Is creating an online course worth it?
In the last decade online courses have become a normal way of life for many learners. And since the pandemic more and more people are choosing to learn online due to ease, accessibly and for financial reasons. With online courses expected to reach a whooping $325 billion by 2025 it has never been a better time to make an online course to sell.
This article shares 8 benefits of creating and selling an online course.
What is an Online Course?
An online course is a training delivered to participants though an online platform. Online courses are typically recorded in advance and uploaded to an online platform for course participants to access.
When it comes to great online courses, they are often rooted in a problem-solving approach where the course provides steps, tools or strategies to help the participate manage, overcome or achieve a specific outcome from a specific problem that the participant is facing.
When someone buys an online course they expect to receive a roadmap, formula or framework to get them from point A to point B faster than doing it by themselves. They want to gain specific skills or tools in the course to help them ultimately achieve a specific outcome or result.
Great online courses tend to focus less on providing historical information or theory and more about providing practical solutions. In saying that, there are definitely times when providing background knowledge is beneficial, as long as the information is essential for participants to achieve the intended result or outcome.
There’s always a reason why someone wants to take a course. Ask yourself, what’s the reason? And then give them the resources, tools, steps, or strategies that will make their journey successful. Also, ensure that your content is digestible so that your participant can stay on track and get the result they want to get from your course.
Benefits of Selling an Online Course
There are several benefits for creating and selling an online course. These benefits extend to you and your participants. Here are the 8 benefits so that you determine is creating an online course worth it for you and your business.
Benefit #1: Early Intervention
A large number of people prefer to try to get results on their own before enlisting in formal one-to-one. Whether your course teaches how to manage or overcome a specific obstacle or behaviour, a business strategy, or how to make a strategic change in one’s life, the goal for most participants are the same: to get the result they want without having to spend a lot of money.
Very few people start their journey by enlisting professional help, usually it’s the “last resort.” So by creating and selling an online course you can reach people who are not yet ready or have no intention to reach out for your professional services. And you’re tapping into a market of potential clients you might never had the opportunity to help.
Benefit #2: High Retention Rate
Research shows that learning online has a 25 to 60% retention rate compared to in-person learning that only has a 8 to 10% retention rate. If participants retain more from your course, they’ll be more successful at implementing its concepts that will lead to lasting change. And happy participants means glowing reviews and referrals.
Benefit #3: Participants Can Access Course Anytime
There’s something to be said about being able to learn on your own time – it makes learning accessible. Not all participants will learn best at whatever time you choose to do an in-person training. Some people are early birds while others night owls. So with a pre-recorded online course, participants can access in the morning, noon or night, whatever time works best for them. There are so many potential barriers for some people to access in-person trainings: work, children, transportation, and so on. So when participants are able to access the course on their own time, they’re more likely to register for it and be successful at completing it.
Benefit #4: Flexibility Over Your Time
When participants can access the course on their own time, you gain flexibility over yours. Flexibility is one of the major motivators for those want to create and sell online courses. When you create and sell an online course, you can choose when you create, record, edit and sell the course. And unlike in-person services or trainings where you’re bound to a time commitment, with online courses there’s no time commitment required.
Benefit #5: Create Once, Sell Over and Over
There’s not many things in life (or business) where you can do something once and make an ongoing profit, but creating and selling an online course is one of them. When you create an online course, you will put in a lot of effort upfront to create your content. From recording your course videos to preparing your course sales page, you’ll be working for free in the beginning. But once it’s done you have an asset that you can sell repeatedly. Although you’ll need to continue to market your course for potential participants to know it exists, you won’t ever need to recreate it. And if you choose to update your course in the future, you won’t be starting from scratch.
Benefit #6: Reach More People
When you provide one-to-one services, you’re bound to a specific location. However, when you create and sell an online course there are no geographical boundaries. By selling online course, anyone, anywhere can enroll in your course. You’ll reach more people and tap into a pool of participants you never could providing traditional services.
Benefit #7: Low Cost to Create and Sell an Online Course
One of the biggest perks to creating and selling an online course is that it’s low cost. Compared to in-person trainings where you’ll need to pay for space, tech and tech setup, printing costs for event handouts, and snacks, with online courses the cost is substantially lower. All you need to create and sell a great online course is a recording and editing software like Descript; a presentation design software like Canva; a course hosting platform like Kajabi; and course legal disclaimers, like those you can purchase at Online Legal Essentials. In-person trainings could cost you thousands of dollars, whereas online courses cost a few hundred dollars (or less).
Benefit #8: Earn Passive Income
Probably one of the best benefits of selling online courses is the passive income. You can put your online course on evergreen where anyone can buy it at anytime and start seeing passive income flow in. However, you can also launch it over and over and build more momentum around your course. And there is no limit on how many people can buy your online course so the earning potential is infinite.
Conclusion
So, is creating an online course worth it? These 8 benefits alone make creating an online course totally worth it! The upfront time and effort is a one-time commitment. And once your online course is created, you have an invaluable asset to your entire business model. You can sell your course over and over and make passive income years to come.
Check out 6 Essential Software for Creating Online Courses.
Disclaimer
Any links, referrals or promotional codes listed in this article may be affiliate links where Evaspare Inc. may receive monetary compensation, at no extra cost you, when you click or use links or promotional codes.
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