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Do you want to sell more courses but find it hard to attract more learners? Do you struggle with finding catchy descriptions for your online courses or engaging material for your blog? Well, fear not because by the end of this article you will absolutely know how to craft stunning sales pages to draw even more customers into buying your amazing courses. You simply have to follow the three phases one can come across with when writing a marketing copy:
We live in an era where every entrepreneur (or edupreneur) needs to constantly be on the alert for new ways to draw customers and in the end, of course, sell more. However, when it comes to promoting an online course, some find it hard to convey the message using the written approach. Many changes have taken place in the business world over the years. One thing that seems to remain unaffected is the way we are writing and selling.
This happens mostly due to two reasons: a) most people are not that great writers and b) marketers show an obsession towards technical tools and skills.
Regarding the first, writing is considered as a tiring practise by many people. They struggle to find out what to write and how to write it. But that is perfectly fine because each and every one of us excels in different skills.
As regards to the second though, things are a little bit more serious. Almost everything in the business world nowadays is data-driven, so much that entrepreneurs, marketers and educators often seem to forget and neglect the most important skill in business – writing.
Here is the thing though. There is no need for you to be a professional writer. I am sure you think that you are probably a bad writer. But, are you really?
What people often think about writing for the web is that it is similar to writing an essay. Newsflash: It is not. In fact, it is much easier since it does not take much of your time or talent for that matter. What you need is a respectable amount of practice. Rome wasn’t built in a day, was it? But we will help you build it.
This article will illustrate some ground tips and suggestions on how to become a better writer. A much needed skill to promote your courses, products and services. Let’s see in which ways can a course instructor improve their writing skills to boost course promotion towards selling.
Pre-Writing
Before you jump right into the depths of writing, there are a few things that will greatly help you complete your task with more ease. Especially helpful if you need to boost your inner writer’s confidence. By preparing yourself, your writing the outcome will be more fruitful and also raises your writing skills little by little.
a) Research
Staying in research mode at all times and mostly before beginning your writing helps you keep your mind filled with useful content ideas for your course and your sales pages. Once the imaginary light bulb next to your head flashes, start thinking of ways you could develop your idea.
Write it down. And then think of possible ways you could further analyze it. You should also gather resources from the web which you can use for material referencing.
There will be times that you may not have any particular idea on what to write about or how to write it. Save the page for later. You will have already found a resourceful page that you know it could be useful in the long term. If you love organizing your material ( I know I do) you can use Evernote, a great tool which allows you to save Web pages to a cloud-based file system with which you can create folders and tags, and you can include notes that help you find that information when you need it later.
b) Plan
Content writers are struggling with the pressure of creating more content. Especially under the importance of quality content-creation that social-media channels dictate. Time and resources can be limited which calls other measures to action.
Your best shot under such circumstances is to plan a writing strategy. Developing an editorial calendar or a diagram of your courses’ content roadmap is an efficient way to plan your strategy. You can also break it down into parts e.g. General writing, Course content writing, Sales Page copy and For-editing. Being 100% aware of your work’s progress will undoubtedly grant you the confidence you need to complete it.
c) Read more
One of the first steps to becoming a successful writer lies within, what else, reading! This is something you can integrate within your daily habits and spend some standard time.
Schedule a time for reading. 30 minutes at least per day will improve your writing. Click To Tweet
You can stubble across valuable information not only about content but also about words and phrases that stood out or even compelling phrases and excerpts that got your attention. Whenever you find yourself reading an article or a text of the same segment as your courses’, think about how the writer managed to craft this piece of work or even link to it and add value to your own course 😉 You can also create a backup where you can store useful input you find through your reading and then use it for inspirational purposes.
d) Write more
Well, this was bound to be the next step, wasn’t it? By daily exposing yourself to writing you will not only loosen up your hand and mind but you will also be able to connect your thoughts with your words and with ways to express them. A necessary process that usually holds the reason why most people struggle with writing. Committing to writing something on a daily basis, no matter how brief, then the act of writing will surely make you a better writer yourself.
By daily exposing yourself to writing you will be able to connect your thoughts with your words Click To Tweet
e) Know what to write about
This particular tip is a bit more layered so let’s break it down. When searching for a particular topic to write your marketing copy and promote your courses, you need to consider the following:
Your marketing copy should reflect your course’s unique selling proposition to your prospect students Click To Tweet
Get to know your target audience and what makes them tick! Click To Tweet
While you write
The second phase deals with the parts you need to take into consideration when writing your marketing copy related not only to technical parts of writing but also to emotional factors for both you and your learners.
a) Title
A strong and enticing headline is perhaps the most important element of any marketing copy. It is most important part of the text.
When it comes to creating your segment’s title you should spend as much time on crafting it as you do on writing the whole thing. Even the most fascinating and valuable content can be ignored if the title fails to attract and connect with readers.
Create an interesting title that foretells the basic information which the rest of your text encloses.
b) First sentence
Brace yourselves because this one is a bit more challenging: You have about 3 seconds to lure your readers and get them to read your work. Once the title plays its part, it’s up to your first sentence to do the trick.
It is important to note here that both your title and first sentence should guide readers to the main point of your copy as smoothly as possible. Still, you need to write something eye-catching.
You have about 3 seconds to lure your readers and get them to read your work. Click To Tweet
c) Introduction (Lead)
Your introduction will vary in terms of length depending on what you write. For very short articles, it could be the first paragraph or two. For books, it could be the first chapter. But for most content, it’s the first 100-600 words.
The key here is to make your introduction captivating but at the same time not too long. It should give away only as much as needed to entice the reader into reading the rest of your work.
Your intro will entice the audience to read the rest of the text! Click To Tweet
d) Depth and Length
Know thy readers! Knowing what your readers want and can help you plan the depth and length that gets them engaged, whether that is a sales page or your course content.
There are two things that can make writing materials difficult to read: not giving enough detail or giving only a partial coverage of an idea and giving too much detail. It is important to go as deep as your length allows you to go.
Short articles only provide a high-level discussion of your topic or an in-depth coverage of one of its aspects. Longer content, on the other hand, offers the space to provide more details. You may want to also consider compressing your information if there is a risk of over flooding your marketing copy with details.
Bulleted lists are a beneficial idea in such cases since they are easy to read and readers are naturally drawn to them. They convey lots of information and break up paragraphs into small chunks of information that are easily digested.
Pro Advice:
Different prospective clients prefer a different length/depth to be converted to paying ones. A/B test two different sales pages and see which one sells better. One should use shorter descriptions and key points to sell your online courses and the other includes a long in-depth description of the courses and their value to the prospective student. Then, keep the one that brings the best results!
“Know thy readers want and provide the depth and length that gets them engaged”
e) Focus on one thing only
Your content probably consists of many pieces all together shaping your marketing copy. However, each piece should have one point only. Having in mind what your bottom-line point is will help you stick on track and not wander around other content points that should be analyzed isolated. Any word, sentence or paragraph that breaks the “Talk about one thing only” rule needs to be discarded.
f) Show, don’t tell
It is well known that potential customers don’t really want to hear (or read in our case) about how amazing your course and services are, they would rather see it for themselves. They want specifics, examples, arguments and stories that back up everything you are presenting.
Non-fiction allows you to be more direct towards your audience. You can use images (yeap, you just made a fiction writer cringe) but only in the company of a backing up narrative. And, remember to write about actions and not just descriptions to prove your point.
Be direct towards your audience
g) Make it emotional
Talking about fiction writers, there are a couple of tips they can share with us that would truly help towards learner attraction. Content marketing is also about storytelling. And stories are all about mysteries that need to be resolved.
Suspense draws attention and engagement. However, in your case, you can achieve suspense not just by leaving questions unanswered neither by giving the answer straight away. You rather need to fill the gap between question and answer with something useful.
Purchases are not driven by logic and this is the reason why good commercials make us want to laugh or cry. That is exactly why you need to spice it up a notch. Your learners’ needs and emotions can coincide with what you are proposing.
h) Speak their Language
You need to determine which potential learners your marketing copy is addressing to and choose your vocabulary accordingly. When dealing with a highly technical audience, avoid oversimplifying terms. However if you take a more instructive approach and want to educate customers who are not familiar with your profession, then too many technical terms are bound to scare them for good. Your best shot is to mirror the tone of the people you are addressing to and tailor their language as well.
Speak the language of the potential learners your marketing copy is addressing and choose your vocabulary accordingly
i) Close (or the Epilogue)
Closing is as important as your introduction. A good-content marketing copy can provide answers as to who, what, where, when and why, but a great one also tells “so what”. At the close of your marketing copy, you can summarize your main points and underline the ways in which learners can benefit from the info you have provided. Even better, if it is possible you can use another tool that is beloved by fiction-writers, the narrative circle. You simply can tie it back to the main point that structured your introduction.
And … not to forget, it is your time to call for action and close the sale!
j) Have fun
Everyone knows that a job is better done when you enjoy doing it. So why not try the same when you are writing your marketing copy? Don’t be afraid to involve your passions as well as your sense of humor into this effort. Besides, a strict and dead-serious text creates unnecessary distance between you and your potential learners and that is something you want to avoid.
Post-writing
So you are at the point where you have no tissues left to swipe the blood, sweat and tears off your face, your friends and family wonder if you are still alive and you can’t remember what day it is. But still, you have managed to write your marketing copy regardless of the obstacles you may have faced. Now it’s time to sit back, take a big breath….and let’s go from the top. I am serious, that is precisely what you need to do but not exactly as you may think.
a) Edit – Edit – Edit
You may have noticed that so far no word has been typed about editing. This is because you should write first and edit later. Your first go on this will basically end up as a draft and great writing never happens in the first draft. Especially when writing to sell or teach.
The first draft is usually a good effort at figuring out how to put your ideas into words. So that is exactly why you shouldn’t strain yourself trying to fix everything you write on the spot. After finishing your writing you will have a much more complete picture and trust me you will know what doesn’t add up and what does. Don’t just settle for one round of edits. For high quality writing, you’ll need to go through several rounds of review.
Write First – Edit Later!
b) Get Feedback
It is more than expected that you will have second (and third and fourth) thoughts on your piece of work after completing it. You can ask your friends, family, peers and people you trust in general, to read it and give you some feedback.
Take the feedback you get and apply it to a revision. If you are also a blogger you can share the gist of your work with your followers so as to know if the topic is relatable to a reader or if there is some aspect/point that you have not analyzed enough or haven’t even thought to include.
Take the feedback you get and apply it to a revision
Trying to improve your writing skills so as to enhance the quality of your marketing copies is a job that needs a considerable amount of effort and willingness but that is exactly what makes the outcome worth it. Once you find the confidence to strategically promote your awesome courses, the sky will be the limit. We hope our (not so short but) inclusive article will help you find your inner writer and help them do wonders.
So get creative – Tell your stories – Talk about your courses and services – Engage your readers – Sell courses!
P.S. Are you more of the visual type? We got you covered! Check out how to promote your courses with Pinterest.
Kyriaki is a Content Creator for the LearnWorlds team writing about marketing and e-learning, helping course creators on their journey to create, market, and sell their online courses. Equipped with a degree in Career Guidance, she has a strong background in education management and career success. In her free time, she gets crafty and musical.
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