Most marketing advice for course creators fails because it targets the wrong stage of business. You're told to build funnels, run Facebook ads, and optimize your sales page — tactics that work for established creators with large audiences. If you're earlier in your journey, you need a fundamentally different playbook.
The Business Stage Problem
Business strategists Andrea Lee and Rachna Jain describe early-stage businesses as "toddler-stage" — characterized by two things: a small or growing platform that needs more people to discover you, and revenue that needs to ramp up sustainably.
Toddler-stage businesses make three common marketing mistakes:
- Building popularity before profitability. The "audience-first" approach takes years. Most creators give up before the audience is big enough to monetize.
- Expecting overnight results. Marketing results compound over quarters, not weeks. The timeline is almost always longer than you think.
- Copying tactics from the wrong stage. Elaborate branded funnels mimic successful creators who built those systems after years of direct relationships.
As Noah Kagan puts it: "Marketing is easy if people want what you are offering. Chances are what you are offering (or how you are selling it) is not what people want."
What Actually Works Early On: Relationships First
The surprising truth is that the most effective early-stage marketing is personal and direct. Not scalable, not automated, not glamorous. Here's a weekly action plan:
- Social media (1-2 platforms only): Post questions that invite replies. Share discoveries related to your topic. Write about frustrations in your field. The goal isn't followers — it's conversations.
- Local or niche community: Attend smaller, specific events (not giant conferences). Follow up individually with every person you meet. Offer a free checklist or worksheet related to your course topic.
- Direct outreach: Mine your email contacts for people who've previously expressed interest in your topic. Send personal messages. Have one-on-one conversations. This is where early students come from.
Track What Actually Converts
Set up a simple weekly dashboard with three columns: social media (responses, conversations started, students gained), networking (follow-ups, conversations, students), and direct email (sent, responses, conversations, students). Update it every Friday.
Most creators who feel "stuck" on marketing have never actually tracked what they're doing. When you see the numbers, you'll quickly discover which channel produces results for you and which is just busywork. Double down on what works, drop what doesn't.
Three Ways to Use Your Course as a Marketing Tool
At the early stage, your course itself can be your best marketing asset:
- Lead generation: Offer a free mini-course that gives potential students a taste of your teaching. Combine it with personal outreach — a free course on a website that nobody visits isn't lead generation; it's a tree falling in an empty forest.
- Value bundling: Instead of selling "coaching at $75/hour," offer a branded 8-week package that includes group coaching plus your online course for a flat fee. Bundling increases both perceived value and price.
- Client support: Use course content to support your one-on-one services. Turn extra questions that come up in coaching sessions into course modules. This scales your impact without scaling your hours.
The Email List Reality
Yes, you need an email list. But a list of 100 engaged people who know and trust you will outsell a list of 10,000 strangers every time. Focus on attracting the right people, not the most people.
Start with a bite-sized free resource — a checklist, worksheet, or short guide that answers your audience's biggest question about your topic. Use it as a subscription incentive and as a follow-up gift when you meet someone relevant at an event or online. For email launch strategies, see The 7-Email Course Launch Sequence.
Your Best Salespeople Are Your Students
Students who get real results from your course become your marketing engine. They tell friends. They write testimonials. They become case studies. This is why your course quality matters more than your marketing tactics — a course that delivers genuine transformation creates its own growth loop.
But you have to earn the right to this kind of word-of-mouth. It comes from having real students get real results, which is why starting with a small pilot course is the fastest path to sustainable marketing.
Your Next Step
This week, send five personal messages to people who might benefit from your course topic. Not a mass email, not a social media post — five individual messages. Ask what they're struggling with. Listen to their answers. That's where effective marketing starts. For more honest marketing advice, see Honest Marketing Lessons from Years of Helping Course Creators.