How I Sold 870 Courses Without a Massive Following (and How You Can Too)

Rachael Howourth Author

If you’ve been telling yourself “I can’t make serious money until I have thousands of followers” — I’m here to blow that myth out of the water.

Small Audience, Big Sales: How I Sold 870 Courses Without a Massive Following

If you’ve been telling yourself “I can’t make serious money until I have thousands of followers” — I’m here to blow that myth out of the water.

I sold 870 courses without a huge audience. No paid ads. No influencer-level reach. Just a small but deeply engaged audience and a strategy that worked.

In this post, I’m going to share exactly what I did (and what I avoided) so you can stop waiting to “grow big enough” and start making sales right now.

And I've kept the receipts too ⬇️

Let's get into the Myth-Busting: You Don’t Need a Huge Following

Here’s the truth:

• A big following doesn’t equal big sales.

• A small, engaged following can outperform a large, cold one.

• The right messaging can turn a few hundred followers into paying clients.

Your audience size isn’t the problem — it’s your sales strategy.

The 3 Key Factors That Made the Difference For Me (and all the clients I've shared this with since)

1️⃣ The Right Offer at the Right Price

I didn’t throw my course out there and hope for the best. I designed it with my audience’s exact problem in mind and priced it to match both the value and their readiness to buy.

💡 Tip: Start with what your audience wants, not what you think they “should” want.

2️⃣ Messaging That Hit Home

Instead of talking about “features” or “modules,” I focused on the transformation. I told them what their life or business would look like after they completed the course.

I also repeated my message across different content formats — stories, posts, lives, and emails — so they literally saw it everywhere. 

(and I know you get in your own head about being 'too out there' but without traffic, you're seriously stifling your success)

💡 Tip: Make your sales content a conversation, not a one-time announcement.

>> check out my Money-Making Messaging Course 

3️⃣ Organic Lead Generation That Worked

I wasn’t chasing viral videos or trying to please the algorithm. I was creating connection. I used:

• Instagram Stories for behind-the-scenes and Q&A

• Carousel posts that spoke to their pain points

• Live sessions to overcome objections in real time

💡 Tip: You don’t need to be everywhere — just be deeply present where your audience already is.

What I Didn’t Do (And Why It Helped)

• ❌ I didn’t spend weeks creating complex funnels before I’d tested my offer (even though I am a funnel expert - get started here)

• ❌ I didn’t slash my price to get more sales.

• ❌ I didn’t waste time trying to grow my follower count just for the sake of it.

Instead, I worked the audience I had — and it paid off big time.

Your Next Steps to Sell More Courses with a Small Audience

1. Identify your most ready-to-buy followers.

2. Create an offer that solves a pressing problem for them.

3. Talk about it everywhere in a way that makes them feel seen and understood.

4. Use content that moves people from curious → interested → ready to buy (you can do that here)

If your audience feels “too small” and your course sales have been slow, remember this: it’s not about the number of followers — it’s about the number of people you convert.

Ready to Grow your Audience With Content That Converts?

👀 Watch my free training where I walk you through how I banked £212,000 in CASH, tap below: