How to Analyze Your Competitors’ Courses? 2023 Guide

If you are serious about creating your own course, then you need to start by analyzing your competitors’ courses. This competitor course analysis can provide valuable insights that can help you decide how you should create and later market your course.

Whether you are experienced online tutor and educator or you are just starting, researching your competition is important step in the process. You can see what is working and what is not working and how you can deliver a better course. In this article, we will discuss the essential steps for analyzing your competitors’ courses and how to use this information to improve your own course offerings.

1. Understanding the Importance of Competitor Course Analysis

Analyzing your competitors’ courses can provide valuable info into the latest trends and best practices in your industry. Knowing what other course makers are offering, you can get an edge and thus improve your own course.

You can see gaps in the marketing and also develop your own offer that will make your course special. Maybe the course should be longer? Maybe some chapters are not covered? There is always something that is missing, and this is where you can step in and cover the topic. That’s why it’s relevant to do competitor course analysis.

2. Identifying Your Competitors

The first step in analyzing your competitors’ courses is identifying who your competitors are. Start by conducting a search of online courses that are similar to yours. Start by searching on Udemy, or just type the topic in the Google search.

You will find plenty of results (or maybe there are no results, so this might be your chance. You can be the first one to cover a certain topic). Look for courses that have the same target audience. Also read the reviews. You might find something useful.

3. Analyzing Competitor Course Offerings

Once you have identified your competitors, the next step is to analyze their offerings (videos, additional materials, webinars, consulting calls, etc.). Here are some key factors to consider when analyzing your competitors’ courses:

Course Formats

What course formats are your competitors offering? Are they offering self-paced courses, instructor-led courses, or a combination of both? Are their courses delivered online, in-person, or both? These are the important questions to ask in competitor course analysis.

Analyzing course formats will help you determine what is the best approach for your own course. If video courses are the best for your topic, then you should go with that. But also look what additional materials your competitors are offering: do they have downloadable materials, do they have weekly webinars, and so on.

Course Topics and Content

What topics and content are your competitors covering in their courses? Are they offering courses on the same topics as you? Are they covering additional topics that you could add to your courses?

Analyzing your competitors’ course content can help you identify gaps in the market that your courses can fill and can also help you refine your course topics and content.

Course Structure and Delivery

How are your competitors structuring their courses? Are they breaking their courses down into modules or sections? How are they delivering their content (e.g., video, audio, written)? Analyzing your competitors’ course structure and delivery can help you refine your own course structure and delivery.

Course Pricing and Discounts

What are your competitors charging for their courses? Do they offer any discounts or promotions? Analyzing your competitors’ pricing and discounts can help you determine the appropriate price point for your courses and can also help you develop your own promotions and discounts.

4. Understanding Your Competitors’ Marketing Strategies

In addition to doing competitor course analysis, it’s also important to understand their marketing efforts. Here is what you should look at and consider:

Social Media Presence

Are your competitors active on social media? Which social media platforms are they using? What types of content are they sharing on social media? Is there some platform they are not present on?

Advertising and Promotion

How are your competitors advertising and promoting their courses? Are they using paid advertising (e.g., Google Ads, Facebook Ads)? Are they partnering with influencers or other businesses to promote their courses? Analyzing your competitors’ advertising and promotion strategies can help you refine your own marketing efforts.

Email Marketing

Are your competitors using email marketing to promote their courses? If so, what types of emails are they sending? How often are they sending emails? Analyzing your competitors’ email marketing strategies can help you develop your own email marketing campaign and refine your email content

5. Applying Your Competitor Course Analysis to Improve Your Course Offerings

Now that you performed competitor analysis, it’s time to apply this intel to improve your own course package. Here are some tips for using your analysis to improve your courses:

• Use the information you gathered on course formats, topics, content, structure, delivery, pricing, and discounts to refine your own course offerings.
• Incorporate elements of your competitors’ marketing strategies into your own marketing efforts.
• Differentiate your courses from your competitors by highlighting the unique value proposition of your courses.

6. Measuring the Success of Your Course Improvement

Once you have made changes to your course offerings, it’s important to measure the success of your efforts. Here are some metrics you can use to measure the success of your course:

• Enrollment numbers
• Student ratings (positive)
• Completion rates
• Referral rates

By tracking these metrics, you can determine the impact of your course enchancements and make further adjustments as necessary.

Conclusion

Analyzing your competitors’ courses can provide valuable data that can help you improve your own course offerings. By understanding what your competitors are offering and how they are promoting their courses, you can gain a competitive advantage and refine your approach.

Use the tips and strategies outlined in this article to conduct a thorough analysis of your competitors and apply this information to improve your own courses.