8 Upselling Strategies for Online Course Businesses

Online education is a competitive market where selling one course will not be sufficient for generating profits and effectively monetizing your skills. To maximize revenue and enhance student satisfaction, you must implement more advanced sales strategies, such as upselling. This is a strategy that offers additional value to your student while also offering you additional income potential. 

By strategically leveraging upselling strategies and presenting relevant options to your students, you can boost course sales and the overall profitability of your business. In this article, we will review primary strategies you must know about for successful upsells. So, if you are ready, let’s dive into it. 

What is upselling 

Before diving deeper into the topic, first, let’s understand what upselling is. Upselling is a sales strategy where a seller encourages a customer to purchase a more expensive version of a product/service or something in addition to the product/service. 

The main goal of upselling is to enhance the value of the sale while also providing the client with a better experience. For instance, consider buying a laptop. Maybe you thought the X model was a great option; however, after talking to a consultant, he suggested something that will serve you far longer, even though the price is slightly above what you looked for, and so are the features. 

In an online course business, upselling is the practice of encouraging students to purchase a higher-tier version of the course. For instance, it can be the course's additional learning resources or premium services, such as 1:1 coaching sessions.

Upselling strategies for online course businesses 

Selling an online course is the first step. The real opportunity to profit underlies smart sales strategies such as upselling. 

After all, as Nelson Boswell said, and I quote, 

“Here is a simple but powerful rule - always give people more than they expect to get.” 

Upselling, in a sense, is giving people more than they expect, even with an extra price tag. But before we proceed with actual strategies for upsells, you need to promise me something… yes, I mean it. The promise is to overdeliver. No matter how good your offer is and even if upsells work, if you fail to deliver on your promises, the clients will go away upset. What you need is to not only get new clients but also retain them. 

So, as long as you are committed to delivering value to your students, let’s proceed. 

#1 Educate your audience 

Before attempting upselling, make sure to educate your audience about the value of your additional offerings. If students do not know what value they will gain, they will only see the price tag. Do you want that? I do not think so. 

So, here is what you are gonna do. Whether you offer extra coaching sessions, premium content, or something else, you will educate them on why it is beneficial to get these extras. 

Here is how you can do it: 

• Use blog posts, webinars, or free mini-courses to introduce key concepts and demonstrate expertise.
• Clearly explain the advantages of premium content, showing how it can help students achieve their goals faster.
• Utilize video tutorials, case studies, and testimonials to illustrate success stories.

An informed student will see the value of your upsells. Thus, they will be most likely to purchase. 

#2 Offer premium course versions 

One of the best ways to upsell is by offering a premium version of the course. This tactic can include offering a course with: 

• Additional PDF guides or eBooks
• Exclusive downloadable resources such as budget templates or tracking templates 
• Additional video lessons
• Personalized feedback 
• Premium support 
• 1:1 coaching sessions. 

By presenting a clear value comparison between the standard and premium versions, students will be more inclined to invest in the higher-tier option. 

Justin Welsh is one of the course creators you can learn from regarding premium offerings. He is a successful entrepreneur who offers an array of online courses on scaling small businesses. He also offers additional support options, such as one-on-one coaching, subscription-based communities, or digital goods. 

Justin Welsh makes sure his students are aware of his premium offerings. Also, he creates content for uspells that exclusively brings value, not just generates revenue. 

#3 Add upsell emails to your strategy 

Email marketing is a robust tool that helps with upselling, especially when timed strategically. So, consider incorporating email campaigns into your strategy. 

Email is more than just a communication tool; it's a direct line to a consumer's heart. When crafted with care and delivered at the right time, it can yield extraordinary results that are virtually impossible to replicate.

 

Alok Agarwal, Mailmodo

The key when it comes to emails is to write a good copy and create sequences. What are sequences? Well, if the customer gives X response (ignore/positive/negative) based on the response, he will get an N/Y/Z email as a follow-up. 

But let’s not overwhelm you with the sequences just yet. Here is a simple way to use emails in your upselling strategy. 

• Set up a welcome email sequence introducing students to premium upgrades. 
• Mid-course emails will be sent to the participants to highlight additional resources available to enhance their learning. 
• Send a completion email congratulating the participants and encouraging them to continue learning on the topic with advanced resources. 

Also, do not forget to offer exclusive deals to your email list. 

Download our Email Templates where you can find templates for the course launch sequence, as well as additional emails to add to your other sequences. 

#4 Implement cross-selling tactics 

Do not deliver a product; deliver an EXPERIENCE. When you deliver a wholesome experience, cross and upselling strategies will work like magic. 

Cross-selling involves recommending related courses or supplementary content. For instance, let’s say you are a graphic designer. One of your clients took a course on basic graphic design.” The recommendation you can give them is to take the “Advanced Photoshop” course next. 

Align cross-sells with the student's interests and goals. By doing so, you will increase the chances of additional purchases. 

#5 Create product bundles 

When it comes to upselling, one of the best things you can do is offer bundles. But keep in mind that bundles only work at a DELICIOUS price and even better VALUE. 

Bundle multiple related courses and digital products together at a discounted price. It will allow you to create a wholesome experience for the students and encourage them to purchase the bundle instead of an individual course. 

To bump up bundle sales, you can also create short videos introducing what the bundle includes in an engaging and dynamic format. 

Here are the types of bundles you can offer to add some variety: 

• Themed bundles. These are the most basic types. Theme bundle combines a variety of related courses and digital resources, e.g., SEO course, Marketing Checklist, and Email Marketing PDF templates. 
• Progression bundles. Such bundles combine beginner-intermediate level courses and products or intermediate-advanced levels. The aim is to foster and encourage students’ progress and improve skills. 
• Toolkits & templates, which include useful downloads such as worksheets, checklists, and guides. 

#6 Use limited-time discounts on upgrades 

One of the major purchase-driving factors in the world is FOMO (fear of missing out). Smart markets use this to create a sense of urgency and push customers to make quicker purchasing decisions. So, use this trick. 

Offer time-bound discounts, course upgrades, or other special offers for the additional materials you are offering. Make sure to clearly communicate that the deals are available only for a limited amount of time. 

#7 Highlight success stories and testimonials

Social proof is a powerful tool in driving sales. If you have previous customers who purchased additional materials to enhance their learning, ask them to submit reviews and testimonial videos. You can also encourage your students to share more measurable outcomes and success stories. 

This tactic will help you display the value of your offerings and persuade students to purchase extras. How does this work? Instead of giving just a “Promise,” you showcase “tangible” results. 

Related: How to Ask and Receive Course Testimonials | 6 Ways

#8 Add one-on-one coaching as an upsell

Finally, let’s not forget about one of the best ways to guarantee that your upsell will work. If you offer pre-recorded course content or group sessions, listen up. 

You must offer a one-on-one session for the students as part of your upsell offerings. Many students want to get individual sessions with the creator at some point during the course to understand their progress better and ask questions directly. So, give them this opportunity to see how your upsells work. 

Luisa Zhou is renowned for her consulting services for online course creators. She is an experienced online educator who also suggests offering additional resources such as 1:1 coaching as part of upsell offerings to course creators. 

This type of upsell works particularly well for professional development courses, as students are often willing to pay more for direct access to expert advice.

Upsell with Uteach 

Now you know the best industry practices for upselling as an online course creator. Is that it? Not quite… You need a quality learning management system to succeed in your endeavors and enhance professionalism. Where do you find it? Right here and right now. 

Uteach is a robust and all-in-one platform for course creators, trainers, and coaches. It comes in handy with features such as website & course builder, marketing & sales automation, as well as accurate analytics. Schedule a free demo with our team to find out more about what we have to offer and how we can help you expand your course creation business’s success and maximize profitability.