If you are a trainer or coach looking to expand your offerings with online courses or completely build your business on e-learning, you will start thinking about pricing pretty quickly. In this article, you will learn which aspects you should consider.
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Determining the price for a service is a difficult undertaking and causes severe brow-furrowing among freelancers of all sectors: "How much do I need to charge to cover my effort appropriately? How high can the price be to hold my ground in the market? How much are potential clients willing to pay for my expertise and performance?"
The question of what price you can charge for an online course is one we hear very frequently at blink.it. Of course, we cannot make a flat-rate statement in the form of concrete numbers, but after years of working with countless trainers and coaches of various disciplines, we have gathered a few insights for you in this article that can help you with your pricing.
Situation 1: You sell pure online courses
You offer digital courses via your website or your learning platform such as blink.it, which are self-contained, and your only accompanying activity consists of answering the course participants' questions. For price X, the customer receives access to the course and is largely on their own from there.
When it comes to price, anything from 0 to 1,000 euros or more is of course possible, but according to the market, it will probably lie somewhere between 20 and 200 euros.
When calculating your prices, you should consider these 4 factors:
Scope of the course: How many learning units does the course have? How complex is the design of the material? How long does the course last for the participants?
Quality of the content: How much time did the research take? Where, how, and for how long was the expertise acquired?
Topic: How current is the topic? How important is the topic? How often or rarely is the topic addressed?
Costs: How high are the costs for content creation, advertising, the learning platform, and payment processing?
In addition, there are 2 psychological aspects that influence your course price:
Status as trainer/coach: How recognized, well-known, and experienced are you as an expert in your field? Does "everyone" know you, are you considered a leading authority in your field, are you an enthusiastic amateur, or even a complete newcomer?
Willingness to buy: Who is the target audience of your courses? How much is the target audience willing to pay for your courses? What value does your course have for your target audience? Are you targeting private individuals who pay for the course out of their own pocket, or businesses and companies that can write off the course costs for tax purposes?
You can determine the price for the above factors based on an hourly rate that you imagine or desire as income. However, the two psychological aspects decide how realistic the final course price will be, meaning: Will the target audience actually buy your course at this price?
Tip 1: Put yourself in the shoes of your target audience and determine how much you yourself would be willing to pay for your course. Also ask friends and acquaintances who meet the criteria of your target audience.
Tip 2: Prices for online courses are usually publicly visible. Research the prices of other trainers and coaches and look around on platforms specialized in selling e-learning. This way, you can get a picture of what the current market offers.
Always remember: You want to generate revenue or an income with your online courses, so you should be absolutely clear about your actual market value as a trainer or coach. Setting a fancy fantasy price is of no use to you if you are then left sitting on your product.
Situation 2: You offer Blended Learning
As a trainer or coach, you want to expand your existing in-person offerings with online support: In the form of Blended Learning, you combine classic workshops, coachings, or seminars with the many advantages of flexibly completed e-learnings.
How you calculate the price for the online portion of your Blended Learning can be taken from Situation 1 above. Furthermore, you should decide in which format you design your Blended Learning:
Alternating model: alternating multiple units in-person and digitally
Consecutive model: multiple in-person units followed by a concluding online course
Sandwich model: starts with an in-person unit at the beginning, an online course in the middle, and a concluding in-person unit at the end
3 Pricing Models for Blended Learning
1. Daily rate as a basis
Most trainers and coaches work with their own daily rate. This is a good starting point to justify an additional price for the online course to the customer: Depending on how large the online course's share of the entire coaching or training is, you add a percentage to your daily rate that reflects your extra effort as well as the additional costs for the online course.
2. Replace in-person with online
With this model, the price remains the same as you reduce your in-person offer and replace it with online units. This has a certain appeal for your customer, as they can pay the usual price but receive a new, modern, and flexible course offering that they can conveniently complete via a learning platform like blink.it. Of course, this only works if you can reasonably replace some in-person units with e-learning in your Blended Learning.
3. In-person "On Top"
The third model is particularly interesting for trainers and coaches who are already firmly established in their market and can sell themselves with confidence. Here, you offer your customer an individual package: e.g., a fixed price per online course, and starting from 10 online courses, there's a free in-person day with you included.
The advantage of price calculation for Blended Learning compared to pure online courses is that you can make an individual offer to your customers. You decide flexibly which course model fits best for you, your customer, and the course topic, and which pricing is most likely to be accepted by your customer or your target group.
Situation 3: You are an E-Learning beginner
You are either starting completely fresh in the training world and want to offer e-learning directly, or you are already established as a trainer and want an additional passive income through online courses. Your lack of experience with digital education triggers a voice in your head that whispers: "Are my courses really that good? Do I know enough about didactics to build them correctly? Shouldn't I rather offer my courses very cheaply at first? Or even for free and see what happens?"
We have a few arguments to counter these doubts:
No matter what service you want to sell: You need a bit of self-confidence about the quality of your work to hold your ground as a freelancer. Anyone who is not sure of their business projects that, and customers unconsciously sense this and react by not trusting the offer. So: If you doubt the quality of your work, you should first work on your mindset before you enter the marketplace.
Everyone puts their pants on one leg at a time: Who knows if the online courses of other trainers and coaches are really sooooo educationally perfect. Focus on your knowledge, your experience, and your performance, and occasionally risk taking criticism for your work. Ultimately, you can only learn and improve from it.
Beware of beginner prices or special offers: Once the low price is there, you won't get it increased. Your potential customers probably don't know you are a beginner and will assume that the cheap price for your online course is appropriate and in line with the market. If you want to increase it later as soon as you no longer feel like a beginner, your customers won't understand and will walk away.
Caution: Dumping! Remember that your prices should be in line with the market to avoid contributing to general price dumping: Low prices are also noticed by other providers in your industry, who might then be forced to lower their prices as well if it turns out you are stealing their customers with your cheap offer. In the long run, you are only cutting your own throat.
What costs nothing is worth nothing: At least, that's how free offers are often perceived. The potential customers of your online courses want good performance from you right from the start and will not give you a head start in affection just because you are starting out with this business. Your courses should be about conveying the learning content in a sustainable way. If you don't set a price for this, it quickly gives the impression that the learning transfer is not guaranteed at all and that participating in the course is probably a waste of time. But: Of course, you can offer a free course as advertising - but you should make it clear that this is a time-limited promotion and the course normally has a specific price.
Conclusion: We wish you the best of success!
Anyone who calculates the price of their online course strategically instead of setting it spontaneously lays the foundation for a sustainable and economically stable business model.
Pricing is not an annoying side issue, but a central component of your offer. Whether it's a pure online course, Blended Learning, or entering the digital world: Your price must match your effort, your target audience, and your positioning.
It is important that you consider both economic factors and psychological aspects. Market prices can provide orientation, but what matters is the specific value your offer has for your target group and how you communicate this value.
If you set your prices consciously and review them regularly, you create security for yourself and clarity for your customers. This is exactly where long-term success with digital course offerings comes from.
Frequently Asked Questions and Answers
How do I calculate the price of an online course?
The price of an online course should be derived from effort, costs, target audience, and perceived value. Take into account the creation of content, your working hours, platform costs, marketing, and support. Additionally, you should check what value your course has for the target audience and whether the price is comprehensible in the market.
What factors influence the price of an online course?
Important factors are the scope, quality of content, topic, target audience, cost structure, and your status as a trainer or coach. The purchasing willingness of the target audience also plays a major role. A course for private individuals is often priced differently than an offer for companies or professional development.
How does pricing differ for Blended Learning?
In Blended Learning, the online portion is combined with in-person or live elements. This allows the price to be calculated based on a daily rate, an additional surcharge, or an individual package. Personal guidance increases the perceived value and should be taken into account in the pricing.
Why are very low introductory prices for online courses problematic?
Very low prices can weaken the perceived value of your course and are difficult to increase later. Customers quickly get used to a low price and perceive it as market-rate. Therefore, even an introductory price should be consciously calculated and not set too low out of insecurity.
