Introduction
I've faced the same struggle that you have when trying to create a successful online course. I'm going to be honest with you, it's not easy and definitely can be frustrating.
Here are some essential steps to creating a successful online course.
Brainstorm your profitable course idea
You may have already come up with an idea for a course. If so, great! If not, think about what you’re good at and what you enjoy. Do you have a skill that is useful to others? Are there topics that other people are interested in and would want to learn more about? Then, it is likely that others would want to learn from you as well.
For example, if you love playing hockey and know how to dribble a ball on ice skates, then creating an online course on how to play hockey might be something worth considering.
If you are not sure what topic to create a course on, try this exercise: Make a list of all the things that interest or excite you. Brainstorm as much as possible – don’t hold back! Write down any ideas that come to mind: hobbies, travel destinations or activities; projects or ideas for businesses; skills like cooking or sewing; or anything else that makes your heart beat faster when thinking about it!
Validate your course topic
Validate your idea before you spend any time or money on it. You may have a great idea but if no one else is interested in it then there’s no point in creating it. If you have a passion for something, then it could be worth pursuing but don’t assume that people will want what you have to offer just because you do.
Is there enough demand for this course? You can see if there's interest in your chosen topic by looking at competitor courses or even launching a free preview version of your future paid course.
Identify your target audience
You probably have a pretty good idea of who your ideal student is, but take some time to make sure you're targeting the right people. What do they want? Where do they live? How old are they? What are their goals? What do they struggle with most? Once you've answered these questions it's time to hone in on your ideal student.
Use these criteria to niche down even further…
Are they open, willing, and able to pay to have this problem solved?
Identify ONE specific person who needs that problem solved
Can you easily reach your target audience?
Choose your platform Wisely
There are many different platforms for creating an online course. Some platforms are better suited for certain types of courses than others. Each platform has its own unique features that might help or hinder your goals for the course. Here are some places to start:
Udemy: Udemy is one of the largest global marketplaces for learning with over 9 million students in 196 countries. It offers a wide variety of topics from design to business to coding and more. You can also use Udemy's hosting services if you'd like to create a custom landing page and/or promote your course on social media channels like Facebook and Twitter.
Skillshare: Skillshare offers dozens of lectures on everything from cooking to photography to coding and more! Their platform makes it easy to upload PDF files or video files into one place so that people can find them easily by searching keywords related to their interests.
Lynda: Lynda offers thousands of courses taught by industry experts in software development, graphic design, photography, and more! They also offer certification programs in a variety of topics including iPhone app development
Create a course in WordPress (free) and sell access to it from your website using Teachable's free plan or its paid plans ($29/month). You can also use Teachable's embeddable widget on other websites too!
Create your course outline
To do this, sit down with a pen and paper and write down all of the topics that relate to your chosen subject matter. You should also think about how much time you want each section to take up in terms of class time and video length.
First, let's talk about what modules are and why they matter. Modules are essentially lessons within a larger lesson plan. They are the building blocks for building your course content. They help you organize all of the information that you want students to learn into manageable chunks. When students have completed each module in its entirety, they will have finished one unit: an individual segment of material that can be reviewed or repeated at a later time if necessary.
The lesson plans we're going to develop in this module will serve as our guideposts for creating a more structured experience for students—one where they know exactly what to expect from each module and when it will come up (and when it will end). Each lesson should also include some sort of assessment at the end so that you can see how well students are retaining information as they progress through their studies.
Organize and prepare
It's time to get organized!
This is the most important thing you can do to prepare for your online course. This will help you stay on track, and make sure that you're not forgetting anything important.
First, declutter your mind and space. Take some time to clear out any thoughts or feelings that are cluttering up your creative process. You might want to read a few articles on Zen meditation or other ways to calm your mind before starting this process. Once your mind is clear, take some time to organize your space as well: move furniture around, throw out old papers and files, etc. This way when it comes time to work on your course, all of those distractions will be gone!
Second Your next step is creating a schedule for yourself. You may want to block off certain times during the day for reading and writing, or maybe even plan out which days of the week you'll work on different sections of the course (like Monday for research/writing about X topic; Wednesday for video production). The point here is just making sure that you have a plan so nothing falls through the cracks—and also so that you don't feel overwhelmed by everything that needs doing at once!
Work on your course content
When you're working on your course content, it's easy to get caught up in the details and lose sight of why you're creating this resource in the first place.
Keep your goals in sight!
It's easy to get so wrapped up in the minutiae of your course that you forget why it matters—and what you want your students to walk away with. When you work on your course content, take a step back and think about how each section helps move students toward their goals.
For example, if one of your goals is for students to be able to explain the concept of "tipping point," then the course content should be structured around helping them understand what that means and how it relates to other concepts they may know about (like tipping over a bottle).
Conclusion
The world of online courses is progressing rapidly, and it shows no signs of slowing. This is largely due to how cheap, effective, and easy-to-use the learning management systems are that are so popular among online course creators and students alike. And while there may be a lot of choice out there when it comes to online course creation platforms, one thing remains clear: if you want your online course to succeed, the content you create should be top notch. But what are the secrets to creating great content? That's what we'll go over in this post.