You may have created an excellent eLearning course, but that is only half the battle. You need to learn how to promote it so that it reaches those who can truly benefit from it.

External marketing is expensive and seems like outdated when you compare it to the power of online marketing. Connect to your audience directly and use social media effectively to create a market for yourself.

Here are 7 useful tips on how to promote your course.

1. Know your target audience

You need to know your target audience, so you can tailor your marketing efforts to reach those who are truly interested in what your course has to offer. You may have to do some market research, including surveys, interviews and focus groups.

This will enable you to determine the current knowledge of your target audience, the type of cultural and educational background they have and much more. Is your course designed for the working professional who needs to improve certain skills or is it designed to support young learners looking to further their studies? Your marketing must be geared accordingly.

2. Give them a little preview

Learners need to be convinced before they make the decision to take a course. A sneak peek may show them how much they need it and give them some idea of what to expect. What’s important is to present a realistic glimpse of what you have to offer, while still giving them the motivation to enroll. Ensure that you include a way for students to sign up after presenting a preview.

3. Create a connection

Once you have decided exactly who you must promote to, you need to do more than just promote your course. You have to show your audience that you understand their needs and that learners will gain practical, relevant benefits if they’re going to do a course.

Social media gives you a way to connect with them in a way that they understand, and you can customize the content you share to be relevant to them.

You can write a relevant article on your LinkedIn profile, for example, and then share details about your course. The more relevant places you can share online about your course, the better. It helps to feature an engaging image or a video in any online posts.

4. Show how your course meets their needs

Learners look at online courses to improve their skill sets or to improve some aspect of their lives. This is why it’s essential to be very clear about what your course can offer them and what benefits it provides. Will doing your course help to improve the odds of a promotion? Will it help them to master certain skills that can make their job easier?

Tell them how you will go about solving a problem they face every day or an advantage they will experience by completing the course. Emphasize the value of online training and how it can save them time.

Make sure that they know that quality is your priority and outline the reasons why your course is the best. With many courses on offer, it’s more important than ever to differentiate yours from others. Online training needs to be designed to look as effective as it is.

It needs to be built to adapt to being used on desktops, tablets, and even smartphones because learners want access to learning in more flexible ways today. The learning experience should be defined, tested and refined to meet the needs of the learners effectively.

Consumers of online training are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and they expect engaging learning experiences. They will quickly select another course if they think your one does not meet their needs.

5. Share reviews and testimonials

Learners are more likely to enroll if they can see reviews or testimonials from other satisfied learners who have already successfully completed the course. You can ask learners to give reviews or put out surveys and questionnaires and use any positive feedback. Use social media effectively to collect all the information and data.

When learners are on the fence, they are more likely to commit if they know that a course has made a difference in the lives of other learners. Relate stories about those who have used your courses to achieve greater success at work or at home and include images of them where possible.

Sharing video testimonials from learners who have succeeded in applying your course material in their lives can be very effective. It not only reveals in a very personal way how much the course benefited them but how invested you are in their future success.

6. Host a live webinar

A webinar provides a platform for you to share the highlights of your course and attract more people. It is somewhat like having a first date with your potential students. They will be able to check out your teaching manner, content, voice, articulation and more.

Sometimes the virtual learning environment leaves a lot to be desired in terms of human connections. A webinar can help to bridge the gap for students and make the experience more personal. And even your topic doesn’t have to be super unusual; telling about, for example, steps of book review would be a great choice if you offer editing services.

Giving some idea of your accomplishments and why you are qualified to offer such a course as well as some personal touches, can help to reassure potential students that there is someone behind the computer that is qualified and that cares.

7. Don’t forget about email

Email is still an effective way to reach those who might be interested in your course and inform them about all the details. Don’t forget to offer all the details.

Make sure students know how to enroll, where they can get answers to their questions and what criteria they need to meet to take the course. Help them to understand and overcome any barriers that might exist such as the technology they will need to access.

Creating a compelling connection between your course and its tangible benefits is the best way for you to promote and increase the potential for enrolments.