London's Best Ad Creatives for Online Course Sales

So you've built an incredible online course. You've poured your expertise, time, and probably a fair bit of cash into creating something you know can change people's lives or careers. Now you're trying to sell it in London, one of the most competitive markets on the planet, and your ads are falling flat. You're burning through your budget on Meta or Google and getting a handful of clicks, but the student numbers just aren't budging. It's a common story, and tbh, the problem usually isn't the course itself.

The problem is that most course creators think like educators, not advertisers. They try to sell the features, the modules, the hours of content. But nobody buys a course because it has "20 hours of HD video". They buy a transformation. They buy a solution to a painful, expensive, or frustrating problem. Your ad creative's only job is to convince them that you understand that problem better than anyone else and that you hold the key to solving it. Get that right, and the conversions will follow. Get it wrong, and you're just shouting into the void.

Why are my shiny, expensive ads failing?

Let's get one thing straight right away. The biggest myth in advertising for courses is that you need a massive budget and a production crew to create ads that convert. I've seen countless founders in London spend thousands on slick, corporate-style videos with fancy graphics and professional voiceovers, only to see them get completely ignored in the newsfeed. Why? Because they look like ads. They scream "I'm trying to sell you something," and people have become incredibly adept at scrolling right past them.

Think about your own behaviour on Instagram or Facebook. You're flicking through stories from friends, posts from groups you're in, and content from creators you follow. It's personal, it's authentic, it's often a bit rough around the edges. Then, suddenly, a perfectly polished, high-production ad appears. It sticks out like a sore thumb. It breaks the pattern and your brain immediately flags it as an interruption to be dismissed.

The truth is, particularly in a savvy market like the UK, authenticity sells far better than polish. I've seen many campaigns for high-ticket courses where professionally shot ads get a terrible return. In contrast, simple, 60-second videos of the founder just talking to their phone camera, passionately explaining who the course is for and the single biggest mistake those people are making, often perform remarkably well. No fancy edits, no background music, just raw, honest advice. People don't buy from brands; they buy from people they know, like, and trust. Your ad creative needs to build that trust in under 10 seconds.

So, what does a good "creative" actually consist of?

This is where most people get it wrong. They think "creative" just means the image or the video. In reality, an ad creative is a package of three things, and they all have to work together perfectly:

1. The Hook (Headline & First Line): This is the most important part. It has one job: stop the scroll. If your headline and the first sentence of your ad copy don't grab your ideal customer by the collar and scream "this is for you!", nothing else matters.
2. The Visual (Image/Video): Its job is to support the hook and deliver the core message in a visually engaging way. It needs to earn the attention the hook has captured.
3. The Offer/CTA (Call to Action): This tells them what to do next and why they should do it. "Learn More" is weak. "Get the Free Chapter" or "Watch the Free Masterclass" is compelling.

You have to nail all three. A great video with a boring headline will fail. A brilliant headline with a confusing image will fail. A great hook and visual with a weak offer will fail. It's a three-legged stool, and if one leg is wobbly, the whole thing comes crashing down. The key is to start by focusing on the message first, before you even think about picking up a camera. And that message must come from a deep understanding of your customer's pain.

How do I find the right message for my course?

Forget listing your course modules. Instead, you need to become an expert in your ideal customer's specific, urgent, expensive nightmare. What is the one thing that keeps them up at night? What problem are they desperately trying to solve *right now*? Your ad copy needs to enter the conversation they are already having in their head.

Let's use a real-world example. Say you have a course for London-based startup founders on how to raise their first round of seed funding. A weak, feature-based message would be: "Learn fundraising with our comprehensive 10-module course. Includes video lessons, templates, and a private community." It's boring, generic, and speaks to no one.

A strong, pain-based message, using the Problem-Agitate-Solve (PAS) framework, would sound like this:

• Problem: "Struggling to get VCs in London to even open your emails?"
• Agitate: "Are you watching competitors with weaker ideas close funding rounds while you're stuck in an endless loop of pitching to uninterested investors? Every 'no' feels like another step towards running out of cash."
• Solve: "Our 'Seed Round in 90 Days' program gives you the exact pitch deck structure and investor outreach strategy that gets meetings. Stop guessing, start closing. Watch our free training on the 3 biggest pitch mistakes founders make."

See the difference? The second one is emotional. It validates their frustration and then presents the course not as a collection of videos, but as a direct solution to their most pressing problem. That’s what converts. Your course isn't the product; the transformation your course provides is the product. For more on this, we've put together a deep dive into advanced ad copy and creative strategies that work.

Here’s another powerful framework, the Before-After-Bridge (BAB):

• Before: Paint a picture of their world with the problem. "Your marketing career in London has hit a ceiling. You're doing the same tasks day in, day out, and the exciting, strategic roles seem to go to everyone else."
• After: Show them the dream world without the problem. "Imagine confidently walking into your next performance review with a portfolio of successful paid ad campaigns, doubling your company's leads and becoming the go-to expert on the team."
• Bridge: Position your course as the vehicle to get them there. "Our Paid Ads Mastery course is the bridge. We give you the practical skills and certifications London's top firms are looking for. Enrol today and start your journey to a promotion."

Your first task is to sit down and write out 5-10 different versions of your message using these frameworks. Don't even think about the visuals yet. Just focus on articulating the pain and the promise. This copy is the foundation of every ad you will ever run.

What visual formats actually work for courses?

Once you have your core message nailed, you can think about the visual that will carry it. For online courses, a few formats consistently outperform others.

1. The UGC-Style "Talking Head" Video

This is the king of course ad creatives, for all the reasons we discussed earlier. It's you, the expert, talking directly to your ideal student. It builds instant authority and trust. It doesn't need to be perfect. In fact, it's often better if it isn't. Film it on your smartphone, in your office or home. Make sure the audio is clear (a cheap lapel mic helps a lot) and the lighting is decent (facing a window is fine).

A simple, effective structure for this video is:

• The Hook (First 3-5 seconds): Call out your audience and their pain directly. "If you're a project manager in the UK struggling with chaotic projects and missed deadlines, stop scrolling."
• The Problem & Agitation (15-20 seconds): Expand on the pain. Show them you understand. "You're probably juggling endless spreadsheets, chasing team members for updates, and constantly reporting bad news to your boss. It's stressful and it's holding back your career."
• The Solution/Promise (15-20 seconds): Introduce the new possibility. "But what if you could run every project with predictable calm, hit every deadline, and become the most reliable manager in your company? It's possible when you master the right framework."
• The Call to Action (5-10 seconds): Tell them what to do next. "I've put together a free masterclass that walks you through the 3-step framework I teach. Click the link below to watch it now and start taking control of your projects today."

2. Simple Static Images with Strong Text Overlay

Don't underestimate the power of a simple, bold image. Sometimes, in a feed full of moving videos, a static image can be disruptive. The key here is that the image must be visually interesting and the text overlay must contain your powerful hook.

For example, an image of a frustrated person staring at a laptop with the bold text: "Is Your Code Constantly Breaking?" This works because it combines a relatable emotion with a direct, pain-point question. The ad copy can then do the work of agitating the problem and presenting your coding course as the solution. These are quick to make and test, allowing you to try out many different hooks without having to film a new video for each one.

3. Carousel Ads Showcasing Transformation or Modules

Carousel ads are a great way to tell a mini-story or break down a complex idea. You can use them to:

• Show a 'Before and After': Card 1 shows a messy, chaotic spreadsheet. Card 2 shows a clean, automated dashboard. The headline? "Go from Spreadsheet Hell to Data Heaven."
• Break Down Your Course Method: Each card can represent a step in your signature process or a key module, giving a tangible sense of the journey the student will go on.
• Feature Testimonials: Use each card to showcase a glowing review from a past student, complete with their headshot. Social proof is incredibly powerful for selling courses.

The secret is to make sure each card is visually compelling and that the sequence tells a coherent story that draws the user to swipe through to the end.

How much should I be spending and what results can I expect in the UK?

This is the million-dollar question, or rather, the million-pound question for the London market. The answer is: it depends. It depends on your course price, your audience, and how well your creative and landing page convert. But we can build a model based on real-world data.

For course sales, you shouldn't be focused on Cost Per Lead (CPL), but on Return On Ad Spend (ROAS). For every £1 you put into ads, how many pounds do you get back in sales? From our experience running campaigns for course creators—including one where we generated over $115k in revenue in 1.5 months on Meta Ads—a good starting target for a well-optimised campaign is a 3x to 5x ROAS. A great campaign might hit 7x or more.

Let's play with some numbers. Use the calculator below to see how different metrics affect your potential return. Adjust your ad spend, your course price, and your website's conversion rate to see how it impacts your revenue and ROAS.

As you can see, the variables are all interconnected. A better ad creative leads to a higher Click-Through Rate (CTR), which often lowers your CPC. A more persuasive ad leads to more motivated visitors, which increases your landing page conversion rate. It's a chain reaction, and it all starts with the creative. If you're struggling with getting traffic that doesn't convert, it's often an issue with the alignment between your ad creative and your landing page message.

How do I test creatives without wasting a fortune?

You should never, ever launch a campaign with just one ad. Hope is not a strategy. You need to approach this scientifically. The goal is to isolate variables and let the data tell you what works.

A simple, effective testing structure for a new course launch on Meta ads might look like this:

• Campaign 1: Testing Audiences.
  • Ad Set 1: Targets a Lookalike audience of your email list or past customers.
  • Ad Set 2: Targets interests related to your direct competitors (e.g., people who like Tony Robbins or follow specific industry publications).
  • Ad Set 3: Targets interests related to the *problem* you solve (e.g., interests in 'public speaking anxiety' or 'career development').
  Inside each of these ad sets, you run the exact same 3-4 ads. These should be your best initial creative ideas. After a few days, you'll see which *audience* is responding best.


• Campaign 2: Testing Creatives.
  • Once you've identified your winning audience from Campaign 1, you create a new campaign targeting only that audience.
  • Inside this campaign, you set up multiple ads to test different creative variables.
  • Ad 1: Video A with Headline A.
  • Ad 2: Video A with Headline B.
  • Ad 3: Image B with Headline A.
  • Ad 4: Image B with Headline B.
  This allows you to see which headline performs best and which visual performs best. You then combine the winning headline with the winning visual to create your "control" ad, which you then try to beat with new ideas in the future.

This systematic approach removes guesswork. You're not just throwing things at the wall; you're conducting controlled experiments to find a winning formula. It takes a bit more effort to set up, but it's the only way to sustainably scale your course sales without burning through your cash. If you're wondering wether to use Google or LinkedIn ads, we've prepared a detailed comparison for UK course creators to help you decide.

My Final Recommendations

Selling online courses in a market as crowded as London requires a sharp message and a smarter approach to advertising. It's not about outspending your competition; it's about out-thinking them. By focusing on authentic creatives that speak directly to the core problem of your ideal student, you can build trust and drive conversions far more effectively than any glossy, corporate ad ever will. This is the main advice I have for you:

Getting this right isn't easy, especially when you're also trying to run a business and support your students. It requires a specific skillset that blends marketing psychology, data analysis, and creative intuition. Many course creators find they simply don't have the time or deep expertise to build and manage a truly optimised advertising machine. Trying to do it all yourself can often lead to wasted ad spend and months of frustratingly slow growth.

If you're serious about scaling your course sales in London and want an expert eye on your strategy, it might be time to consider professional help. An experienced ads consultant can audit your existing setup, identify the biggest opportunities for growth, and implement the kind of rigorous testing framework that turns a break-even campaign into a highly profitable one. We offer a completely free, no-obligation initial consultation where we can review your current ads and give you some actionable advice to implement right away. It's a chance to get a second opinion and see what's truly possible when your fantastic course is paired with world-class advertising.