Online courses have become an integral part of modern education, offering a flexible and accessible way for learners to achieve specific goals. Whether self-paced or instructor-led, blended, or hybrid, online courses have evolved to include diverse content formats like videos, webinars, PDFs, slideshows, podcasts, and quizzes. These courses are not only sold as standalone products but also serve as the foundation for corporate training programs.
The 13-Step Guide on How to Create an Online Course
Step 1: Develop a Positive Mindset – Building the right mindset is crucial for success. Overcome common doubts and fears, such as lack of funds, imposter syndrome, or technical skills. Recognize that creating an online course is affordable, leverages existing knowledge allows for learning from mistakes, and requires minimal technical skills, especially with tools like eSkilled AI Course Creator.
Step 2: Choose a Topic – Select a topic you are passionate about and knowledgeable in. Validate its popularity through social media research and course marketplaces. Explore various e-course ideas to find a niche that resonates with your target audience. Check out our blog on 200 Online Course Topic Ideas for some inspiration.
Step 3: Know Your Audience – Gather insights into your target audience’s experience with online education, reasons for joining the course, time availability, skill levels, preferred learning styles, and prior course experiences. Use social media, surveys, keyword research, and personal connections to isolate your target audience.
Step 4: Outline Your Learning Objectives – Define clear, measurable learning objectives that articulate the benefits learners will gain from your course. These objectives serve as a value proposition and should be prominently featured in your marketing materials and sales process. Align them with what your audience desires or lacks from competitors.
Step 5: Create a Storyboard – Organize your course content and visualize the flow by using a storyboard. Ensure that all content directly relates to the learning objectives. Consider using resources like a “Definite Checklist to Design Your Course Contents” to aid in structuring your content effectively. Your storyboard is your roadmap for development and ensures you cover all key content.
Step 6: Decide Where to Host Your Course – Choose an appropriate platform for hosting your course. Options include self-hosting, online course marketplaces like Udemy, or dedicated online course platforms like eSkilled AI Course Creator. The latter offers simplicity, combining course creation, website building, and eCommerce in one place, with additional features for customisation and marketing.
Step 7: Create Your Content – Create engaging content by incorporating instructional design basics. Utilize small wins, scaffolding, active learning, and video to enhance the learning experience. Establish an online learning community to foster communication and peer support among learners.
Step 8: Select a Business Model – Choose a business model that aligns with your goals. Options include selling individual courses, cohort-based courses for practical subjects, memberships with monthly recurring income, or offering free mini-courses to expand your mailing list.
Step 9: Create a Course Page that Converts – Craft a persuasive sales page that answers key questions about your course, addressing the target audience, learning objectives, and the transformative impact of the course on their lives. Use customisable templates to enhance the visual appeal of your course page.
Step 10: Build a Sales Funnel – Develop a multi-step sales funnel to guide potential learners from awareness to purchase. Focus on creating interest, aiding decision-making, and ensuring a smooth purchasing process. Integrate effective marketing tactics such as course offers, lead magnets, email marketing, social media, SEO, reviews, and partnerships.
Step 11: Stay on Top of Your Marketing – Implement an ongoing marketing strategy to promote your course, enrol students, and sustain your business. Utilize various digital marketing channels, including coupons, discounts, bundles, email marketing, social media, SEO, reviews, influencers, and content marketing.
Step 12: Test – Test your course with real users to identify and fix errors. Get help from family and friends to proofread your course content, and also your landing pages and marketing materials. Fresh eyes will see errors you might miss due to over-familiarity with the content.
Step 13: Review Your Key Metrics – Look at your data, such as the proportion of students that engage with the course content and the number that complete. Create customer feedback surveys to get more insights on potential sticking points and other problems in your online course. Happy students refer friends and family and will come back for new courses you release in future.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Creating Your Online Course:
- Lengthy Videos – Optimize video lengths to cater to decreasing attention spans. Segment videos into short, self-contained sections, avoiding overly long comprehensive videos that may lead to disengagement.
- Worrying Too Much – Avoid becoming paralysed by perfectionism. Embrace imperfections, launch your course, and refine it based on feedback and real-world testing. The lean startup method is valuable for iterative improvement.
Embark on your journey to profitable online course creation by leveraging the power of eSkilled AI Course Creator and following this comprehensive guide. By combining a positive mindset, strategic planning, engaging content creation, and effective marketing, you can create and sell online courses that resonate with your audience and contribute to your personal and professional growth.
