Have you ever created an online course? Have you thought about it or do you have an idea on the back burner for quite some time now? Or, maybe you’ve built one before and now you’re getting an itch to start something new?
Online courses can be very profitable and they are often what people picture in their minds when you say “profitable content.” Online courses are essentially home study courses that you sell to your ideal clients to help them solve a problem on their own. These may have a live coaching component but many are content only. Of course, there are a multitude of variations but online courses can often become your “signature” product that your brand is known for.
Start off by brainstorming some ideas, either old school with paper and pen or online in a mind map-type of program.
- Based on your ideal clients’ struggles, what course would you like to create for them?
- What pain point does this fix for your ideal client?
- How can YOUR course be the ultimate solution for your ideal clients’ struggle?
- How long would you like your course to be? Four weeks; eight weeks; 52 weeks?
- How do you plan to deliver your course: via email download or through a training portal? Some examples of training portals or platforms include Teachable, Thinkific, or Kajabi. You could also use WordPress plugins such as Optimize Press Member or Wishlist Member to deliver your course straight from your WordPress website. Of all of these Optimize Press is the most budget-friendly option.
- Will it be a live course with active group support or live coaching calls? Or will one lesson be delivered via download every week for students to work on at their own speed, with no live help?
- Will you offer help via a private Facebook Group? Or will this be a course that is on demand, and evergreen, that runs all year in the background of your business, making you profits throughout the year, where you work once, and sell the rest of the time, even in your sleep?
If you research online courses, you’ll notice a wide variety of options. If you’re brand new to course creation, I suggest keeping it as simple as possible. You can always make changes in the future. If your favorite mentor has a class for sale, consider using that model or making variations for yourself. The key is to take action and get your ideas from that journal into a live class instead of worrying about reaching perfection.
When pricing your course, include the cost of the delivery platform, and outsourced help you enlisted to set up and manage the portal, the amount of time that you’ve worked in the creation process but also what you would like to be paid for in compensation for your hard work. Factor in what your target audience can afford to pay and then get to selling your course.
Just make sure, like with any content that you put out, that you are filling a need; that your content provides a solution for your ideal client to fix their immediate problem.
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I set up and manage course delivery portals for my clients. If you would like more information, please contact me.
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