Online courses are a great way to promote your business and add an extra revenue stream. Course topics and cover almost any subject. If you have a skill you want to share with others, an online course will allow you to teach to a wide audience. Before you invest the time and money to create your course, here are some planning steps to ensure that your course is successful.
Know The 3 Phases of Online Course Creation
There are three phases to creating a successful online course – content development, execution and promotion. In the content development phase, you will decide what your course subject will be and outline your lessons. Decide how your students will measure their skills and how they will provide feedback. Will you include course exercises and polls? Next, the execution phase is where you will create your video content and begin putting the online course together. Finally, once your course content is complete, you will need to promote your course.
Check The Competition
While you are brainstorming topics for your online course, check and see what other courses are available. This will give you an idea of how much competition exists in your field, and will also give you some insight as to which platform will be the best for you. You want to choose a platform that comes up frequently at the top of searches for your subject when possible, because it will be the easiest to drive traffic to. Keep your topic broad to begin, and then brainstorm a handful of potential course subjects. As you are brainstorming, ask yourself, “how will my course be unique and stand out from others like it?” Select your top 5 subjects, and then assess which topic will have the highest demand. One easy way to test this is by setting up a poll on your social media.
Decide Who Your Audience Will Be
The biggest mistake when creating an online course is to assume that your course should be for everyone. Online courses that are tailored to a specific audience will get better results. For example, a skilled baker may want to learn more advanced pastry techniques. They would be bored having to watch someone go over the basics, while a beginner may feel overwhelmed trying to keep up with the advanced techniques. Decide what skill level you want to teach, and make sure that the topic isn’t too broad. For example, “Advanced Cooking Skills” would be too broad of a topic, which “Advanced Pastry Techniques” defines a more specific audience – cooks with a background knowledge of baking that want to improve their pastry skills. If you have the time and resources, you could also create a complete course series that goes from beginner to advanced. This is a great way to build a following with repeat students.
Have A Plan for Promoting Your Online Course
Choose the platform you are going to host your course on during the planning phase. If you are new to online courses or aren’t sure what’s out there, this review may be a helpful place to start. Weigh the pros and cons of each platform – choose one that is a good fit for your general topic and has the best value for the price. However, don’t rely on the platform alone to sell your online course. Create a marketing plan for your course that includes multiple channels – email lists, social media, digital advertising and traditional print advertising are just a few ways to get the word out about your newest online course. Be sure to engage and interact with your students within the course platform as well. This will boost the student experience and help you build loyalty and referrals.
Do you have a skill that you’d like to share? Let us know in the comments! For more video marketing help, check out our free guide here.
-Sara E. Jones, CEO & Co-founder, RadBot Video