E-Learning is the catchall phrase that encompasses all types of online courses. The eLearning industry is booming across all categories including corporate, K-12, higher education, other skills improvement and hobby/crafts/arts arenas. Current revenues place this market at over $165 billion, and over the next decade, e-learning is projected to grow at a 7% rate per year, achieving gross revenues of $331 billion by 2025. This explosion in the e-learning market creates incredible opportunities for entrepreneurs with quality online courses, and marketing is the key to success.

The Evolution of Online Course and E-Learning

The phrase “e-learning” was first used in 1999 at a CBT Systems Seminar. However, the first virtual classroom was created in the 1960s by University of Illinois scientists. As computer capabilities grew, the complexity of the classes evolved, but even in the 1990s through 2004, courses often consisted of typed or scanned text or powerpoint presentations with or without voiceovers. From 2005 to 2010, great strides were made in the content and design of online courses, but limited bandwidth created viewing problems, and many users were frustrated by their experience.

Today’s e-learning experience began to take shape in 2011 and continues on this path. The full potential of online learning is now utilized by a variety of organizations to increase access to skills training, decrease education and training costs, and expand access beyond geographic boundaries. The Internet of Things (IoT) also changes the devices used for online courses, with smartphones, tablets and other devices used for classwork, both in and out of academic settings.

Benefits of Online Teaching

Online teaching is an excellent tool to achieve many professional goals, which include -

Establish yourself as an expert: When you deliver accurate quality content, you are viewed as an expert your field.

Grow your business: Whether you are a business consultant or a seller of art, a polished online class will result in requests for additional information about other services or products you offer, and enhance these revenue streams.

Create a following: The right combination of effective presentation and presenter personality will bring learners back for more.

Build a new business: Some people offer online classes to achieve one or more of the above goals but find that they genuinely enjoy teaching and develop this into a new revenue stream.

The best courses include quality content, exciting graphics, and an excellent presentation. However, without sufficient marketing, these efforts are wasted.

Factors for Marketing Online Courses

People need to know about the courses that you offer, and marketing is the only way to achieve that goal. How and when you market your online courses will depend on several factors:

Target Audience: The age and profile of your “ideal” students will impact the social media channels and marketing techniques used to engage them. Start by defining and developing your target audience, or buyer profile. Know where they live, what they do, which social media sites they most likely use, and any other related information. Identifying your target audience will set the groundwork for your marketing activities.

Subject Matter: Courses focused on business skills will access different marketing channels than those that teach personal growth skills or art and leisure topics.

Cost of the Course: Free courses can be promoted effortlessly, but that should not stop you from charging a fee for a quality e-learning experience. See what others are charging for similar online modules and use your marketing process to justify your price

Budget: There are many free marketing tools as well as paid options available. Consider how much you are willing to spend and create a marketing budget.

Other factors that will impact your marketing strategy include your expertise with social media, your comfort level with self-promotion, and your existing customer base, marketing list, among others. Regardless of where you are starting from, there are various ways to market your online course.

Marketing Online Courses

Marketing your online course is a series of interconnected activities that build on each other to promote your product. Start with your brand. What is the overall message? Is it about success in the workplace, everyday creativity, developing new authors, or something else? Whatever it is, define it and keep this message in mind as you develop your strategies.

The Website

You must have a website that reflects your brand, sells your products or services and promotes your courses. The website should include testimonials from satisfied course participants as well as teasers about upcoming classes. The site should also have:

A Blog: Use your blog to establish your credibility and expertise. Use it to inform, but leave out details that the reader can only get from the courses.

Excerpts: Give your visitors the opportunity to download a small portion of your course to give them a taste of what they could have.

Links to Social Media: Make it as easy as possible for the visitors to share your blog, tweet about the excerpt, like your Facebook page, or follow you on Pinterest or LinkedIn. Your presence on social media platforms will extend your marketing reach.

Existing Resources

You probably already have an email list, followers, or other groups of people who already know you and are willing to listen when you speak. Use these to:

· Conduct an email marketing campaign. Keep the email brief and focused, but don’t forget to mention that they already know you.

· Offer discounts. Give them a “friends and family” freebie or discount for their first course. Use your quality course content to keep them hooked, and offer them a smaller “participant discount” for the next class.

· Use your existing social media resources to market your course and provide a “what you can expect” blurb.

· Write and submit a press release. There are many free press release submission sites, such as PRLOG, that will help you get the word out.

New Resources

Look beyond what you have to what you need to develop to attract the most likely prospects.

· Review the pay per click marketing options on the social media platforms most used by your target group, and consider if this option is within your budget.

· Start a “fan page” on Facebook to get people talking about your courses and generate interest.

· Consider adding your course to a course search engine. Sites such as Moodle (general topics), and Totara (business learning and development) offer open source classes that are free for the course owner and the participants. CourseIndex is another excellent site that provides a full range of courses and is always looking for more. This site is for paid courses, and you will share the fee with the site. There are other topic-specific course search engines, and you should research thoroughly. Another popular site is WizIQ where you can create online courses and it will be accessible to learners around the world.

· Be a guest blogger or interviewee. Write a blog for someone else’s site or be interviewed on their podcast to reinforce yourself as an expert and use that person’s social media reach to extend your own.

· Create a free “mini-course” with a subject matter tied to your for-sale course but not overlapping it.

· Host a live webinar for people interested in your topic. Viewers will have a chance to ask questions, interact with you, get to know your communication style, and appreciate your expertise. Follow up by promoting the webinar recording on your social media platforms.

· Partner with other online instructors to create a new course that can be promoted through both of your social media channels, boosting your reach and potential returns.

· Start a YouTube channel with helpful videos and short “how to” classes to gain a presence in your field.

Follow Up

You should be able to track the progress of learners who have signed up for your online course. Once they have completed it, follow up and:

· Encourage them to rate the course and give feedback. Use this information for marketing and to improve your skills for the next online module you create.

· Add them to your mailing lists and offer a “participant discount” for the next class to keep them coming back.

Online courses are in high demand, but with the number of programs viewers have to choose from, marketing is necessary to help you stand out from this crowd. Use a mix of marketing strategies, from social media and emails to course search engines and live webinars, to promote your course and yourself. Ultimately you are selling your expertise and your ability teach, so it is essential to put your best foot forward.