Common pricing mistakes
Pricing is easy to get wrong when you're starting out, and there are some common mistakes that many new course creators make. With a little knowledge and some careful planning, you can avoid these pitfalls and set your course up for success.
Lesson aim
By the end of this lesson, you'll understand the most common pricing mistakes and how to avoid them.
Mistake #1: Pricing too low
This is by far the most common pricing mistake that course creators make. They’re afraid to charge what their course is really worth, so they default to a lower price and significantly undermine their earning potential.
Why do people make this mistake?
- ❌ Thinking a lower price will attract more students
It might seem counterintuitive, but a lower price doesn’t always mean more sales. In fact, it can have the opposite effect. When you price your course too low, it can actually reduce the perceived value and make people less likely to buy. - ❌ Losing sight of the true value to your students
As an expert in your field, it’s easy to forget how valuable your knowledge is to someone who’s just starting out. The fact that you know something inside out means you might underestimate its worth to others—leading you to price your course too low. - ❌ Thinking you need to compete on price
It’s easy to get caught up in what your competitors are doing and feel like you need to match their prices. But the truth is, you don’t need to compete on price. You need to compete on value or risk getting lost in a sea of cheap courses.
What are the downsides of pricing too low?
Reducing the perceived value
Common sense might suggest that a lower price would mean more sales, but the opposite is often true. Most people associate low prices with low quality, so if your course is priced too low, they might assume it’s not worth their time or money.
Attracting the wrong kind of students
When you price your course too low, you’re more likely to attract students who are looking for a bargain rather than those who are genuinely interested in what you have to offer.
These students are usually:
- Less engaged with the material
- More likely to need extra support
- Less likely to leave positive reviews
Even if you do make more sales, you might find that the downsides of managing these students outweigh the benefits. It’s better to attract fewer students who are genuinely interested in your course and willing to pay a fair price.
Limited ability to turn a profit
Depending on how much time and money it takes you to acquire a new student, you might find that you’re actually losing money by pricing your course too low. If you’re not making a profit, you won’t be able to invest in growing your course or business—and your own motivation might start to wane as your margins shrink.
Mistake #2: Pricing based on content
Another common mistake is pricing your course based on the amount of content you offer. For example, if you find a course with 10 lessons priced at $100, you might think that your course with 20 lessons should be priced at $200 because it offers twice as much content.
Why do people make this mistake?
- ❌ Thinking more content means more value
Students don’t care how much content you have—they care about the transformation you offer. If they can achieve their dream outcome in half the time, they’ll pay more for that than a course that takes twice as long with double the content. - ❌ Not knowing how to measure the true value of their course
Even if you know not to price based on content, it can be hard to know what else to base your price on. If you’re not sure how to measure the value of your course, you might default to pricing based on content because it’s easy to quantify. - ❌ Feeling like they need to justify their price
If you’re not confident in the value of your course, you might feel like you need to justify your price by offering more content. In other words, course creators who feel insecure about the quality of their course often try to make up for it with quantity.
Remember 💡
The faster you can help your students achieve their desired outcome, the more valuable your course will be to them. Not the other way around!
Mistake #3: Copying someone else’s price
This is a mistake that many course creators make when they’re just starting out. They go to a site like Udemy or SkillShare and see that similar courses are priced at $20, so they decide to price their course at $20 too.
Why do people make this mistake?
- ❌ Not knowing how to set their own price
Pricing can be intimidating, especially if you’re new to it. If you’re not sure how to set your own price, it’s easy to default to copying someone else’s, thinking that if it worked for them, it’ll work for you. But it’s not that simple. - ❌ Feeling like they need to compete on price
If you’re selling your course independently, you might feel like you need to match the prices of courses on popular platforms to stay competitive. But remember, these platforms drive sales through volume based on their high traffic. If you’re selling your course independently, you’ll need a different pricing strategy. - ❌ Being afraid to stand out
It can be scary to set your price significantly higher than your competitors. Even if you’ve done your research and know that your course offers more value, it can be hard to take that leap and charge what you’re really worth.
Why won’t copying someone else’s price work?
Different marketing costs
If you’re just starting out and you don’t yet have an audience, you’ll need to spend more (whether that’s time or money) on marketing to acquire each student. This is different from platforms like Udemy or established course creators who have a built-in audience to sell to.
If you copy someone else’s price without considering your unique marketing costs, you might find that you’re not making a profit even if they’re able to’.
Different value propositions
Even if your course is similar to someone else’s, you might offer different levels of support, engagement, or promised outcomes. For example, if your course guarantees expert support until your students land their first job, you can charge more than a course that only offers instructional videos without any guarantee of success.
Different audiences
Your audience might have different expectations, buying habits, or financial situations than the audience of the course you’re copying—even if they seem similar on the surface.
For example, you might find a guitar course that seems similar to yours priced at $500. But if they’re targeting professional musicians who can afford to pay that much, and you’re targeting beginners who are just starting out, you might need to lower your price accordingly.
Mistake #4: Not testing your price
Pricing can be tricky to get right, especially when you’re just starting out. But if you don’t test your price, you’ll never know if you’re leaving money on the table or missing out on potential students.
Why do people make this mistake?
- ❌ Being afraid to ask for feedback
It can be intimidating to ask people what they think of your price, especially if you’re not confident in it yourself. But if you don’t ask for feedback, you’ll miss out on valuable insights that could help you optimize your price. - ❌ Not knowing how to test their price
Should you offer a discount? Run split tests? Ask for feedback in a survey? There are many ways to test your price, and if you’re not sure how to do it, you might avoid it altogether. But testing your price is crucial to optimizing it. - ❌ Thinking they’ve got it right the first time
If you’re getting sales, it can be tempting to think that you’ve got your price right. But even if you’re making money, you might be leaving money on the table if you’re not testing what effect different prices have on your sales.
Remember 💡
You can never really know if your price is right until you test it with real customers—and there are lots of ways to do it!
Mistake #5: Never adjusting your price
There can be a lot of anxiety around changing your price, especially if you’ve already sold your course at a certain price. But there are plenty of ways to adjust your price without alienating your existing students or losing out on revenue.
Why do people avoid changing their price?
- ❌ They think existing students will be upset
If you’ve sold your course at a certain price for a while, you might worry that your existing students will be upset if you suddenly lower the price or offer a discount. But most students will understand that you’re trying to reach more people and grow your business—and you can always offer a bonus or extra support to keep them happy. - ❌ They think they’ll look unprofessional
Some course creators worry that changing their price will make them look like they don’t know what they’re doing or that they’re not confident in their course. But the truth is, all businesses adjust their prices from time to time, and most people won’t even notice unless they visit your site regularly. - ❌ Thinking it’s complicated or time-consuming
If you’re not confident with tech, you might think that changing your price will be difficult to implement. But most course platforms make it easy to adjust your price without affecting your existing students or causing any downtime.
Remember 💡
Changing your price is a normal part of running a business. If you’re not seeing the results you want, don’t be afraid to experiment with different prices until you find what works.
Key point → Pricing is a balancing act
There's no one-size-fits-all approach to pricing your course. You'll need to take into account a variety of factors and be willing to experiment to find what works best for you and your audience. Avoiding common pricing mistakes is a good place to start!
Next steps
Now you know what to avoid, let's look at how to set your price based on perceived value to your specific audience rather than cost or the amount of content.