7 Things You Need To Know Before You Launch An Online Course
So you’re excited about sharing your expert knowledge all packaged up into an online course How awesome! Online courses truly are an exceptionally wonderful resource for those who need them and a great opportunity for a new income stream for you.
I want to share the most important things you need to know
1. Pick the right topic. You may have a lot of topics you're passionate about or interested in, but you have to pick the topic you're going to be most confident teaching others on. People will be coming to you for your expertise and trusting you to deliver the results they desire. So while you may be passionate about saving money that could be totally different than being able to help people get out of debt. To create a course you will also need to lay a lot of ground work which means research so do not pick a subject that will burn you out.
2. You need an email list. This is a great way to get a loyal group of followers to share course updates and offers with. You could have all the social media followers in the world, but you won't have access to them if Instagram or Facebook shut down. You will always have your email list. So it's good to build before the course, during and after you launch. Always grow your email list.
3. You have to know your audience and what they need. The biggest mistake you can make is to build a course assuming you're going to sell it to everyone. When you create a course for everyone you have actually created a course for no one. I don't care if the subject applies to the vast majority the way you teach and structure your material will depend on your audience. So know them inside and out.
4. There will likely be a course that is similar and that is okay. In fact it's a good thing. Many people believe that just because someone else has done something before their isn't room for them. That couldn't be farther from the truth. Your voice, your perspective, your approach and all of that will STAND OUT for your audience. The best thing you can do to avoid comparison is to look for your competition to determine what they are doing right and what they could improve upon. Use these as ideas to get creative with your course.
5. Blended learning is an important part of online learning. While giving articles to read can be a great way for people to engage in more quiet settings, for some people videos are better to help them retain the information. The best courses have a more blended learning format which consists of video, audio, pdf, workbooks etc. So considering your student as you are creating content is going to be pivotal.
6. Create a course is going to teach you to trust yourself like never before. While I could tell you all the right and wrong things about course creations you know your content and audience better than me (at least you should) so you have to trust your gut when you have intuitive ideas. My creative spin on my courses has been one of the strongest selling points.
7. Be prepared that it won't be perfect the first time. Here is the good news. You're not married to your first course. I created my first course in 2017 and it looks TOTALLY different today than it did then. I am always staying relevant on the content so I made sure to update it so that it can still be a profitable course A mistake I often see course creators make is they want everything to be perfect. It won't be. And if you wait for perfection you will be waiting forever. So embrace the truth that you will need to launch before you're ready.
If you desire to create an online course sign up for a FREE call so I can help you get started: https://calendly.com/nicolyawilliams
