5 Tips On How To Create And Sell Courses Online
As most of you already know, the consumption of online courses is on the rise. As a brand and a marketer, there may be no better way to spread your message and make money at the same time.
According to Forbes, the online course market hit $57 BILLION in 2015, and that was two years ago.
My first course that I created was called “Screenflow 6 For Beginners” (A course on how to use the screen recording software called ScreenFlow).
That’s why I want to share my five tips on how to create, distribute, and sell your online course!
#1: Your first course will NOT be a masterpiece, and that’s OKAY
When you begin creating your first course, it’s going to be natural to look at other similar courses to yours. I call this the comparison trap. You need to know that your first course is not going to be your best work. As with anything you do online, and for the first time, it will take time to master the craft and do your best work. However, this gives you an opportunity to look back at your old courses and see where you can improve. Take criticism from your students and slowly make those improvements.
Also, remember that CONTENT always TRUMPS production value. (With this being said, the better your quality, the faster your course will grow).
Remember that it’s always easier to improve upon something than to start.
#2: If The Course You Want To Create Is Already Out There, that is GOOD NEWS!
This is proof of concept! If your course idea is already out there and selling, this is a positive thing. Someone else has already done the testing for you.
One of the most frustrating things as a course creator is to put in all of the hours to create a course and then find out it’s not in demand.
I recommend signing up for similar courses to the one you want to create and see what is good about it. Take those things and implement them into your course. Find the things that you didn’t like so well and improve upon those areas of the course.
#3: You DO NOT Have To Be An Expert (Just Know More Than Your Students)
Most people who are doing well selling their online courses are not experts.
Shocking… Right?
If you think about it, it makes sense. If you are using a piece of software and you are becoming proficient with it, you can create a successful online course. All you have to do is know more than the people you are teaching it to. The misconception that you have to be an expert in a topic to teach it is just flat out wrong.
What happens as you create your course is that you are learning even more that you can document and add to your course. Online courses are living breathing things that can evolve and change at any time. Once you have your course out in the wild, it is extremely simple to go back and add/remove segments to make the course better as you learn more about the topic.
#4: Paid Content Does NOT Scare People Away
The question I hear all of the time is “Why would someone pay for my course if the same stuff is offered on YouTube for free?”
The answer to that question is because it’s a lot of work to seek out all of that free information, and even when you find it your not sure if it’s legit and right in the first place. With that being said, the price that you put on your course becomes a stamp of legitimacy as opposed to an obstruction keeping people out.
Also, remember YOUR TIME IS WORTH SOMETHING 🙂
#5: Bigger Is Not Always Better
People think that when they create online courses, they need to create some big, in-depth course that covers every little detail about a topic. FALSE
Some of my most successful courses that I have marketed with YouTube and other tools have been 5-7 ten-minute videos and a practice worksheet.
Start the price at around $17-$49 and see who bites. Take the knowledge gained from these initial courses to continue to refine your craft. You will learn what works and what doesn’t.
Another great way to start is to create a “Mini-Course” to start building your email list.
Sites I Use To Distribute and Sell My Courses
Thinkific — This is more “Self-Run” as opposed to Uudemy and you have to do more initial setup to get your courses online BUT it is well worth it.
Udemy — This is the most common name most people will recognize when it comes to online courses. I use them on a few of my courses, as it is easy to get your courses listed and as Nick Looper says from the “Side Hustle” podcast “There is already a buy button there”.
In closing, all I want to say to you is “JUST DO IT”. It spent so much time (Almost three years) thinking about creating my first course. Once I finally committed to doing it and started seeing the sales come in I realized I should have done it much sooner. If you have any questions feel free to ask them in the comments below, and listen to our weekly podcast, where I interview great entrepreneurial minds each Friday and talk with them about how they are making money right now.
