Imagine waking up every morning to a sale you’ve made from an online course you’ve built. That’s the power of digital products—like online courses—in generating passive income. Today, you don’t need a massive following to share your expertise and turn it into a profitable venture. This article will walk you through setting up an online course registration system, helping you create a seamless experience for your students and ensuring your course is accessible to everyone who wants to learn.
Almost all types of online creators are selling a digital product – whether it’s a membership subscription, courses, or e-book. With a loyal customer base, online creators can make up to 5 digits sales in a launch. This is why creating educational courses has been one of online creators’ most common monetization strategies.
Article Outline
What are Online Course Registration Systems?
Online course registration systems are digital platforms designed to make the enrollment process for educational programs convenient online. These systems serve as a bridge between course creators and their potential students, simplifying the way users sign up for classes, access materials, and manage their learning journey. From academic courses to professional development and creative hobbies, these systems support a wide array of online education offerings.
The main elements of an online course registration system usually include:
- Course Catalog
- User Account and Profiles
- Registration and Enrollment Form
- Payment Notification
- Email Notification
- Course Access
- Analytics and Reporting
- Integrations
There are various online courses for topics like digital marketing, coding, graphic design, language learning, health and fitness, personal finance, and even niche subjects like photography or meditation.
Today, people who want to learn a specific topic can find a course that can help them. Having an online course registration system can enhance the user experience by providing easy access to course catalogs, enabling secure payments, and offering automated notifications and reminders.
Things to Consider in Choosing a Course Registration System
Price
Online courses can range from a hundred dollars to very high ticket prices of more than $10,000. Imagine having to pay a percentage commission for every slot sold when you use a class registration system. Most course registration platforms will charge at least $40/month to up to $150 above/month or even a commission fee for every registration.
Event Espresso is a trusted course registration system that charges an affordable annual fee of $80. Aside from this, creators don’t have to pay any commission fees for an unlimited number of slots sold.
Customizability
Your course registration system ideally should have the details your potential enrollees need. A customizable system enables you to align the registration process with your brand’s identity, offering potential enrollees a seamless experience that feels professional and well-crafted.
Additionally, by customizing fields, confirmation emails, and landing pages, you can enhance the search engine friendliness of your course offerings, making it easier for potential students to find and register for your courses online.
Scalability
Think long-term and the scalability of your course offerings. Scalability is essential for accommodating an increasing number of enrollees, course modules, and payment transactions without sacrificing performance. A scalable system ensures that as your educational platform expands, the registration process remains efficient and responsive.
Consider registration platforms that can accommodate both the current and future demands for your course. Hosting your course registration system on your own website gives you the autonomy to scale. Your own website allows you to scale your offerings without being dependent on third-party platforms that may have limitations or charge additional fees as your user base grows. Event Espresso can be a plugin you can use on your WordPress site for easy scaling.
Security
Security is non-negotiable when it comes to handling sensitive information such as personal details and payment data during the registration process. A robust course registration system should include advanced security features like SSL encryption, secure payment gateways, and regular updates to protect against vulnerabilities.
Remember that your course registrants will be giving you their important information like personal and payment details. Ensuring that your system is compliant with data protection regulations like GDPR is also essential to maintaining the trust of your enrollees.
Payment Integrations
A good course registration system should offer seamless payment integration options to provide a smooth and hassle-free payment experience for your students. Whether your students prefer to pay via credit card, PayPal, or other payment gateways, your system should accommodate multiple payment methods.
Event Espresso supports a variety of popular payment methods including Authorize.net, PayPal, Braintree, Stripe, and more! Offline payment options like checks, bank transfer, and invoices are also supported.
User Experience
The User experience (UX) can be a big part of your customer experience. Make it a no-brainer for your customers when they register with no complicated layout on your page. Only ask for the essential information upfront. Overloading users with too many fields can overwhelm your visitors and abandon their registration. Provide clear instructions and a call to action to guide your customers through your funnel.
Support
Finally, when you encounter problems or concerns in your registration process, it is important to have reliable support to guide you through the process. The availability of responsive support can make the difference between a lost enrollment and a satisfied student. Moreover, look for platforms that offer regular updates and improvements, along with clear documentation and tutorials, to help you get the most out of the system.
Event Espresso has been known for its reliable customer service and support. They are available from Monday – Friday 7AM – 7PM EST/ 12PM – 12AM UTC. Aside from a live customer chat support, they also have a thorough documentation site and support forum.
Comparing Course Registration Systems
When you’re ready to start choosing a course registration system, here are some popular options you can consider:
Event Espresso
Event Espresso is the ultimate go-to platform of event planners for anything event registration. For WordPress sites, Event Espresso is the WordPress plug-in that accepts registrations, collects payments, and customizes the event landing page among many other features.
Compared to other existing course registration systems, Event Espresso does not charge any commission fees on an unlimited number of tickets or slots sold. The pricing is also the most affordable because of its annual pricing setup.
More importantly, using Event Espresso means you are hosting your course registration process on your own website and you own your data. You can customize your site and achieve seamless integration and scalability
Teachable
Teachable is a platform specifically designed for online courses and coaches. The downside of using Teachable is that it only hosts courses and there are no features for marketing or anything else. Aside from this, feedback shows that they charge a high 5% transaction fee.
Thinkific
Thinkific is another popular platform for creating and delivering online courses. It offers a range of tools for course creation, including drag-and-drop builders, multimedia support, and student engagement features like quizzes and surveys.
If you’re planning to have a more reliable course registration system, it will be better to have it on WordPress. It is faster and can have more features for customization at a significantly lower cost.
Kajabi
Kajabi is a premium tool that course creators use to sell their digital products and courses. It has a high fee of $55/mo for 1 product and is limited to only 250 contacts. The next pricing tier is already at $119/mo. If you’re just starting, Kajabi might be a more expensive choice. For course creators who want to incorporate live or hybrid events into their offerings, Kajabi may not be as flexible or capable as Event Espresso.
How to Create a Course Registration Form
Creating your course or online classes can be simple and convenient with Event Espresso. Think of your courses or classes as an online event in which your potential customers can enroll.
Start by logging into your WordPress site and going to your Event Espresso plug-in. Add Event and fill in your course details like the date, time, and price of your course offering.
Next is you can input specific details of the time, dates, and pricing options.
Create a virtual venue
Because you are creating an online course, you need to Create a new venue to add the virtual venue for your online course. The virtual venue can be a Zoom link or the video file to your recorded course.
Once you’re done creating a new virtual venue, you can add this to your venue details as you create your event.
Customize your message template
When a person registers for your event, they will immediately get a message with the access details to your online course. This can be done by updating the messages template.
Setting up a custom registration-approved message template can be done once. Then you can connect it to specific virtual events through the Notifications area of the event editor.
Other events will continue to use the default registration-approved message type which includes the physical venue details. This gives you the flexibility to host virtual events and in-person events.
Go to Event Espresso → Messages. Click on Default Message Templates at the top of your screen. Now look for Registration Approved in the list.
Look to the right of your screen and click on the Create Custom button (for Registration Approved). Click on the dropdown menu under Edit Message Templates in the top left of your screen and choose Registrant. Next, click on the Switch Recipient button. Now update the name of the template to something like “Virtual events.”
If your course is purely online, we recommend turning off the ticket notice type and use the registration approved message instead.
After you save the draft to your event, you can see a sample of what your registration page will look like:
If you’re satisfied with your page, you can proceed to publish. You can share that link that serves as the registration form for your online course.
Some additional features you can explore with Event Espresso are:
- Setting up an early bird pricing with different pricing options for your online course
- Accept payments directly from your website as they register
- Setting up various dates for your course
Sample Course Registration Form
Course Details
- Course Title: [Enter the name of the course]
- Course Instructor: [Enter the instructor’s name]
- Course Start Date: [MM/DD/YYYY]
- Course End Date: [MM/DD/YYYY]
- Class Schedule: [Days of the week, time slots]
- Course Fee: [Enter the course fee]
Personal Information
- Full Name: [Text Field]
- Email Address: [Text Field]
- Phone Number: [Text Field]
- Mailing Address: [Text Field]
- City: [Text Field]
- State/Province: [Text Field]
- Postal/Zip Code: [Text Field]
- Country: [Drop-down List]
Course Selection
- Choose Your Course:
- Course 1: [Checkbox]
- Course 2: [Checkbox]
- Course 3: [Checkbox]
Payment Information
- Payment Method:
- Credit/Debit Card [Radio Button]
- PayPal [Radio Button]
- Bank Transfer [Radio Button]
- Card Number: [Text Field]
- Expiration Date: [MM/YY]
- CVV: [Text Field]
- Billing Address: [Checkbox: Same as Mailing Address] [Text Field]
Additional Information
- How did you hear about this course? [Text Field or Drop-down List]
- Special Requirements or Notes: [Text Field]
Agreement
- Terms and Conditions:
- I have read and agree to the [Terms and Conditions] of this course. [Checkbox]
- Cancellation Policy:
- I understand the cancellation and refund policy. [Checkbox]
Submit
- [Submit Button]
Tips for Getting Registrations For Your Online Course
Build a wait-list
Consider building anticipation and a sense of exclusivity by building a waitlist for your course. This strategy not only generates excitement but also gives you an idea of the demand. A waitlist can create a sense of exclusivity, encouraging more people to join as they don’t want to miss out. Event Espresso also supports a waitlist feature.
Nurture your community first
Before launching your course, check if you have provided enough value and gained trust from your community. When you give value, having your audience convert to buy your course will not face too much resistance. Since learning is a collaborative experience, have a community nurturing strategy for people who have purchased your course.
Solve a problem
With so many people launching courses or digital products, you have to reevaluate if your course or information is solving a problem or pain point. Communicate the problem your course solves and the benefits of enrolling. When people see that your course offers a solution to their issues, they’re much more likely to sign up. Positioning your course as a solution makes it relevant and necessary.
Deliver more value than your price
Make your course offering irresistible by showing that your course is worth more than the price. Indicate the worth of your courses and the specific measurable benefits your registered students can experience. Add free webinars as bonuses too.
Optimize your landing page
Your course landing page is the first impression potential students will have, so make it count. To attract organic traffic to your course registration page, implement SEO strategies. Use relevant keywords, create high-quality content, and optimize your site’s load speed. By improving your search engine ranking, you make it easier for potential students to find your course.
Use The Right Tools For Your Digital Product
Turn your passion into profit. Start building your website and selling your courses. When you host your website on WordPress, you can install Event Espresso as a WordPress plugin. Create online courses, accept registrations and payments, and customize your site and forms according to your branding.
If you don’t have a WordPress site, you can use Event Smart, a similar hosted platform that does not require you to have your own website. Check out the live demo or start your free trial now.