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12 Strategies To Market Your Digital Course Without A Large Social Media Following

Launching a digital course can be an exciting and profitable venture, but many course creators face the challenge of taking the next step, marketing their product effectively. Especially when they don’t have a large social media following. While social media can be very instrumental in your marketing process, you don’t need thousands of followers to successfully promote and sell your digital course. 

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Instead, you can leverage a variety of other marketing strategies to reach your target audience and grow your business without depending on social media. Here are 12 proven strategies to help you market your digital course successfully:

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Ways To Market Your Digital Course

1. Leverage SEO to Drive Organic Traffic

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is one of the most cost-effective ways to attract potential students to your digital course. When you optimize your course landing page and blog content for search engines, you can increase your visibility and attract people who are actively searching for solutions to the problems your course solves.

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Use relevant keywords in your course title, description, and headings. Write high-quality blog posts or create YouTube content related to your course topic to boost traffic. Optimize your website’s loading speed and ensure it’s mobile-friendly. Use tools like Google Search Console to track and improve your performance in search rankings. If you don't know where to begin with this, check out TechTobi's SEO services

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2. Create a Compelling Lead Magnet

A lead magnet is a free resource that you offer to potential customers in exchange for their email addresses. By creating a high-value lead magnet that aligns with your course topic, you can build an email list of potential students who are interested in your content.

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Examples of Lead Magnets:

• Free mini-course or webinar.
• Downloadable eBooks or guides.
• Access to a members-only video series or tutorial.

Once you have their email, you can nurture the relationship through email marketing and direct your audience to your paid course. Some platforms like Thinkific or Kajabi allow you integrate email marketing into the course environment.

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3. Use Email Marketing to Build Relationships

Email marketing is one of the most effective ways to market your digital course after you launch it. It allows you to directly communicate with people who have already shown interest in your content, making them more likely to convert into paying students.

Use automated email sequences to nurture your leads from their first interaction to course purchase.

You can offer exclusive discounts or early access to your email subscribers. Send regular updates with valuable content, case studies, or testimonials to build trust. A/B testing is another option to explore to optimize your subject lines and email content for better open and click-through rates.

4. Collaborate with Industry Influencers or Thought Leaders

Even if you don’t have a large following, partnering with industry influencers or thought leaders can help you tap into their audience. Reach out to experts who complement your course topic and offer to collaborate on a webinar, guest blog post, or podcast episode. This will help expose your course to a broader, engaged audience.

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Offer value in return, such as promoting their content to your email list or giving them access to your course for free. Choose influencers with audiences that match your target demographic. Build a relationship before pitching a collaboration. Engage with their content, comment on their posts, and offer helpful insights.

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5. Run Targeted Google Ads or YouTube Ads

If you're willing to invest in paid advertising, Google Ads and YouTube Ads can help you reach a broader audience beyond your social media followers. These platforms allow you to target specific keywords and demographics, ensuring that your course is seen by the right people.

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Start with a small budget and focus on long-tail keywords that have less competition. Use YouTube Ads to showcase a snippet of your course or a preview of your teaching style. Track and optimize your ad performance regularly to get the best ROI.

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6. Offer an Affiliate Program

An affiliate program allows others to promote your course in exchange for a commission on sales. This strategy leverages the networks and audiences of your affiliates, helping you to reach more people without actively promoting on social media yourself.

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Choose a competitive commission rate (typically between 20% and 50%). Provide affiliates with promotional materials, including banners, email templates, and course previews. Use affiliate tracking software to manage payouts and track conversions. Reach out to bloggers, content creators, and websites in your niche to join your program.

7. Use Online Course Marketplaces

Course marketplaces like Udemy, Skillshare, or Coursera have built-in audiences looking for digital courses. When you list your course on these platforms, you can tap into their massive user base without needing to build your own following.

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To stand out, ensure your course has a unique angle, excellent production quality, and clear learning outcomes.

8. Leverage Content Marketing

Content marketing, such as blogging or podcasting, can help you establish authority in your field and build trust with potential students. Thinkific fosters a content-centric environment to up-to-date tools for creators with amazing analytics to follow up on your content. By consistently creating valuable, informative content that addresses your audience's pain points, you can naturally attract people who are interested in learning more through your course.

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• Blog posts answering common questions related to your course topic.
• Guest posts on high-traffic websites within your niche.
• Podcast episodes discussing key concepts from your course.
• Tutorials or how-to guides.

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Content marketing helps position you as an expert and builds the foundation for long-term organic traffic.

9. Host Webinars

Webinars are an excellent way to give potential students a taste of what they can expect from your course. By hosting a free live webinar that addresses a key issue related to your course, you can demonstrate your expertise and encourage attendees to sign up for the full program.

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Best Practices for Webinars:

• Provide actionable tips during the webinar to give attendees immediate value.
• Use the last portion of the webinar to introduce your digital course as the next step in solving their problem.
• Send follow-up emails to attendees with a special offer to encourage conversions.

10. Leverage Customer Testimonials and Case Studies

Social proof plays a significant role in purchasing decisions. Collect testimonials from satisfied students or create detailed case studies that showcase how your course has helped others achieve results. These testimonials can be placed on your landing page, in emails, or on your course listing to build trust with new leads.

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Offer early access to your course in exchange for a review. You can also interview successful students about their experience. Showcase results-oriented testimonials that highlight specific benefits or outcomes.

11. Optimize Your Course for Referrals

Referrals are one of the most effective marketing strategies. If students find your course valuable, they are likely to recommend it to others. To encourage referrals, you can create a formal referral program where students earn rewards (discounts, bonuses, or cash incentives) for recommending your course.

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Steps to Set Up a Referral Program:

• Create a simple referral process with clear instructions.
• Offer meaningful rewards that incentivize students to refer to your course.
• Use software to track referrals and ensure that your system is easy to use for both the referrer and the referee.

12. Participate in Online Communities

Online communities, such as forums, Reddit, or specialized Facebook groups (without needing a large following of your own), are great places to promote your digital course. By actively participating in discussions and providing value, you can build credibility and position your course as a solution to the group members' needs.

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Focus on helping first—don’t immediately jump into promoting your course. Share valuable insights, tips, and resources related to your course topic. Once you've established trust, mention your course when it fits naturally into the conversation.

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Apply any or all of these strategies to boost your course traffic and put it in front of the right eyes. WIth all this mentioned, you can also make steps to increase your socials in relation to these. Leverage testimonials, improve your website’s SEO amongst other things and watch the traffic to your course website improve drastically.

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