Before people book a course, they may search for the problem they want to solve. For example, they may look up how to build a pivot table, how to renew a first aid certificate or how to prepare for a project management exam.
With a blog, a training provider can answer those questions and point readers to the right course. You can run that blog for free on Blogger and use a good template to match the look of your main website.
Why use a Blogger blog for course promotion?
With a Blogger blog, a training provider gets a free, Google-hosted place to publish helpful articles and link each one to a course.
You can connect your own domain or a subdomain, such as blog.yourtrainingcompany.com, so readers see your brand in the address. You can set it up quickly, and your team can publish from any browser.
Start the blog alongside your main website. Keep course pages, prices and bookings on the main site, and use the blog to bring readers to them.
How to choose a Blogger template for a training blog
Choose a clean, professional template with label-based sections, clear buttons and a sidebar where you can promote upcoming courses.
Look for these features:
- homepage sections that group posts by subject, such as Excel, Leadership and Health and Safety
- a sidebar or banner area for an “upcoming courses” box
- buttons you can add inside posts, so you can end each article with a clear link to a course
- fast loading and a mobile-friendly layout
Training providers can start from the professional blogger templates to keep the focus on the content and the course links. If search traffic is your main goal, choose from the SEO-friendly blogger templates, where Piki has already set up the basic search settings.
How to plan blog posts around your course calendar
Plan posts for the courses you run in the next three months, and publish each post a few weeks before the course dates.
Start with the dates you already have. Export the upcoming sessions from your training administration system and list the courses with the most open seats. Then plan one or two posts for each course.
For each course, write about the questions people ask before they book. Your trainers and customer service team hear these questions from learners. For example, a provider running an Excel course for beginners could publish:
- “How to Build Your First Pivot Table in Excel”
- “10 Excel Shortcuts for Faster Spreadsheets”
- “Excel Basics or Advanced Excel: Which Course Should You Take?”
Publish each post three to six weeks before the next course date. Readers then have time to find the post, read it and book a seat.
How to get trainers to write blog posts
Invite trainers as authors, give them a simple outline and let the marketing team review each post before publishing.
Trainers know the questions learners ask, and they can explain a topic the way they would in class. Add each trainer as an author in Blogger’s Permissions settings, so they can write drafts without access to the site settings.
Give them a short outline to follow:
- The question, in the reader’s words.
- A direct answer in two or three sentences.
- A worked example from a real course, without client names.
- One common mistake and how to avoid it.
- A link to the course that goes deeper.
Ask for 600 to 900 words per post and one post a month from each trainer. With four trainers, you get four posts a month without extra writers.
How to link blog posts to course booking pages
End each post with a link to the specific course page. Add one more link in the middle of the post, next to the part that relates to the course.
Link to the course itself, such as “Excel for Beginners” with its dates and booking button. If you link to your homepage, readers have to search for the course again.
Use a button for the main link at the end of the post. Some template makers include button shortcodes, so you can add a styled button without editing HTML. Piki includes button shortcodes in its premium templates and explains how to use them in its template documentation. Keep the button text specific, such as “See Excel for Beginners dates”.
Add a tracking code to each course link, so you can count the bookings from each post in your analytics. Then write more posts like your best performers.
How to organise courses with labels and pages
Use one label for each course subject, and create static pages for your course calendar and your main course areas.
With labels, you group posts by subject. A reader who finds a post about pivot tables can then click the Excel label and see your other Excel posts. Keep one label per subject, and use the same spelling each time.
Create a few static pages as well, such as “Course Calendar”, “In-House Training” and “Contact”. Add them to the main menu, so readers can reach your courses from any post. Link the course calendar page to your main booking site, where you keep the dates up to date.
How to write course posts that rank in search
Use the words your future learners type into search, answer the question early and keep each post focused on one topic.
Put the main question in the title and the first paragraph. For example, if you title a post “How Long Does a First Aid Certificate Last?”, answer that question in the first two sentences. Then explain renewal options and link to the refresher course.
Fill in the search description in each post’s settings. Write it as a one-line summary of the answer, such as “Find out how long a first aid certificate lasts and how to renew it before it expires.” Add alt text to each image, and keep image files small, so readers on phones do not wait for the page to load. If your current template feels slow, compare it with the fast loading blogger templates before you publish more posts.
How to keep course posts up to date
Keep exact dates out of your blog posts, and link to a page where you keep the current dates.
Readers who see old dates in a post may assume the course has ended. Write “see the next dates” and link to the course page, and leave out fixed dates such as “starts on 12 March”. In the sidebar, add an “upcoming courses” box that you update once a month.
Review your top posts each quarter. Update any facts that have changed, such as exam formats or certificate rules, and check that each course link still works.
Summary: promoting courses with a Blogger blog
Use a professional, fast template with label-based sections and room for an upcoming courses box. Plan posts from your course calendar, answer the questions learners ask before they book and link each post to the specific course page. Keep dates out of posts, track the bookings from each post and update your best posts on a set schedule.
