Trying to set the price for your online course isn’t easy. This is the first obstacle to overcome when selling an online program, especially if you are just beginning. If you offer online courses, you could earn a lot of money, but you haven’t begun or are unsure of what to charge.
Since online courses are unlike any other teaching medium, prices for them can vary greatly. You are not alone in experiencing this difficulty. It is still possible to get the maximum benefit from your online courses if you follow some basic rules.
In this article, I will present tips on how to price an online course that will help you successfully offer your product at the right price. Let’s dig in.
1. Consider your Niche and the Customer Base for Each Course
Pricing online courses is just as important as designing them. A variety of factors affect each one, such as your niche, target audience, and the delivery medium you will use.
A target market is an essential first step in determining your online course price.
Make sure you consider a diverse group of students, including those who are new to the field and those experienced with the tools presented.
These considerations can help you decide where to begin pricing your courses so that they will be suitable for your intended audience.
It is essential to know where your audience is, how large it is, what they are interested in, and how much they are willing to spend. Knowing this information will help you set or adjust pricing for your online course.
2. Research Other e-course Marketplaces
If you plan on making money online by selling your courses, you have to know how much similar courses are costing. You’ll want to start by understanding the different ways other companies approach selling e-courses.
There are many e-course marketplaces out there. When it comes to setting your price, the key point is that you must be competitive.
You want to find a price that is low enough to ensure that people will purchase your product but high enough so that you can still make a profit.
Often, it helps to know how much other people are charging for their courses and how they market them to make an educated guess about your course.
3. Consider Both Quality and Quantity in Terms of Content and Number of Hours
You have put in the hard work and taken the time to create the content for your online course. You have invested financially and emotionally. This is an important part of a successful business. Next, you need to make sure you price it correctly.
The price you charge for an online course should reflect the value of your services.
Several factors contribute to the value of your offerings, and by taking a quality over quantity approach, you can ensure your prices are reflective of this.
4. Factor in the Cost of Production
You’ve spent hours creating your digital product. You’re proud of it, and you want to get paid for the work you put in. Your time has value. And so do the resources you need. But, as an educator, you also want to plan your courses well to minimize the cost of production (your time). How?
Cost is one of the most important factors to consider when setting your course prices. Every time you decide on a price, you factor in our cost of production.
To do this, you should carry out an analysis by performing a cost breakdown and then determining what price best covers the cost of production.
And you get it. As an entrepreneur, you know that product pricing is not just a matter of subtracting costs from revenue.
Product pricing is a complex process and must be understood to move units.
5. Know That your Customers Are Willing to Pay for Quality
Many of us think that because we have no price tag on our products, our customers will not pay us any money. However, this is a wrong mindset to have. Why are we willing to spend more at restaurants with better quality food?
A lot of people will choose a restaurant whose food is tasty over one with affordable yet less delicious food.
Customers would rather support businesses that offer high-quality work and would most likely even pay for it if they asked for money.
You certainly want to make money on your online course. However, you don’t want to put yourself in a situation where a potential customer sees the price and decides that it is too expensive, so they don’t proceed to purchase.
Remember, selling people anything can be difficult, but selling them something that they think is of great value makes it much easier.
People are more prepared to pay for the best products and services on the market. Put your best effort into the creation and design of your course. The more effort you put into it, the more people will be willing to pay for it.
6. Offer Deals and create Bundle Packages
Sometimes people are uncertain about how to price their online course. Just like regular products, the pricing of online courses may be based on supply and demand; how much the customer values a product after thinking about it; and competition.
A great way to increase the perceived value of your course is to provide “bundles” or add-ons.
By bundling a price reduction with an online course, you create a win-win situation because you make money and learners pay less.
Adding a price reduction to an online course can increase sales, revenue, and repeat business, which is why it’s a win-win. You’ll also get more social proof.
Another tactic many course providers are starting to use is a free lesson offer. This instantly attracts your audience’s attention and gets them hooked on your style of teaching. It also builds trust and credibility, which are vital factors when offering an online course.
7. Have a Reliable Guarantee Policy
Price is always an important factor in the purchase of any online course. But price alone isn’t a guarantee that you’ll get what you’re paying for from a course provider.
If you want to succeed, your guarantee policy should reward your loyal customers and ensure their complete peace of mind.
A guaranteed policy will assist in making sure students enjoy their learning experience and see results. Students will feel more certain about their learning experience, and you will see your cash flow improve.
Your guarantee policy gives your customers the additional assurance that your product will work for them, and if it doesn’t, you will make it right. It demonstrates the confidence you have in both your product and business.
8. Leverage Scarcity and Urgency
Using urgency and scarcity to your advantage can be an easy way to increase sales for any online course.
Scarcity (that is, limiting the availability of your online course) and urgency (that is, inspiring action in your prospects) are 2 psychological principles that sales experts use to close more deals and increase profits.
When time is short, people take notice and buy. This increases the desire to purchase now while it’s available vs. later when the price or availability may be out of reach.
When you are selling a product or service, having a sense of urgency is crucial to reaching the right decision.
Scarcity and urgency are important in creating a powerful offer. These tools provide direction for what to do when you are stuck for ideas on how to price your online course.
9. Offer bulk prices to repeat customers
Did you know that 20% to 30% of your sales are from repeat customers? Rather than investing in additional marketing strategies, you can enjoy what you do by going from one sale to two sales. When you have repeat customers, they also refer more business your way.
This is because they already know your business, so they don’t have to research it before recommending it. People just want to save money. If they buy your product or service once and like it, they are more likely to purchase it in the future.
One way you can encourage them to do that is to offer a bulk price, which is only available to repeat customers.
Essentially, you give your clients a discount on any additional courses they purchase after they buy their initial course. A good idea is to send them an automated e-mail thanking them and explaining that any additional courses they purchase will be discounted.
10. Offer Several Payment Options
Top earners in the education sector offer several payment options. They find that customers are more willing to invest if they know they can pay by means other than cash or bank transfers, and they know there is an option.
This is especially true for those living in countries with a weak currency, or where standard payment methods are not widely adopted.
When it comes to online course pricing, we often forget one of the most important factors in price point: payment options.
When designing an online course, make sure that you offer several payment options. This will allow you to attract almost a limitless number of potential students because they can choose which method suits them the best.
11. Being Transparent Helps Improve Trust
So pricing your online course is a tricky one. Some charge by the page, some by the hour, and others by the module.
What’s right for you? Anyway, it depends on your teaching style, but be transparent about the prices of your courses, whichever system you choose. You want to price your online course at a level that makes you feel good.
At the same time, it’s also good to be transparent about your pricing structure so that other people can trust what you are doing and how you are doing it.
Don’t hide behind publishers or affiliate providers. Forewarn your potential customers and let them find out which price they are paying and why. This is easy to do if you prepare yourself well in advance.
How to Know if your Price is Set Correctly?
You have poured your heart and soul into creating this online course, which is just what your students need.
Now, it’s time to get paid for all of your hard work. When you charge a price that is too high for the average person to afford, you may be overcharging. If so, you should lower your price to make enrolling in your class and taking advantage of the information more affordable.
Also, remember that if the price is very low or nominal, people won’t take it seriously or think that something is missing (like quality).
Be sure that the price you end up with covers your costs while also ensuring that the class is still worthwhile for people to invest in.
FAQs
Is an online course worth the investment?
Yes. Online courses are a fast-growing, high-profit industry with the potential to bring in thousands of dollars.
Many successful at-home tutors and teachers have built sustainable businesses with their online courses.
What do you say to people who won’t pay for your online course?
Certainly, not everyone will want to pay for an online course. But it helps to provide an option for them.
The better you can show students what the course is and how the process works, the more likely they are to purchase your online course.
Does it take a lot of effort to create online courses?
It takes time to create an online course, but almost all of the work happens upfront during the planning phases.
When creating a course, it’s vital to consider the ideal student, the tone and feel of the course, the level of difficulty, and grading policies.
The details are extremely important because your students will be spending thousands of hours working on your course.
Final Thoughts
It is intimidating to think about how you are going to charge for your online course, but it goes beyond just money.
When you overprice your course, you will lose customers to competitors who are offering bargains. Prices that are too low won’t cover costs, and eventually, your business will fail.
So what do you do? Come up with a pricing plan that takes into account all relevant costs, creates a product your students will love, and makes sure you have enough margin to remain viable.
Besides, knowing how to set the right price for your online course is just a piece of the puzzle.
Before you even begin to think about setting prices, you should keep the main thing the main thing. In this case, you need to first learn how to create profitable online courses. When you can achieve this, trust me, the value will speak for your price.
Thanks for reading.
