How To Sell Your Course or Membership – Without Using Social Media

Today I opened my inbox and had this question sat right at the top:

“Sarah, is it possible to sell my online course without using social media?”

And the short answer is: YES.

You can sell your courses, coaching programs, memberships and digital products – ANY service or offer –  without ever touching social media.

But the longer, more strategic answer is: why would you want to?

If you’re running a business, you need to market it. 

And in today’s digital age, social media is one of the biggest free stages available to you. 

Avoiding it is simply cutting off one of the biggest free marketing channels that you have available to you – and the billions of potential leads that are hanging out there.

If it’s fear of being seen that’s holding you back – you need to work on some courage codes and remember that it is about THEM, not us.

If it is ‘I dont have time’, then just use automation. (Tekmatix can use AI to create, schedule and post all of your social media content for you – so there’s really no excuse here either).

However, social media is not the ONLY way to market your business – and should never be the ONLY way you are promoting yourself.

Successful businesses saturate their market from as many angles as possible.

Here are 25+ ways you can market and sell your course or membership without touching Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn or any other social platform.

1. Blogging on your own website

SEO-optimised blog posts can bring you consistent, long-term traffic without needing to post daily. 

Turn your course topics into helpful how-to guides that link directly to your offer. When people type questions into Google or ChatGPT – your content will be the result. 

The bonus of this is that AI engines now refer traffic to blog post sources where it got the info from – making blogs even more of a lifelong free traffic machine than they have been for the past 20 years. 

2. Email marketing

Yes, emails still work.  If you’ve got an email list, you’ve got a sales machine. Regular, value-packed emails = loyal buyers.  If you don’t have an email list – build one. It’s open communication to people who have actively chosen to hear from you.

3. YouTube 

Not technically “social media” in the traditional sense. YouTube is a search engine. Upload helpful and inspirational content related to your course niche or previews and optimise them for search results. Then watch the sales come in (if you remember your CTA).

4. SEO-Optimised Podcast Episodes

Either host your own or appear on other people’s podcasts. Podcasts are intimate, evergreen and let people binge-listen on autopilot. Don’t forget your CTA!

5. Affiliate marketing

Recruit others to promote your course for you. Offer them a generous commission and let their platforms do the work.  Tekmatix is your affiliate program manager!

6. Guest blogging

Write for blogs that already have your audience. In exchange, you get exposure, backlinks, and leads (often for free). It’s easier than you think to get published on other people’s blogs: https://youtube.com/shorts/saMF_HdUe0k?si=wx1EVvctqR13XsvN 

7. Email newsletter swaps

Partner with another list owner and promote each other’s offers. Double exposure, no algorithms required.

8. Search engine marketing (organic SEO)

Optimise your site, your course pages, and your blog content for Google search. This is your long-term spiderweb.  Tekmatix has meta-data optimisation so that your websites , pages, blogs and funnels can get found for the right search terms, tags and keywords. 

9. Pinterest (as a search engine)

Pinterest is often classed as social media, but it’s more of a visual search engine. Optimise pins linking to your course blog posts or landing pages. Always include a CTA. 

10. Email signature

Add your course link, link page, and CTA to your email signature. Every email becomes a sales opportunity: https://www.youtube.com/live/SmTk9G_a_6I?si=dLCj0SCbyaEmcyMA 

11. Teach on summits or virtual events

Many of these allow you to pitch your course at the end or give away a freebie lead magnet to build your list with the leads from the audience. You get pre-qualified leads without needing your own audience.

12. Local networking or meetups

Your network is your net worth as they say. Attend local business events, networking breakfasts, or workshops and mention your online offerings. You can also offer to speak at these meet ups, getting you more eyeballs (as well as your new friends!). 

13. Webinars (even if pre-recorded)

Promote them via email marketing, public event listings like Eventbrite, your own website. No social media required to get people in the room (but using socials would totally get you more).

14. Marketplace platforms (e.g. Udemy, Skillshare)

Let the platform’s built-in audience do the selling. Great for reach (though margins may be lower).

15. Speaking engagements

Speak at conferences, libraries, schools, expos or online communities and mention your course. Run your own in-person events and workshops! Conversion of course sales is always way higher in person. 

16. Snail Mail

Snail mail (actual letters in the post) is so old school, that it’s new again. Everyone opens a letter that has their name hand written on it. Go lick some stamps, babe. 

17. Cold email outreach

Look, I HATE this method personally. But each to their own. It works for some people and you can use AI to do it for you. 

18. Content syndication

Republish your blog posts to platforms like Medium, Substack, LinkedIn articles or industry content distribution platforms. More eyeballs = more sales.

19. Online course directories

List your course on free directories. Literally just google ‘free course directory’ and you’ll find hundreds of them. I used to list myUdemy courses on these back in the day and for paid content bumps less than $100, I’d get hundreds of sales. Low effort, ongoing exposure.

20. Community forums

Engage in niche-specific forums or communities (like Reddit, Quora, or industry-specific boards). Offer value, not spam. But do ensure your bio is optimised with a Link page so people can follow yo, connect with you and buy your stuff if they want to: https://youtu.be/txcfYiZ2B3I?si=B1zGqZX-sL0tRO1d 

21. Add to your invoices or receipts

Already have clients? Add a subtle CTA to check out your course in your invoice footer or receipt emails.

22. Leverage partnerships and collabs

Collaborate with someone in a complementary field. Agree to promote each others courses inside your courses. Swap an email campaign to each others lists. The win-wins are powerful in collaborative cross promotion. 

23. Create a lead magnet and list-build

Offer a freebie (PDF, mini-course, checklist) in exchange for email addresses. You can run paids ads for these, add them to your blog posts, guest blogs, speak about them in the podcasts and more. 

24. Content bundles or product swaps

Get your course included in a paid bundle (think: AppSumo-style for courses). Exposure and sales without social. Simply google ‘[your industry] course bundle’ and reach out to the bundle organisers to add your course to the bundle. I have had my courses exposed to thousands of people using this method. 

25. Host challenges (email-only)

Run a 5-day challenge entirely by email. Each day delivers value, builds momentum and ends with a course upsell.

26. Book publishing

Write a short book that ties into your course. Amazon becomes your search engine, your sales funnel, and your credibility booster.  I add a free course in the front page of all of my amazon books, which brings me in leads from Amazon and then my welcome email sequence upsells to my paid courses: https://youtu.be/IWjy8NI7aGQ?si=mim0HjxWR8v4X_ZQ 

27. Press releases or online PR

Distribute a press release or story about your course launch. Use PR sites, HARO (Help a Reporter Out), or submit to online publications.

So… should you ditch social media?

Look, these strategies work. 

I’ve used most of them myself over the past 15+ years to get over 280,000 course enrolments.

But here’s the truth:

If you’re choosing to avoid social media because you’re afraid of being visible, you’re blocking your own growth.

Social media is a tool. 

A powerful one that is FREE.

If you’re in business, visibility is not a vanity metric, it’s an essential part of business success because it is MARKETING.

Your people are already there, and your competitors are too.  Why let them have the monopoly?

Yes, you can build a profitable course and membership business without social media.

But why make marketing even harder than it already is, by simply choosing to ignore one of the easiest and free ways to reach millions??

Want help to build a 7-figure business??

Join me in The Legends Lab for step-by-step training, monthly masterclasses, monthly challenges, templates, support and live coaching to help you get your course created, launched and sold at scale: sarahcordiner.com/legends 

You don’t have to do this alone. 

Sarah x