What would your online course business look like if your primary goal was to serve others rather than simply turning a profit? As entrepreneurs, we often ask ourselves what people need or want, but usually with a financial end goal in mind. But what if we flipped that mindset and focused on truly helping others? This shift in perspective could be the key to unlocking innovative pricing strategies for online courses.
Discover how I experimented with a pay-what-you-can model for my course. Listen now to see if this innovative pricing strategy is the right fit to increase your impact and profits!
Table of Contents
Rethinking Pricing Strategies for Online Courses
The epiphany I had while driving recently made me question the way I price my online courses. I began to wonder: What if pricing wasn’t a barrier for people who truly need my resources? Of course, making money is essential for sustaining any business, but if we’re always fixated on how much we can charge, we might miss opportunities to help those who need our courses the most.
I started Brittany Miller Socials because I want to help people. I want business owners to feel confident marketing their business, to be able to use socials media to turn their hobby into a business that support their famiily. I want to help them get the results everyone promises online, the $10K months, the 4 hour work weeks, which are both possible! But these outcomes take time, and require strategic action and investments.
For many small business owners, entrepreneurs, and especially moms, investing in their business can be challenging. Time, knowledge, and financial limitations often stand in the way and when these obstacles continue to persist businesses become stagnant. Grow comes from investing in yourself and your business, but I understand how difficult that is on a shoe-string budget. After reading The Obstacle is the Way, I firmly believe that overcoming these obstacles, specifically financial limitations, can pave the way for innovation in pricing strategies for online courses and help entrepreneurs start a new growth and revenue generation cycle for them.
Introducing a Pay-What-You-Can Model
This led me to test a "pay-what-you-can model" for my signature online course, Profile to Profit: 6 Steps to an Instagram Profile that Converts. This pricing strategy for online courses is radical, but it’s something I’m willing to test. I’m offered my course starting at a minimum of $5. Why $5? Because transaction fees need to be covered, but this low entry point could allow more people to access valuable resources they need to grow their businesses.
With this pay-what-you-can model, I’m hoping to help more people get started on their marketing journey, especially those who might not have been able to afford the full price, $397 CAD, on a course that feels like it's collecting virtual dust right now. Having a resource people aren't using doesn't align with my values of providing accessible products that empower small business owners.
I decided that pricing strategies for online courses don’t always have to follow traditional rules. Sometimes, thinking outside the box can lead to both greater accessibility and better results for everyone involved, which is why I'm excited to test a 'pay-what-you-can' model to offer accessibility for my course, Profile to Profit.
How Pricing Affects Course Engagement
One thing I’ve learned from experience is that the amount you invest in something usually reflects the effort you put into it. We’ve all been there—you buy a low-priced course and half-heartedly watch the lessons while doing other tasks. On the other hand, when you invest more money, you tend to commit more energy, focus, and time to ensuring you get a return on that investment.
That’s why, even with the pay-what-you-can model, I believe the results people get will depend on how much they’re willing to put in, both financially and mentally. I’ll be observing how this pricing strategy affects the overall engagement with the course and how it can shape future launches.
Balancing Accessibility & Integrity
Implementing this new pricing strategy for online courses does come with its challenges. I still need to maintain the integrity of my pricing, especially for clients who have paid full price in the past. Hopefully they will understand and see the value in the personal support they received from me during the live courses launches as the reason they may have 'paid more'.
As I continue testing this new model, I’m excited to see how it impacts not only my business but also the lives of those who wouldn’t have had access to these resources otherwise. I believe that by meeting people where they are financially, I can create lasting relationships with more entrepreneurs, helping them reach their full potential and create a positive ripple effect—where the more people benefit from my courses, the more they grow their businesses, and the more the economy thrives as a whole.
The Future of Pricing Strategies for Online Courses at Brittany Miller Socials
Moving forward, this pricing experiment might change how I launch future courses and resources. For now, I’m focusing on Profile to Profit and keeping an open mind. While some may worry that people will abuse the pay-what-you-can model, I have faith in the integrity of my audience.
If you’re a course creator, consider rethinking your pricing strategies for online courses. Would you implement a similar model that opens the door for more people to benefit from your expertise?
By exploring innovative pricing models, you can help your audience overcome financial barriers, while still ensuring your business thrives.
This pay-what-you-can pricing strategy for online courses is one I’m excited to test, and I’m curious to hear your thoughts. If you’ve been thinking about launching a course or adjusting your pricing, feel free to reach out—I’d love to chat!
How I Launched It
To bring the model to life I used Stripe which allowed people to choose their payment amount. I used the payment confirmation message in Strip to share the link for the purchasers to immediatly access the course material. Zapier was also useful in transitioning the course enrolment information into my email platform which initiates the course welcome emails.
I'll admit I was nervous about how all these systems would integrate and if it would truely be automatic, but it worked very well! I loved waking up to purchase and enrollment emails in my inbox without having to lift a finger after I set it all up! Spending the extra time to set up the automations was worth it, and is one of the biggest reasons I would consider rolling out this payment model on a more permanent basis because it can be fully automated.
The Results of Pay-What-You-Can
Overall, I was very impressed with the results of this experinment. I emailed my audience 3-4 times over as many says introducing the model and inviting them to choose their course price and I'm pelased to report that I had a total of 5 people enroll with purchase prices ranging from the $5 minimum to $150 CAD.
Seeing the variance in purchase prices gives me confidence this could be a viable pricing strategies for online courses going forward. It felt incredibly rewarding to see 5 new students get access to Profile to Profit so they can start growing this business so from a financial perspective and an internal values perspective this was a huge win!
I have some logistical things to consider as Wix doesn't offer an option for a 'pay-what-you-can' pricing structure for my products but don't be surprised if you see more of this in the future once I can work out the logistics because innovative pricing strategies for online courses don’t just benefit your business—they can also foster a more supportive, empowered community. By offering flexible pricing, you can reach more people, drive engagement, and create a ripple effect that helps everyone grow and that's an important component of my business.
If you’re ready to take your Instagram marketing to the next level, check out Profile to Profit: 6 Steps to an Instagram Profile that Converts and let’s grow together!
Go Get Great Episode 72 References
The Obstacle in the Way Novel - https://amzn.to/4dcOhXn
*These are affiliate links, meaning I earn a commission if you decide to purchase through them. Thank you for supporting my work!
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Episodes Time Codes
00:00 Intro
2:30 How to run your business
5:00 Trying something different
9:30 Solving the money obstacle
12:00 Introducing a pay what you can model
18:00 Grayson's perspective
20:00 Investment
24:00 Getting results
27:00 How I'm making it happen
33:15 Pay what you can update (post experiment)
36:00 How much I made
42:15 Wrap up
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