Author Archives: Nicole Lyons

1. CourseStorm Welcomes Greg Shula and Nicholas Riegel

   February 21, 2022 1:02 pm Leave a Comment

   We’re excited to start off this year with two new members of the CourseStorm team, Marketing Associate, Greg Shula, and Quality Assurance Analyst Nicholas Riegel.

   “We are excited to expand our team with the addition of Nicholas and Greg in these new roles. Together, they will help us grow our marketing and maintain our rigorous product quality standards as we continue to scale to meet the needs of educational organizations across the US,” said Brian Rahill, CourseStorm CEO. 

   

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2. Choose the Best Class Registration Software: How to Compare Options

   January 24, 2022 9:09 pm Leave a Comment

   Choosing the best class registration software can quickly become overwhelming. You don’t just want the most popular solution or the one with the most bells and whistles. You want class registration software that fits the needs of your education program and your students. Ideally, it should make class registration simple and intuitive. 

   Obviously, we think CourseStorm is pretty great, and we’re always working to make it even better. But our goal is to help you find the class registration software that’s right for you. Whether you’re running the education department for a theater or the adult ed program for your region, you and your students deserve a system that works. That’s why we put together this cheat sheet to help you choose the best class registration software.

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3. How to Make an Effective Course Marketing Video (In 3 Parts)

   January 11, 2022 11:39 am Leave a Comment

   In the world of Snapchat, streaming television, and short attention spans, video can be an entertaining and engaging way to tell potential students about a course. A course marketing video can boost awareness of your course offerings and encourage registration. But any old video won’t do the job. Videos work best when you include the right elements to capture the attention of learners and invite them to enroll. 

   Three simple ingredients turn a simple course marketing video into a course registration magnet—the hook, branding, and call to action. Leave one of these essentials out of the mix, and you probably won’t see maximum results. So if your course marketing video efforts aren’t raking in the registrations, check that you’ve optimized all three parts. We’ll show you how. 

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4. Marketing Courses as Gifts: An Easy Way to Sell More Classes

   December 21, 2021 9:36 am Leave a Comment

   Holidays and other special events like birthdays or anniversaries offer an opportunity for enrichment and education programs to sell courses as gifts. All you have to do is convince shoppers that your course will put a smile on the gift recipient’s face. It should be an easy sell.

   Popular wisdom tells us that experiences are better than things, especially when it comes to receiving a gift. According to a Harris Poll, 63% of US adults say they would prefer an experience gift over a material one. Meanwhile, more than half of U.S. shoppers believe giving experiences is easier than shopping for material gifts. 

   So all you have to do is make sure that shoppers think of your courses when they think of experiential gifting. Bonus points if you can show them the value of taking the course with the recipient. It’s pretty easy to market courses as gifts, all you need are these marketing tactics aimed at gift-givers. 

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5. 6 Easy SEO Tricks to Search Engine Optimize Your Course Guide

   December 13, 2021 5:53 pm Leave a Comment

   The secret to search engine optimization is there is no secret. There’s just a list of techniques you can apply to make your page more SEO-friendly. It comes down to user experience. The factors that Google is looking for when it decides on your page rank also make your course guide easier for potential students to find and navigate.  

   We’ve gathered six tips that will help search engine optimize any course guide to meet the latest Google standards. Why Google specifically? Because they account for more than 86% of the global search market share.

   You won’t find any advice about hiring a pricy SEO firm or rebuilding your entire website from scratch. These are real changes you can make today to improve your SEO performance. Because the truth is, when it comes to search engine optimization, small changes can make a big difference. Let’s start optimizing your course catalog.

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6. 5 Questions to Help Trim Your Course Catalog and Improve ROI

   November 30, 2021 10:02 am Leave a Comment

   Deciding to remove a class from your course catalog is never easy. You’ve invested time and money to develop it. You may have an instructor or board members who have adopted it as a pet project. Former students may even speak fondly of it. Yet all of those reasons may not outweigh the practical considerations. 

   Every course you offer demands time and resources. Holding on to an underperforming course can stunt program growth and negatively impact how students perceive your program. That’s a situation you just can’t afford.

   If you’ve found this article, you’re probably thinking about cutting at least one course from your catalog. Before you make your decisions, we have five questions you should consider.

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7. Publicity 101: How to Promote Your Class For Free

   November 11, 2021 10:38 pm Leave a Comment

   When you think about ways to promote classes for free, you probably think of social media or blog posts. Both can be valuable channels for class promotion, but they’re not the only options available. Publicity in the form of local media coverage helps spread the word about your adult ed or enrichment courses. Members of the media can share information about your course with a much wider audience than you could reach on your own. 

   Journalists, editors, and media presenters have to keep up with everything happening in their communities and then make quick decisions about what might interest their audiences. Getting their attention isn’t always easy. Fortunately, there are some tried and tested ways to cut through the noise. Better yet, these strategies don’t have to cost you a thing. Let’s take a look at some proven ways to promote a class for free. 

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8. CourseStorm Welcomes Nic Lyons and Tricia Cooke

   November 1, 2021 10:01 am Leave a Comment

   It’s been a busy time at CourseStorm, and we’re glad to finally have the time to formally welcome Marketing Manager Nicole Lyons and Sales Account Representative Tricia Cooke to the CourseStorm team! 

   “Our strength at CourseStorm has always come from the strength of our team. As the company continues to expand, we are always on the hunt for helpful, growth-oriented people to join in our journey, and Nicole and Tricia certainly fit that mold,” commented Brian Rahill, CourseStorm CEO. “We are excited by the impact they will make in helping us streamline access to education for students nationwide.”

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9. Keep Students Coming Back: Quick Tips on Student Retention

   October 28, 2021 12:57 am Leave a Comment

   Keeping the students you have is easier than attracting new ones. They already trust you and they know how interesting or valuable your classes can be. But easier isn’t the same as effortless. Ensuring that your current students keep enrolling takes effort and planning.

   It all boils down to giving students a positive experience from registration through follow-up. You want to make it as easy as possible for them to enroll in your program. Then, offer the support and sense of community they need to keep coming back.

   Of course, all of that is much easier said than done. Fortunately, you don’t have to figure it out alone. We’ve found six ways to increase student retention and keep students coming back class after class.

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10. Promote a New Class: 6 Parts Every Press Release Needs

    October 11, 2021 12:30 pm Leave a Comment

    A press release is a powerful way to promote a new class. You might think that they’re old-fashioned, but writing a press release is still a good way to organize the information you want to share with the press. A well-written press release can grab the attention of journalists and editors. Plus, they’ll be more likely to run your story since you’ve already done some of the leg work for them.

    Press releases tend to follow a consistent format. It includes everything the editor needs to know to decide whether the story will be interesting to their readers. If you leave out an essential part, you’ve made their job a little harder. Since journalists often receive hundreds of pitches and emails a day, they’re unlikely to follow up on a press release that’s missing details. Here are the six parts of a press release you absolutely must include to promote your new class. 

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