Creating an online course is one of the best ways to start monetising your platform, while also building your reputation and visibility.
However, if you don't have an idea of where to start, then creating an online course could be a huge time suck. Why? Because courses need content.
In order to be seen by your audience as an expert, you need a platform to leverage. If you want to make a nice income and be recognised as the go-to person in your niche, you need to be seen. But, if being seen is all it takes then they'd be a lot more online courses. You can see how potential course creators get stuck! You need to be seen in your capacity as an expert. It’s essential to your course success to become known for the talent that helps the people in your niche.
I talk a huge amount about content. It's a running joke that I can't do podcast interviews because I talk so much; I need a season. Courses need content, so it's important that you create what you wish to be known for. You’re not just building a platform: You’re building a community of passionate people who know you, your content and experience are the answers they've been looking for.
What’s stopping you from creating your first online course?
If starting is where you’re stuck, this article is definitely for you. I’m going to show you four simple ways to ease into teaching and growing your passive income, by creating your first online course.
Many entrepreneurs and even coaches fall into the trap of telling themselves, “I’m not ready for this. I wouldn’t know what to teach.” Well, no one’s ever really ready to jump in and do something they’ve never done before. But as Susan Jeffers says “Feel the fear and do it anyway”
You know from experience, that once you’ve jumped out of the plane for your first sky-dive, scared, shaking, and strapped to your instructor … to your surprise, as you walk back to the hangar you’re ready to do it again.
If you’re thinking to yourself, “I will never sky-dive. ” here’s the beautiful simplicity of creating online courses, distilled into 3 things:
- If you can show a specific type of person to do a specific type of thing, you have the expertise needed to create an online course.
- If you can demonstrate a specific process that will leave the person you’re showing able to attain a result they can use, see, or feel, you can put this in an online course.
- There isn’t just one way to present a course. You can tailor your delivery to match your own personality, talents, skills, preferences, and learning style.
In other words, if you could teach or write a “how-to” to or “step-by-step” method of doing something, you’re all set to teach a course!
Now, there’s one more really important factor you need to consider. Will people pay to learn what you teach? Do they already pay for information on that specific process or topic? Have you got competition?
If your answer is ‘yes', then you’re definitely all set, not just to teach a course, but to also make money with it
And if you want to create a free course on a topic or process that people will pay for, then you have an incredibly powerful lead magnet just waiting to happen because you’re willing to share valuable knowledge they would usually have to pay for.
If you’re the coach or entrepreneur who tells mentors, accountability partners, and anyone else who asks how your course is coming along, “I’m still working on it” or “I’ve just been too busy”, here’s how to break yourself out of that trap.
The 5-Day Course Challenge
The 5-Day Course Challenge is a great starting point for getting your first course online. You can join here: https://www.contentnitro.co.uk/CourseChallenge
The 5 Day Course Challenge is a free course, project management tool, and motivation all wrapped up in a community. It makes creating your first course very easy, and like the sky-dive, once you've done one you'll be ready to do another!
Is it really possible to get a course online in 5-Days? Yep, you can do it in a day if you want (just pick up the book here https://www.contentnitro.co.uk/SparksBook and follow the steps)
When it comes to creating your first online course you can easily get trapped in the “How do I deliver my content” rut to “What do I say”. The 10 Day Course Challenge eliminates course creation overwhelm, and there's even content for you to use if you're struggling with what content to create.
Or course, once you've created your course the next step is marketing it, and this is where the 10-Day Course Challenge really comes into its own; there's a course marketing planner.
As someone who loves planners, I was delighted to see the planner, and how it helped me focus on the goals of marketing my courses and the actions and activities I needed to complete.
So, if you're thinking about creating your first online course, and you've got some ideas then the 5 Day Course Challenge (which is free) will help you get a course created rapidly.
You can join here
https://www.contentnitro.co.uk/CourseChallenge
You might also like to know that as I've done this challenge, my feedback and other people's have been incorporated into it. If you join the community, you will also see me there and I'm very active and very visible.
Enjoy!
Sarah x