There's never been a better time to start an online course business. With the internet at our fingertips, creating and selling educational courses to a global audience is easy. According to a stat shared by ReportLinker, the international online courses and education market will be worth $499.1 billion by 2027. Even after 2027, there are very few chances that the growth will slow down. Numerous people pursue online courses for knowledge, training, or professional work. They want to improve their skills to evolve their professional careers and business operations.
Many entrepreneurs and subject matter experts have created digital courses to share their knowledge and sell them on different platforms. Thousands of users join online course platforms to sell courses and make money. Online course businesses are run by well-established organizations, individual freelancers, employed workers doing this part-time, aspiring entrepreneurs, and even students.
Starting an online course business is viewed as a viable way to create additional income. It is seen by many as a means to earn a passive income because selling online courses does not require you to work on the courses daily. Since you are a business owner, you must establish a mechanism to run your online course business and create courses you can sell. Unless you upgrade your courses from time to time, you only have a little work to do on your past courses. But you keep getting revenue from them if people keep buying them for a long time.
Individuals and organizations even create online courses to train internal staff members to gain authority as an expert in their field and penetrate the market. Online courses are often the primary source of income for people who sell them. They build it up as their direct business model and sustain it as their primary revenue stream.
Tips for Starting an Online Course Business
1) Choose a Niche
There's no single answer to this question, as the best way to start and run an online course business depends on your specific interests, goals, and skills. However, some popular niches for an online course business plan include:
- cooking classes
- parenting classes
- fitness classes
- self-improvement courses
- business training courses
- computer programming courses
Picking a specific target audience is essential when creating an online course. Consider who might be interested in your topic and their needs. If you are a yoga expert, for example, and want to teach yoga to others, you can narrow down your audience to women who practice yoga to get back in shape after a pregnancy.
2) Define Your Course Business
Online course business is a rapidly growing industry with huge potential. It's an ideal way to make a passive income from your passion, and there are many ways to get started. Start by defining what type of courses you want to offer. How would you like to teach? What are the topics that you find interesting? How would you describe your specialized skills? What industry do you have the most experience and exposure in?
It could be anything from online courses on a specific topic, such as cooking or styling, to more general courses on life skills, such as managing finances or networking. Once you know the courses you want to create, start researching how to make them. Many resources are available online, including free guides and online course platforms like Udemy.
List all the topics you consider knowledgeable about that come to mind from your personal and professional experiences. You should continue brainstorming until you have a long list of online courses. Then filter out to keep only those that are most interesting to you. It may take a few days to narrow your niche or course topic.
3) Conduct Market Research
Once you have decided on a niche, it's essential to research and identifies which courses are in high demand. You can find information on popular course topics by visiting sites like Course Report or Course Report+. There are many ways to start an online course business that will work. The most important aspect is to conduct market research to determine what people are looking for and need.
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Start by surveying your community. Ask people what they want to learn and find out if any existing online courses cover the topic. Once you have a good idea of what people wish to do, consider developing a course on the subject yourself or partnering with an experienced instructor who can help create quality content. Above all, be persistent in your efforts and stay determined in the face of competition. With hard work and dedication, you can successfully sell online courses that will work for you.
If you want to validate the demand for your online course, you can conduct a competitor analysis. Find out who is selling online courses in your area. If others are competing for the same topic, the demand is there. Ask your audience if they would be interested in buying the course. To start an online course business, you must conduct market research.
4) Choose the Right Platform
Depending on your skills, goals, and budget, many different platforms are available to start and run an online course business. Here are some of the most popular options for running an online course business plan:
- Blogs: Blogging is a great way to share information and connect with potential students.
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- Websites: They are more formal than blogs and can be more complex to set up. However, the emergence of website builders has made things easy for entrepreneurs worldwide. Standard website-building platform options include WordPress, Drupal, or Strikingly.
- Answered Questions (Q&A): Answered questions (Q&A) websites offer a simple way to create a course without having to build a website from scratch. Examples include Quora and StackExchange.
- Classes: Classes can be offered on platforms like Udemy or Skillshare. These services allow you to set up a course with minimal effort, then sell access to it through an online marketplace like CourseMe or eLearning Industry.
5) Design and Create Your Course Assets
The next step is to create the course. If you are building your first online course, you will need to learn the basic structure of such a course. Make sure you develop high-quality content that people feel is worth buying. Make sure you divide the content into modules, include quizzes, and add videos to explain concepts.
The course trailer will help promote your course and highlight its key features once your actual course is ready. It will identify the problem and tease the solution that your audience is searching for. Before people purchase and enroll in your course, they can watch it.
There are many ways to create course assets, including video content, slideshows, and PDFs. You can also use tools like Canva or Adobe Photoshop to create graphic designs and logos. Once you have made your course assets, you must upload them to a hosting service like WordPress or CourseStack. You can then create a website or landing page to sell your courses.
6) Offer Your Course for Sale
Once you have identified a few potential course topics, it's time to begin planning your course content. It involves developing lectures and materials to help students learn about the subject. You can also use video marketing tools to promote your courses online. Finally, it's essential to build a robust eCommerce platform so that you can sell online courses.
Online courses and many different business models offer many ways to make money. You can sell your courses as standalone products, as part of an e-learning platform or course management system (CMS), or in collaboration with other providers.
There are many ways to market your courses, including paid advertising, email marketing, and social media. You can also offer discounts for early enrollment, create a forum for students to ask questions, and provide support materials such as FAQs and video tutorials.
Your course should have a strong brand identity. It means creating a name, logo, and other visual elements that help customers identify your courses and remember them later. You can also create landing pages with information about your courses and sign-up forms for those who want to learn more about them.
Social media networks are a great way to reach potential students and build an audience for your courses. Use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and other platforms to share information about your courses, promotional videos, and images. You can also set up blog content related to online education so potential students can learn more about your offer.
Building an audience is vital to success in the online course business. You can promote your courses through word-of-mouth marketing or paid advertising. You can also host a contest or give away freebies to attract attention from potential students.
7) Monetize Your Course
If you're considering starting an online course business, there are a few things to remember. One of the most important things to consider is monetizing your course. There are ways to do this, from selling products or services related to your course to charging for access. Another thing to think about is how you'll market your course. Create a website or blog to promote it, or sign up with a platform like Strikingly that provides marketing tools and support. Finally, ensure you have a solid plan for launching and promoting your course. It'll take effort and planning, but it can be worth it if your goal is to generate income from your course.
Benefits of an Online Course Business Plan
Online course business is a booming industry that will only continue to grow. Here are some benefits of selling online courses in 2023:
- Increased Income: According to a stat shared by LearnWorlds, the average course creator earns $1k – $10k per month from their courses. Hence, you can imagine the revenue from starting an online course business.
- Flexible Scheduling: You can create courses in whatever period works best for you. No more missing due dates or feeling rushed.
- Increased Exposure: Selling online courses gives you access to a global audience. It is a great way to reach potential customers and build your brand name.
- Reduced Marketing Costs: Because you don't have to spend money on advertising, your course business can be very cost-effective. Plus, there are plenty of marketing resources available online if you need them.
- More Control Over Your Business: If you want, you can run your course business entirely off your schedule without help from a third-party provider. It gives you much control over your business and enables you to make decisions quickly and efficiently when necessary.
Build an Online Course Business Plan on Strikingly
Image taken from Strikingly
Due to the emergence of quality website builders, the website development process has become easy and cost-effective today. Strikingly is a professional website builder that enables you to build a business website without breaking a sweat. We provide our users with a simple store section, allowing them to sell online courses and collect student payments.
Image taken from Strikingly
You can take advantage of our Membership feature as part of our Pro plan to sell online courses. This feature allows you to showcase your webpage to only those who pursue membership items from your website. To achieve this, you must activate multi-pages on your platform. Click on "'Manage Members-only pages' from your site editor. Your courses will be added as products on your Strikingly site.
Image taken from Strikingly
Conclusion
If you learn how to start an online course business, it can be an enriching experience. If you put in the effort, plenty of tips and tricks will help make your course business successful. From designing engaging courses that people will want to take to marketing your course successfully so that people know about it, these are just a few things you'll need to keep in mind if you want to see your business thrive.
It is a great time to start an online course business this year and next year. Selling online courses through your website gives you complete control over your customer data, any changes you want to make to the course content, payments, and website analytics. Strikingly loves seeing users achieve financial freedom as they become owners of their businesses.
