What are some Marketing/Growth Hacking approaches for a FREE online course

Love this! You've already got active students which is a great starting place.

Just a couple of clarifying questions:

- Do you have a separate email list for your students outside of the list gained from giving out the eBook? This could be where your promoter marketing can begin.

- Is 'active promoter' the endgame where you make a profit? If so, what does that look like?

- As far as bringing in more people; Draws/Competitions are usually more successful in a social media environment for several reasons. What does your social media audience look like?

Another way to maximize your traffic to bring in more people would be to set up a re-marketing campaign for the people who have viewed your course, but decided not to sign up. This group might be more likely to just download the free eBook in exchange for their email. The only issue is that you would need paid traffic via Google Ads or Facebook Ads to do this well. If you don't have Google Analytics set up yet, I would do that right away so that it can start tracking those traffic flows.

Hi,

It looks like Mark has helped answer some of your questions. I can answer your question about competitions as I've designed and managed many for my own clients.

Contests do very well using social media to both promote and host them. If you just have a website, you can host a contest, there, but you still need a way to get the word out, which involves social media, email blasts, or some other type of marketing.

A few tips to make your contests better:
• Give away a prize that is associated with the product you want to ultimately drive people towards. For instance you could give away a free ebook on getting started as an entrepreneur, then send those people an email inviting them to your online course (maybe with a discount). The idea behind this is that you are associating your business with what you do in the eyes of your potential customers. This is much more effective than giving away an ipad, or another generic product. It also gives potential customers a "taste" of what you have to offer.
• Even if you're going to promote and host your contest on social media, you need to capture email addresses for people who sign up. At the very least, Facebook requires you to do this.
• Keep the time of your contest between 2-4 weeks. Some people advocate less time, but I find that only works if you have a really large engaged audience on social media.
• Promote the heck out of your contest. Ideally, you want to promote the contest a lot at the beginning and the end. That's where you're more likely to receive more signups.

I hope this helps. :)

I would change your thinking.

At the moment you are trying to generate traffic to your website which is hard work.

Why not go to an online learning website like udemy.com or skillshare.com and upload your entrepreneurship course in arabic.

I’m assuming people in the MENA region use these online learning sites, so you could quickly and easily get your course in front of many arabic speaking people who are looking to learn about entrepreneurship.

Once you have a good number of reviews, you can even start to charge for the course to generate passive income and build your brand :-)

Great answers so far! Since most of the major points have been covered, here's a strategy that could get you 3x more social shares from each student...

Tools like http://giveawayboost.com incentivize your student to get an extra bonus when they share your giveaway with 3 other people. WIN-WIN-WIN!

- Daniel Bennett
http://thedanielbennett.com
// DO LESS, ACHIEVE MORE

Ever since Sean Ellis coined the term “growth hacking” in 2010, people outside the digital marketing world have been asking the same question What exactly is it? Well, it is tough to explain because it encompasses a whole library of skills. Rapid experimentation, Facebook ads, data analysis, technical SEO – these can all be part of a successful growth marketing strategy. At the end of the day, growth marketing refers to digital marketing that is focused on a process of data-driven testing and optimization, often referred to as growth hacking. Famous growth hacking success stories have taken relatively obscure start-ups, like Airbnb and Dropbox, and launched them into an unprecedented success. And as the field grows, growth hacking agencies have become as varied as the products and services they are supporting. Let us look at FREE online courses that will be helpful to you.
1. Quick Sprout, Quick Sprout University:
Price: Free
Location: Online
What it Covers: Technical growth marketing skills across many different areas, like SEO, Link Building and Paid Advertising. Courses are boiled down to a video and transcript – there is no coursework, or option for a paid certificate (Note, the option to complete a $97 certificate has been removed from the site). Quick Sprout is the brainchild of growth marketing guru Neil Patel, and the courses are built in his familiar style; quick, buzzy, and packed with technical detail. Video courses are broken down by level, from beginner to advanced so there is something for everyone.
Who It is Best for: Marketers who want to brush up on their technical knowledge without making a commitment. Those looking for help generating traffic.
What People Are Saying: The videos contain a lot of helpful information but can be hard to navigate for the beginning growth marketer.
2. HubSpot Academy Courses
Price: Free
Location: Online
What is Covers: Just about everything. They have got courses for everything from Facebook Advertising and Conversion Strategy to Growth-Driven Design. Students can choose a quick course module or opt for a multi-step certificate. Courses are designed by HubSpot experts and are self-paced. Students gain access to a simulated version of HubSpot’s inbound marketing platform to design test campaigns.
Who It is Best for: Beginning to Mid-Level growth marketers. Anyone looking to brush up on the basics or learn the ins and outs of HubSpot’s CMS.
What People Are Saying: The courses are well produced and methodical. The only drawback? Certifications are only valid for one year.
3. Google, Digital Marketing Course
Price: Free for selected student teams
Location: Online
What it Covers: Digital marketing basics from Google’s perspective. That means free training in Google Ads and Google Analytics. But this program is unique; only teams of 2-5 undergraduate or graduate students are eligible to apply. After completing the free course modules and passing the Academy for Google Ads Fundamentals Exam, selected teams will be matched with a non-profit and given a $10,000 monthly marketing budget to spend, courtesy of Google.
Who It is Best for: Students looking to do some good and beef up their resume with significant real-world experience.
What People Are Saying: Getting Google-backed experience is awesome. But the program comes with a lot of restrictions about how the monthly budget can be spent, and what kind of non-profits are eligible to participate. Great for experience building but expect to be babysat.
Besides if you do have any questions give me a call: https://clarity.fm/joy-brotonath