You built an online course, but they haven’t come.

Featured image: “Ghost Player” at the original Field of Dreams filming location in Dyersville, Iowa. Photo by Carol M. Highsmith, Library of Congress.

You saw Field of Dreams and bought into the whole If you build it, he will come shtick.

What have you done wrong?

What haven’t you done that you can start doing?

Here, in no particular order, are some (non-mutually-exclusive) suggestions for actions you can take today to build an interest in and subscribers for your online course membership.

Get the word out. Often. Using multiple channels.

The main ingredients here are your website blog and social media properties.

Surely you’ve seen news segments on TV when an author of a newly released book is being interviewed about the topic of that book. In the space of a 12-minute interview, try counting the number of times the interviewee says something to the effect of

“As I wrote in my book…”

Take a hint from that.

Suppose you’re a CPA whose core services are income tax planning and preparation, financial and retirement planning, bookkeeping, payroll processing, and the like. And suppose you created an online course from a recorded webinar on the topic of Basic Financial Management.

The best and easiest way to get the word out is to write a series of blog articles, each of which addresses even just one aspect of your online course.

Maybe the topic of one such article is, “Three mistakes you’re probably making when preparing your Cash Flow Statement”.

In the article, list those three mistakes and briefly describe them. Then write,

As I explain in detail in my online course, Basic Financial Management, [etc.].

And don’t forget to have a hyperlink to the registration page for the membership.

Next:

1. post links to your blog article on all your social media properties
2. send out a broadcast email announcing and linking to the blog article

(I write about this simple but essential strategy here.)

Unlock some lessons.

You can restrict your course to active members while unlocking selected lessons that will be available to the general public.

Identify one or two lessons that you think have special drawing power, unlock them, and then get the word out (see above).

Now your blog article could read,

As I explain in detail in my online course, Basic Financial Management, [etc.]. And by the way, lessons 1 and 2 are FREE to the public for a limited time!

Offer a discount coupon

People love bargains.

Most membership systems let you set up a variety of options for discount coupons. If your membership term is anything other than “Lifetime”, you can offer a steep discount for the first period and then let the cost revert to the full price for subsequent renewals.

You can also set an expiration date for the coupon to instill a sense of urgency in your audience. And you can limit the number of coupons.

And then get the word out (see above).

Offer a trial membership

Trial memberships have the same potential benefit as discount coupons: They reduce or eliminate the fear of commitment and in the process build a captive audience.

Trial memberships can be free or reduced price.

Once you set up the trial membership, get the word out (see above).

Read about the pros and cons of trial memberships on the MemberPress website.

Offer free memberships to potential influencers

There are two goals here:

1. to get constructive, usable feedback about your course from other experts in the field
2. to have those experts spread the word to their followers about your course

Search the web (LinkedIn, etc.) for authors of relevant posts to identify a handful of people who appear to be similar authorities on the topic of your online course.

Then reach out to them, telling them about your course and offering a free membership. Explain up front what your goals are in doing this.

Get the word out. Often. Using multiple channels.

I know. I’m repeating myself. But this is absolutely the most important ingredient.

As much as I loved Field of Dreams, the mysterious voice that Ray Kinsella hears is wrong: in real life, just because you build it doesn’t mean they’ll come.