In this blog post, I will be sharing 7 strategies that you need to follow if you are planning to create an online course. If you follow these strategies, I will guarantee you will see tremendous success with your course. If you have a passion for teaching and want to reach out to a broader audience across the globe, then CREATING an ONLINE course is the best way to go.
Not only that, this can generate a Passive Income source and will also open other opportunities for you.
But creating a course is not a cakewalk. You need to keep many things in mind while building your course.
1) Create a course based on the demand
Before you start creating content for your course, the most important thing is to create a course on a high-demand topic. If no one is looking for the content, no one will BUY your course. So the first step is to do your research to find the topic for your NEXT course.
There are different ways to do the research; you can use Google Keyword Planner to find out the demand for that title, or you can also use tools like SEMRUSH to find the market on that topic.
2) Choose a topic based on your skill
Another essential thing to remember while deciding on your COURSE topic is that you need to have in-depth knowledge about that topic. What will you teach the world if you don’t know about the topic? So choose a topic related to your work or a hobby in your spare time.
E.g., if you are an app builder who creates apps to make a living, you can easily choose this topic for your course where you can teach them about building apps, and it will come so naturally to you. You can create a terrific course if you know about the topic.
3) Invest in good recording equipment
Besides content, the next important thing is how you will deliver the content. No matter how good the content is if the quality of your video is terrible. There is a lot of background noise; listeners can’t hear you properly.
These things will make a difference to your audience, so you need to invest some money in getting quality equipment. Buy a good quality mic, good editing software like Camtasia, and a good camera if you plan to record your face in the camera. Think of it like an investment for your business.
If you are starting out, use the items available to you, and eventually, once you have started making money through your course, invest in better equipment. They will make a massive difference in the quality of your video.
4) Do not create a lengthy Course
If you are creating a course for the first time, I won’t recommend creating a long course because people need more patience to go through a 30-hour long course. Try to make a short and engaging course that folks can finish in one day.
If the topic you are teaching cannot be covered in a short time, try to divide the course into different parts. This way, you will be able to deliver a course faster and also will keep your students motivated. Students who are enrolled in PART 1 of the course are more likely to buy PART 2 of the course as well.
5) Create a Great Promo video for the course
Promo video is the most important video of the course. So you have to invest time and effort in creating a great promo video for the course. This is the video in which a customer decides if they would like to buy the entire course or not.
A lot of times, I have seen in the past that instructors create a boring promo video, and then they are thinking why my course is not selling. The answer is you are not putting effort into promoting your course, and your introductory video is boring.
While creating a promo video, you should keep below points in mind:
- What are the benefits of taking this course?
- Will it help them pass a certification or help them get a better job?
- What is covered in the course?
- Who is this course for? Is this course beginner level or advanced level?
- Are there any prerequisites for taking this course?
This is one of the most critical strategies among our Top 7 Strategies to create an online course
6) Create your ONLINE School
Once you have created the course, the next step is where to host your course so students can buy. You have two choices; the first option is you can host your course on websites like Udemy or Coursera, or Linda. The second option is to create your own online school.
If you decide to host your courses on one of the e-learning platforms like Udemy, your course will get exposed to a lot of students at once, and you will be easily able to generate sales if your course content is good. There is a downside of hosting courses on an e-learning platform is the revenue share you have to do with the platform. Since they are bringing students to your course, they charge a percentage of every sale.
One of the benefits of creating your own school is that you get to keep all the money, but the disadvantage is you have to bring students to your course, and you have to do the marketing of your course yourself.
In order to create your own school, you can choose Teachable or Thinkific platforms. There is a fee associated with these platforms, but it’s worth it.
7) Market your course
The most important ingredient of a best-selling course depends on how well you market the course. In our blog post about Top 7 Strategies to create an online course, this is my top most strategy. You should start promoting your course before even you start creating your course. There are different ways you can choose to promote your course. Here are some of the ways to market your course:
7. a) Create a YouTube channel to promote your course:
Please upload a few lectures of the course on YouTube , and post a link to the complete course in your YouTube videos. Students interested in the topic will land on your YouTube video, and if they like your teaching style and content, they will buy the entire course from your school. This is an organic way of generating sales for your course.
7. b ) Create an email list:
The most important asset you can build for your online business is an email list. You can promote a checklist related to your course for FREE in return for their email address. You can also publish this eBook on platforms like amazon, and in the book, you can add a link to your course.
7. c ) Run paid ads for your Course:
This is one of the fastest ways of gaining students for your course, but it costs money.
Not Interested in creating your own course
If you are someone who doesn’t like course creation part, you can actually promote other people courses through affiliate links. You can learn more about affiliate marketing.
