Marketing Online Courses: A Guide for SaaS Companies

Some SaaS companies offer online courses, training, and workshops, focusing on educational content rather than just software features. Marketing these products is all about showcasing the value and benefits of the courseware and how it boosts users' skills over time. But before diving into effective marketing strategies, let's first look at how users find your signup page.

Navigating the Buyer’s Journey

Before potential customers are ready to subscribe to your SaaS plan, they need to go through a specific journey. Here are the four essential steps:

1. Problem Awareness: They must first recognize they have a problem and seek a solution.
2. Expertise Recognition: They need to see you as a credible expert who can solve their problem.
3. Trust Building: Trust is vital. They should feel confident in your ability to deliver what you promise.
4. Solution Identification: Finally, they must understand that your SaaS course is the exact solution to their problem.

Tackling Objections

Even if potential buyers recognize these steps, they might still have objections. Common concerns include doubts about the course's relevance to their current stage or its value. Overcoming these objections is crucial and can be achieved by directly addressing them through your marketing content.

The Sales Funnel: Streamlining the Buyer’s Journey

To guide potential customers efficiently through this journey, we use a structured sales funnel. Here’s how you can set one up:

Collecting Email Addresses

Begin by capturing email addresses through a lead magnet, such as a free resource related to your course topic. This could be a cheat sheet, checklist, or mini-guide.

Building Trust and Providing Value

Once you've captured their email, send a series of follow-up emails that offer valuable content and insights, building trust along the way. Position yourself as an authority and gradually introduce your course.

Pitching Your Course

After establishing trust, pitch your course, emphasizing how it solves their problem. Address common objections within these emails to reassure potential buyers.

Overcoming Objections

Include emails that specifically address common objections using testimonials and case studies from past students/users. This helps build credibility and trust.

Two Effective Sales Funnels

1. The Webinar Funnel

A webinar funnel is ideal for higher-priced courses. Here’s how it works:

• Create a Webinar: Develop a live or pre-recorded webinar that offers valuable content and solves a small problem related to your course.
• Pitch Your Course: Towards the end of the webinar, spend about 10 minutes pitching your course, emphasizing its value.
• Follow-Up Emails: Send a series of follow-up emails, including a webinar replay, future pacing (what life will look like after solving the problem), addressing objections, and a final pitch.

2. The Email Sequence Funnel

This funnel works well for courses priced in the low-end of the market:

• Offer a Free Resource: Provide a valuable free resource in exchange for an email address.
• Email Sequence: Send a series of emails that build on the initial resource, agitate the problem, pitch your course, show the future state, and address frequently asked questions.

Driving Traffic to Your Funnel

Once your sales funnel is set up, the next step is to drive traffic to it. Use a mix of social media, existing email lists, TikTok ads, Facebook ads, YouTube ads, and other channels to attract potential customers to your lead magnet or webinar sign-up page.

Take your SaaS marketing on Overdrive

Successfully marketing an online course involves guiding potential customers through a well-structured journey that builds awareness, trust, and ultimately convinces them that your course is the solution they need. By setting up an effective sales funnel and addressing common objections, you can significantly boost your course sales.

At ShoutEx, we specialize in helping SaaS companies like yours create impactful marketing strategies. If you’re ready to elevate your online course marketing, get in touch with us. Let's turn your online course into a success!