Online courses for passive income.... #73

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This article will highlight the following

1. Why create an online course

2. Framework to build an online course

3. How to build a landing page for an online course

4. How to market an online course

5. How to sell & monetize your online course

6. How to keep students engaged with your course

7. Different types of online course

8. How to Make Educational Videos

Strategies for your Success

1. Why create an online course

According to market research the online education industry will grow to $370 billion in 2026.

Online courses have overtaken traditional education in all aspects. People are seeking online courses as a viable option for learning. Even universities and schools across the world are starting to offer more online learning resources.

There are numerous benefits of creating an online course;

• Earn a passive income

• Earn a recurring income

• Create it once get paid forever

• Reach a wider audience

• Easy management

• Work from anywhere

• No material, extra costs or paperwork involved

• Geographical independence

• Flexibility of time

• Start out free

• Establishes you as an authority in your field

• Great lead generator, with many referrals and repeat customers

• Gives you credibility

• Helps build your personal brand, get your message out there & touch people

• Inexpensive solution to education

• Give people a chance to connect with you

• Online courses are becoming standard method of learning

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2. Framework to build an online course

A successful course always:

• Solves problems for others

• Teaches something new

• Helps achieve a goal

Your experience and knowledge can provide valuable information to others.

1. Choose a subject that interests and is useful for your audience

2. Test & validate your subject assumption

3. Study and research

4. Formulate a framework

5. Develop the content

6. Put the course online

7. Market

8. Sell

9. Get feedback and make appropriate changes

10. Develop a community
    

As in every other facet of business, you must know and understand your audience and your customer. The objective of your course is to take students from point A to point B. Make transformational changes in people's lives.

You'll be more successful in achieving this when you know about your audience. What do they already know about the course subject? What is their motivation for learning, their goals and ambitions? Are they experienced in your field? Are they beginners? What do they really want?

As always, you must test and validate your assumptions. A smoke test is when you start selling your online course before it’s even completed. You do this by setting up a landing page and driving traffic to see if anyone will actually click the big “buy now” button. Include a concise description of the course explaining what people can expect to learn add eye-catching imagery to further reflect the concept. Test if potential students will take action when they visit your course. Spread the word email list, comment on forums, and post your landing page on social media. Then check the data to see how many people clicked through and tried to purchase your online course. This way you can prove if there is a demand and also build up a list of potential customers who would then buy at launch.

3. How to build a landing page for an online course

Think of your landing page as your course description or sales page. This is where you describe your course and try to persuade people to sign up.

Here is a simple 8 step landing page framework;

1. A main headline and supporting headline

2. A clear and unique selling proposition

3. The benefits of what you're offering

4. Images or videos of your course

5. Social proof

6. Reinforcement statement

7. Closing argument

8. Call-to-action (CTA)

4. How to market an online course

For all marketing activities there are 3 objectives, when fulfilled, assure the customer they must do business with you. This is your aim and is the purpose of marketing. The 3 objectives are;

1. Capture Attention

2. Inform & Educate

3. Reduce the risk of buying, assure the customer

Successfully fulfilling these objectives will drive more leads, increase conversions and increase sales. Use a 4 step framework to fulfil these objectives;

You interrupt the prospect by identifying their biggest problem. In print, your interruption is the headline. In video it is the first thing you say. The most effective interruptions are ones that stir the emotions, that solve problems at the deepest level. This is how you effectively interrupt the prospect. You create a market dominating positions around this. It is vital.

You engage by giving the promise that information is forthcoming. This will be reflected in your subheading. Here will be the promise to solve the problem. This is all geared towards helping the prospect to make a decision. Again, emotional engagement is the most effective. It will facilitate the process of picking your business.

You educate the prospect by providing information so they can logically understand why and how you can solve their problem. This makes up the body of the ad or communication. Important and relevant information needs to be included.

You offer the prospect a low-risk way to take the next step. You can do a money back guarantee or try before you buy test drive or trial run. It could be a free marketing tool such as a report, brochure, seminar, video, something ideally to educate them. This offer will allow the prospect to feel in control of their final decision to call and buy from you. Make the offer so compelling that they cannot resist, make them feel foolish to do so.

Remember, the main way you can attract people with your transformational goals. Solve their problems. Show them how they get to where they want to be. State what the learner will be able to do, know, and feel by the end of the course. Prove that your course is something worth investing in.

Most marketing today does not include these 4 steps, the majority just interrupt and offer, leaving out the engagement and education. Everyone instead lists all the generic and “me too” services that all the competitors are also mentioning. Don't do this.

5. How to sell & monetize your online course

There are many options for selling your online course, depending on your needs and business plan:

• Sell course as a product: purchase your online course on a video-by-video basis or package. Have unlimited streaming of the purchased lessons. Choose if you want to allow viewers to download the video, or watch it directly on your site. Selling course access is probably the most popular and straightforward way to make money off an online course.

• Subscription: Pay a monthly fee and access all of the paid videos within a channel. Channel subscriptions create a pay-wall, separating the content of your website into public and premium.

• Membership site; Sell memberships to users where they can access exclusive content, such as your courses. You can also create and sell different membership levels that provide access to different sets of courses.

  
  

• For example, you can offer:

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• Level 1; access to all beginner courses • Level 2; access to all beginner and intermediate courses • Level 3 ; access to beginner, intermediate and advanced courses

• Paid plans: Pay all at once or with a recurring payment plan. Control everything from the type of plan, to what is included, how long it will last, and more. Display plan options on your site for clients to choose from and purchase. Paid Plans act as a pay-wall, allowing users to access the content only after they pay and log into the members area within your site.

• Sell course certificates: allow students to enrol in your course for free and make money by selling a course completion certificate. Many course graduates prefer to obtain proof of course completion and purchase certificates to validate their skills and knowledge and share with their networks.

• One-on-one real-time lessons: Teach live lessons to students in a personalised 1:1 setting. This format allows students to ask you questions and learn in a tailored approach that meets their specific learning level. Choose if you want to offer this option at an extra fee or have a predetermined number of private sessions included in the fixed course price.

It is always a good idea to offer a small preview of your course entirely for free. Getting a sneak peek of what they can expect to see will encourage students to sign up . Offer a short trailer for each lesson, or even the whole first lesson for free, while the rest are paid. Webinars, events and live Q&A session will all help to increase sales.

Develop a sales funnel to maximise sales efficiency and pinpoints exactly where the customer is during the buying process. Use it to help turn visitors into buyers. Use your funnel to segment the journey of your customer. At each separate part of their journey they will want different information and inputs. You can now provide it to them during the whole process from awareness to purchase. Your funnels should ideally break down the buying into 4 sections:

awareness, interest, desire and action (continue reading).

A quick word on pricing. It is in students’ best interests to charge for the education.

36% of students on average completed paid courses.

9% of students on average complete free courses.

There is a direct correlation between how much you charge for your course and the engagement level of your students. When you make your content free or cheap, people are less likely to trust it and have low expectations for results.

If you increase the price, people inherently feel that they’re getting more value. Once people purchase your course, they immediately feel compelled to see a return on their investment. No one wants to feel like they’re spending money on something they’ll never use.

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6. How to keep students engaged with your course

As a general rule, it’s a good idea to keep a fast pace and break down information into small, easily digestible chunks. Steer clear of lengthy explanations and slides with too much text! Long, dense texts are challenging to read on a screen (it’s much easier to break things into chunks). Keep it interactive if possible.

1. Present your best (online) self

2. Create interesting learning materials.

3. Create an online forum for discussions.

4. Provide and ask for a regular feedback.

5. Challenge students.

6. Provide option for 1-to-1 sessions.

7. Use technology to your advantage

8. Find what inspires your students

9. Set goals and help students stick to them

10. Keep it interactive

11. Break down the lessons and make it digestible

12. Make your students feel valued

13. Be patient with your students

7. Different types of online course

• Assessment Courses

• Presell Courses

• Orientation Courses

• Μini-courses

• Live courses

• Demonstrations/Workshops

• Professional training courses

• The X days challenge courses

• Certification courses

• Spotlight/Niche Topic Courses

• Traditional Academic Courses

• Drip feed courses

• Conceptual Change Courses

• Hybrid courses

• Series of invited talks Courses

• Selling digital goods or extra services

• Bonus Courses

• Complimentary to Physical Products Courses

8. How to Make Educational Videos

1. Chunk instruction

Research shows that learner engagement with videos begins to drop after the 6 minutes and it falls dramatically after 9.

Multiple short videos are better than one long video. Use chunk instruction such that each video only covers a single learning objective or task.

Introduce an important concept, provides several examples, and gives the students a task in 4 - 6 mins. In a world of short attention spans, videos like these make their points clearly and quickly.

2. Build Video ready slides

Use visual cues to highlight key information, and minimise the use of on-screen text. Be highly focused, clear and simple. Use compelling visuals and clear annotations to explain even complex ideas. Aim to retain attention by focusing on key terms and ideas.

3. Enhance engagement

The best instructional videos keep viewers actively engaged. Research shows

that when students take notes or answer guided questions while watching, they retain material better than students who watch passively. Embedding questions in your instructional video will improve student interaction

With Business 737 you can easily

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