TLDR;
- Short answer: No, LinkedIn ads are generally not effective for most online course sales in the UK. They're too expensive and the user intent is wrong.
- The best platform for selling most online courses is almost always Meta (Facebook/Instagram). It's cheaper, has better targeting for this goal, and is where people are more open to educational content. We've seen clients generate huge revenue from courses using Meta ads.
- LinkedIn *can* work, but only for very high-ticket (£5k+) corporate training packages sold directly to specific B2B decision-makers. For the average course creator, it's a way to burn cash fast.
- Your offer is more important than your platform. Stop trying to sell your course directly. Instead, offer a high-value freebie (like a webinar or guide) to generate leads first.
- This article includes a flowchart to help you decide which platform is right for you and an interactive calculator to estimate your potential Return on Ad Spend (ROAS).
So, you're wondering if LinkedIn is the place to sell your online course in the UK. On the surface, it seems logical. It's a "professional" network, and you're selling professional development. Simple, right? Wrong. This is probably one of the most common and costly mistakes I see course creators make.
Let's be brutally honest: for the vast majority of online courses, using LinkedIn Ads is like trying to sell sun loungers in a library. The people are there, they're smart, but they are absolutely not in the right mindset to buy what you're selling. They're there to network, spy on their ex-colleagues, or look for a new job. They are not scrolling through their feed with a credit card in hand, looking for a course to buy.
Over the years, I've seen countless people come to us after spending thousands of pounds on LinkedIn with little to show for it. It's easy to feel overwhelmed with the sheer number of advertising options, and LinkedIn's "professional" label can be a very tempting trap. But the data doesn't lie.
The Harsh Reality: Why LinkedIn Ads Bleed Course Creators Dry
The number one reason LinkedIn fails for course sales is cost. It's an auction-based system, and you're bidding against massive B2B software companies with deep pockets and £50,000+ customer lifetime values. They can afford to pay £15 for a click because one converted lead could be worth a fortune to them.
You, selling a £499 course, cannot compete. A single lead on LinkedIn can easily cost you £20-£50, or even more. I remember one B2B software campaign we ran on LinkedIn where a qualified lead cost $22 (£17-ish), and that was considered a success because the product was high-ticket. If your course costs £499, you'd need an incredible conversion rate just to break even at those lead costs. It's a battle you will almost certainly lose.
Look at the typical costs. It's not a perfect science, but from my experience, the difference is stark.
The other big problem is intent. As I said, people on LinkedIn aren't in "buy mode". They're in "professional networking" or "career development" mode. An ad for a course is an interruption. On Meta (Facebook/Instagram), however, users are more passive and open to discovery. They're used to seeing content, videos, and ads about their hobbies and interests, and learning something new fits right in. On Google, they are actively searching for a solution, like "best digital marketing course UK", which is the highest intent of all. This is why so many people are rightly seeking alternatives to LinkedIn for selling their courses.
So, Is LinkedIn a Complete Write-Off? When Can It Work?
I'd say for 95% of course creators, yes, you should avoid it. But there is a very specific, narrow exception: selling extremely high-ticket corporate training packages.
I'm not talking about a £1,000 course. I mean a £10,000+ engagement where a company buys 20 seats for their sales team, or you deliver a bespoke training program for their entire management tier. In this senario, LinkedIn's strength—its precise B2B targeting—becomes your best asset. You can target the Head of People at Barclays, the L&D Manager at Deloitte, or the Chief Technical Officer at a list of 50 specific tech companies.
For this to work, you're not selling a "course." You're selling a strategic business solution, and your ad shouldn't lead to a checkout page. It should lead to a high-value offer like a "Free Team Skills Gap Analysis" or a strategy call. It's a lead generation play for a complex B2B sale. If this sounds like you, then it's worth exploring the nuances of a proper UK-focused LinkedIn B2B strategy.
For everyone else, here's a simple way to think about it.
The Real Engine for UK Course Sales: Meta Ads (Facebook & Instagram)
This is where the magic happens for most course creators. We've had phenomenal success selling courses on Meta. One client selling courses generated over $115k in revenue in just a month and a half. Another saw a 447% Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) in just one week. These aren't outlier results; they're what's possible when you combine the right platform with the right strategy.
Why does it work so well?
-> Cost: As shown above, it's dramatically cheaper. You can acquire leads for a fraction of the price on LinkedIn, which means you can afford to test more and find what works without needing a massive budget.
-> Scale: Nearly everyone in the UK is on Facebook or Instagram. The potential audience is huge.
-> Targeting: The targeting is different, but just as powerful. You can target people based on interests (e.g., people who like Tony Robbins, follow specific industry software pages, or are interested in 'project management'), behaviours, and most importantly, create Lookalike Audiences. A Lookalike of your past course buyers is often the highest-performing audience you can build.
-> Mindset: People are in discovery mode. A compelling video ad that teaches them something and then presents an offer feels natural in their feed. They're open to it.
The entire approach is different. It's less about hunting down specific job titles and more about attracting a broad group of interested people with great content and letting Meta's algorithm find the buyers for you. It's a numbers game where Meta is heavily stacked in your favour. For anyone serious about growth, understanding how to use Meta ads is the ultimate blueprint for selling courses.
Don't Forget Google Ads: Capturing Active Searchers
While Meta is great for creating demand, Google Ads are the best way to *capture* existing demand. These are people in the UK actively typing things like "learn photoshop online course", "accredited HR course UK", or "best excel course for finance".
The intent couldn't be higher. They have a problem, and they are looking for your course to solve it right now. The cost per click can be higher than Meta, but the conversion rate from click to sale is often much stronger because the intent is so specific. A good strategy often involves running both Meta and Google ads. Meta builds the awareness and desire, and Google catches those who later go searching for a solution. Understanding the difference in intent is key, as it's the main factor when you compare platforms like Google and LinkedIn.
Your Ads Are Useless if Your Offer is Rubbish
This is the most important point of all. You can have the best targeting in the world, but if your offer is weak, your campaigns will fail. The biggest mistake is trying to sell a mid-to-high ticket course directly from an ad. It's like asking someone to marry you on a first date. It's too much, too soon.
Instead, you need to provide value first. Your ad shouldn't say "Buy My £799 Course". It should say "Get My Free 1-Hour Masterclass on How to Triple Your E-commerce Sales" or "Download My Ultimate Guide to Getting Your First 10 Freelance Clients".
This does two things:
1. It generates a lead at a much lower cost.
2. It builds trust and demonstrates your expertise.
Once someone has your freebie, you can then nurture them via email and present the offer for your paid course. They've already had a positive experience with you, so they're far more likely to buy. You need to stop thinking about your funnel as a single step and start thinking of it as a journey. A weak offer is often the real reason people find their LinkedIn ads for specific courses don't convert – they're asking for the sale way too early.
The economics of this approach are what allow you to scale. You can figure out what you can afford to pay for a lead, and how many of those leads turn into customers. That's how you build a predictable sales machine. You can use the calculator below to get a rough idea of how the numbers might work for you.
My Recommended Strategy for UK Course Sellers
So, putting it all together, what should you actually do? Stop thinking about platforms and start thinking about a system. If you came to me for advice, this is the plan I would lay out. It's designed to be effective, scalable, and stop you from making the common mistakes that lead so many founders to waste money on paid ads in the UK.
I've detailed my main recommendations for you below:
| Strategy Component | Recommendation | Why It Works |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Platform | Meta (Facebook & Instagram) | Lowest cost per lead, massive scale, and the right user mindset for discovering educational content. Proven track record for course sales. |
| Secondary Platform | Google Search Ads | Captures high-intent users who are actively searching for a course like yours. Complements Meta's demand generation. |
| Initial Offer (The 'Hook') | High-Value Freebie (e.g., Webinar, PDF Guide, 3-Part Video Series) | Generates cheap leads, builds trust, and demonstrates your expertise before you ask for the sale. Weeds out tyre kickers. |
| Initial Targeting (Meta) | Detailed Targeting (Interests, Behaviours). Focus on competitors, influencers, tools, and publications relevant to your niche. | This is how you gather the initial data needed to tell Meta who your ideal customer is. Be specific, not broad. |
| Scaling Strategy (Meta) | Retargeting & Lookalike Audiences | Retarget website visitors and lead magnet downloaders. Create lookalikes of your best customers/leads. This is where you find profitable scale. |
| Key Metric to Track | Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) | Forget vanity metrics like clicks or impressions. You need to know if you're putting £1 in and getting more than £1 out. This is the only number that matters. |
A Final Word of Warning
Running paid ads for a course is not a 'set it and forget it' activity. It's a constant process of testing, learning, and optimising. You'll need to test different audiences, ad creatives, and landing pages to find the combination that works for your specific offer in the UK market. Alot of things can go wrong.
This is where getting expert help can make a huge difference. An experienced eye can spot opportunities you might miss, help you avoid costly mistakes (like burning your budget on LinkedIn), and speed up the entire process of building a profitable advertising funnel. You're an expert in your subject matter; it's often worth partnering with someone who is an expert in getting that subject matter in front of the right people.
If you're feeling stuck or want a second opinion on your current strategy, we offer a free, no-obligation consultation. We can take a look at what you're doing and give you some honest, actionable advice on how to get better results.
