Pricing Online Courses: Price Your Online Course Like A Pro

So you have your eLearning site up and running, and your courses are ready to publish. It obviously took a lot of effort to select the LMS platform and create & publishing the course. But setting the perfect price for your online course is crucial in establishing its success. 

You’ve used your time and knowledge, combined your innovation, and simplified the process by investing money and resources to develop a course that will add value to a learner’s life, right? 

Firstly, the pricing online courses will determine the revenue of your eLearning site. Secondly, you will be able to understand the effectiveness and acceptance of your courses.  Moreover, developing a steadfast pricing plan is essential for being competitive in the eLearning industry. Academy LMS is here to assist you in pricing online courses so that you can get your desired revenue by selling your courses. So, let’s take a ride!

Why is pricing your online course so difficult?

Pricing online courses can be challenging due to several factors. First, determining the right price requires a balance between offering value to students and ensuring profitability. It’s vital to consider the perceived value of your course in the market and how it compares to competitors.

Additionally, market dynamics and demand can fluctuate, making it hard to set a fixed price. Pricing too low might undermine your course’s perceived quality, while pricing too high can deter potential students.

Furthermore, as an online course creator, you may have invested time, effort, and resources into developing your content, which makes pricing decisions emotionally charged. Striking the right balance between recouping your investment and making your course accessible is not always straightforward.

Setting your online course price is a critical aspect of your strategy. If you offer a free online course, it can generate interest in your content, but you must also have a clear pricing strategy for your paid courses to ensure sustainability. Some potential students may be interested in your course but hesitant to pay a high price, so it’s essential to offer various pricing options.

To help you put a price on your online course, focus on marketing your course effectively. Highlight the high value of your course and emphasize the benefits that students will gain. Share tips on how to price your course, such as offering discounts for early enrolment or bundling courses together at a reduced rate.

Remember that the purpose of your online course is not only to educate but also to generate revenue. Therefore, it’s crucial to consider both the educational aspect and the financial aspect when pricing your course. Keep an eye on market trends and be ready to adjust your pricing strategy as needed to stay competitive and increase your course sales.

In essence, pricing your online course is difficult because it involves a delicate interplay of factors related to value, competition, market dynamics, and personal investment, all within a dynamic eLearning industry. Finding the right way to price your online course requires a strategic approach that balances the interests of both you as the creator and the students interested in your course.

The Necessity of Pricing Online Courses

Creating an online course is an exciting venture, but one of the most crucial decisions you’ll face is how to charge for your online course. The price you set can greatly impact your course’s success and profitability. So, how much should you charge? It’s not a one-size-fits-all answer; it requires careful consideration and strategy.

One effective approach is to test different price points. Rather than arbitrarily picking a price, consider experimenting with various pricing tiers to find the sweet spot. Start by offering your course at a low price point and gradually increase it as you gauge the response from your target audience. This strategy allows you to understand the perceived value of your course in the market.

It’s essential to avoid the temptation of pricing your course too low. While it might seem like a way to attract more students, it can actually undermine the perceived value of your course. Learners may question its quality or content if it’s priced too low. Conversely, setting the price too high can deter potential learners who might perceive it as unaffordable.

When determining the best price for your online course, you should also consider the value it provides. Assess the unique content, expertise, and benefits that your course offers compared to similar offerings in your niche. Pricing your course based on its value can help you justify the cost to your potential students.

If you’ve created an online course that offers exceptional value and expertise, don’t hesitate to charge for your course accordingly. Many learners understand the value of high-quality education and are willing to invest in it.

To further assist you in the pricing process, there are online course pricing calculators available. These tools take into account various factors such as the market average, your course’s purpose, and its perceived value. They can provide valuable insights into setting a competitive price for your course.

Once you’ve determined the right price for your course, it’s essential to focus on marketing strategies. Effective promotion will attract individuals genuinely interested in your content. A well-executed online course launch can highlight the high value of your offering and generate initial interest.

In conclusion, pricing your online course is a nuanced process that demands careful consideration of several factors, including market dynamics, competition, and the unique value your course offers. Finding the right balance between affordability and profitability is crucial for success in the eLearning industry. So, don’t undervalue your hard work – charge a fair price that reflects the true value of your online course and supports your goals as a course creator.

Things to Consider for Pricing Online Courses 

You already know that the eLearning course creation process involves several organized steps. Too many factors must be taken into account to determine the ultimate cost. It is quite impossible to compute the precise budget for the course creation process instantly. Therefore keeping track of each of the factors will enable you to make a more intelligent decision about the ultimate price. 

Here are the factors that you must learn: 

1. Course Development Expenses

The cost to craft your course depends on the content it includes. Certainly, the cost of creating your course will go up if it includes professionally captured images, high-definition videos, cool animations, and other data that requires you to engage specialists or utilize expensive equipment.  

As a beginner, you should start with minimal elements for your courses. Gradually you should upload high-quality content after getting a good response from your previous ones. 

2. Cost of Video Capturing 

Video is an essential part of online education it is the benchmark for online course material. You will need a proper setup for capturing your video, which includes light, video, and audio. 

The cost of your video-capturing device will influence the total cost of the course. Moreover, the cost also depends on whether you are recording it in a normal background or green screen.  

3. Cost of LMS & Additional Plugins 

Many renowned eLearning platforms, such as Udemy, Skillshare, etc., are out there. But these platforms won’t give you full control over course promotion, course pricing, and other options. But pricing online courses requires you to have full control over your eLearning platform. This is where Academy LMS comes in with all the necessary features and full pricing control. 

Owning your own LMS platform is usually recommended, but you must first find out how much it would cost. The best part about Academy LMS is that you can create a full-fledged eLearning site with the free version. Most WordPress plugins offer their features on the pro version. In comparison, Academy LMS provides most of the features for free.

However, this procedure goes beyond just submitting course materials to the LMS. To offer your courses, you’ll require LMS software and additional third-party plugins and extensions. It’s important to consider the price of all the premium plugins and tools being used. 

4. Marketing Expenses 

Your marketing expenses will vary by subject, search phrases, and market rivalry, depending on your target market. You should keep note of and include in the price of your course any expenditures you incur in promoting and selling your course.

5. Expenses Behind the Team

A majority of the expense behind creating online courses goes behind your team and your own time. Therefore, avoid the urge to offer courses for a low price. 

Because you have to manage the expense of carrying your team members and never fail to take it into account when determining price. Remember that your team and you are maintaining every aspect of running your eLearning site, the LMS plugin, and the course. 

6. Developing a Successful Pricing Strategy

Your strategy for pricing online courses will be more effective if you take the following actions: 

• Estimate and manage all the costs to gain profit
• Execute favorable comparison to your rivals 
• Make a significant presence in the target market 

So how can you develop a strong pricing plan to ensure your eLearning course’s success? So let’s go through the essential aspects you must examine before pricing online courses on your site. 

Examine the Demand for The Course

Analyzing the demand for the course in the marketplace is your first step toward setting the price. There are many factors to consider while assessing the demand, including:

• The student’s willingness to pay for your courses
• Your prospect student’s capability to pay 
• Alternatives that are competing in the marketplace 

To make a firm ground in the market for a more extended period, one must find the optimal stage where both the customers and course creators are satisfied. Always set a high price for a course topic that has a high market demand but less substitute. 

Only reduce the price if there is less demand for the course subject in the market. This is how you can improve sales results and meet the anticipated revenue goal of your eLearning site. 

7. Learn About Your Audience 

One of the most crucial factors when pricing online courses is learning about the audience. Learn the following things about your audience: 

• Analyze if your target audience wants to pay for the course topic you are producing. 
• Learn how much they are willing to spend and especially on what topic 
• Explore what opportunities your course can bring to your customer’s table 
• List out the qualities of your course topic that will enable learners to advance their income further
• Find out whether your students are at the beginning level or already at an advanced level. 

Knowing all the mentioned things will assist you in determining the right price for your online course. 

8. Conduct Research On Your Competitors 

If you want continuous growth of your company, you must explore new chances by researching your competition. Pricing online courses based on your competitors’ pricing is common sense. However, it shouldn’t be your plan of action.

Researching the competitors will not only assist you in pricing online courses, but It will also help you understand the demand for the course in the eLearning industry. Moreover, you can find out the areas where you can improve. 

From your students or users’ feedback, find out what you are lacking and add to your courses. Make strategic modifications to your course based on the study’s findings so that it provides greater value to students and brings in more income. A victory for all parties!

9. Create Several Price Levels 

Multilevel pricing is effective when offering a course at several price points. For this scenario, you can restrict or extend different features and functionalities of your course for each level. 

Suppose you sell 10 copies of your course for $34 each, bringing you $340. However, if you add additional enhanced resources to the same course and charge $50 for it, let’s suppose that 5 individuals purchased the course. If you had the same amount of sales, you would earn $590. 

You will be making more than twice as much daily if you add another pricing tier. So, that is the advantage of setting up many pricing levels. 

Typically, setting two or a maximum of three pricing levels is ok.  But you can always set up the number of levels that work best for your course content. 

10 Try Different Price Points with Discounts 

Try out a variety of pricing points by making use of coupons and discounts. If you find that giving discounts results in a significant increase in sales, your course’s price elasticity is strong. 

Instead of beginning with large discounts, try continuing with smaller deals and progressively testing various percentiles of savings. Then, after comparing the findings, you should choose a price your clients are willing to spend.

While trying out different price points, remember that you will earn less money from each transaction. Therefore, you should calculate the percentage of your profit upon providing the discounts to get the most out of your income. 

Be The Expert in Your Category 

If you want to create a strong reputation in the marketplace, establish yourself as an expert.  If you can prove that you’ve achieved mastery in the course topic that you are publishing, you will be able to set higher prices for your online courses. 

Before pricing online courses, enhance your credibility by creating a YouTube channel dedicated to your online courses.  Share free resources and information regarding your courses and trigger buying intention. 

11. Establish a Goal for Your Sales

Establishing a realistic revenue goal is the first step in developing an appropriate pricing strategy. Set a projected rate of return for the money you have invested. Develop the key performance indicators (KPI) for your company and determine the leading indicators to reach your sales and profit goals. 

When it comes to putting a price on your eLearning course, having a precise profit goal in mind may be a tremendous driving factor.

Now let’s have some bonus tips:

How to Justify a High Price for Your Online Course?

Justifying a high price for your online course is essential to convey its value to potential students. Here are key strategies:

1. Highlight Unique Content: Emphasize what sets your course apart. Showcase exclusive, in-depth, or specialized content that learners won’t find elsewhere.

2. Expertise and Credibility: Establish your authority in the subject matter. Share your credentials, experience, or success stories that demonstrate your expertise.

3. Comprehensive Learning Experience: Describe how your course offers a comprehensive learning journey, including resources, assignments, and support, ensuring mastery of the topic.

4. Results-Oriented: Showcase the outcomes students can expect, such as improved skills, job prospects, or personal growth, which justifies the investment.

5. Access to Exclusive Resources: Offer exclusive access to tools, materials, or communities that enhance the learning experience and are unavailable elsewhere.

6. Testimonials and Reviews: Share positive feedback from previous students to build trust and confidence in your course.

7. Money-Back Guarantee: Provide a satisfaction guarantee to reduce the perceived risk, showing your confidence in the course’s quality.

8. Limited Availability: Create a sense of urgency with limited-time enrollment or special promotions to encourage enrollment at the higher price point.

By implementing these strategies, you can effectively justify a high price for your online course and attract learners who recognize the value it offers.

When to sell your online course for a low price

Selling your online course for a lower price can be strategic in certain circumstances:

1. Market Entry: When entering a competitive market, offering a lower price can help you gain initial traction and build a customer base.

2. Limited Content: If your course covers a narrow or specialized topic with limited content, pricing it lower can reflect its scope accurately.

3. Limited Features: If your course lacks advanced features, such as personal coaching or certification, pricing it lower aligns with the value it provides.

4. Target Audience: If your target audience consists of price-sensitive learners, a lower price point can make your course more accessible and attractive.

5. Promotions and Sales: Lower prices during promotional periods, such as holidays or course anniversaries, can drive increased enrollment and revenue.

6. Early Adopters: When launching a new course or platform, offering discounts to early adopters can incentivize them to provide valuable feedback and testimonials.

7. Bundle Deals: If you offer multiple courses or products, bundling them together at a lower price can encourage upselling and cross-selling.

Remember, pricing strategies should align with your course’s value proposition and target audience. Offering a lower price can be a viable tactic in specific scenarios to attract learners and achieve your business goals.

Final Thoughts

Pricing online courses is indeed a challenging task for most course creators and eLearning site owners.  The fact is that you can never create a price point that is acceptable for everyone. 

Some learners won’t be able to purchase your course due to affordability. 

On the other hand, others would gladly pay for your courses because of the value and quality of your courses. It does not suggest that your pricing strategy is flawed; you just need to improve over time.

Before releasing an online course, don’t miss this comprehensive guide on pricing online courses in the right way. We’ll gladly assist you in effectively pricing online courses for your eLearning site. If you have any pricing strategy in mind, mention it in the comment section below. Join us on our Facebook community and also you can also follow us on Twitter.

FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions