Creative news collection

How to Upsell Your New courses to your existing learners

Sep 6, 2024

Reader Disclosure

Leading WordPress expert, Syed Balkhi shares tools and useful tips to increase course revenue by upselling to students who are already enrolled.

WHAT'S INSIDE          Toggle

Your heart and soul into developing amazing online courses for your existing learners. Your students have said that they enjoy what you offer however, you're now ready to take things up a notch with new, exciting information.

The challenge is finding your current learners to take part in your latest lesson. If you have to track the new audience each time you develop your course, you'll have to devote lots of time and energy on marketing.

But, on the other hand people who've already bought an online course from you already are familiar with you, have confidence in your site, and are likely to purchase from your site in the future.

What is essential to make it happen is the process of upselling. This effective strategy will help you boost revenue and provide even the most value for your students.

It's true, it's easier than you think to use this technique and still not come across as pushy or salesy.

We'll present to you some successful techniques and tricks to use to sell your classes to existing students.

At the conclusion of this post, you'll have what you need for you to revisit your website and make meaningful modifications to your approach.

Let's dive in!

Learn More About Your Target Public

Before you start selling it is essential to get to know who you're talking to.

Determine what classes they're taking, what topics seem to spark most interest, and what do they hope to learn the next time around.

Screenshot of Monster Insights WordPress Google Analytics Plugin

Also, we suggest you ask your learners directly about their ideas for what they'd like to learn more about in the future.

Use course surveys, feedback forms via email, and customer support chats as ways to understand your readers and their expectations from your content.

It is important to focus on the right questions which will result in actionable solutions.

This information will assist you in making informed decisions as you reduce the list of potential topics or determine the audience that would most benefit of your course.

Structure Marketing for Learners who are already in the classroom

Once you understand your audience It's now the time to develop marketing strategies that are based on their preferences objectives, aspirations, and issues.

These strategies can help present your upcoming courses and generate excitement using methods that are resonant with your existing students.

Leverage Email Marketing

Before when you begin sending messages. It is basically dividing the people you are reaching out to into groups based on specific aspects that pertain to your company.

In this instance you may want to consider dividing your list based on courses completed, completion rates as well as engagement levels.

This allows you to design targeted ads that cater directly to each group's needs This means that they're more likely to convert.

You can also use this opportunity to personalize the offers that you're sending out to your users.

Making compelling subject lines as well as specific content that demonstrates the ways your course will build on what they've already learned can lead to greater engagement and sales.

For context, using personalized subject lines can increase your open rate by 22 percent.

RELATED What You Need to Consider Segmenting Your Lists of Email >

Offer Exclusive Previews or Beta Access

Everyone likes feeling special. The ability to give your audience a glimpses of your brand forthcoming course prior to it going live may entice them and result in them taking action.

It was our experience that giving a small group of users access only to the site created anticipation and increase day-one sales.

It is possible to use this to convert existing students into paying customers. It is possible to offer the limited amount of beta slots at a reduced price on a first-come first-serve basis.

In exchange for giving learners at a reduced cost, request for detailed feedback so you can improve your course before it goes live.

This method not only aids to improve your course, but it also helps create an ethos of belonging among the first few people to adopt your course.

Implement a Loyalty Program

You could offer points for courses completed and previous purchases that can later be exchanged for discount on new orders. This type of sales loop will encourage people to continue buying from your site.

For example, after buying three courses, a learner might be able to move from bronze level to silver, which means an increase in discount for future course plans.

Benefits that are exclusive to more prestigious levels, such as 1:1 training sessions and the ability to take advantage of bonus courses can be a guaranteed approach to attract people's attention when you present an opportunity to upsell.

Harness the Power of Social Proof

There is nothing that sells better than success testimonials. The presentation of testimonials from students who've benefited from your previous courses will help you sell to people who are new however, it's also a efficient way of grabbing the attention of current customers.

This is known as the concept of social proof. It is basically when people are more likely to believe in you and your product when they know that the other individuals and companies also believe in you.

If someone truly enjoyed your baking classes but isn't certain if they should enroll in the professional-level cooking class that you offer as an upsell, a handful of carefully-placed reviews could easily influence their decision.

It's easy to see how others who were not so experienced, or perhaps novices, also found value in the lesson and think that they would as well.

Smart Pricing and Packaging

When it comes to upselling, how you package and price your digital course can have a serious impact on your success. Here are a few strategies you should keep in mind if you want to master this part of your upsell strategy for existing learners:

  • Develop a Cross-Sell Strategy - After the completion of the course, you can suggest a course as the best method to keep learning. Make it clear how the new course builds on the lessons they've learned, so your existing customers can see the benefit.

Improve Your Upsell Flow

Let's take a look some practical ways to improve your upsell process and turn more potential customers into existing customers.

It's all about timing when it comes down to selling. If you manage to reach users at precisely the right time, such as, after they complete an online course, you'll have a much better likelihood of getting an upsell.

If the student found an advantage in the initial course and wants to learn more, you'll see them accept your upsell offer almost instantaneously.

This offer can be presented by email, or even on the last page of the program.

We suggest making sure that your message is automated and is triggered when they complete the course in order to avoid a large gap between when they wrap their final lesson and receiving the message.

It's been our experience that seasonal events are the perfect occasion to promote new items particularly if they're packaged together with other goods and reduced.

If you're in the position that you require reviews on your brand new course, this technique will be extremely helpful. It is more likely that people be positive about your course when the course is worth their time and they get it for lesser than its full cost.

You can also consider asking learners to add your new course to their cart when they're in the middle of purchasing something that's been available for a long time.

Simply put, Order Bumps let you ask visitors if they would like to add a specific item to their cart before they pay - and it can be a huge help for course designers and membership sites.

Make Your Value Proposition Stand Out

Also, create a compelling illustration that illustrates the tangible benefits customers can experience if you offer a new course.

Could it assist them to get the job they want? Start a successful side hustle? Learn something new? Gain confidence in social settings? Focus on these tangible advantages so that your group of people has an incentive to act.

Is it better to have a robotic list of modules, ETA and costs; or a detailed and informative article that describes how you, the learner can expect positive outcomes from every module? Most people would choose the latter option.

It is also recommended to address the most common concerns head-on. If, for instance, time is a concern, emphasize how the class fits into hectic schedules.

If it's about money make sure to emphasize the ROI on your investment, or the value of the knowledge you're imparting. Your task is to prove that the benefits outweigh these diverse concerns.

Remember, the existing students already have confidence in you.

It is possible to make the most of these relationships through being open and transparent about the reason behind this program and the way it meets their requirements and helps you achieve your goal or overcome a roadblock.

Make improvements and measures

There is no way to make improvements on something you can't measure. When it comes to upselling measuring the proper parameters is crucial to understand the factors that work and which don't.

It is important to begin with monitoring your conversion rate and the proportion of current students who buy your new course. This will help you determine whether the students are really taking the upsell offer.

Also, keep the eye on your average purchase value (AOV). If customers that are returning back and buying multiple new courses, your strategy will likely pay off.

The goal is to increase the amount people spend in a small amount but still provide enough value to make it worthwhile.

Also, it is important to monitor your average value for customer lifetime (CLV) This is the value of time spent by a client in your company over the course of.

Effective upselling can increase the students spend time with you over time. If your CLV is climbing up, you're definitely on the right track!

Conduct A/B Tests

In addition to analyzing your outcomes, you should also consider how you can improve your the A/B test. A/B testing is when you test two different versions of a promotion, offer or other piece of marketing materials to determine which version gets the best outcomes.

As an example, you can change the headline of the page that promotes upsells for a portion of your visitors and see if your new version outperforms your original choice.

Similar to that, you could try upselling to customers in two distinct times when they finish a class, then the second group will get an email next early morning.

The goal is to find an approach that is resonant with your learners and encourages your learners to stay engaged with your site.

Remember that improving is a continuous process. It is important to keep A/B testing once you've found an option that is successful.

If you're not testing and testing, you may be losing opportunities to reach your audience. Keep this in mind and be sure to regularly review your performance metrics, examine the results of your tests, and be ready to implement changes based upon the information you gather.

Final Thoughts

The process of selling to learners already on your site helps to build rapport with existing customers to increase revenue. It's also about making sure people will always find something valuable and new every time they browse your site.

The strategies and best practices shared here today have helped us to increase our sales throughout the years, and we are confident that these strategies will aid you too.

It requires patience, time, and persistence to nail the art of upselling. However, we're confident that you've got the information you require to start your journey or to take your current approach to the next level.

Got any tips on upselling your course online to current clients? Send them to the community in the comment section below.

Make sure to subscribe to our newsletter below for more advice on boosting your revenue for your online course or membership site.

Syed Balkhi       Syed Balkhi is the founder of WPBeginner The largest and most free WordPress website for resources. With more than 10 years of experience, he's the leading WordPress professional in the business. Learn more about Syed and his portfolio of companies by following him on his social media networks.