What increases average order value for course creators
Average order value (AOV) is the total revenue you earn divided by the number of transactions. For course creators, raising it means earning more per student without necessarily selling to more students. The most direct methods are bundling courses together, offering payment plans that spread cost over months, creating premium tiers within a single course, and selling complementary products like templates or coaching sessions alongside your course.
The mechanics are straightforward: a student who buys one course for $97 generates $97 in revenue. That same student who buys a bundle of three courses, or one course plus a workbook plus office hours, generates $200 to $400. You are not changing your marketing spend per student—you are changing what they purchase once they decide to buy from you.
This matters because course platforms charge transaction fees (typically 2–5% per sale), payment processors take a cut, and you have fixed costs in hosting and email tools. Selling to twice as many students at the same price doubles your gross revenue but also doubles your transaction costs. Selling to the same number of students at double the price keeps your transaction costs flat while doubling profit.
Key Takeaways
- Bundle two or three related courses into a single purchase so a student pays once for multiple courses instead of buying them separately.
- Offer a payment plan option (for example, three monthly payments instead of one lump sum) so price is no longer a barrier for higher-ticket courses.
- Create a premium tier within your course—live group coaching, one-on-one feedback, or a private community—that some students will pay extra to access.
- Sell a complementary product like a workbook, template, or tool alongside the course so students who are already buying can add it for less friction than a separate purchase.
- Track which combinations students actually buy together so you can test new bundles based on real behavior, not guesses.
Bundling courses to increase the transaction size
A bundle is two or more courses sold as a single package for a price lower than buying them separately. For example, if you sell a "Copywriting Fundamentals" course for $97 and an "Email Marketing" course for $97, you might bundle them for $147. A student saves $47, you earn $50 more per transaction than a single course sale, and the student is more likely to complete both courses because they have already paid for both.
The bundle works best when the courses are sequential or complementary—one teaches a skill the other builds on, or both serve the same goal. A "Facebook Ads" course bundled with a "Google Ads" course makes sense. A "Facebook Ads" course bundled with a "Watercolor Painting" course does not, and students will sense the mismatch.
To set up a bundle, you do not need separate software. Most course platforms (Teachable, Kajabi, Thinkific) let you create a product that includes multiple courses. You set the bundle price, and when a student purchases, they get access to all courses in the bundle. You can also create a limited-time bundle—for example, "Buy these three courses this month for $197 instead of $291"—which creates urgency without permanently lowering the individual course prices.
Track which bundles sell and which do not. If a bundle sits unsold for two months, the pairing may not resonate. If a bundle outsells individual courses, consider making it permanent or testing a third course in the bundle.
Payment plans that make higher prices accessible
A payment plan breaks a single course price into two, three, or four installments spread over weeks or months. Instead of asking a student to pay $297 upfront, you offer "$99 today, then $99 in 30 days, then $99 in 60 days." The total is the same, but the barrier to purchase drops because the first payment feels smaller.
Payment plans increase AOV because students who cannot afford $297 in one payment will often accept three payments of $99. You are not discounting—you are restructuring the same price. Your course platform or payment processor handles the installments automatically. Stripe, for example, integrates with most course platforms and can split a charge into multiple payments without you managing invoices manually.
The tradeoff is risk: if a student makes the first payment and then cancels, you have delivered the course but may not collect the remaining installments. Most platforms let you set a policy—for example, "If payment 2 fails, the student loses access until they pay"—but enforcing it is your responsibility. Some creators require a credit card on file and charge it automatically; others ask students to return to pay manually. Automatic charging has higher completion rates but higher refund request rates.
Offer payment plans on your higher-priced courses ($197 and up). A $47 course does not need a payment plan; the friction is already low. A $497 course with a payment plan option will convert more students than the same course at the same price with no payment option.
Premium tiers and add-ons within a single course
Instead of creating a separate product, you can offer multiple versions of the same course. A student chooses the tier they want when they purchase. For example:
- Standard: Video lessons and downloadable resources. $97.
- Premium: Everything in Standard, plus a private community and monthly group Q&A calls. $197.
- VIP: Everything in Premium, plus four one-on-one coaching sessions. $497.
The video lessons and resources are the same in all three tiers. The difference is what you add on top. This works because some students will always want the cheapest option, some will want the middle, and some will pay for direct access to you. You are not forcing anyone to upgrade—you are offering the option to those who want it.
To set this up, create one course with all the video content. Then, in your course platform, set up conditional access: students in the Standard tier see only the core lessons; students in Premium also see the community forum and calendar for group calls; students in VIP also see a booking link for one-on-one sessions. Kajabi and Teachable both support this natively. If your platform does not, you can use Zapier or Make to automate access to external tools (a private Slack channel, a Calendly booking page, a Google Drive folder).
The premium tier only works if you actually deliver what you promise. If you offer group calls, schedule them and show up. If you offer one-on-one coaching, be available. Students who pay more expect more, and they will refund or leave bad reviews if you do not follow through.
Selling complementary products alongside your course
A complementary product is something that makes the course more useful but is not required to take it. Examples include a workbook with worksheets and templates, a checklist or swipe file, a tool or calculator, a template library, or a recorded training on a related topic. When a student is already buying your course, adding a complementary product to the cart is a low-friction upsell.
The product should solve a problem the course creates or accelerate the student's progress. A copywriting course might bundle with a swipe file of email templates. A productivity course might bundle with a time-blocking spreadsheet. A video editing course might bundle with preset packs for the editing software. The student thinks, "I am already buying the course, and this template will save me hours—yes, I will add it."
You can offer the complementary product in two ways. First, as a one-click upsell on the checkout page: after a student enters their payment information, they see "Add our email template library for $27?" and can click yes or skip. Second, as a bundle option: the course alone is $97, or the course plus templates is $127. The bundle approach is simpler to set up and often converts better because the student sees the value before checkout.
The complementary product does not have to be something you create from scratch. If you sell a course on starting a freelance business, you could partner with a business formation service and earn a commission when a student signs up through your link. If you teach video editing, you could recommend a preset pack you use and earn a commission. This is affiliate revenue, not a direct product sale, but it still increases the total value per customer.
Testing and measuring which combinations actually sell
Not every bundle or tier will work. A bundle that makes sense to you might not appeal to students. A payment plan option might sit unused. A premium tier might cannibalize your standard tier sales. The only way to know is to test and measure.
Start by tracking what students actually buy. Most course platforms show you transaction history. Look at the data: Are students buying bundles, or are they buying single courses? If you offer a payment plan, what percentage of students choose it? If you offer premium tiers, which tier sells most? This tells you what is working.
Then test one change at a time. If you currently sell three courses separately, create a bundle of two of them and see if bundle sales exceed the sum of individual sales. If they do, test a bundle of all three. If you offer a payment plan on one course, test it on another and compare conversion rates. If you offer a premium tier, test a different tier structure (for example, two tiers instead of three) and see if it increases total revenue.
Give each test at least 30 days and at least 10 sales before you draw a conclusion. A bundle that sells 2 units in a month might be a real signal or might be noise. A bundle that sells 15 units in a month is a signal.
Track your AOV over time. Calculate it monthly: total revenue divided by number of transactions. If your AOV goes from $120 to $160 after you add payment plans and bundles, you have succeeded. If it stays flat or drops, the changes are not working and you should try something different.
Common mistakes that lower average order value
The most common mistake is offering too many options. If a student sees five different bundles, three payment plan options, and four tier levels, they freeze. Simplicity converts better than choice. Offer one or two bundles, one payment plan option (usually three payments), and two or three tiers. Let students choose, but do not overwhelm them.
Another mistake is bundling courses that do not belong together. A student who buys a "Beginner Spanish" course does not want a "Advanced Python" course bundled in, even at a discount. The bundle has to make sense to the student, not just to you. If you are not sure, ask your students: "Would you want to buy X and Y together?" Their answer is more reliable than your intuition.
A third mistake is setting the bundle price too high. If a course is $97 and another is $97, and you bundle them for $180, you have only saved the student $14. Most students will not perceive that as a deal and will buy separately. A bundle should feel like a real discount—usually 15–25% off the combined price. In this example, $160 or $165 feels like a deal; $180 does not.
Finally, do not add a payment plan option and then make it hard to find. If you offer three payments, put it on your sales page in the same size and color as the one-time payment option. If it is hidden or de-emphasized, students will not see it and will not use it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does offering a payment plan reduce my profit?
No, if the total price stays the same. Three payments of $99 equals one payment of $297. Your profit is identical. The only cost is payment processing fees, which you pay on each installment instead of once. If Stripe charges 2.9% per transaction, you pay slightly more in fees ($8.64 instead of $8.61), but the difference is negligible. The real risk is a student who stops paying after the first or second installment.
What if a student buys a bundle but only wants one of the courses?
Most course platforms do not let you "unbundle" after purchase. A student who buys a three-course bundle gets access to all three. If a student regrets the purchase, they can request a refund. To prevent this, be clear on your sales page about what is included in the bundle and who it is for. "This bundle is for people who want to learn copywriting and email marketing" tells a student whether it is right for them before they buy.
Should I offer a payment plan on all my courses?
No. Payment plans work best on courses priced $197 and up. A $47 course does not need a payment plan; the barrier to purchase is already low. A $97 course might benefit from a payment plan, but the difference is usually small. A $497 course with a payment plan option will convert significantly more students than without one. Start with your highest-priced courses and test from there.
Can I change the price of a course after I add it to a bundle?
Yes, but it affects the bundle price too. If you raise a course from $97 to $127, and it is part of a $160 bundle, the bundle discount shrinks. Most creators set the individual course prices first, then create bundles at a discount. If you later raise individual prices, update the bundle price to maintain the same discount percentage.
How do I know if a premium tier is worth offering?
Test it for 30 days and see if at least 10–15% of students choose it. If fewer than 10% choose the premium tier, it may not be worth the effort to deliver it. If more than 15% choose it, you might even test a higher price or additional benefits. The goal is to offer something that some students want, not something everyone wants.