{"id":8407,"date":"2021-03-03T19:36:46","date_gmt":"2021-03-03T19:36:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/?p=8407"},"modified":"2021-03-03T20:09:31","modified_gmt":"2021-03-03T20:09:31","slug":"facebook-ads-for-online-courses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/?p=8407","title":{"rendered":"Facebook Ads for Online Courses: A 4-Step Funnel That Works"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In this article, I&#8217;m going to show you how to run Facebook ads for your online course using a simple and effective 4-step funnel.<\/p>\n<p>But before I do that, tell me: <strong>Do any of these promises sound familiar?<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>&#8220;Turning Facebook ads on is going to solve all your course sales and marketing problems.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;A Facebook ads funnel is passive: You turn it on, and once it is going, there&#8217;s nothing else for you to do.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;Facebook ads should be the first marketing channel you focus on.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>What do those three statements have in common?<\/p>\n<p><strong>They\u2019re all wrong.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s debunk each, one at a time.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Misconception #1: <\/strong><em>Facebook ads<\/em><em> solve all your marketing and sales problems.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Like any other marketing tactic, Facebook ads are not perfect. They work well when executed properly, but they are not a be-all-end-all solution.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Misconception #2: <\/strong><em>Facebook ads<\/em><em> funnels require no maintenance.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>This is laughably wrong.<\/p>\n<p>Just like <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/blog\/how-to-build-an-evergreen-sales-funnel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">any other sales funnel<\/a>, Facebook ads require optimization and a perpetual influx of effort. Unfortunately, they also require lots of capital to keep them running effectively.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Misconception #3: <\/strong><em>Facebook ads<\/em><em> should be the first marketing channel you focus on.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Facebook marketing is expensive. Ads require a lot of time and effort to implement and maintain.<\/p>\n<p>That makes them a terrible way to start building an audience.<\/p>\n<p>The only exception to this I can think of is if you, or someone on your team, has extensive Facebook ads selling experience. If that is the case, go for it. Use that to your advantage.<\/p>\n<p>If not, I don&#8217;t recommend any course creator run Facebook ads to grow their business until they have reached about a million a year in revenue <em>consistently.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Let me put it another way:<\/p>\n<p><strong>If you&#8217;re <\/strong><strong>unwilling to light $10,000 on fire and flush the ashes down the toilet every month, and losing that much money keeps you up at night, DON\u2019T touch <\/strong><strong>Facebook ads<\/strong><strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s a much easier way than paid social media marketing to get leads for your online course. It\u2019s called <strong>partnership marketing.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It doesn\u2019t take money to succeed. And it needs way less time invested than many other marketing methods.<\/p>\n<p>Partnership marketing is a way to leverage <em>other people\u2019s audiences (OPA)<\/em> rather than fighting tooth and nail for each person added to your email list.<\/p>\n<p>It can get you to $1M a year <em>without<\/em> having to light your marketing budget on fire every other day.<\/p>\n<p>Since I\u2019ve already created several complete guides to what it is and how to do it, I\u2019m just going to drop the links here:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/blog\/partnership-marketing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Partnership Marketing 101: How to Book Your First Partnership<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/blog\/quit-your-day-job\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">How This Course Creator Quit Her Day Job and Made $12K per Month with Partnership Marketing<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/blog\/how-to-find-new-customers-and-increase-sales\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">How to Find New Customers and Increase Sales<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/blog\/booked-on-podcasts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">How to Get Booked on Podcasts That Drive Your Online Course or Coaching Sales<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Go check those out.<\/p>\n<p>You can also <a href=\"https:\/\/lp.growthtools.com\/skyrocket?utm_source=gc&amp;source=fbads-blogpost\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">book a complimentary strategy session with one of our expert coaches<\/a>. We\u2019ll walk you through the ins and outs of partnership marketing and teach you how to best leverage that knowledge to skyrocket your revenue.<\/p>\n<p>If after all that, you <em>still<\/em> feel confident that Facebook ads is the way forward for you, keep reading this post. In it, I&#8217;ll go in depth on one of my favorite Facebook ads funnels for online courses. I&#8217;ll cover:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The steps you should take <em>before you even open <\/em><em>Facebook ads manager<\/em><em>.<\/em><\/li>\n<li>A detailed breakdown of the 4-step Facebook ads Funnel.<\/li>\n<li>Common mistakes that course creators make when running Facebook ads, and how to avoid them.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Let&#8217;s dive in.<\/p>\n<h2>Step 0: Do This Before You Even Open Facebook Advertising Manager<\/h2>\n<p>Running Facebook ads, no matter how simple the funnel, requires up-front work. At least, if you want them to be effective at bringing in new leads and course sales.<\/p>\n<p>Before you even open the Facebook ads manager, you need to do three things:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Validate your offer and describe your best-fit client.<\/li>\n<li>Create a funnel map.<\/li>\n<li>Decide on exactly what your ads will look like.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Let&#8217;s look at each one by one.<\/p>\n<h3>1. Validate your offer and find your best-fit client profile.<\/h3>\n<p>Most course creators struggle to sell their courses because they haven\u2019t gone through the process of organically validating their offer.<\/p>\n<p>Is your course something people actually want? How sure are you?<\/p>\n<p>(No, it doesn&#8217;t matter how good you <em>think<\/em> your course is.)<\/p>\n<p>To run Facebook ads that are both effective and efficient, you need to know your course is something people want. And there is <strong>no way of knowing this unless you&#8217;ve already sold your course<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>If you need help validating your course, I\u2019ve written a step-by-step guide covering this very topic called \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/blog\/creating-and-selling-online-courses\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">How to Create and Sell Online Courses: The Process We\u2019ve Used to Validate and Launch more than $1M in Yearly Course Sales.<\/a>\u201d Go check that out.<\/p>\n<p>You&#8217;re back? Good.<\/p>\n<p>Now that you&#8217;ve validated your course, you need to <strong>take that information and use it to create a Best-Fit Client Profile<\/strong>. To do so, you should answer a few key questions such as:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Who <em>exactly<\/em> is the person you&#8217;re selling to?<\/li>\n<li>What are their demographics (i.e., gender, age, location)?<\/li>\n<li><em>Why<\/em> are they buying your course?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Take a few minutes to fill out this <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/document\/d\/1uPW6Wqk6lZ2N-ueqYkI9R04JWlhIUTThDWeTEZtZmtI\/edit?usp=sharing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Best Fit Client Worksheet<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-8408 aligncenter\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" data-src=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-1.png\" alt=\"Best Fit Client Worksheet\" width=\"811\" height=\"786\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-1.png 811w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-1-300x291.png 300w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-1-768x744.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 811px) 100vw, 811px\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-8408 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-1.png\" alt=\"Best Fit Client Worksheet\" width=\"811\" height=\"786\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-1.png 811w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-1-300x291.png 300w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-1-768x744.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 811px) 100vw, 811px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p>If you skip these steps, you&#8217;ll be left guessing when targeting your ads. Guessing is just as good as flushing your marketing money down the toilet.<\/p>\n<h3>2. Create a funnel map.<\/h3>\n<p>Got your best-fit client profile ready?<\/p>\n<p>Great.<\/p>\n<p>Now it&#8217;s time to visualize what your funnel is going to look like.<em> (I&#8217;ll explain the funnel I recommend you implement further down this post.)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>You can use pen and paper, or one of many software options out there (just Google \u201cfunnel mapping software\u201d).<\/p>\n<p>Why?<\/p>\n<p>Laying out a blueprint of your funnel allows you to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>See the customer journey, from the moment they see your ad until they decide to purchase your course or book a call.<\/li>\n<li>Find holes in that journey you might have missed otherwise.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Here&#8217;s an example of a funnel map:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-8409 size-full\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" data-src=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-2.png\" alt=\"An example of what a funnel map looks like.\" width=\"1383\" height=\"979\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-2.png 1383w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-2-300x212.png 300w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-2-1024x725.png 1024w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-2-768x544.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1383px) 100vw, 1383px\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-8409 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-2.png\" alt=\"An example of what a funnel map looks like.\" width=\"1383\" height=\"979\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-2.png 1383w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-2-300x212.png 300w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-2-1024x725.png 1024w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-2-768x544.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1383px) 100vw, 1383px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Looks complicated, right? But if you strip away all the notations, the basic idea is this:<\/p>\n<p>It shows <em>all the different paths a potential customer could take<\/em> after seeing the first ad.<\/p>\n<p>As long as you know what happens after each action (even if it\u2019s hand-drawn), you\u2019re good to move to the next step.<\/p>\n<h3>3. Decide on exactly what your ads will look like.<\/h3>\n<p>Now it\u2019s time to create your ads. It helps to draft them in an app like Google Docs before setting them up in Facebook Ad Manager.<\/p>\n<p>This is what we call a <strong>Media Buying Plan<\/strong>, and it includes:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>What<strong> date + time<\/strong> you want your ads to start running.<\/li>\n<li>What <strong>types of ads<\/strong> you&#8217;re running.<\/li>\n<li>What <strong>goal<\/strong> you\u2019re optimizing for.<\/li>\n<li>What <strong>your <\/strong><strong>target audience<\/strong> looks like.<\/li>\n<li>What <strong>your ad copy<\/strong> is going to be.<\/li>\n<li>What <strong>your headline <\/strong>you&#8217;re going to use.<\/li>\n<li>What <strong>your budget<\/strong> is going to be.<\/li>\n<li><em>And anything else you think would be wise to include.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>In short: <\/strong>You write down <em>everything<\/em> about your ad, from A to Z, before you even open your Facebook ads manager.<\/p>\n<p>Why?<\/p>\n<p>Because the last thing you want is to spend hours in your ad account, push spend to your ad set, have them run for a few days &#8230; and then realize you made a mistake. Each time you change the ads, Facebook has to start the optimization process all over again.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m not saying you won\u2019t need to make changes (you will), but if you constantly put them up and pull them down because you didn\u2019t plan them out right, you\u2019re wasting your ad budget.<\/p>\n<p><strong>By the way:<\/strong> One thing I <em>won\u2019t<\/em> go over in this post is the nitty-gritty technical details of adding content to your Ads Manager account, deciding where to run them (only Facebook? Are Instagram ads included?), how to retarget site visitors, etc.<\/p>\n<p>You can learn all of that for free from Facebook tutorials, or take a MasterClass or Udemy ads course to get those details down.<\/p>\n<h2>A Simple 4-Step Facebook Advertising Funnel for Online Courses<\/h2>\n<p>Now that you know how to handle ad campaign prep, it&#8217;s time I show you my favorite Facebook ad funnel for online courses.<\/p>\n<p>The short version is:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Run to a warm or cold audience.<\/li>\n<li>Offer a lead magnet <em>(in the form of a recorded mini-training)<\/em>.<\/li>\n<li>Create a high-converting \u201cThank-You\u201d page that includes the full mini-training with a link to book a call <em>(or take them straight to the purchase page if the product is under $3.5k)<\/em>.<\/li>\n<li>Send a follow-up email sequence to nurture leads who don\u2019t buy right away.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Let&#8217;s look at each one by one.<\/p>\n<h3>Step 1: Decide Whether to Run to a Warm or Cold Audience<\/h3>\n<p>Before you run a Facebook ad campaign, you need to decide whether you&#8217;re running to a cold audience or a warm audience. There are pros and cons to each:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Running to a cold lookalike audience has a bigger reach, but costs more money and has a lower chance of a conversion.<\/li>\n<li>Running to a warm audience is more limited, but costs less money and has a higher chance of conversion. You do need, of course, a warm audience to target to begin with.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>So which one should you choose?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If your online course business is between $100K<span style=\"color: #444444;\">\u2013<\/span>$1M in total revenue, run to a warm audience. Warm audiences convert 20-30% better because they\u2019re already familiar with your business. You\u2019ll spend less on campaigns and still improve your sales.<\/p>\n<p>If your online course is over $1M in total revenue, then you can run to both a warm and a cold audience. Your positioning is good enough to hold up when you run ads to people who have never heard of your brand before.<\/p>\n<p>The good news is that this funnel works equally well no matter what you choose. <em>(It&#8217;ll only alter slightly what you do on Step 4 of the funnel, but more on that later.)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Who should you target if you\u2019re <\/strong><strong>running ads<\/strong><strong> to a warm audience?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Retargeting website visitors (unless you\u2019ve already got data on another group) is the way to start. If they\u2019ve been to your site, they already know who you are.<\/p>\n<p>You can identify them easily by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/business\/help\/952192354843755?id=1205376682832142\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">installing a Facebook pixel on your site<\/a> (which you\u2019ll need to do anyway if you plan to track your campaign&#8217;s success). Then create a retargeting audience of website visitors which your Facebook pixel will track.<\/p>\n<h3>Step 2: Offer a Recorded Mini-Training as a Lead Magnet<\/h3>\n<p>The second step in the funnel is to offer a lead magnet in the form of a mini-training. This should go in the body of your ad.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s one we\u2019ve used:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-3.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-8410 \" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" data-src=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-3.png\" alt=\"An example of a free Growth Tools mini-training: &quot;Borrow Other People's Audiences&quot;\" width=\"500\" height=\"1053\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-3.png 702w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-3-142x300.png 142w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-3-486x1024.png 486w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-8410 \" src=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-3.png\" alt=\"An example of a free Growth Tools mini-training: &quot;Borrow Other People's Audiences&quot;\" width=\"500\" height=\"1053\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-3.png 702w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-3-142x300.png 142w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-3-486x1024.png 486w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p>What does a good lead magnet look like?<\/p>\n<p>Whatever your best-fit client profile tells you they need.<\/p>\n<p>If you went through the process of identifying your best-fit client, you should know by now <em>exactly<\/em> what their biggest pain points are. Use that knowledge to create a mini-training that addresses those pain-points.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>You can do this one of two ways:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Option 1:<\/strong> Record a 10-20 minute training in which you address the best-fit client&#8217;s pain points.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Option 2:<\/strong> Take a module from your course that addresses these pain points and offer that as a lead-magnet.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Have your mini-training ready? Great.<\/p>\n<p>Before you have your leads watch the training, first &#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Send them to a single landing page that includes three things:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>A short bullet-point description of the key takeaways from the mini-training.<\/li>\n<li>A call-to-action (which will take leads to a thank-you page that includes your mini-training).<\/li>\n<li>A bunch of testimonials for social proof.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-4.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-8411 \" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" data-src=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-4.png\" alt=\"Growth Tools lead magnet: &quot;Borrow Other People's Audiences: Our 100% Proven Method for Scaling Any Course or Coaching Business to 6-Figure Months&quot;\" width=\"750\" height=\"1379\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-4.png 1360w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-4-163x300.png 163w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-4-557x1024.png 557w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-4-768x1412.png 768w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-4-836x1536.png 836w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-4-1114x2048.png 1114w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-8411 \" src=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-4.png\" alt=\"Growth Tools lead magnet: &quot;Borrow Other People's Audiences: Our 100% Proven Method for Scaling Any Course or Coaching Business to 6-Figure Months&quot;\" width=\"750\" height=\"1379\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-4.png 1360w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-4-163x300.png 163w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-4-557x1024.png 557w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-4-768x1412.png 768w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-4-836x1536.png 836w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-4-1114x2048.png 1114w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p>If you look at the image above, you&#8217;ll notice we also included a 24-hour expiration to watching the training, and a button to &#8220;reserve your pass.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A &#8220;reserve your pass&#8221; notice comes with built-in urgency, which triggers action.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, this gives you an excuse to have a step in-between the ad and the mini-training, which filters out people who are not interested in watching your video right now\u2014leads that are not ready to be converted but might be in the future (more on this in Step 4.)<\/p>\n<h3>Step 3: Create a High-Converting Thank-You Page<\/h3>\n<p>The third step in the funnel is to create a high-converting thank-you page, where you include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A video embed of the mini-training.<\/li>\n<li>A short questionnaire for your leads to read before they take further action <em>(if you\u2019re having them book a call)<\/em>.<\/li>\n<li>Instructions and a call-to-action to purchase the course OR book a call.<\/li>\n<li>More testimonials.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Here&#8217;s an example of a thank-you page for one of our Facebook ads campaign:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-5.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-8412 \" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" data-src=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-5.png\" alt=\"Follow-up message: &quot;You're one step away...&quot;\" width=\"750\" height=\"1224\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-5.png 1532w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-5-184x300.png 184w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-5-628x1024.png 628w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-5-768x1253.png 768w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-5-941x1536.png 941w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-5-1255x2048.png 1255w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-8412 \" src=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-5.png\" alt=\"Follow-up message: &quot;You're one step away...&quot;\" width=\"750\" height=\"1224\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-5.png 1532w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-5-184x300.png 184w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-5-628x1024.png 628w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-5-768x1253.png 768w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-5-941x1536.png 941w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-5-1255x2048.png 1255w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The video delivers on the promise you made in the ad, and the short questionnaire allows your leads to further filter themselves by taking the time to consider if they truly are the right fit for your course.<\/p>\n<p><strong>But how do you decide whether to send your leads to book a call or straight up purchase your course?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It depends on your course&#8217;s pricing.<\/p>\n<p>For self-paced courses under $3,500, have the CTA send your leads to an order form for purchase.<\/p>\n<p>(Notice how I said \u201corder form\u201d and not \u201csales page\u201d? That&#8217;s because, in this funnel, your \u201cthank-you page\u201d functions as a sales page.)<\/p>\n<p>For courses with a price tag above $3,500, have your leads book a call first.<\/p>\n<p>Most people will want to talk to you before spending $3,500+ of their hard-earned money on your course.<\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s why you need to have a call with them, and convince them to buy.<\/p>\n<p>I know, I know. Sales calls are hard and take a lot of your time.<\/p>\n<p>Good thing someone (me) took the time to write a whole post about <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/blog\/how-to-close-a-sales-call\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>How to Close Sales Calls If You&#8217;re a Coach, Consultant, or High-Ticket <\/em><em>Course Creator<\/em><em>.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Oh, and one more thing.<\/p>\n<p>If you go for \u201cbook a call\u201d\u2014delay the appearance of that button until the person has watched the video (or at the very least, have a 2-minute timer delay.)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If someone doesn&#8217;t watch the video, they&#8217;re not going to buy. It&#8217;s that simple. Even if they end up scheduling a call, they&#8217;ll just clog up your system.<\/p>\n<p>Another step you could take to further prevent this from happening is to have the \u201cbook-a-call\u201d button link to a qualification\/scheduling form, such as:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-6.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-8413 \" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" data-src=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-6.png\" alt=\"Provide information: Name, email, phone number, website, current revenue, desired revenue, goals, etc.\" width=\"750\" height=\"797\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-6.png 1129w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-6-282x300.png 282w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-6-963x1024.png 963w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-6-768x816.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-8413 \" src=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-6.png\" alt=\"Provide information: Name, email, phone number, website, current revenue, desired revenue, goals, etc.\" width=\"750\" height=\"797\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-6.png 1129w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-6-282x300.png 282w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-6-963x1024.png 963w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-6-768x816.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p>That way you can have the lead confirm they have watched the video and know the basics (and confirm that they really are interested in buying your course).<\/p>\n<p>Send them to the scheduler only <em>after<\/em> they have submitted that form.<\/p>\n<p>Now, if you&#8217;ve executed Steps 1-3 correctly &#8230;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Congratulations!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>You&#8217;ve gotten lots of new leads, a few calls booked, and some of those leads even bought your course!<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;Bryan! What about the leads that didn&#8217;t convert? Did I just waste a ton of money on <\/em><em>Facebook ads<\/em><em> that weren&#8217;t 100% effective?&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Two things:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>First, no ad funnel is 100% effective. Second, I haven&#8217;t finished explaining the funnel.<\/p>\n<p>There is one step missing&#8230;<\/p>\n<h3>Step 4: Run Unconverted Leads Through a Follow-Up Nurture Cycle<\/h3>\n<p>At this point, your ad is running and bringing you new purchases or calls for your course. It&#8217;s doing its job.<\/p>\n<p>Now it\u2019s time to take those already-warm leads (the ones who signed up to watch your mini-training but didn&#8217;t convert) and run them through a follow-up email sequence to nurture them.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What does that sequence look like?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-7.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-8414 \" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" data-src=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-7.png\" alt=\"When you run Facebook ads for online courses, don't forget to follow up with an email sequence like this.\" width=\"750\" height=\"793\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-7.png 1600w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-7-284x300.png 284w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-7-968x1024.png 968w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-7-768x812.png 768w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-7-1452x1536.png 1452w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-8414 \" src=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-7.png\" alt=\"When you run Facebook ads for online courses, don't forget to follow up with an email sequence like this.\" width=\"750\" height=\"793\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-7.png 1600w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-7-284x300.png 284w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-7-968x1024.png 968w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-7-768x812.png 768w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-7-1452x1536.png 1452w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Day 1<\/h3>\n<p>During the first 24 hours after a lead signs up and watches your training (but doesn&#8217;t convert), you should send three different emails.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Email #1:<\/strong> The moment they sign up, <em>immediately<\/em> deliver a version of your training to their email inbox.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Email #2: <\/strong>Send this 90 minutes after the first email. In it, ask the lead whether they watched the video training or not, and remind them there is still time to do so, but not much left (this hits their sense of urgency).<\/p>\n<p>This email should also include a cliff-notes style set of bullet points covering the key takeaways from the training, with time stamps. You can even take out the copy from your landing page and put that in this email.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Email #3: <\/strong>This is another reminder that the training is expiring soon, which should be sent 6 hours after the second email. Frame this as a \u201clast chance\u201d to watch the training.<\/p>\n<h3>Days 2-5<\/h3>\n<p>The emails you sent during Day 1 should have helped you convert a big chunk of the leads that hadn\u2019t watched the video. But there will still be another chunk of leads that haven\u2019t converted. So now it\u2019s time to hit that urgency trigger inside their heads.<\/p>\n<p>During Day 2 of the nurture cycle, send two emails:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Email #1: <\/strong>This should be another \u201clast chance to watch the training\u201d message, to be sent 1 hour before the expiration.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Email #2: <\/strong>6 hours after the first email, send your leads a note telling them the training has expired BUT offer them the chance to extend the time-window. Write something simply like \u201clet me know, and I\u2019ll send you a link that will expire within 24 hours.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>During Days 3, 4, and 5 of the nurture cycle, send just one email a day:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Email for Day 3: <\/strong>Send a note reminding the leads that the training has expired, and offering a \u201clast chance for extension.\u201d If they request an extension and watch the training, great! If they request the extension but <strong>don\u2019t watch the video<\/strong>, you send them &#8230;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Email for Day 4: <\/strong>Send this email about 25 hours after the extension has expired, and include a chance to ask for <em>another <\/em>extension. I also recommend you include a quick training takeaway to further motivate them into watching, something like \u201ccheck out my favorite 1 minute of the training.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Email for Day 5 : <\/strong>In this email, you fulfill the promise you made at the very beginning. This is something all marketers should know\u2014<strong>Digital Marketing<\/strong><strong> 101: What you give, you need to take away.<\/strong> Tell your leads the live training webinar is gone for good BUT offer something else in exchange.<\/p>\n<p>Take the video training and turn it into an 800- to 1000-word post that teaches the key concepts via text. Include that in your email. You should also consider linking to a short case study or something similar.<\/p>\n<p>Now, if you\u2019ve run your leads down this 5-day email sequence, and some of them <em>still<\/em> haven\u2019t converted &#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Accept the fact that these leads are not ready to buy your course for now, and bump them to a 45-day Nurture Cycle.<\/p>\n<h3>The 45-Day Nurture Cycle<\/h3>\n<p>This is one of my favorite strategies for warming up cold leads. It\u2019s simple to follow. Once your leads have gone through the 5-day email sequence, run them through another email sequence.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Day 1:<\/strong> Send your lead a high-intent piece of your content for them to check out. By \u201chigh-intent,\u201d I mean something that is (1) really good, and (2) has been proven to work with your audience. Something that everyone loves.<\/p>\n<p>If you don\u2019t know how to write high-intent content, check out my <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/blog\/email-list\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bullet Hook Framework article<\/a>, where I break down the exact process we use.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Day 3:<\/strong> Send another high-intent piece of content. That\u2019s it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Day 5: <\/strong>Send a \u201chard booking\/purchase\u201d email, where you straight up ask your leads to buy your course or book a call with you. Here\u2019s an example:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-8.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-8415 \" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" data-src=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-8.png\" alt=\"Bryan's follow-up email: &quot;Is this you?&quot; (Final incentive to schedule a strategy call)\" width=\"750\" height=\"1483\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-8.png 847w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-8-152x300.png 152w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-8-518x1024.png 518w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-8-768x1519.png 768w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-8-777x1536.png 777w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-8415 \" src=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-8.png\" alt=\"Bryan's follow-up email: &quot;Is this you?&quot; (Final incentive to schedule a strategy call)\" width=\"750\" height=\"1483\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-8.png 847w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-8-152x300.png 152w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-8-518x1024.png 518w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-8-768x1519.png 768w, https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/facebook-ads-for-online-courses-8-777x1536.png 777w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Now all you have to do is rinse and repeat over and over for the next two months.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Content, Content, Call-to-Action.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s it.<\/p>\n<p>If you don\u2019t have that many pieces of content, use case studies and write super-short lessons on issues your best-fit client usually struggles with.<\/p>\n<p>And if the 45-day nurture cycle doesn\u2019t work, just feed those leads into your regular newsletter so you can continue to nurture them over time along with your other subscribers.<\/p>\n<h2>What Are You Waiting for?<\/h2>\n<p>Like I said at the beginning of this post, Facebook ads aren\u2019t for everyone. If you already have a successful small business built around your courses and are ready to inject an influx of leads from social media platforms, that\u2019s fine!<\/p>\n<p>The Facebook sales funnel template I described in this post is for you.<\/p>\n<p>But if you\u2019re not sure it\u2019s time to start running Facebook ads (or you want to run them, but still want help), <a href=\"https:\/\/lp.growthtools.com\/skyrocket?utm_source=gc&amp;source=fbads-blogpost\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">schedule a free call with my team<\/a>.\u00a0 We\u2019ll audit your course marketing strategy and talk through a 90-day plan to take your business to the next level.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In this article, I&#8217;m going to show you how to run Facebook ads for your online course using a simple&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8407","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-marketing-coaching"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8407","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8407"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8407\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8407"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}