When you're creating an online course, how do you determine how much to charge for it? It can be tricky to find the sweet spot, but with the correct information, you can price your course for maximum profit.
Pricing your online course can be a complicated, even intimidating, process. With the right strategy and a little time, you can price your course effectively and in a way that makes sense for everyone involved.
In this blog post, we'll discuss how to come up with a pricing strategy and how to use a pricing calculator to help you determine the right price for your course.
How Much Should You Charge?
That answer depends on many factors, including the type of learner who will enroll in your course, their goals after taking the course, and more. While I'm happy to provide some things to consider in this blog post, just know that pricing is always subjective. There is no one size fits all answer.
Even the pricing calculators I'll share later in this post should only be used as a guide.
How to Price Your Course Correctly
The first step to pricing your course is deciding what you want the course to accomplish. This is a key decision because it will help you determine how much the course should cost and what kind of revenue it can generate. A lot of this comes down to defining who the target audience is and what they’re hoping to get out of taking your course.
Once you have decided what you want the course to accomplish, determine how much time students need to complete the content.
1. What's the Transformation?
First, you need to determine what type of student you’re going to attract by offering your course. What is the transformation that your online course will help them go through? This is a crucial question to ask before pricing your course.
The most common transformations are:
– Learning new information
– Building professional skills like public speaking, leadership, etc.
– Becoming more productive or efficient in their work
– Gaining knowledge about an industry or topic
Take some time and think about these questions before you create your course. Then ask yourself, ‘what is the true value of this transformation?' Your answers will help guide you as you price your course.
2. Look at the Competition
Pricing online courses can be difficult because there are so many options to choose from. Some courses may have a low price, while others are more costly. There are also varying levels of difficulty and quality that you need to consider.
You should look at the current market for price points for similar courses to get started. If you want your course to be competitive in the marketplace, it’s essential to know what other courses are doing and how they compare with yours on specific metrics like price or course length. You can find this information by looking at reviews or doing your own research.
Don't use competitor research as a deciding factor for pricing; it should just be a consideration and a guide. You don't need to have the cheapest course in the market, and you don't need to have the most expensive one.
So, do your competitor research but don't let it completely sway your pricing decisions.
3. Consider Your Ideal Audience and Their Budget
An important step in pricing your online course is to consider your ideal customer and their budget. The best way to start thinking about how much you should charge for your online course is by figuring out who the ideal learner would be, what they will achieve after taking your course, and if there are any costs associated with that.
Learners who are looking for quick information or insights might not want to spend a lot of time and money on a course. On the other hand, those seeking more hands-on training may wish to pay more because they expect more from their courses. Asking yourself these questions will help you determine what price point is appropriate for each type of learner to maximize revenue opportunities.
For example, a course focused on assisting people to start as a new virtual assistant might be priced lower over a course focused on helping virtual assistants get to $10k months.
That's because people starting might not have a small budget to invest in a course. However, people wanting to scale their business should have more to invest in getting to that next level.
4. Review Your Online Course Deliverables and Value
First, you should understand the type of learner who will enroll in your online course.
There are a few different types of learners:
Self-learners want to learn for personal interest and development but don’t need extra support.
Learners want to improve their knowledge or skills for a specific job or career path.
Once you know the type of learner you are addressing, you can determine what they will get out of your course and how much it will cost them.
For example, if someone is looking for a self-learner who wants to learn something new. They might not need any support after the course is complete. They may only need to spend a few hours learning about a new topic. If someone is looking for employability skills and needs more in-depth learning opportunities with materials such as assessments, exercises, videos from experts, etc. In that case, they may choose an option with more days of instruction at a higher rate.
That’s why it’s important to know whether your course will be a signature course, a mini-course, or a super specific course.
Remember: Just because a course has tons of stuff thrown into it doesn’t mean it’s more valuable. People want quick wins, even for longer signature courses. Be mindful of how much information you’re throwing at your students!
Online Course Pricing Calculator
We’ve discovered the best online course pricing calculators for you. The calculators can help you determine your price point to maximize your revenue and provide value for your customers. Just remember to use these only as a guide:
Teachable Online Course Pricing Worksheet
Free Online Course Pricing Calculator
Podia Course Data and Statistics
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Final Thoughts
Pricing your online course is a difficult task, but it will ultimately be worth it. If you charge too much for your course, you won’t attract many students, and your business will not thrive.
On the other hand, if you price your course too low, you’ll need to find a way to make up for the lost revenue, which can be difficult.
It’s important to remember that pricing isn’t just about making money — it's also about providing value. That doesn't mean that there is a right or wrong price for your course; instead, it means that there are ways to provide value while charging a fair price.
Bottom line: If you're really struggling with pricing, go with your gut and don’t be afraid to start lower and gradually raise it. You can always change or increase your prices later on!