Have you ever thought to create and sell your own online course?

Recently, the world has moved incredibly fast towards favoring an online digital learning platform. Online learning is trending and in the words of Zoolander, learning online and remotely has become, ‘so damn hot right now’. Creating and selling your own online course is the in thing. I myself learnt how to develop websites through an online course. Check out www.stephmylifefreelancer.com for the best WordPress design and development course.

Stephmylife’s online course was an incredible experience. I was able progress through the course at my own pace and have access to course content 24/7. What I loved most about learning online was the fact that I was able to move to Portugal for the course duration. I didn’t have to worry about attending classes in person. I decided my own hours, followed my own schedule and got to enjoy the beaches of the Algarve, all whilst learning a new skill. 

So why is creating and selling your own online course the big news these days?

Why is it ‘so damn hot right now?’ Why is it all everyone can seem to talk about? With online learning comes a whole world of benefits. Learners can:

1.Work at their own pace

Learning independently and online, students have more time to review lessons multiple times. Lessons can be in the forms of videos, podcasts or simple notes. Learners don’t have to worry about missing key features of a lesson. Did you zone out or not understand something? Replay the video! Content is there to rewatch and replay as many times as the learner likes.

2.Have an incredible amount of flexibility

Have an appointment? Have a birthday? Students can save their lesson for when they are free. No longer do people have to miss out on life’s big occasions.

3.Earn an income while learning

Studying online enables students to earn an income while learning. They don’t need to swap shifts or put their learning on hold due to having a full time job. Students can discover their passions in their spare time.

4.Cut out the commute

 Saving on commute time can mean extra time to learn some more or enjoy a bit of downtime.Learning from home is convenient. No more wasting your time and energy stuck in traffic. 

5.Easily schedule a time to zoom the teacher

Schedule in a zoom call through calendly. Stop wasting time hanging around after class, or playing ping pong with emails about finding a time to suit both parties.

6.Build Resilience

Sometimes working from home can by a challenge. With the fridge and tv mere meters away, it can be easy to switch off. Learners can challenge themselves to work from home, showing themselves to be motivated and a self starter. Set your timer and try to beat it every time you try to sit down to your online course. 

With all these benefits, it’s easy to see why people want to make the move to digital learning. It offers people more freedom than ever before. So now it’s your turn to tap into these benefits. It’s your turn to showcase your expertise and become a leader in your industry.. Are you a professional photographer? Or a savvy social media manager? Potentially a gifted artist or a florist who wants to share their knowledge? Entrepreneurs who create an online course have a whole new world waiting on the other side for them.

With the e-learning market ready to explode, yesterday was the best time to start your online course, however the next best time is today.

A few statistics from techjur.net

• The worldwide e-learning market is projected to be worth €325 billion in 2025
• Corporate e-learning is expected to grow by over 250% between 2017-2026. Imagine getting your course into businesses? It would be incredible! The opportunities would be endless.
• A study by the open university found that e-learning courses consume 90% less energy and produce 85% fewer c02 emissions per person!

Create and Sell Your Own Online Course – How can it help you?

1.Establish yourself as a leader in your industry

Creating an online course for your audience is an incredible way to showcase your expertise. Your audience are invested in you and your knowledge. They follow you, buy from you etc because they believe you have something of value to them. They want to learn from you. Give your audience the lessons that they have been craving. Share your knowledge and give back!

2.Earn a Passive Income

Well, almost passive. Once you have put the time and energy into your course, you can sit back and reap the rewards. As your members sign up, you can watch your income rise! Whether you are travelling, or are at the gym or sleeping, you could be making extra dollars. You could offer 1:1 zoom calls for those who need extra help and create another tiered membership for an extra cost!

3. Reach a wider audience

Your audience is no longer tied to your location. Your course will have a global reach. The possibilities here are endless.

4.Free Time

Once your content is made and ready to be sent out to the masses, you have more time to spend on yourself. You will feel confident in knowing your audience are making their way through a knowledgeable and valuable course.

So, How Do You Create an Online Course?

1. Choose Your Course Content And Focus

How will your course be broken down? What will each lesson be? What length of time do you want the course to be? 1 month, 8 weeks, 1 week etc.

2. Decide your course structure

Once your content is made and ready to be sent out to the masses, you have more time to spend on yourself. You will feel confident in knowing your audience are making their way through a knowledgeable and valuable course.

3.Decide your course access

Do you want learners to have 1:1 sessions with you? Are they able to get in contact with you if they have any questions?

4. Don’t forget your market research!

Talk to your audience. Get those question boxes on instagram going. Find out where your audience is lacking knowledge. Ask them, what challenges do they face? How much would they pay for a course?

5.Ensure your have clear learning outcomes

‘By the end of this course you will be able to…’
Stephmylife freelancer course enabled me to create a wordpress website within 8 weeks. There was a clear learning outcome and finished product by the end of the course.

6. Start thinking…How do you want your client to navigate your course?

Do you want learners to have 1:1 sessions with you? Are they able to get in contact with you if they have any questions?

7. Editing

Once you have gotten all your knowledge down on the page, begin to cherry pick the most important parts. Ensure you answer your market research questions.

8. Course Delivery

 Will your client respond well to video, pictures, text? Get creative and have fun with it! Are you going to include a 1:1 session or maybe a group webinar? Why not set up a slack group for learners to discuss lessons. Creating a community is the best way to gain course momentum. 

For creating videos, vimeo.com is a great way to host videos for your online course. Hosting on vimeo means that your site doesn’t lose its speed. The files for your videos are stored somewhere else. They offer a free trial. Give it a go!

9. Structure

Begin structuring the course. Do the lessons make sense? Are they in the correct order? Decide on how your client will consume the course content.

10. Choose a platform

My preference would be WordPress. WordPress ends up being cheaper in the long run. It’s also more flexible too. I’ll go into the details below about using a developer to create your course. It’s going to save you time, money and alot of stress. 

11. Book in your hallway testers

Use hallway testers to test your course. What do they like about it? Is it easy to understand? What did they find challenging? Create a checklist for your hallway testers and a list of questions to make sure all areas are covered. The more feedback the better. Don’t take suggestions to heart. It is all part of the process. Learning to accept feedback and utilise it is so important!

12. Adjust your course according to feedback

There is absolutely no point in getting feedback if you aren’t going to implement it. Take on the constructive criticism and improve your course.

13. Continue to make improvements on your course

When you have finished your course, don’t just abandon it. Talk to each participant. Find out what they liked, what they didn’t like. Was there another lesson you could have inputted, or maybe a lesson you could have taught better? Take on this feedback and continuously improve your course. Keep participants coming back for more.

You could create a feedback form on your website, keeping all these processes automated and streamlined.

‘How Do I Sell My Course? What Platform Should I Use?’

Once you have created your course curriculum and have all of your resources gathered, it’s time to choose a platform to build it on.

Favourites of mine would be WordPress, Kajabi, Kartra.

Portfolio – Coached By G, Gráinne Gibson

• An example of an online course I have created was for Gráinne Gibson, Coached By G. Gráinne wanted an exclusive members area for her site, filled with resources for her clients. Gráinne had over 130 videos and about 10 PDF documents.

Gráinnes courses were split into 3 sections: 

• Training
• Nutrition
• Mindset

Clients can log on and easily access their training videos or their downloadable PDF documents. Of course, the course is fully responsive across all screens.

Built on WordPress!

Find at www.coachedbyg.ie

FAQS

‘How do my clients pay?’

Clients can either pay a one off fee or a recurring monthly subscription.

‘Can I create quizzes?’

Yes! You can definitely create quizzes and have them scored too!

‘Can I get a website designed and developed as well as an online course?’

100%. I can do both. I can also sort out your domain and hosting too. Check out my article on tech jargon.

‘Will I be able to add lessons myself?’

Yes! I will create a full handover document and will include videos on how to add extra lessons and use your site!

Creating an online course may seem daunting. However, when broken down into small, achievable steps, it is very possible. Putting the work in now can pay off big time in the future.

if you want to create and sell your own online course today get in touch.