Infographic image of 5 reasons why your online courses is not selling

The eLearning industry is projected to skyrocket to an astonishing $376 billion by 2026 - and if your online courses aren't selling, you're missing out on the opportunity to capitalize on this fast-growing market!

Creating an online course is exciting, but it can be disheartening when it fails to sell. Poor visibility and marketing, targeting the wrong audience, incorrect pricing, and an unappealing design are all potential causes of course failure.

Have you paused to ponder why your courses aren't selling?​

5 Common Reasons Your Online Courses Aren't Selling

1. Your course is not delivering results

Even though you might have spent several hours developing your course, if it fails to facilitate notable student transformation, you will not find success in selling your courses.

While creating your courses, your work does not stop at bundling a bunch of text and videos into a presentation. You also have to think about the students' journey and preempt the possible blockers/doubts that students face while learning.

Here are a few points to note:​

  • Are you putting up assessments across your course for your students to evaluate and assess their growth? Learners feel lost without visible progress, and assignments are a way to keep track.
  • People like testing themselves in less-intimidating ways, and quizzes are just one of the methods that you can use. Are you making learning fun by introducing various quiz formats at frequent intervals?
  • Are you being easily approachable and opening yourself up for live chats with your customers, giving them a chance to interact with you and clear their questions? Besides, regular interactions build trust, and your students are likely to recommend your course to their peers.
  • Lastly, take feedback from your students and regularly revise your course. Look for directional cues like the course completion rate and average assessment scores to gauge the course's effectiveness and make valuable revisions.


Related: 10 Tips to make your online course successful​


2. You do not have an effective marketing strategy

'Create and it'll sell' is not a smart strategy to sell your courses. In fact, they hardly sell. To succeed in selling and marketing courses, you need an audience to start with to drive traffic to your website. And that comes only with an effective marketing strategy.

Social Media, SEO, and even Google ads are popular ways to target a traffic source. But the key is to have a singular focus instead of trying every channel simultaneously in the hope of finding something that works.

Identify what works for you.

  • Host a podcast to drive traffic and get new subscribers if you love the audio medium.
  • Utilize paid advertising platforms such as Google or Facebook to promote your course if budget is not a concern.
  • Leverage social media to connect with potential students if that is your strength.
  • Create search-engine-optimized blog content as a means of marketing if writing is your preference.
Infographic of marketing platforms podcast, google ads, social media, SEO blogs

Once you have steady traffic, building a marketing funnel is crucial to nurture your customers at every step of the journey. Identify at which stages your potential students are dropping off. Send emails or updates or even offer discounts to convert them into buyers.


3. You've got your price strategy wrong

Getting your pricing right for your course is understandably tricky. Price it too high, and you risk scaring off potential buyers. Price it too low, and people may assume your course carries little value.

Before setting up a price, it is a good idea to research your competition and see what they are pricing their courses at. Compare the content and the experience of the creator too. Are you empowering your students with comprehensive guides and the opportunity for personalized 1-1 coaching to help them reach their full potential? In that case, you can position your offering with a premium.

However, it usually helps to price your course more conservatively, especially if you are just starting out. Once you have a few sales, have incorporated the feedback, and are on your way to becoming an authority in your niche, you can gradually increase your prices.


4. You're targeting the wrong audience

While you have put all the blood and sweat into packing your course with informative videos, worksheets, guides, etc., it is possible that you have faltered in targeting the right audience.

For example, if your audience primarily comprises young and beginner learners, but you have created lessons teaching advanced techniques without covering the basics and fundamentals, this can be a potential issue.

When it comes to attracting potential customers through paid ads, such as those on Facebook and Google, it is essential to create an accurate consumer persona for them to deliver the ads to the right audience. This helps the platforms identify your ideal audience and ultimately increases your leads.

Finding the right audience takes a lot of trial and error, and you should expect a significant monetary investment before starting to see results.


5. You are on a wrong course selling platform

Most beginner online course creators choose a course creation platform without much research, which costs them dearly in the long run. Undoubtedly, your course quality is the defining factor to its success but choosing an equally competent platform makes your growth a whole lot easier.

  • Does your platform enable you to create a distinct brand identity, one that stands out from the competition and helps you to build trust and convert sales?
  • Can you incorporate a variety of content formats into your course? Quizzes, videos, webinars, and downloadable guides are all effective ways to capture and maintain interest in your courses.
  • Have you considered usability and accessibility while selecting the platform? While it's natural to be drawn to the aesthetics of a product, one must also consider if the platform is easy to use for creators and students alike. An intuitive user interface enhances the entire buyer journey and makes it much more effective.

A common mistake beginners make is to host their courses on a marketplace. While it offers access to a larger existing audience, it also means you must compete with the already established sellers.

If you're doing everything correctly with your course but are limited by the features of your course-selling platform, you should consider moving to a better platform.

Next Steps

Did you identify where you may be going wrong? It is understandably unpleasing to see a course not fly when you have worked hard at it. Choose a few strategies and focus on implementing them well. Revise and revamp.

As for the platform, if you are ready to unlock the real potential of your course with a robust platform without the tech hassles, you must try Miho. Miho puts your website, courses, and community in an all-in-one powerful and sets you up for the win. You can get a 14-day free trial when you signup today to create and sell online courses.