In this post, we’ll show you exactly how to price your online course, walk you through how we priced some of our own products here at IWT, and give you some tips on how to raise your prices in future launches.
How to Price Your Online Course
Here at IWT, we use this Taxonomy of Pricing as a rough guide for picking initial course prices:
- Entry-Level Products: Ebooks ($5-$50) and ebooks with videos ($50-$200)
- Mid-Range Offerings: Short courses under 5 hours ($50-$500) and comprehensive video courses ($500-$3,000)
- Premium Services: Coaching ($30-$300/hour) and live events/masterminds (>$2,000)
You can use this as a starting point for picking your own prices. The numbers here are generally accepted guidelines on how much different products can cost based on what people are already used to seeing. There will always be exceptions, of course. Still, generally, people start reading your sales material with a pre-determined ballpark figure on how much something in a given category “should” cost.
Think of the difference between eating at McDonald’s versus having a five-course meal at a Michelin Star restaurant. Just because you can afford a meal at a Michelin Star restaurant doesn’t mean you want to pay that same price for a Happy Meal. And if your five-course meal costs the same as a burger and fries, you’re going to wonder what’s wrong with the food.
While the Taxonomy of Pricing serves as a good framework for how you plan to price your own online courses, remember that these are just guidelines and you have to account for exceptions in your industry.
Based on my experience, I believe that you don’t want to be stuck selling $5 products forever, so I’ll show you how you can climb from selling $5 ebooks to online courses that cost thousands of dollars by walking you through a few of IWT’s products below. I’ll also show you how we continued to sell them incredibly well even as we raised our prices.
We’ll start by looking at IWT’s first official product:
Ramit’s Guide to Kicking Ass
- Price: $4.95
- Packaging: PDF delivered via email
Our first product was Ramit’s Guide to Kicking Ass which was a PDF we sent by email, and its positioning was “kick ass”, that’s it.
Success Triggers
- Price: Started at $197, increased to $297 due to high demand
- Packaging: 5 modules, containing 30 short videos, all inside our learning management system
Success Triggers is priced at $297. Initially launched at $197, its strong reception and high demand prompted a price increase, showcasing its popularity and effectiveness among our students.
The program is designed into five comprehensive modules, containing a total of 30 concise videos. Each video runs between five to seven minutes, making it easy for students to digest and apply the concepts.
Earnable
- Price: $1,499
- Packaging: 4 modules, videos, case studies, tools, worksheets, and tons of bonus content.
Earnable, priced at $1,499, is a comprehensive guide to building a business that works for you, even if you’re starting from scratch.
With detailed step-by-step Playbooks, video lessons, case studies from verified 6-figure earners, practical tools, and proven strategies, Earnable provides everything you need to go from “no idea” to a thriving business. This program includes word-for-word scripts, templates, and worksheets to fast-track your progress, helping you find a profitable idea, attract paying clients, and create an income-generating asset.
6-Figure Consulting
- Price: $8,000
- Packaging: 14 days of emails
- Positioning: Double your revenue in 18 months, higher value work with higher value clients, and lots more free time.
The 6-Figure Consulting course was priced at $8,000, marking a significant leap from the $997 price of Earn1K. This premium pricing reflects the course’s focus on advanced strategies and the value it delivers.
Unlike traditional programs, the packaging was simple yet highly effective: 14 days of concise, actionable emails. Despite its brevity, the course offered powerful business strategies and access to a community of like-minded, successful entrepreneurs.
We intentionally positioned this course to help our students, primarily experienced business owners, “double their revenue in 18 months, secure higher-value work with premium clients, and enjoy significantly more free time.” This transformative promise appealed to entrepreneurs looking to elevate their business to the next level while achieving a better work-life balance.
How to Raise Prices on Your Online Course
While it can be exciting to raise your prices after generating a few sales, don’t just slap on a new price tag doubling the price of your online course – you need to match the value of what you’re selling with what your customer is paying for.
Before we raised the prices of our products, we focused on understanding what our audience wanted and began adding more of that. One of the most important changes we made was from changing our entire positioning altogether.
We went from “kicking ass”, which was vague and could put off some customers, to “earning 1K”, which was a clearly defined value our customers would get. We also added a lot more detailed scripts, tactics and very powerful strategies they could use to earn more money on the side. Only after adding more value to our product, did we increase our prices to match up with its value.
This is the real secret of moving up the value chain. You can’t just take a $5 ebook, redesign the cover and sell it for $500 hoping to 100x your profits. Customers are smart. Your packaging and positioning allow you to charge higher prices and make more profit, but your product has to offer what your customer is paying for as well.
How Should I Price My First Online Course?
From my experience, most businesses charge too little when launching their first product.
As a general rule of thumb, if your first launch goes well, charge an additional 50%-100% more on your next launch. If your sales volume for that subsequent launch is similar to the first, you can safely keep your new price.
In fact, most business owners can even increase their launch prices by 2-3 times before their market begins to react.
We tend to undervalue what we sell on our first launch primarily because we’re starting from a position of low confidence and self-doubt. I felt the same way when I first started – remember Ramit’s Guide to Kicking Ass? That only cost $4.95 when it first came out!
Again, circle back to the Taxonomy of Pricing we shared above because from a customer’s perspective, there’s little to no difference between selling an ebook for $5 vs selling it for $50. I also didn’t have as huge of an audience as I do today, so had I been more confident in my product’s ability to sell, I could have made up to 10x more on my very first launch.
My Recommendations for Your First Online Course/Product
As a ballpark figure, your first product/online course should cost around $50. This is a price range that will allow you to learn about product fulfillment, and how to deal with prospects who promise they’ll buy but scurry off the moment you show them the price of your product.
These are valuable lessons you’re going to need to take with you as you begin to create higher value products for higher value customers. For your first product/online course, optimize for learning and not for revenue – selling your first product will be the best time to learn these lessons. This is exactly what we did with our first major launch for Earn1K back in the day.
We learned how to build a good product. We learned that prospects will say one thing but then do the complete opposite. We learned how to sell our course and how to help our students get great results. All of this increased my confidence and from there, I raised my prices and began creating many more products too.
What If My Online Course Doesn’t Get Customers?
If your online course doesn’t get customers, it’s tempting to think the problem lies in the price. You might feel that lowering the price is the easiest fix, but in most cases, this won’t solve the issue.
Here’s why: if your pricing is already roughly aligned with the Taxonomy of Pricing, the real problem likely lies in either the target market or the positioning of your product.
Reassess Your Target Market
Start by asking yourself: Who is this course for? If you haven’t defined your audience clearly, it’s possible you’re marketing to the wrong people.
For example, a course designed to teach advanced programming skills won’t sell to beginners, no matter how much you lower the price. Similarly, our course Earn 1K may not have been a success had we chosen to target high-level executives who are already making a significant income.
Understanding your audience goes beyond demographics—it’s about diving into their pain points, goals, and aspirations. What are they struggling with? How does your course solve their problems? If you’re not addressing these questions in your marketing, your target audience won’t see the value of your course.
Refine Your Positioning
If your course isn’t selling, chances are it’s not positioned as a “must-have” solution for your audience.
For example, vague messaging like “kick ass” didn’t clearly communicate the value of our ebook (even though we sold it well, we could only sell it at an extremely low $5)
On the other hand, specific promises like “earn $1,000 on the side with just five hours of work per week” told our students exactly what they’ll gain from buying Earn 1K.
To refine your positioning, focus on three elements:
- Clarity: Make sure your course description and marketing materials clearly communicate the benefits and outcomes your audience will achieve.
- Relevance: Ensure your course addresses a pressing problem or desire your audience has right now.
- Differentiation: Highlight what makes your course unique compared to other options in the market.
Test and Iterate
If your first launch doesn’t succeed, treat it as a learning opportunity. Gather feedback from potential customers—why didn’t they buy? Was it the content, the delivery, or simply that the course didn’t resonate with their needs? Use these insights to refine your course, improve your messaging, and relaunch with a stronger strategy.
Remember, a failed launch doesn’t mean your course has no value. It’s often a sign that you need to adjust your approach. With the right target market and effective positioning, your course can succeed—even at a premium price.
It’s one of the best things I’ve published (and 100% free), just tell me where to send it:
