How to Create A Brilliant Online Course
So you are thinking about creating an online course. You’ve got your topic. The next step many people take is exploring which course software or builder to use. Result = the black hole of research. Losing time and energy. They lose sight of that crucial element which is making sure the content is excellent and delivers real results. Only after that, is it time to look at what you have created and what is the best platform. In this article, we’ll look at how you should go about creating a brilliant online course.
Pick your Niche and Target Audience.
The very first thing you want to do is to find out what niche you want to target. Are you a blogger with lots of experience? You can create a blogging masterclass. But what aspects of blogging do you want to focus on? You can focus on the technical aspects like handling WordPress, or focus on SEO, or on content and how to create/curate it. Another key factor many people forget about is deciding who do you want to work with. You may want to focus on photographers who blog or maybe you have a passion for pet businesses. Are they just starting out or have a few years experience. Decide you would love to work with.
Sell a Solution, not a Course
As good as you think your course is, nobody really wants to buy it. In fact, nobody wakes up thinking “I’ll just go buy a course on this”, rather, they buy a course as a solution to a problem. Also, many people buy with emotions when it comes to a course. Yes, the tangible features and benefits are important. But what motivates someone to buy a course is the emotional side. How will taking your course to improve their business or life? This can be at a functional level such as saving time or being more organised to life-changing level such as motivation or self-actualization. That is what you need to market, not a course. Really, this is the secret to selling anything. Sell a solution, not a product.
YouTube
YouTube is an excellent resource for driving curiosity and marketing your courses. This is a platform may people use to find the answer to a question. It can be like it’s own search engine. Review what videos you have already and which could be shared on YouTube. Simply include a link in your bio or the video description. And this would spread curiosity of your courses around.
Create an Outline
When creating a course it’s key to create with an outcome in mind. Break down the topic area into different pillars of learning. Be sure to include micro-actions and tasks they can take to reinforce their learning. Create a list of commonly held views before some takes the course, and the results afterwards. Plan out what resources and support you will need to create the course. Create some free content and serve it to your potential customers. What did they say about it? What were their comments? Was it shared? The responses will be a great pointer to the level of interest in your course.
Create the Course
Everyone has his or her own planning method. My favourite is to have post-it notes and pens. Start with the outcome and topline topic. Break it down in modules. Then break that down into lessons and micro-steps. For each area, note what your students will learn, what problem/pain point they are overcoming. Also, remember what is obvious and commonplace to you (the expert) may not be the case for a beginner. You can often breakdown lessons into smaller pieces of information than you first think. Once you have all the information, videos, handouts … then it’s time to decide which course builder to use on your website.
Market it
So the course is created. Now it’s time to really push on your sales and marketing activities to create interest and sales. There are many different ways to market your online course. You can use social media. In this article, I have some ideas to get you started. Some of which can be done as you build the course to create interest. You can also use a sales funnel to help you increase interest and awareness about your course on automation. And obviously you can create a marketing campaign with social media ads.
One thing that you should ensure to do at this stage is to ensure that you build trust by showing proof. People buy from those that they trust, and your marketing must reflect that. So ensure you have a way within your course to capture student feedback and testimonials.
Struggling with marketing? Check out our article on how to use sales funnels to sell your course.
If you are looking to create a new website and would like a FREE Strategic Website Consult Call here, schedule it here. Our calls are totally no-pressure. We are trying to help you solve problems in your business, not sell you stuff you don’t need.
