classes.
Delivering content in audio format helps the instructor to convey closeness and affection through intonation. For this, the podcast should be recorded spontaneously, as in a conversation, with natural and humorous tone.
In the educational field this tool also represents an additional support for the teaching of the most varied disciplines.
With the podcast, teachers can make audio recordings of lessons that can be accessed when the student has questions or wants to reinforce their studies.
There are countless ways to use the podcast to boost your classes and thus help you to sell online courses such as:
- Complementary: The teacher provides materials in audio format with the aim of complementing teaching;
- Assistant: The teacher selects a certain content / subject for students to research and study, and then asks them to record podcasts summarizing what they have learned.
In order to host the audio file it is possible to use an e-Learning platform, such as Coursify.me, which guarantees easy and safe access for all users authorized by the course creator.
Learning Management System (LMS), the platform has all the features you need to create and sell online courses, such as the ability to upload content from channels such as YouTube, Vimeo and Dropbox.
Serving companies and professionals in more than 60 countries, Coursify.me is a dynamic and customizable Learning Management System.
We have three choices of plans for you to decide which best suits your needs, and the good news is that the Beginner Plan is free!
Visit our website, test the platform and start to create and sell online courses right now.
