What is the "Lock and Unlock" feature and how does it work?
The "Lock and Unlock" feature allows you to show students both the free training they have access to and the premium courses they haven't purchased yet within the same dashboard.
Chad and the team built this so that you can give away free memberships to hundreds of thousands of people while keeping your "Gold Bundle" visible but protected.
Instead of students feeling like they've reached a dead end, they see a path for growth, resulting in a constant "window shopping" experience for your best training.
How can this help you re-engage your existing students?
This feature gives you a reason to reach out to old lists by giving them something for free, giving you the ability to bring them back into your ecosystem.
Chad demonstrated this by importing 500,000 old leads into Course Sprout to give them a "Free Pod", a group of specific courses, which creates a fresh surge of activity in his business.
By providing immediate value without a paywall, you build trust with your audience, meaning they are much more likely to click "Unlock" when they see a premium course they need.
Is it hard to set up the sales path for "Locked" courses?
Setting this up is simple: you just attach a sales page URL to your premium courses, which means the software automatically takes students to a checkout page when they try to enter.
Within your products section, you can simply click a dollar sign icon and enter the link to where people can buy, resulting in an automated sales process that works while you sleep.
Instead of manually sending people to sales letters, your dashboard becomes your most effective salesperson, giving students the ability to upgrade their account with just one click.
Why is this "Freemium" model so powerful for 2026?
Using a "Freemium" model, where you give basic content away for free and charge for the "pro" version, results in a massive, loyal audience that is constantly exposed to your offers.
The team made it so that you can set a "Default Signup," which allows new students to register for an account and get instant access to your free material without you lifting a finger.
This method turns every student into a potential buyer over time, meaning you are no longer hunting for new sales every day, but rather nurturing a community that is ready to grow with you.
