Creating coupons and referring students is an important part of any instructor's promotional strategy. When students use your coupon or referral link to enroll in your course, you will receive 97% of the net revenue.
This article explains course referral links and the different types of coupons instructors can create for their courses.
- Learn how to effectively leverage referral links and coupons to drive student enrollments.
- Review our rules and guidelines for using course coupons and referral links.
Course referral links
Every paid course you publish has a referral link, which you can use to share and promote the course. When a student clicks on the link and proceeds to purchase your course within 24 hours, you will be credited with the sale, regardless of where the student clicked on the link (e.g., an affiliate site).
Referral links have no influence on the price displayed to learners. If you have opted into Udemy Deals, learners may be offered a discount for your course when following your referral link. If you have not opted into Deals, however, learners will always see your list price when following a referral link.
You can access the course referral link by navigating to the course page, and then by clicking Promotions on the left-hand side.
Coupons
In addition to referral links, you can create coupons to promote your courses. You can create up to three coupons per course each month.
Please note: When a coupon expires, it becomes a referral link. So, it will no longer affect the price displayed to the user. However, if the student purchases within 24 hours of clicking your expired coupon link, you will still be credited with the sale.
There are four types of coupons (see below).
|
Type |
Description |
Expiration |
|
Current best price |
Creates a limited-time offer for the current best price of your course. For instructors in Udemy’s Deals Program, this is based on the lowest price Udemy would offer a given student in that market for your course, at the time you create the coupon. Example: If the lowest discounted price Udemy would offer student A is $14.99 at the time you create the coupon, applying this coupon would show the price as $14.99. The price displayed in the coupon creation flow represents the coupon’s value in the main market for that currency; in other currencies and markets, it will be adjusted to match your course’s local best price. |
5 days after activation |
|
Custom price |
Creates a longer-lasting offer for a price you pick from the range displayed. For instructors in Udemy’s Deals Program, the lower bound of this range will be similar to (but not necessarily lower than) the price Udemy would offer a given student at the time you create the coupon. Example: If Udemy is generally selling your course between $14.99 and $19.99 during promotions, the lowest price you could set with a "Custom Price" coupon might be $16.99. |
31 days after activation |
|
Free: Open |
Creates a limited-time offer that allows up to 1000 students to enroll in your course for free. |
1000 redemptions or 5 days after activation, whichever comes first |
|
Free: Targeted |
Creates a longer-lasting offer that allows up to 100 students to enroll in your course for free. |
100 redemptions or 31 days after activation, whichever comes first |
For instructors who are opted into Udemy’s Deals Program, the displayed prices for a “Current best price” or “Custom price” coupon are based on Udemy’s pricing data for each course. You will not be able to create a coupon if the displayed price exceeds your course’s list price.
All coupon prices will be displayed to students in their local currency and adjusted per Udemy’s country-specific price tier matrix.
How to create a coupon
1. Navigate to the course Promotions page.
2. Click Create new coupon.
3. Select the coupon type.
4. If applicable, choose your coupon price.
5. Select a start date and time for the coupon.
-
-
- Please note: a start date and time cannot be selected beyond the current calendar month, or for a date and time that has already elapsed.
- The date, time, and calendar month are set in U.S. Pacific Time (PST). The default time selected is the current time when you started creating the coupon. You may update it to a time in the future, or leave it as is.
-
6. If you wish to enter a custom coupon code please be aware of the following: the coupon code must be between 6 - 20 characters, only UPPERCASE LETTERS (A-Z), numbers (0-9) and these symbols can be used: periods (.), dashes (-), and underscores (_). Coupon codes with lowercase or other symbols cannot be created. Custom coupon codes can only be used once per course.
7. Click Review coupon to double-check the coupon’s details.
8. Click Create coupon.
You cannot edit or delete a coupon, including the start date and time, once it has been created. A coupon can only be toggled on and off using the status slider on the right. Please see the How to deactivate a coupon section below for more information.
How to share your coupon code
Once a coupon is created, it will appear in the coupon table. On the right-hand side, click Share coupon to access your coupon code link.
It's recommended that you share the coupon link when promoting your course. When a potential student clicks on the link, the coupon will be applied to that course’s price automatically. If you do not share the coupon link, students will have to redeem your coupon code on the course landing page.
Important: When you share your coupon code, we require that you clearly indicate when and how long it will be available and how many people will be able to redeem it before it expires (e.g., “This coupon expires on [DATE] and is limited to a maximum of [NUMBER] redemptions.”).
How to deactivate a coupon
Once a coupon has been created, it cannot be edited or deleted. If you would like to deactivate a coupon, however, it can be turned off and will no longer be active for your course. Deactivating a coupon will not give you the ability to create more than three coupons per course in a given month.
- Navigate to the Promotions page
- In the Active coupons section, under the Status column, toggle the applicable coupon from on to off.