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What can you do to use Marketing Psychology to Increase the number of sales for online courses?

Feb 10, 2023

For course , designers. The effectiveness of your marketing efforts depends on various factors, including your budget, the marketing methods you decide to employ in addition to your target audience. The factors mentioned above won't mean important when you aren't aware of the motivations behind the buying habits of consumers. If you're not aware of the reasons why people behave how they do, it's extremely difficult to develop persuasive marketing materials that prove the effectiveness of your approach to help people solve their issues.

Marketing psychology aims to explain the way people think when thinking about buying a product. In this article, you'll learn eight concepts of marketing psychology that can help you understand how to predict, analyze, and affect the purchasing decisions of those who might be considering buying it.

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What is the term used to describe marketing psychology?

The human brain is complex. Through research and experimentation researchers have been able to discover a few human behavior patterns, which are usually subconscious -and that influence buying selections of consumers. These patterns of behavior are predictable are the result of heuristics. They're the shortcuts that your brain creates to perform the jobs it performs frequently, like absorbing data, making choices and tackling issues.

You can use marketing psychology in several ways for example:

  • Words that are used to provoke emotions in your target audience
  • The style of copy that you place on your page of landing
  • Your course pricing, etc.

8 key concepts of marketing psychology

In this article, we'll take a closer examine some of the key concepts in marketing psychology, and the best way to implement the concepts in your plan to set up and sell your online courses.

     The Anchoring Bias    

Have you ever wondered why it is it difficult to not pull out your credit card at times when the store you love has an offer?

The majority of the times, this happens due to bias of anchoring. It is the habit of people to consider the initial piece of details about something to make various other choices. Consider this as a benchmark to compare.

Let's look at the example of your preferred clothing retailer. The store normally sells jackets at $70, but If you see them available for sale at 45 dollars, you're bound to be ecstatic. Why? Because you're going to save $25 when you purchase the jacket. If your friend purchases jackets at a different retailer for $40, they'll not believe that saving $25 is such a big deal.

When you use anchoring in your marketing, you're giving prospective buyers information that you want them to know for them to make the right purchasing decision they're requesting the buyers to take.

This is especially true for pricing online classes, particularly in the case of an promotion. You want to clearly indicate the initial price for the course (this is known as"the anchor). Next, list the discount or sale price right next to the anchor. This anchor can make the reader believe that you've bought your program at the best price.

Have a look at the illustration in Kat Norton's The Excelerator Course.

Do you see the way she's leading learners to be convinced that if they pay for the course right immediately and later pay at a later date, they'll save $1300? If the price originally quoted wasn't clearly stated and people are unsure, they might think the course is really worth $297. If they find out that they'll get more than 20% off, they'll feel more than willing to pay the price.

The best way to increase the price of your offering is to increase it a step by explaining the percentage that you are removing from the original price as an offer. This helps prospects to put the whole picture in perspective.

     Reciprocity    

The concept of reciprocity was formulated by Professor. Robert Cialdini in his book Influence: A Sciences of Persuasion. It is a simple concept that people will be more inclined to do something to benefit the person they are doing it for if they give them some kind of thing in the first place.

In terms of marketing there is a belief that you should offer clients something for free charge to encourage them to purchase products or services you offer. This could be anything including free checklists to hoodies to free blog content or even consultations for cost-free.

There are two methods to make use of the reciprocity principle to promote more courses.

It's more than just a means to communicate the importance of your paid course, however, it can also make your audience feel indebted to the course. They'll be thinking, "If this person can share so much value for free, then the course they purchase is bound to be an excellent one." Therefore, if you're looking to buy a course within your field and you're the best choice, they'll choose yours over those who don't offer the information for no cost on their websites.

Ryan Robinson grew his blog, RyRob.com, from 0 to 500,000+ visitors every month, through the publication of blog posts on podcasting or business, freelance blogging, writing, and the writing of articles for free. Presently, Ryan has a paid course ($497) that explains how to make a living from blogging. Even though he's got the acclaim and information of his site, Ryan still offers his fans a free seven-day blogging class to prepare to take the course.

  • Offer exceptional customer service. Nothing is more appreciated by customers than fast answers to their problems. However, they'll be enthralled by your brand, and even will be even more so if you take that extra step to anticipate and meet the demands of their customers. If you do this then it's likely you won't need to track the reviews or testimonials they've received. They'll be willing to give them in exchange for an excellent customer experience.
  • Discounted rates and free trials. If your program is subscription-based instead of a one-time fee model, you may give your students free trials and/or discounted rates for students paying every two years or once a year.

     Social evidence    

For example, imagine a middle school dance. As the music begins students may feel uncomfortable and shy at first. But when a couple of students get into jamming with the music, other students begin to join in and the next thing you know, the dance floor has been filled to capacity.

This scenario can be compared with marketing. Consider the last time you purchased something on an endorsement from a close friend who suggested it to you. It's likely that you not have seen this product before -- or if you've heard of it, but you've not tried it. The glowing review of a friend has given you confidence that this product would benefit you should you decide to utilize it.

This recommendation constitutes social proof.

But social proof in marketing goes beyond word-of-mouth. Social proof in marketing can be found in testimonials as well as reviews, logos, as well as other forms of proof.

  • Be sure to add testimonials on the landing page. Contact your beta testers and existing customers to get testimonials from them talking about the value of the course. Include those testimonials on the landing page of your course. This shows prospective customers the potential benefits of your course, too.

The site from Joanna Wiebe's Copy School is featured in reviews from customers ---- just as they should.

These reviews offer real numbers in terms of value, revenue, and other values that show potential students that the institution is worthwhile.

Tips for a successful website When you're including testimonials on your website, include the headshot and title of those who have left their testimonials. This will increase authenticity and emotional impact. If you can, create a dedicated testimonials page.

  • You can ask an industry professional, or an expert who will support the program that you're taking. Leaders from the industry are respected as they're knowledgeable and skilled in their field. If these professionals approve of your plans, the public will be more inclined to trust their advice. They think, "It has to be excellent. If it's not, this leader won't throw their brand behind it." The endorsement of their brand could serve as marketing for free since their followers will be informed about the program and then decide to purchase the course.

Someone who is influential in the field can help you with your plan through a review or even writing a guest blog post for your site or hosting a live chat through your social media channels.

  • Include logos in your course's landing page. The use of logos from well-known companies you've collaborated or collaborated with will give your course credibility to your course and will allow potential customers to be confident that the training is worthwhile. Additionally, you can incorporate logos from most prominent media outlets that are announcing your course.

Pro Tip: Ask permission from the organization prior to include their logo on your site.

  • Add certificates to the homepage of your program. If you've been awarded any awards, or received any acknowledgements or certificates in recognition of your accomplishments in the area, it is important to include these on the sale page as they will enhance your credibility.
  • The number of students that purchased the class. When students are faced with purchasing decisions, they are more likely to select a product that others have already tried (remember the recommendation from a trusted friend?). This is referred to as the power of the crowd. Personally, I utilize this technique to try out the courses I'd like to purchase, specifically for massive open online course (MOOC) platforms such as Udemy.

Consider, for instance, these two graphic design programs:

What course would you prefer to buy? One that has more than 200k participants and a 4.7-star rating from over 47k students or one with 119 students and a 4.9-star rating from only seven students?

It's likely that you picked which one you enjoyed the most. Although the second course has more positive reviews overall but the percentage of those who have rated it is tiny when compared to the amount of individuals who scored the first course.

     Scarcity    

Have you ever tried ordering something from the web but then get an unintended disclaimer saying, "Only 4 items left for sale!"? This is a sign of rarity as well as another concept of Dr. Cialdini discussed in Influence The Psychology of persuasion. This principle originates from the idea of supply and demand. The more sought-after the item will be, the more sought-after it'll be in the marketplace.

Many people put more worth on objects which are hard to locate. The mid-1800s saw the time when aluminum was superior to gold. So much so that Napoleon III served his esteemed guests with aluminum cutlery. When miners began to dig for aluminum in massive amounts and prices fell, the price dropped. Today, costly stones like rubies and diamonds or commodities like Birkin bags can be expensive due to the difficulty it is to get the items.

If done correctly If done right, scarcity will make people fear missing out (FOMO) to influence their buying decisions in your favor. It is important to make people believe that it used to be plenty of units available in the particular service or product however due to the high demand, the supply isn't as high any more. If this is the case, customers will want to purchase their items as quickly as they become available so that they aren't left out.

If you allow them to believe that you only possess just a few items and that they need to purchase the latest one, it will not be the case.

This is how you can make use of the concept of scarcity to advertise your online course

  • Utilize countdown timers. If you're offering discounts on your course, using countdown timers could assist students in determining how long they have to get your course before the price goes back to the normal price. If you're not keen to make use of countdown timers you could set up a popup or slide-in-bar which shows the remaining time.

It is also possible to combine them, as Udemy did in this case:

  • Access to exclusive features to certain students. The ability to offer upgraded memberships (online communities, private meeting with you, various features, etc.) together with your program makes your course appear exclusive and premium. When you give your customers the opportunity of accessing things that aren't available to everyone and your customers feel as though they have something exclusive.
  • Run Black Friday sales. Black Friday is a massively popular day on which companies all over the world offer their customers huge discounts on their most popular items that often result in items being gone. A Black Friday sale on your most popular courses can boost the amount of revenue you do when you hold normal sales.

     Loss aversion    

In 1979, Nobel Prize winning psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky conducted a number of experiments in decision-making during their study of Prospect Theory. They found that to those who suffer from the feeling of losing something is 2 times as strong as satisfying the pleasure of acquiring the same item. This is known as loss aversion.

Based on this idea, the average person who has to take a risk to earn some other benefit would want the benefit to be at minimum two times as significant as the risk to be worthwhile. This is why if you purchase a share that you may risk losing cash if the return is substantial. Also, due to loss aversion it's harder to make a loss that is $20 than when you discover the same amount.

Peep Laja's CXL Institute costs $1,100/year. However, not all people would be willing to pay this much cash with no certainty that the programs offered will benefit their lives. Therefore, Peep offers a 7-day trial at just $1.

If people are able to pay just $1 and test the classes for one week, they're more likely to pay for the entire year since they'd like to complete the course they started studying during the trial period.

     The effect of decoys    

Sometimes referred to as the asymmetrical dominance effects, the decoy effect can be described as an approach to optimize the price of your product by including any or all of the options that are not attractive.

An example that is well-known is the ad from The Economist that Dan Ariely discussed during his popular 2008 TED speech entitled "Are we in charge over our choices?" The advertisement outlined the latest subscription plans offered by The Economist:

  • Online subscription: $59
  • Print subscription for $125
  • Online and print subscription Cost is $125.

You can see how they offer an exclusive print subscription, and the print and online subscription for the same amount? This was confusing to Ariely who wrote to people from The Economist asking why they required this however, they did not get a clear response.

Therefore, he conducted his own research using a group of MIT students. He took them through the cost of each option and the students were asked which option they'd choose. There were three choices offered, students chose the print subscription and the online option because it seemed to be the most cost-effective choice. When Ariely chose to remove the print-only choice and students chose the cheapest option (online-only subscription). ).

Even though the print-only subscription may seem insignificant initially, however, it actually serves an important function. Students were given as a benchmark to assess how much of a price the combined subscription actually is. If they didn't have that option, many prefer the only online subscription. The Economist wouldn't earn more money.

What is known as a decoy effect, an approach to alter the tastes of potential clients to force them to select a higher priced option.

An excellent way to make use of the decoy effect with an online class is to offer a variety of pricing alternatives. For instance, suppose you're offering an online course in which you teach stock investing for newbies. It could be that your courses include:

  • Monthly plan for $20/month
  • Yearly plan: $200/year
  • Access for life - Once-time fee of $310

The year-long plan helps people get their priorities straight and appreciate that paying a one-time fee for access for life is the most effective option to ensure price effectiveness. You'll also earn the most money by completing your program.

     Theorem of the Information Gap    

1994 is the year that American economist, George Loewenstein from Carnegie-Mellon University developed the information-gap theory of curiosity. Loewenstein said that we experience curiosity when we feel that there's a gap in the knowledge we possess and the information we'd like us to know. If there's less than the minimum amount of information that we'd like to have, it's most likely that we'll try some research to figure out what's missing, so we can fill in the gaps.

Marketers frequently employ this method when creating content to grab the attention of their viewers and also to provoke curiosity. It is accomplished through headlines. Headlines like "How to accomplish X", "10 things to discover about"Y" as well as "The key to Z" are intriguing and make us want to know more details about the topic.

When you offer online courses, this can influence the name of the course and the advertising copy. It's important to select language that will make people attracted enough to go to your website for sales (either via Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) or through social media or search ads) for more information.

Be aware: If you're trying to create an ideal headline, title as well as ad copy that create interest among your targeted viewers, you need to be careful not to head to in the wrong direction. If you do this, the content can turn into clickbait and leave the viewer confused, which drastically decreases the chances of building trust with customers and generating more revenues.

     Color psychology    

In 2006, researchers Satyendra Singh studied what colors impact on how people perceive and feel, and how brands strategically utilize color to distinguish themselves from rivals. In his research, Singh noted that people decide within 90 seconds of having first interactions with others or with items. 60%-90% of the decision-making was solely based on colors.

Color is the reason behind psychology that we identify color with development, green as a warm gray, balance and white as pure. That's why colors are essential to branding -- they create emotions and impressions within your customers that over time, they'll associate the image of your business.

Consider Victoria's Secret for an example. If you were forced to pick one color closely associated with the company, which color do think you would pick? Pink, right? Red, maybe.

Here's Victoria's Secret's website.

Have you noticed the common themes of reds and pinks? The marketing team at Victoria's Secret know that pink is a symbol of youth and femininity as well as red evokes sensuality and passion, so they chose to make those colors a major part of their brand.

It's possible to do this with your online course too. Researchers have done research on the emotional responses that colours can create, to aid marketers in choosing the appropriate color for their logos and web design.

Image source

Think about the emotions you wish to trigger in your audience as they browse at the page selling your course and also the content itself (after having purchased it). You can then conduct some study and experiment with your audience to pick colors that reflect these feelings.

Picking the right color to represent your company can help you reach the subconscious of your intended audience. Over time, people start to recognise your colours as your brand and, as time passes you will begin to be distinguished from other companies.

Most people's views about colors are shaped by their culture and experiences. Therefore, before choosing colours for branding your business, think about the demographic of the target market as well as the background to your campaign.

Make more online courses using marketing psychology principles

The marketing psychology principles outlined above aren't the only ones that exist. There are dozens of concepts in psychology right now, and researchers are continuing to find out more about our behavior when it comes to buying and selling.

It's not required to follow all of the rules as you market your course, though. Select the principles you want to include in your marketing plan learn the basics and see if they work for your target audience.

Keep in mind that the purpose of studying concepts in marketing psychology doesn't change the buying habits of your audience's target, rather, it's to change their behaviors to meet your personal goals. That means you'll earn every penny you can from your web-based course(s) as you will.

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