7 Failsafe Ways to Get More Learners on Your Training Courses

What’s the point in having a magnificent training course if you don’t get more enthusiastic learners enrolling? At any given time, people are always looking to upskill or go back to studying for a change of career. With the pandemic nudging even more people to take up training and the government putting more cash into training schemes, this could be the perfect time for you to grow your learner lists. We’ve compiled 7 tips that are guaranteed to boost your enrolment numbers if implemented properly. 

1. Provide additional support for wellbeing

You know it’s a stressful time right now. Many people who are undertaking training courses are changing careers, possibly because their previous one was badly affected by the pandemic. These learners are likely to be in an anxious and stressed mindset, especially if they are learning remotely. They are more susceptible to becoming disengaged with the course and may even drop off before they complete it. 

Many of their nerves could be calmed by ensuring that their tutor is accessible. If possible, give each student the chance to have frequent 1-to-1 sessions with a tutor or coach who will listen to any concerns they have. Extra online resources, such as recorded lessons and group revision sessions, will also go a long way to help.

2. Use paid ads 

This one should come as no surprise. Advertising on social media channels that your learners are on will make it easier for them to find you. Paid adverts have a significantly greater audience reach than organic posts, so they’re essential if you want to get more learners enrolled on a course. Paid adverts also have the advantage of using comprehensive audience targeting. You can reach those who would like your product/service but don’t know about your brand. 

You can set up lead generation campaigns to capture their data and begin your lead nurturing. Additionally, you can create lookalike audiences from this data and find new users who share the same interests, demographics and behaviours to market to. Paid social adverts will boost your brand and social profile engagement. This is excellent for social proof, a consideration many acknowledge when researching training courses. 

3. Check previous learner interest

Are you still in touch with your previous learners? If they completed one of your courses, they may be interested in taking another one. This audience is particularly receptive to communications that market the next level of their qualification if there’s one available. Send them an email to see if they would like to register for another course. You could even offer a discount exclusive to previous learners to show how much you still value them. 

If your customer database is set up for it, you can tailor your communications based on specific recorded actions that some learners took. Perhaps they completed multiple courses or are part of the recipients most likely to open your emails. You can personalise your message to them based on these actions, rather than sending out the same email to your entire contact list.

4. Use testimonials

We’ve all taken recommendation from friends. Testimonials from your previous learners serve a similar purpose. If you don’t have any, email previous students and ask them for a detailed response on why they enjoyed your course and how it helped their career. Remember to ask them if they consent to your organisation using their full name and photo in marketing materials. 

These glowing endorsements can be used in a variety of creative ways. It’s always best to have a testimonials section on your website, the first place that many will go to learn about your company. Hearing reviews from the students themselves are more valuable than just listening to what the company has to say about itself. Testimonials also make for great social media organic posts, publicly celebrating your learners’ successes. They can be repurposed as part of a convincing marketing campaign too, featured in adverts, landing pages and emails.

5. Collect reviews 

Aside from visiting your website to learn about your company, prospective learners may look up your organisation on a search engine or review website for an impartial opinion. To pre-empt this, always ask your learners to honestly review your company on popular review services including Google, Trustpilot and Facebook. 

Keep an eye on these reviews in case you receive one that isn’t complimentary. If you do, publicly reply and ask the author to reach out to you via phone/email so you can attempt to resolve the issue. This will demonstrate that you’re open to criticism and that you want to help those who feel like they didn’t have the best experience with you.

6. Send feedback surveys

The best way to get more new people on your course is to constantly improve your service. What’s the best way to do this? Start by asking the people who undertook your training. Send out a feedback survey to your previous learners. Getting the right information out of people relies on choosing the right questions. Make your survey cover all aspects of your course, including enrolment, tutors, course materials and if it met the learner’s expectations. Gather information on the positive and the negative. Don’t forget to give people the option to submit their own thoughts with open-text questions where the user can type their answer in a textbox.

Sometimes, people need a little nudge to complete a survey. You can do this by providing an incentive, such as entry into a prize draw or a discount, to maximise your responses. Remember to send a reminder email just before the survey submission deadline to give people a last chance.

7. Provide course guides

An informative course guide is like a map that guides learners through unchartered territory. Effectively a course syllabus, they are invaluable for providing information about the course in an easy-to-access format. These are given to prospective learners so they can see what exactly they will learn on your courses and what they can do with the qualification. A brilliant course guide also works as a persuasive advert and can convince people to enrol. 

They should be clear and informative, answering questions the reader may have. Make sure to include: a description of the course, learner outcomes and goals, why the course is relevant, the kinds of professional opportunities available after completion and assessment details. 

All 7 of these tips are straight-forward to action but notice that they don’t have an end date. These are on-going tasks that should be continually carried out. Every now and then, you should review your processes for each to identify any weaknesses to improve. Good luck integrating them into your business; we hope you see exponential growth in new learners on your training courses!