Given all that has been going on in the world these past few months due to COVID-19, a lot of professionals are out of their usual work. Physical sales of non-essential goods have dropped, but people can still buy digital products with no hassle. If your normal work has been faltering lately, selling your knowledge online is a perfect way to both make some extra money and forge a growing online business.
In light of recent times, we put together this quick introduction to selling courses online.
Step 1: Create a Course
If you want to sell courses you need to create something to sell first. You will need to discover your niche. That is, what subjects are you an expert in and what kind of market is there for your knowledge? If you choose to teach about a topic that is out of demand then you probably won’t fare too well.
Once you figure out what you are going to teach, you have to put together a course. There is a lot of flexibility at this point. Courses could be video-based or they could consist of mostly text and other attachments. You could even do an entire audio-focused course if you want. The trick is to find something that fits your specialty and provide a unique voice for that niche
Step 2: Find a Platform
Next, you need a place to host and sell your courses. Fortunately, there are a ton of business platforms out there designed specifically for hosting and selling digital products. These platforms will let you design, upload and market your courses to your audience.
For example, Kajabi is an all-in-one business platform designed for creating, marketing, and selling online courses. Platforms like Kajabi have a huge set of course creation tools so you can create modules with distinct courses and lesson plans within.
The best part about platforms like Kajabi is that you rarely need any coding experience to work them. Online course platforms are designed with simple drag-and-drop editors so everything can be worked with just a click of your mouse.
Step 3: Market Your Course
No matter how good your course is, if it doesn’t get the right kind of exposure no one will buy it. That is why marketing your courses is important. You can focus your marketing efforts on email or social media. The key is to create a comprehensive marketing campaign that can successfully capture leads, generate conversions, and onboard/retain customers.
Many online course platforms contain built-in marketing tools to help sell your courses. These tools will let you create complex marketing automations or create custom opt-in forms and sales/landing pages. A good marketing strategy can make or break your online course business.
No matter your specialty, there is probably someone who will pay for your expertise. In a slow economy, knowledge retains its non-depreciable value and a side business selling online courses can be a huge windfall when money is tight. The best part is you can start slow and work your way up.
