One of the best ways to earn passive income is by selling online courses.
The e-learning market is expected to reach almost 400 dollars by 2026!
It might take up to 3 months to create a best-selling course with all the information.
But, it’s a one-and-done process!
Create the course once and people will purchase it over and over again.
Isn’t that a gorgeous business idea?!
In this blog post, I will throw some light on how to create and sell online courses.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy for more information.
Reasons to sell online courses
Here are some of the most common reasons why people create online courses:
– You are passionate about teaching students all over the world
– Interact with people of different cultures and values
– Become your own boss
– Passive income, of course!
Earning potential?
One can make thousands of dollars each month by selling online courses. The potential is huge!
For example, I have recently purchased a well-known blogging course for $97!
Suppose, they sell 5 courses a month i.e $485 a month!
That amounts to $5820 a year!
Almost six thousand dollars in extra income!
How to create and sell online courses
Check out this guide to get started as an online course creator.
1. Decide on the course topic
The topic should be focused on something you are passionate about.
The choices are endless and there is an audience for every niche.
Cooking, sewing, coding and digital marketing are some of the most popular niches to choose from.
2. See if your course has a high market demand
Once you decide on the niche, it is time to check if your topic has a high demand in the present market.
Creating an online course is a laborious task for sure! So, make sure that your effort is worth it.
Use Google Trends to check if the chosen topic has high demand or not.
For example, “blogging” became more popular when the pandemic started in 2020 since many people started spending time at home and were looking for work-from-home jobs to fulfill their financial needs.
Similarly, go for a niche that is doing well in the present time.
Then, use Google Keyword Planner to see the search volume of the targeted keyword,
As you can see, for “blogging” the search volume is fairly high.
Also, look for other related keywords.
For example, the keyword “blog post” has a high search volume and low competition.
3. Research your competitors
If you have a little money to invest, purchase some popular courses and see what your competitors are offering.
For example, if you are creating an online course about cooking, purchase some of the best-selling courses so that you can have an idea about what kind of content the audience is more likely to invest in.
While creating the course, end up providing more value than your competitors.
4. Create an outline for the course
Decide what modules and content are going to be in your online course.
“Modules” are the chapters and within the module, you will have the lessons.
Brainstorm ideas, take a notepad and write them down.
5. Recording your online course
You need to create some engaging videos to hook your audience.
Here are some of the best equipment recommendations to produce high-quality videos.
Blue Snowball
This blue snowball microphone will take your audio quality to the next level. It is affordable as well. Moreover, it has a stylish retro design.
Softbox Lighting Kit
Grab the SH Softbox Lighting kit from Amazon. It is easy to set up with bright and cool lighting.
Webcam
Check out the Logitech Webcam to capture crystal clear videos!
6. Host your online course with Teachable
Teachable is the go-to platform for hosting your online courses.
You will have your paid course live within a few minutes. Just import your audio, video and text and you can launch immediately. The students can start learning right away!
You will be able to upload PowerPoint presentations, text, audio and videos. Hence, it gives you the freedom to select whatever medium you are comfortable with. But, a combination of text and video would make your online course more impactful.
Increase your revenue with some built-in features like course bundles and upsells.
How to get started with Teachable
Simply, go to the homepage of Teachable and sign up on the platform.
If you have a budget, I highly recommend you to get started with the Professional plan which costs $99 a month.
It comes up with a custom domain that would make your website look professional. This plan also allows you to add affiliates to promote your school.
You will be able to create a gorgeous and professional-looking sales page that will actually convert the visitors into customers.
You will get provided with a dashboard where you can see all information and activities such as how many students signed up, how many students finished watching the lectures and how much you have earned.
Go to the Products tab and select “Courses” to create your first online course.
“Coaching” will help you to schedule video calls with students.
“Bundles” will allow you to package your coaching and course products together to sell to your students.
Head on to billing and add your payment information.
Pricing your course:
You can charge a flat fee, yearly or monthly subscription. You can also use coupons for discounts.
7. Increase sales
It is very unlikely for people to invest in a paid course that pops out of nowhere.
One would probably go to the author’s website, or social media sites and check their expertise.
Hence, creating a free mini-course is one of the best ways to market the actual course.
It is very important to build relationships with your customers.
You may ask people to signup for your email list and provide them with a free course in their email. Make sure to provide value and solve a problem.
Towards the end of the mini-course, you can provide a link to the paid course for those people who want to dive deeper into it.
If your users are satisfied, they will purchase your paid course.
You can also try to build an audience on TikTok. TikTok has the potential to get your content exposed to millions of people all over the world.
8. Market your online course with Facebook ads
Anyone can create a Facebook ad for their business but a handful of people can create Facebook ads that successfully convert to leads.
It is recommended to hire a Facebook ad manager. There are many experts that specialize in creating successful ads.
Promoting your online course with Facebook ads might help you to generate your first sale!
There you go!
The Bottom Line: Create and sell online courses
Hopefully, this blog post gave you an idea about how to create and sell online courses.
Now, it’s your turn to take an action.
Click here to join Teachable today and start selling online courses.
Just like any other business, creating a successful course requires investment, time and effort.
Focus on delivering high-quality content and you will start making money in no time.
