TLDR;
- Most B2B agencies fail with online courses because they treat them like SaaS products, ignoring the unique psychology of professional learners in the UK. They focus on the wrong metrics and use generic targeting.
- The key to success is nailing your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) based on their career 'nightmare' or aspiration, not just their job title. This is the foundation for all effective targeting on LinkedIn.
- Don't fall for vanity metrics. The only numbers that matter are Cost Per Enrolment and Return on Ad Spend (ROAS). A good agency will be obsessed with these from day one.
- This guide includes an interactive ROAS calculator to help you project potential returns and a visual flowchart of a high-converting ad funnel specifically for online courses.
- Vet any potential agency by grilling them on their case studies. Look for specific, relevant experience with UK-based courses and ask them to break down the strategy, not just the final numbers.
I see this question a lot. You've built a brilliant online course, you know it can transform careers, but finding a UK agency that gets how to sell it on LinkedIn feels impossible. You're stuck between generic B2B agencies who think you're selling software and consumer-focused agencies who don't understand the platform's nuances or costs. They're both wrong, and they'll happily burn your cash finding that out.
The problem is that selling high-value education to professionals isn't like selling a SaaS subscription or an e-commerce product. It's a considered purchase tied to identity, ambition, and career anxiety. Most agencies don't get this. They apply a blunt-force B2B template, target a few job titles, and wonder why the leads are garbage and the costs are eye-watering. To find a reliable partner, you first need to understand what 'good' actually looks like for your specific niche. This is the playbook for how to do it.
So, why do most agencies get it so wrong with courses?
Before you can spot the right agency, you need to understand the common traps the wrong ones fall into. It usually comes down to a fundamental misunderstanding of the product and the audience. They see "B2B" and "online" and immediately jump to the standard SaaS playbook, which is a disaster for course creators.
Their first mistake is treating your course like a piece of software. A SaaS product solves a company workflow problem; your course solves an individual's career problem. The purchase decision for a course is deeply personal, even if the company is paying. The agency will suggest a "Request a Demo" call-to-action, which is completely wrong. Nobody wants a 'demo' of a course. They want a taste of the transformation. A better offer would be a free module, a live expert webinar, or a valuable PDF resource that solves a small piece of their problem upfront. An agency that doesn't grasp this distinction will build a funnel that leaks at every stage.
Their second major blunder is in the targeting. They'll ask for your target job titles – "Project Managers" or "Marketing Directors" – and call it a day. This is lazy and ineffective. A Marketing Director at a 10-person startup has completely different training needs than one at a FTSE 100 company. A Project Manager in construction faces different challenges to one in tech. A great agency digs deeper. They target based on skills listed on a profile (e.g., 'Google Analytics' but not 'Adobe Analytics'), membership in specific industry groups (like the 'Chartered Institute of Marketing'), or even employees of companies that are rapidly hiring for a certain role. I remember one campaign we worked on for a financial modelling course; instead of just targeting 'Financial Analysts,' we targeted professionals who listed specific Excel skills and were members of UK-based finance and accounting groups. The lead quality shot up instantly because we were targeting based on proven interest and need, not just a job title.
Finally, they measure the wrong things. They'll send you a report full of impressive-sounding numbers like impressions, reach, and a high click-through rate (CTR). These are vanity metrics. Who cares if 100,000 people saw your ad if none of them enrolled? The only two numbers that truly matter are your Cost Per Enrolment (CPE) and your Return On Ad Spend (ROAS). An agency that isn't laser-focused on these two metrics from the very first conversation is not the right partner. They're focused on looking busy, not on delivering results that actually impact your bottom line. An inability to have a frank conversation about expected CPEs in the UK market is a massive red flag.
What does a winning LinkedIn Ads strategy for UK courses actually involve?
A successful strategy is built on a deep understanding of the professional's mindset. They aren't scrolling LinkedIn for entertainment; they're there to network, learn, and advance their career. Your ads need to fit into that context seamlessly. It starts with an irresistible offer that solves a real, urgent problem and then uses sophisticated targeting to put that offer in front of the right people.
The entire funnel needs to be engineered to build trust and demonstrate value before ever asking for a big commitment. Here’s what a robust funnel looks like:
Awareness & Value
Ad Creative: Video/Image ad promoting a high-value lead magnet (e.g., free webinar, checklist, first module free).
Targeting: Based on Skills, Industry, relevant Groups, Company Size.
Consideration & Nurture
Ad Creative: Carousel ad with testimonials, case study snippets. InMail ads to webinar attendees.
Targeting: Retargeting website visitors, lead magnet downloaders, video viewers.
Conversion
Ad Creative: Direct offer ad with clear CTA to "Enrol Now". May include a limited-time offer.
Targeting: Retargeting people who visited the course sales page or checkout page.
Your ad creative is paramount. You need to stop the scroll. A generic stock photo with some text won’t cut it. Use video ads showing a charismatic instructor, animated explainers that break down a complex concept your course teaches, or carousels that showcase powerful student testimonials. The copy must speak directly to a pain point or an aspiration. Instead of "Learn Project Management," try "Stop Drowning in Spreadsheets. Become the Project Manager Who Delivers on Time, Every Time." It's about selling the outcome, not the curriculum.
And your offer must be genuinely valuable. A "free consultation" is not a valuable offer. A free, 1-hour live workshop on the "3 Biggest Mistakes Finance Professionals Make in Excel" is. A downloadable guide to "Negotiating a Pay Rise in the UK Tech Sector" is. This initial, no-strings-attached value is what earns you the right to talk to them about your paid course. This is a core part of the strategy that we've seen drive huge success for our clients in the e-learning space; for example, one of our clients in this niche saw over $115k in revenue in just six weeks from their campaign with us.
How to spot a genuine expert from a charlatan
Now you know what 'good' looks like, you can start vetting agencies. This is where you need to be ruthless. Your goal is to cut through the sales pitch and find evidence of genuine, relevant expertise. Tbh, a lot of agencies have a slick sales process but lack real depth in execution.
1. Dissect Their Case Studies: Don't just accept a headline number. Ask to see case studies specifically for online courses, ideally for the UK market. If they can't provide any, that's a huge red flag. When you review one, ask these questions:
- -> What was the exact objective? (e.g., webinar signups, direct enrolments)
- -> Who was the target audience, and how did you define and reach them on LinkedIn? Get specific.
- -> What was the offer at the top of the funnel?
- -> What was the Cost Per Lead and the final Cost Per Enrolment (in £)?
- -> What was the total ad spend and the final ROAS?
2. The Discovery Call Litmus Test: The initial call is your interview. Don't let them just present their credentials; you need to probe their expertise. Here's a table of what to look for:
| Topic | Red Flag (Warning Signs) | Green Flag (Good Signs) |
|---|---|---|
| Strategy | "We have a secret formula/proprietary software that gets amazing results." | "Let's talk about your ideal student's career pain points. We'd start by testing a value-led offer to an audience built around skills and group memberships." |
| Metrics | "We'll get you massive reach and brand awareness." | "Our primary focus will be your target Cost Per Enrolment. What ROAS do you need to be profitable? Let's work backwards from there." |
| Experience | "We've done loads of B2B lead gen." (Shows a SaaS case study) | "We worked with a student recruitment client and reduced their cost per booking by 80% by overhauling their targeting and creative strategy." |
| Guarantees | "We guarantee you'll get 100 leads in the first month." | "We can't guarantee results as no one can, but based on our experience with similar courses, here's a realistic range of CPLs we could aim for initially." |
| Onboarding | "Just give us your credit card details and we'll get started." | "Our first step is a deep dive workshop to map out your student personas, define the funnel, and establish KPIs before we build anything." |
3. Trust Your Gut: After you've done your research, reviewed their materials, and had a call, what does your gut say? Do they sound like strategic partners who are genuinely invested in your success, or do they sound like salespeople trying to hit a quota? If it feels like they don't truly have the expertise you need, they probably don't. A good partnership is built on trust and mutual respect. For any serious UK business, knowing how to hire a LinkedIn ads expert is about finding that strategic fit, not just a pair of hands to run campaigns.
What should you expect to pay, and what's a realistic return?
This is the million-dollar question, or rather, the several-thousand-pound question. LinkedIn is an expensive platform. You are paying a premium to access a highly professional audience. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying. You will not get £1 leads for a professional development course here.
In the UK market, for a well-optimised campaign targeting professionals for a course priced at, say, £500-£2000, here are some ballpark figures you should be prepared for:
- Cost Per Click (CPC): £4 - £12
- Cost Per Lead (CPL) (e.g., for a webinar registration or guide download): £15 - £50
- Landing Page Conversion Rate (from Lead to Enrolment): 2% - 10%
Let's do the maths. If you get a CPL of £30 and your lead-to-customer conversion rate is 5%, your Cost Per Enrolment (CPE) will be £600 (£30 / 0.05). If your course is £1,200, that's a 2x ROAS, which is a good starting point. The job of a good agency is to systematically improve those numbers – lowering the CPL through better targeting and creative, and working with you to increase the conversion rate through a better offer and landing page.
To help you get a feel for the numbers, I've built a simple calculator. Play around with your own course price and expected conversion rates to see how the numbers work out.
This is the advice I have for you:
Finding the right partner is tough, but it's not impossible if you know what you're looking for. Forget the generic sales pitches and focus on finding a team that demonstrates a genuine, deep understanding of your specific market. This is more important than their location or the size of their agency. A small, specialised team that gets online courses will run circles around a large, generic agency every single time. Your perfect partner is out there, but you have to do the work to find them. For any course creator in the UK, a true LinkedIn ads expert will be a strategic partner, not just a service provider.
I've summarised my main recommendations for you in the table below. This is your action plan.
| Action Item | Why It Matters | Your Next Step |
|---|---|---|
| Define Your ICP by Pain | Generic demographic targeting fails. Specific pain-point targeting leads to better ad relevance, higher quality leads, and lower costs. | Write down the top 3 career 'nightmares' or aspirations your ideal student has. Who do they follow? What groups are they in? |
| Demand Relevant Case Studies | Past performance in a similar field is the single best indicator of future success. Don't accept irrelevant "B2B" examples. | On your next call with a potential agency, state clearly: "Show me a case study for an online course sold to UK professionals." |
| Focus Only on ROAS & CPE | Vanity metrics like clicks and impressions don't pay the bills. Profitability is all that matters. | Use the ROI calculator in this article to determine the maximum CPE your business can afford while remaining profitable. Make this your North Star metric. |
| Test Their Strategic Depth | Anyone can set up a campaign. You need a partner who can think strategically about your entire funnel, from offer to enrolment. | Ask them: "Walk me through the 90-day strategic plan you would propose for my course." Listen for specifics on testing, audiences, and creative. |
| Prioritise Niche Expertise | The nuances of selling education on LinkedIn are significant. A specialist will get you results faster and more efficiently than a generalist. | Expand your search beyond just "LinkedIn Ads Agency UK" to terms like "LinkedIn ads for course creators" or "e-learning marketing agency". |
Finding the right agency is a significant investment of both time and money. It's not a task to be rushed or a decision to be taken lightly. By arming yourself with the right questions and a clear understanding of what a successful partnership looks like, you can avoid the costly mistakes many course creators make and find an agency that will become a true engine for your growth. If you've been struggling with this and would like a second opinion on your current strategy or help in vetting potential partners, we offer a completely free, no-obligation strategy session where we can dive into your specific challenges.
