5 Things to Consider Before Creating an Online Course
Are you struggling to get your online courses off the ground?
There's no doubt about it, getting it right can be a challenge, but with the proper preparation and planning, you can easily create an online course that will be successful and profitable.
In this article, we'll cover five key considerations before creating an online course.
Target Audience
This may sound obvious, but you need to identify who you're making the course for, understand the needs and interests of your target audience and what problem you're solving.
During a conversation last week, a course creator needed help to tell me what problem their course addressed. They told me it was a generic course suitable for 'everyone'. Sorry, but that's not going to work.
If you want to make your course a success, you must take time to create comprehensive market research and narrow down the demographics you're targeting.
A great way to do this is by leveraging networking opportunities to get feedback from potential users. Ask them questions about their struggles, and note the language they use in their answers.
This will tell you what they need to overcome their problems and it will be the basis of your marketing messages.
Course Structure
When creating an online course, consider the classroom setup, virtual meetings, video tutorials, and online quizzes that will best suit the needs of your target audience. In addition, consider the platform selection so your students can easily access the course material and interact with other students and instructors.
Kajabi is an excellent platform for all of these needs. With its Course, Coaching and Membership products, you can create an incredible learning experience for your customers.
The course structure should be designed to provide your students with an organised and easy-to-follow learning journey.
Consider breaking the content into manageable chunks through modules and lessons, and where you can, keep each lesson under 10 minutes to help promote engagement.
Don't try to cram everything into one module; otherwise, you'll be in danger of overwhelming your students which can lead to the course's non-completion.
Course Content
Crafting engaging course content is crucial in delivering a successful learning experience that will keep students engaged and motivated. When you're creating your course, carefully consider your topics, assess their difficulty and establish objectives for each.
Developing materials and selecting appropriate media can be daunting, but it's a must for a successful course. Choosing topics that are relevant and interesting to the audience, as well as questions that will challenge them, is an essential step in creating engaging content.
Think about using quizzes at the end of each module to help measure progress and challenge the student.
Teaching Style
The adage goes, "You teach the way you want to be taught."
So when you're creating an online course, consider what teaching style you will use and what comes naturally to you. This will ensure that your learners stay engaged and motivated.
Here are some teaching style options:
- Voice over a slide deck
- Face to camera
- Audio only
You can also support your training with downloadable worksheets and guides.
Your students need to know that they're making good progress, so be sure to provide this with quizzes or assessments along the way.
Promotion and Advertising
Build it, and they will come. Unfortunately not, because if your audience doesn't know you have a solution for them, all you'll hear is crickets.
The first step in creating a successful marketing campaign is to create a buzz around your online course. This can be done by sharing snippets of your online course and its content on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
You can also use content marketing tactics, such as creating videos and blog posts that discuss the topics in your course.
Additionally, you can use digital marketing strategies, such as paid advertising on search engines and social media platforms.
Think about your pricing strategies that will make the course attractive to potential learners. Remember, the price of your course is directly related to the value of the outcome. Think about how much time and money your ideal customer has already wasted trying to solve their problem and what they will be willing to pay if you can give them the solution through your course.
Conclusion
You've worked hard to ensure that your online course is perfect for your target audience and reflects your teaching style. Now, you've got to make sure it gets the attention it deserves.
You've considered course structure, content, teaching style, promotion, and advertising. With all these pieces in place, you can be sure your online course will succeed.
Think big, be creative, be bold and get it out there! With a well-crafted online course, you can be sure your students will have a fantastic learning experience.
Still need help creating, launching or marketing your online course?
Book a free Discovery Call with me and I'll show you why Kajabi is the ultimate platform for online course creators, even if you've never launched a course before. Book your call here...
About the Author
ANDY BROWN - Founder & Creative Director
My first experience with digital marketing was in 1986 when I was introduced to the Apple Macintosh Plus. From that point, I was hooked and spent most of my career in advertising agencies in London, Scotland and Jersey before setting up Great Circle in 2004.
I’ve been fortunate to have worked with some of the leading brands in the world, from which I bring my experience and love of digital marketing to our clients.
My superpowers are business growth strategy, content development and SEO. I’m also a bit of a data geek, so I’m heading up the adoption of Ai into the business.
Most of all, though, I love spending time with our amazing clients to find out how we can help take their business to the next level.
Book a FREE Discovery Call with me today: Book your call here...
