You’ve created an online course that you can be proud of. You’re ready to share your knowledge with the world and can’t wait for your students to get stuck in with their learning. But there’s a problem. You realised you failed to consider how much time you needed to dedicate to running your online course smoothly and you’re wondering how you’ll manage it all.
You’ve got to input your student’s information, send the correct emails on time, remind students of appointments, provide excellent customer service, consider how to market effectively for future students, and much more.
Thankfully, there is an easy solution: automation. Automation allows you to link apps and services that save you a substantial amount of time by performing dull and repetitive administrative tasks for you.
Zapier has termed these automation workflows as Zaps; a Zap enables you to create your automated workflow that performs the exact actions you want them to take for every Zap that you have created, giving you the freedom to focus on your online course content whilst providing a reliable, easy way to automate a multitude of tasks. Better yet, Zapier integrates with more apps than any other platform, so any app you use for your online course will likely make any Zap you wish.
Why are Zaps So Important for Online Course Creators?
As well as saving you precious time that can be spent focusing on developing your online course content, Zaps provide a professional edge to your online course by giving each lead and student the same great experience that is immediate and precise. This consistency is key for gaining students and retaining them for your future courses.
All you need to know to create a zap is:
- The apps you want to use
- The rules they should follow
It’s really quite simple!
So, we’re going to share with you the 6 best Zaps for online course creators to level up your online course and provide a winning experience for both you and your students.
Zaps for Enrolling Students
Auto-enrol students with ease
You’ve published your course and suddenly you’re inundated with tonnes of information that need to be put onto your system to enrol students. These time-consuming mundane tasks takes the excitement away from your success, and the more students that enrol into your course, the more time-consuming this becomes.
Not only do you need to input this data, but you also need to send welcome emails, provide course information and give your student all the details they need to start learning. That’s a lot to consider.
Zaps for enrolling students are therefore one of the most important Zaps you can create. This initial contact with your students may be the first interaction you’ve had and its therefore vital this is quick, accurate and dependable so students know they have purchased a professional course.
Apps that you could use:
- Zoho
- Quickstart
- Dreamclass
- Alma
Zaps you could create for this:
Forms filled in with student information (trigger) —> adds to Google Sheets (action)—> adds to your online course platform (action)
Zaps for Marketing Automation
Set up Zaps for straightforward automated marketing
Ensuring that your online courses are at the forefront of existing students and potential students minds when they are considering studying further is essential to your course’s success. But it’s not easy and it’s certainly not a quick task when performed manually.
Creating the perfect marketing strategy is tough, and when you have to create the perfect advertising, emails, social media and more for the success of your online course, administrative duties are the last thing you want to be thinking about.
Apps that you could use:
- Hootsuite
- Facebook Ads Manager
- Dash
Zaps you could create for this:
- Requests information (trigger) —> sends an SMS (action)
- Subscribes to emails (trigger) —> receives push notifications for new advertisements (action)
Zaps to Analyze Student Information
Make the most out of your student’s information
Online course creators can waste precious time marketing to the wrong audience. Spending valuable time and effort on reaching the wrong target audience can be detrimental to the success of your course as those who would purchase your course might not know your course even exists.
Setting up a Zap that analyzes your existing students information, such as age, gender, interests and more, will give you a leg up in your marketing and allow you to target the right audience. How’s that for time-saving?
Apps that you could use:
- Thinkific
- Google Analytics
- Facebook Pixel
Zaps you could create for this:
- Form is filled in (trigger) —> data analytics received (action)
Zaps for Lead Nurturing Sales
Increase your sales with automatic lead-nurturing emails
Lead nurturing sales are a fantastic way to move potential buyers along the sales funnel and encourage them to purchase your online course. So much so that cultivating leads for those not ready to buy increases sales by a mind-blowing 255%. That’s a lot of sales you could be missing out on if this strategy is ignored.
As lead nurturing is clearly a game-changer when it comes to increasing sales, it makes sense to automate this type of marketing strategy so that all of your potential students are receiving emails that strengthen their desire to purchase your online course and make a commitment.
Apps that you could use:
- Pipedrive
- EngageBay
- Kartra
- Driftrock
Zaps you could create for this:
- Subscribes to your email list (trigger) —> adds lead to a drip sequence (action)
- Requests a demo (trigger) —> adds lead to a direct mail list (action)
Zaps for Student Communication
Build trust and reduce drop-outs with Zaps for student communication
Student communication is essential for positive feedback and completion of your online course. If your online course lacks the edge of communicating with your students, it increases the drop-out rate and reduces the chance of future sales.
Students don’t want to think about checking their calendars for reminders or updates – they want to be reminded without having to do anything. Whether it’s reminders for meetings, and deadlines or to carry on studying, automating student communication will be key in student commitment and brand trust.
Apps that you could use:
- Klassly
- ClassDojo
- Microsoft Teams
Zaps you could create for this:
Enrolled onto a course (trigger) —> push notification to start (action)
Incomplete course (trigger) —> reminder to finish (action)
Zaps for Social Media
Promote your social media content automatically
Social media is now a must to have a successful online course. Constant engagement through social media platforms promotes trust with brands and so having this automated will not only save you time, but also heavily increase student engagement (and sales!). Ensuring that all your social media platforms are consistently active is therefore key to promoting your online course.
You can market new products, share newsletters and blogs, or even start discussions based around your online course content. Whatever it may be, having your social media posts automated will save you time, effort and help you deliver consistent content across each platform.
Apps that you could use:
- Buffer
- SocialPilot
- MeetEdgar
- ZohoSocial
Zaps you could create for this:
Create a Facebook post (trigger) —> share to Twitter (action)
Publish a WordPress blog (trigger) —> share to LinkedIn (action)
Final Thoughts
Zaps are an excellent way to automate manual tasks that take up precious time. Zaps are a reliable and fast solution to speed up laborious tasks and take away the stress of deciding whether to hire extra help or reduce your free time and weekend plans.
Summary of 6 Best Zaps for Your Online Course
- Zaps for enrolling students
- Zaps for marketing automation
- Zaps for analyzing student information
- Zaps for lead nurturing sales
- Zaps for student communication
- Zaps for social media
Wrapping your head around creating Zaps can be tough, especially when there are so many elements of your online course that you have to consider. That’s why Class Growth is here to help! Our expert team in online course marketing can cover everything from design and copywriting as well as running your ad campaigns.
Get in contact with our team at ClassGrowth and discover how we can help you achieve your dreams of becoming an established online course creator.
