How to Choose Great Names for Online Courses to Boost Profits

Intro to how to choose great names for online courses to boost profits

In our interconnected world, the idea of starting a business online is often heard. One of the actions that follow is to start making courses.

But getting started in the course-making enterprise requires extra thought. One extra area that you have to consider is the name.

If you believe names are not that important, let us tell you that they are. Of course, you can choose a random word. But it will be difficult to explain how people are going to find your fantasy writing course with the name “the invisible backpack”. Plus, using a generic one does not do much better either!

Selecting the right name is more than that. And in today’s article, we will tell you about 7 things that you have to think about to do it right.

Use Buzzwords

Starting from the general likable aspects, you got to use buzzwords. What are they? In short, they are those words that have positives meanings and vibes. They used to come from jargon and got popular as time passed.

For example, have you thought about how many times you’ve heard words like: great, easy, dynamic, clever, etc.?

As you can imagine, people use them because they are good-sounding words. Who wouldn’t choose an “easy powerful course”?

Even if they don’t have a big impact on you from a personal level, they will in your business life. Why? Simply because their use has become very mainstream to a point where not using them is detrimental for you.

Just think about this for a minute. In the world of endless options, would you choose the course that lacks all the nice words? Most likely not.

Even from a best practice standpoint, buzzwords have to be part of your toolkit.

Tell Your Users About Their Pain

From the substantive level, mention what you know your audience is going through at the moment. This is important because you’re signaling that you understand them. This leads to saying that you know what they are looking for and know how to get it to them.

Also, you are creating conditions for people to relate with you and vice-versa when doing this. Meaning that they will feel more heard and connected with your content (yes even by the name). Leading to better reception and higher monetary success.

Besides, when you empathize with them you are also strengthening your community. If you don’t add that connection, it will feel too robotic. You want them engaged and appreciated, remember.

And how can you get them to know you understand them? Well, how about saying? “The perfect course to avoid X” or “ How to do Y without Z”.

Use the Language of Benefits

There are a few definitions for this term, but they all refer to addressing what your audience wants. But done explicitly. For example, it is obvious that since you got a course idea, you know why it will be likable. The problem is not telling clearly what the benefit of it is to them.

You can say “I teach X” but it does not explain the value in it per se. Want to improve it? Think of “ I teach x to you so that you can be/do Y”.

Check What Your Audience Is Looking For

Since you got an idea for your course, or may already have started working on it, you know what this means. And yes, of course, that you know what they are looking for, but do you know how exactly? Meaning what are the actual words that are searched online?

Perhaps, you have Meditation courses using a very specific technique that no one searches for. This does not mean that it is not valuable or anything like that, it just may tell that there is not enough knowledge. This can be a great gold fountain if you exploit it correctly.

To do so, we speak of targeting what you got online to your audience. You are all well aware of that in terms of content. Do apply it to the realm of names and subsections as well.

However, I would like to ask for a bit of caution here. If you stick to what they are searching alone, you run the risk of getting outcompete or unheard because there are too many options. Fighting with the algorithm is more difficult in this situation.

Our advice, take this research as a reference point or the base for the name. Add or remove things as you see fit (and following best practices).

Promise Solutions

This point is related to the one about the benefits language, but is more targeted. Yes, you can tell them exactly what you will give them and what it means to them. But if you don’t put the issue and solution components the naming is incomplete.

They will go “ok, I understand what you offer and what it means to me, but why do I want to take this course?”

The response is clear, you give them the solution to the problems, challenges, or anxieties they got. I’m going to give you a very clear example:

“Creative writing to avoid the writer’s block and keep the muse for longer.”

Make Your Title Short or Long, Never Average size

This point has to do with the risk I mentioned about following what people search for. If you literally stick to it, you won’t be distinct (based on the name). One smart way to stand out without any big changes is to play with the length a bit.

Use an unconventional number of words and you will get extra attention. Even from a purely psychological level, we are used to seeing patterns and recognizing deviation = More eyes on your course.

But of course, distance yourself from averages and extremes as well. You don’t want to use 2 words or write a 250 abstract in there.

Relate to the Course Content

This may sound obvious to you, and it would be if it wasn’t for a fact. Everyone relates with their content, but the specifics are not covered.

Often, you see courses with overly broad names or slightly misleading ones. This means that the name and the content are often only vaguely related.

You run two risks with that, either people looking for the “meat” in your course may not find it. Or they may click on it but based on the confusing name they may leave as soon as they entered.

Or perhaps even worse, they may click on it with expectations based on the name, just to find out it was not what it seemed. I don’t have to illustrate how that would feel.

Be clear and let them know how and what exactly it is related to.

Conclusion

These are only some of the options you got to come up with nice and profitable names. You can summarize them in a handful of words.

Be: Clear, Honest, Relatable, Useful, and Appealing.

Keep those words and ideas in mind, and we are sure you will be much better prepared.

Thank you so much for reading this article.

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