5 Ways to Sell Your Course or Membership with YouTube | Ep. 70

Ready to turn your YouTube channel into a sales funnel for your course or program? I break down five actionable methods that help you make consistent sales—without feeling pushy. Discover my favorite tools, the Backstage YouTube Funnel, and tips for building a binge-worthy video brand that grows your business.

YouTube Funnel Playbook here: https://videobrand.link/playbook

🔥 Build your Binge-Worthy Video Brand with EASE + simplicity: https://videobrand.link/wV72LsI

📹 Be Binge-worthy on YouTube: https://videobrand.link/become-bingeable

🟣 Video Brand Academy: https://videobrand.link/vba

🎥 CRUSH IT ON CAMERA GUIDE: https://vidpromom.com/crush

🎧 Video Brand Infusion Podcast: http://meredithmarsh.co/podcast

📲 Download my FREE Video Brand Academy app! 👉 https://videobrand.link/app

👉 Consistent Sales of Your Course with YouTube: https://youtu.be/GBhulsp0s-4

📹 Follow on YouTube for Video Podcast: https://youtu.be/zkscCExxg9Y?si=B2EAIPxJV0-jEP-7

Transcript

So we all know that YouTube is amazing for visibility and reach and audience growth, right? But visibility doesn't pay the bills. So how do you actually sell a course or a program or a digital product? Essentially, how do you turn your YouTube channel into a funnel without turning your YouTube channel into an infomercial?

My name is Meredith and I'm here to help you infuse the best video marketing strategies into your business so that you can build your binge worthy. Video brand, and I'm excited to dive into this because I've been putting together the YouTube funnel playbook, which I will link to down in the description below this video.

And ever since a few years ago when I started playing with, how can I take what I know about sales and marketing and like infuse that or combine that with what I know about great YouTube strategy and make the two work together. That's the way that I've been approaching my entire YouTube channel and my entire business for like the last few years.

So I love nerding out about this because not only is YouTube the most powerful way to grow your audience online, it's also the simplest way to sell your course, your membership, your digital product, consistently generating consist revenue in your business.

So in this video, I wanna dive into the five effective ways to sell your course or membership with YouTube, including what has worked for me, what I think you should avoid, and the pros and cons of each. But what I see a lot. Of, creators doing on YouTube is essentially having a like, non strategy strategy.

And maybe this is you. what I see a lot of are like two things. One. You publish videos and you put a link to your course or your membership, your digital product, whatever it is, you put that in the description of your video, which is great because links in your video description are clickable, but hardly anybody ever goes to look in the description unless you point it out and tell people to go to the description to get a link.

 or two you mention your course, your program, your digital product, but you don't link to it anywhere. Or maybe it's just sitting on your site and you're hoping that if you mention it enough times in your videos, people will.

Just go and kind of like seek it out.

And if you do either of those things and that works for you and you're generating consistent sales, then don't change anything. But if what you've been doing in an effort to sell your course or a digital product, or get members into your membership, if what you've been doing isn't working, then here are five ideas you can try.

Number one, this is something that I don't actually see a lot of on YouTube. I'm surprised that more people aren't doing this, and that is to use your channel for a live launch or promotion. So what I'm talking about is either promote a new course launch, like, you know, oh, I just launched this thing, you know, for the next five days, here's a coupon code to save.

Or for the next five days, if you buy the course, you get, um, an extra bonus or something, or using your channel to promote a live thing, like a live webinar or a three part video series or a five day challenge, for example.

 in fact, you could run a three part live video series or a five day challenge right here on your channel. That would make a lot of sense. You already have the platform, like the technical platform, where you can upload videos, right? And you already have your audience here.

The downside of that is that you really have no control over who's going to see that content. And so if you rely on that content to generate your sales or to guide people to your sales page or enrollment page or sales call, then know, having your content kind of like put in front of your most engaged audience, which might not necessarily be your ideal clients and customers.

And you're just kind of like leaving the algorithm to do what it will with your content.

And, you know, I love using the algorithm to generate large amounts of traffic to an offer, but putting, you know, all of that pressure on one piece of content or three pieces of live content or something is. A lot to ask the algorithm to do. The other downside is that you know, in terms of like not turning your channel into an infomercial, how often are you able to run a live promotion like that?

Because if you do it every week, like what is the content you're creating to actually grow your audience? Or is it all just sales content and like a quarterly. Kind of cadence makes a lot of sense. But then if you're only launching every quarter, then you are only making sales of your program four times a year.

And that might be good for you. I mean, that might make sense for you business-wise, but what about the people who want or need the help that you offer in your program outside of those four times a year?

I've done three part video series on my channel. I've run five day challenges on my channel before, and.

Personally, I am trying to distance myself from the quarterly launch model because it puts a lot of pressure on me. It puts a lot of pressure on everything that has to be done to make it work and make it successful. And, you know, the nature of YouTube is. If I'm putting the effort in consistently to show up every week, publish a video every week, then I wanna generate revenue in my business consistently, not just four times a year.

So I love the idea of live launches on YouTube, but it is only one of the ideas in my list. So let's talk about some of the ways that you can generate consistent revenue without having to do those live launch style promotions. Number two is to create a, what I call a billboard video and pin it to the top of your channel.

So what you need to know about this billboard video concept is number one, I already mentioned this. It gets pinned at the top of your channel, so when you go to customize the homepage of your channel, you can put it in the trailer or featured image. Position, basically the same video. Put it in that, in those two spots.

The beauty of this is when you have a trailer or featured video, it's one video at the very top of your channel. All of your other like custom YouTube homepage. Sections are there below it, but it's this one video right there at the top, so it's really hard to miss. That's why I call it a billboard. Video number two, you can.

Essentially make your regular YouTube videos link to that billboard video. So using your end screens, using a link in the description, using your pinned comments, um, just giving a verbal call to action if you have this really well crafted billboard video pinned at the top of your channel. And that video essentially makes the case for your freebie, your program, your YouTube funnel, whatever comes next after that, then all roads lead to that billboard video. So that billboard video can kind of start to, um, I guess, kind of kick off a, YouTube funnel on your channel. I also like to use my billboard video as, um, you know, if I'm being interviewed on a podcast or anything like that, a lot of times instead of saying like, oh, you know, go follow me on YouTube or download this freebie or something like that, I just say, go to the video at the top of my channel.

Here's what it's called. Look for this video, and I send people directly there. It's easy to find You don't even need a link to it. Really. Just go to my channel, go to the pinned video at the top of my channel, and, um, that just works really well in my mind. It feels like a natural call to action 

 And I have a, not. Always obvious tip for you about how to actually make sure that the content you create attracts buyers to your channel and not just viewers. I'm gonna save this one for the end because it applies no matter which of any of these methods that you use that I'm talking about. This applies to everything.

Number three, there's nothing wrong with creating a YouTube video that is a direct to pitch YouTube video. It doesn't have to be a sales video, right? But it can be really valuable content that essentially leads the viewer to your paid offer.

Now, I wouldn't necessarily recommend doing this in every single video. That might be good sales strategy, but it wouldn't be good YouTube strategy. Remember I told you like this is about combining and infusing those two strategies, those two kind of, uh, schools of thought together and making them work for you.

So you wouldn't wanna do this in every single video. That's why I created the backstage YouTube funnel that I'm gonna get to in a second. But there's no reason why you couldn't create a regular YouTube video or a video podcast episode where the call to action

Is to enroll in your program or buy your digital product. It doesn't even have to be salesy.

You simply lead people to your enrollment page or your sales page, and you let the program or that product sell itself. You show up with great content that people already want to hear about, and those viewers will figure out if they're a good fit for the program.

If they're not, it's still great content. It's still valuable content to the viewer.

Number four is a. Classic tried and true like content marketing strategy of using YouTube simply to build your email list and then use your email list to do a launch or a promotion of your course membership program or digital product.

I like to call this Unlaunch because it's peaceful, it's chill. It's not very stressful, and it's not some like big live like webinar, you know, big live launch.

 and it's actually been very effective for me. So essentially, you wanna make almost every video. I mean, it doesn't have to be every video. You probably shouldn't have it be every video, but you wanna make.

A lot of your videos sort of back up to a freebie. And so what I mean by that is you teach great content, you provide value in your YouTube content, and then as you're planning out what to post, like what is the content you're gonna create? Just make sure that you are leading people to a. Some kind of a freebie, a lead magnet, a cheat sheet, a checklist, something that's uh, valuable to the viewer who just watched this video, and also just really easy to access.

All they have to do is give their email address. That's how you can easily build your list with YouTube so you're not directly selling anything. With that strategy, you're getting people to your list. You're using your email list to either have an evergreen promotion offer

or every month, every quarter. Whenever it is, you do a promotion and all you have to do is run that promotion to the list.

So, like I said, this is a tried and true strategy. It's worked in the content creation space for a long time. It does require you to stay engaged with your list over email, so. Don't just build your list and not email your list. Right? I mean, that seems obvious, but um, it's actually so easy to send an email once a week, you know, even if it's just like, here's my latest video, or summarize your latest video into an email, or, write an email newsletter if you want.

Those are like all the rage these days.

But if you don't stay engaged with your email list, then when you do on launch, you know, when you have a promotion or something, um, people are gonna be like, who are you? Why? What are you doing in my inbox? And it's just not good for like the health of your email list. The other drawback of this is if you are waiting.

To launch something to your email list, then people who, you know, your ideal clients or customers or students who want what you have to sell or need, what your program is helping them with, they have to wait for you to have a launch. And if you're anything like me, you know, like that's, don't be waiting on me.

Don't wait on me to launch something. Or you might be waiting for a long time. And so. I am a huge fan of an evergreen strategy for this, but even if you don't have like the backend stuff to create an evergreen strategy, as long as you stay engaged with your list and you promote your course, program, digital product, often, then that's one way that you can generate consistent revenue with YouTube.

Indirectly through your email list. I like to say that your email list is kind of like the glue that holds the YouTube content and your, you know, the revenue in your business kind of holds those two things together. It kind of bridges the gap.

 And it allows you to have a really simple, easy, evergreen promotion strategy. So that's why the Backstage Funnel is my favorite. And honestly, this is perfect for you if you're a solo business owner on YouTube.

'cause you have to run your business and you have to create your content and show up consistently there. So where do you find the time to do a live launch or a big webinar? 

 well, if you're anything like me, that sounds stressful and exhausting, and that's why I created the Backstage YouTube funnel. Now, I teach this in depth inside of the YouTube Funnel Playbook.

I have a. 30 day zero to funnel checklist. But I wanna give you the basics here in this video because this is really exciting. This is fun for me. I love nerding out about this. So you have your main channel content right out there in the wild for the world to see. The algorithm is bringing people to your content.

The search algorithm is putting your videos in front of people who are searching for it, and the suggested and recommended algorithms are showing your content to the right people based on viewer behavior, and that's all great. That's great for like growing your audience, growing your channel, getting more visibility.

And then if you are a course creator or a coach, or you know, even an author, a membership site owner, you have content that's behind some kind of a paywall. You have like a digital product that's behind a paywall, so you can provide guidance and coaching and resources and help your clients and students privately.

So the Backstage Pass funnel is like giving your viewers on YouTube an inside peak. So these are people who aren't clients and customers yet. You give them an inside peak into what it's like inside of your program, either what it's like working with you or what they can expect. If they buy your course, you know exactly how it works.

 it's not just giving them more info like a webinar or saying, here, buy my stuff. You know, like a commercial or something.

 the backstage Funnel is designed to get your viewer a quick win, and then show them what they're missing out on by not being in your program. So that they can make a truly informed decision about whether enrolling in your program or buying your digital product is actually right for them.

So the beauty of this, and the reason why I prefer this backstage YouTube funnel concept so much is because number one, it is automated. 

And it's not something you have to show up live, right? Which means that your ideal clients and customers have instant access to it as well, right? No one's waiting for you to like put your next launch together.

It's also congruent with your content, meaning you already know how to make a YouTube video. This is no different tech-wise. You're already comfortable with how you create YouTube content. It doesn't have to be any different than that. It's not like you suddenly have to become extremely charismatic in a live stream or design 122 slides for your webinar slide deck or anything like that.

It's just as easy as creating a YouTube video O.

And there's also a congruency of attention spans. I wish there was a word for this, and if there's like a scientific study on this, I would love to hear about it, but. If you think about the fact that if you show up regularly, consistently with long form video content, and then the content you create, um, as a means to sell your programs, sell your digital products and your offers, if those are like the same.

Attention span the same length, the same style. Not only is it easy for you to create, but it's also easy for your viewers and your ideal clients and customers to follow along with you. Like imagine if you create only short form content like reels and shorts and tiktoks, and you decide, I'm gonna sell my course with a 90 minute webinar.

Like. Do you see how that's not very congruent? From an attention span perspective, it's not very congruent. So the Backstage Pass Funnel, you create long form content on YouTube, you create a long form video in your backstage pass, like it all makes sense for you and for the viewer.

And it works with organic YouTube content, so you don't have to pay for ads on Facebook or Instagram or even YouTube unless you want to.

Now, here's that not so obvious tip about creating content that attracts buyers and not just viewers. Because this system works when you attract your ideal clients and customers with your channel. Now, don't get me wrong here, okay? I love creating free YouTube content.

It's one of the things that I think resonates the most with me when it comes to like having an online business and being a content creator in my business, is I get to help people with free content who may never pay a dime for anything. I wouldn't be on YouTube if I didn't think that was amazing.

Right. And then there are people that want more help from me. They want more resources, they want to. Know what I know or like dig into the things that work for me in my business, right? And that's where my paid offers and programs come in. So with the content that I create that you create on YouTube, I get to help as many people as I want.

As many people as YouTube will show my videos too. And I also get to work on a deeper level with more people.

 and I think this might actually be the topic of my very next video because I have a lot to say about this and. There's a whole fill your funnel strategy inside of the YouTube funnel playbook.

But you are here to grow your business, not just grow your YouTube channel, right? And people come to YouTube for a variety of reasons. Entertainment doom, scrolling, especially with shorts. Um, they want something to listen to in the background. They're learning Or they're looking for solutions to specific problems.

And as a business owner on YouTube, as a business owner, anywhere, your job, like you exist to solve the problems that people are looking for, right? The specific problems. So as a business owner on YouTube, focus on creating content that shows up as a solution to problems that buyers are already ready to fix.

Which is not necessarily just like what people are searching for in your niche, but the problems that they are in search of solving. When you build a library of binge-worthy videos that solve specific problems, that's the beginning of turning your YouTube channel into a sales funnel that sells your courses and programs for you.

And if you want the exact steps for creating content that attracts buyers and the whole system for generating those consistent sales of your course, your program, your digital product, without constant selling or. Spending all of your money on ads or running stressful quarterly launches, then you're gonna love the YouTube funnel playbook.

So I'll link that up for you in the description below this video. If you're ready to YouTube appify your business with consistent revenue, then I'll see you there.