Deciding the Value of Your Course

Do not price based on length alone

It's a common misconception among online instructors that a high-priced course must be exceptionally lengthy. However, this notion is far from the truth. The length of your online course should not dictate its price; instead, focus on pricing it based on the value of the content it offers. If your course delivers an abundance of valuable information in comprehensive detail (resulting in a longer duration), then the length becomes relevant. However, avoid unnecessarily elongating the course just for the sake of it. If you can effectively impart the desired results within 3 hours of instruction, refrain from stretching it to 7 hours.

Nonetheless, it's essential to consider the expectations of your students concerning the content in relation to the price they pay for the course. Charging £150 for a course containing only 30 minutes of content may leave your students feeling dissatisfied and seeking refunds. Thus, exercise your best judgement when determining the course's value. On the other hand, if you're offering your course for free, the length becomes less critical.

Take a look at your competition

Price your course based on the value that you provide to your students. Take a look at competitors and see where they’re pricing their course; make a note of what the lower priced courses are offering compared to the higher priced courses. This can help you set a benchmark. While you’re researching, consider all the factors like your training and support, and the value of the outcome you help them achieve. Don’t choose your course price purely based on the price your competitors are charging for their courses — this could cause you to devalue the quality of your course and the work you put in. 

If you’re going to research your competition, do it simply to validate the fact that there are people out there who are paying to learn your topic. Do it to validate market demand, not to choose your course price.

It’s also worth mentioning that if you can’t find any competing courses on your topic that are selling for a premium price, you shouldn’t take that as a sign to not create the first course in that area. Again, we emphasise that you do your market research to validate your ideas, regardless of how many existing courses are out there.

Quantify the results your students can achieve

If you’re going to help your students save money, tell them how much. If you’re going to help them save time, tell them how much. By quantifying the value of the outcome you help them achieve, you position the price of your course as a no-brainer. If taking your course is going to help someone earn an extra income, build something for themselves or teach them something new, that is an outcome that can be quantified.

Test multiple price points

This takes time, but it can be a great way to determine the optimal price for your course. 

If you’re going to test different price points, you should probably start with a low (but not too low) price and then gradually increase it from there. Keep increasing your price until your sales numbers start to show resistance. All else being equal, when that happens you’ll know that you’re approaching the ceiling of what your target market is willing to pay for your course.

Consider your credibility and authority in your market

Think about how much credibility and authority you have in your market. Consider:

1. Is your name or the name of your organisation highly recognizable to your target audience? 
2. Have you spent several years building your platform and growing your audience?
3. Have you published a book? 
4. Have you spoken at conferences in your industry? 
5. Have you been featured in the media? 
6. Do you have any specific credentials that took time to earn? 
7. Have you received any awards for your work? 
8. Do you have positive testimonials from other students or clients? 

All of these factors help you to justify charging a higher price for your course. If you’re not yet perceived as an “expert” on your topic, publishing free content is a great way to build trust and authority in your market. Do you have a blog, a newsletter, a podcast? These are great ways to share free content and build trust with your audience. 

One of the features on Steppit is the ability to create free sessions for your fans. This is content that could be bite-size lessons that lead into selling a bigger course or give your followers a sneak peek at what you offer.

One thing to keep in mind when pricing your course is just because you may have a smaller audience or may be new to creating an online course, that doesn’t mean you should start your price low. Here are a few reasons why: 

You degrade your course’s perceived value

When it comes to selling both online and offline, there's a commonly held belief that you get what you pay for. It means if you price your course too low, people might perceive it as low-quality, and that's not what you want.

The perceived value of your online course will be a huge driver of sales and setting your price too low actually hurts this perception. From a branding and business perspective, it is better to position your course as the premium option in your market. Unless, of course, you are targeting the price-conscious shopper on purpose (ie. students), then adjust your course price accordingly. 

Online training is not less valuable than in-person training

Let’s get one thing clear: online training is not less valuable than in-person training. Online learning has become the go-to mode of learning across academia, the corporate sector, and even for individual learners. With reduced learning costs, greater convenience, and improved learning outcomes being the key factors to driving the growth of online learning.  

The perceived value of an educational product is influenced less by the medium of its delivery, and more by factors such as: 

1. The expertise of the instructor
2. The specificity of the topic as it relates to your student’s needs
3. Level of personalisation in learning
4. The value of the outcome or result that your course helps your students achieve
5. Some people even prefer to learn online for the simple reason that it is more convenient and they can learn at their own pace.

Competing on price is a race to the bottom

No matter what price you set for your course, someone out there will always be able to beat it. Competing on price alone is a race to the bottom. Customers that are loyal to the seller with the lowest price are not the kind of customers you would want anyway. Don’t waste your time trying to serve these people. Focus on marketing your course to people who will respect the value of it, and who aren’t going to cancel their purchase and ask for a refund the moment they find a similar course that is cheaper.

Now let’s say you’ve launched your course, it’s been incredibly successful and you’d like to increase the price of the course, but not sure what else you could offer. Here’s what you can do to confidently behind your price:

Teach something very specific

Here's the deal: when it comes to pricing your course, being specific can work wonders. Take selling as an example—it's a pretty broad topic. With so many general selling courses out there, it's tough for one to stand out.

But if you narrow it down, like creating a course specifically for real estate agents on how to ace a listing presentation, things get interesting. Now, your course has a clear target audience and a specific focus. Real estate agents looking to master listing presentations will likely jump on board because it's exactly what they need.

See, being specific about the course's outcome makes it more valuable to your target audience. They know what they'll get, and that's worth a lot to them. So, think specific and cater to your audience's needs. It's a win-win!

Create a private group for your course students

Creating a private group for your course students is a great way to increase the value of your online course. Not only will your students benefit from having more access to you, but they also get to benefit from interacting and building relationships with other students who are taking your course. 

Creating a Facebook Group for your students is a great way to make this happen. If you use a course building tool like Steppit, you can also build and manage your learning communities directly from your course platform. This is where you can chat to your students and answer any questions they have. 

Offer 1-on-1 or group coaching

Consider offering a certain number of 1-on-1 coaching sessions with each of your course students. Another option is to offer group coaching to a specific number of students at a time. Both of these methods are great for holding your students accountable for completing your course and providing personalised feedback to them. 

Host a monthly live call with your students

Consider hosting a live conference call or webinar with your course students on a monthly basis. You can use that time with them to answer specific questions, delve into a specific topic in greater detail, or even invite a guest speaker to share their insights with your students. 

All of this is providing additional value to your students, which they will greatly appreciate at the end, especially if they feel they’ve come away with more knowledge and skills than they started with. 

Include downloadable resources

Many online instructors give their students the ability to download their video lessons, slideshow presentations, or even the audio versions of each video lesson. Doing so gives their students more control over their learning experience. Providing downloadable resources such as worksheets, templates, checklists, resource and reading guides are also a great way to increase the value of your online course and enhance the learning experience of your students.

Be accessible

Consider granting your students a reasonable amount of direct access to you (this can be through email or even by phone if you’re willing). This may or may not make sense to you based on your business goals and the price of your course. If your goal is to sell a £25 course to several thousand students, for example, granting each student direct access to you isn’t very feasible or economical. However, if you sell your course for £400 and you limit enrollment to 30 students at a time, granting your students some direct access to you is more manageable.

Form partnerships to expand your offering

If your course recommends specific resources, tools, or software to your students, then a great way to increase the value of your course is to partner up with the sellers of those resources to create a special offer for your students. 

Offer a completion certificate 

Course completion certificates are an effective value-add because they give your students something to “show off” once they’ve completed your course. One of our features is the ability for you to toggle on “required uploads” such as a photo evidence on specific sessions. This can then trigger a certificate to be awarded on completion of the course. They can also be great for increasing student engagement because the reward of receiving a certificate helps give your students an additional incentive for completing your course.