Education has come a long way with the adoption of technology over the past couple of decades. Online courses quickly gain popularity among tutors and learners, considering their wider reach, higher engagement, and easier administration. One of the great ways for tutors to share knowledge with the world and make money at the same time is by creating online courses. If you are wondering how to create an online course, we are going to learn a step-step guide on creating a great online course. Following these steps, you will be able to create a plan for creating and learning your online courses with confidence.
Research and finalize on the course topic
Selecting the topic for your online course is the most difficult task but also the most important step. If you fail to choose a topic that doesn’t solve a problem for your target audience, it would never do great. When you are choosing the topic for your online course, potions yourself as a solution provider.
To select the right topic, begin with market research to understand the problems faced by your target market. This will help you understand the new and emerging topics that most audiences are interested in. The positive thing is that you need not be an expert in a subject area to create an online course; you just have to think from your target audience’s perspective. Once you choose a list of topics, check out the market to ensure that there is demand for the topic you want to finalize.
Build the authority to become an expert
Although you don’t have to be an expert to create an online class, you must be knowledgeable about your courses’ subject. Once you start researching deeply about the course, you will get to build knowledge on the subject, increasing your knowledge and making your online courses more profitable. Learners like to learn from experts, but they also would love to learn it from someone they can relate to and trust.
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Settle on your target learners
As you frame a clear idea about the topic you are going to create your online course on, the next step is to understand your target learners. Not every course subject is suited for every audience. Hence, you must ensure that your target learners are well defined and actionable and are interested in your topic choice. Consider the following demographics factors when determining your audience.
- Age of your target learners
- The gender that has more demand for your online course
- The average academic level of learners
- Employment status of your learners
Another factor you must consider is seasonality. Because certain courses have more demand at specific times. Targeting learners based on their intent is also a great strategy. For example, you can target learners who want to make a career transition to robotics using your course on the same topic.
Create the course outline
Creating a course outline is not a big task but creating a successful online course that actually brings in excellent results requires careful planning. After you have enough knowledge about your target audience and your course topic, you must create a course outline. During this process, consider aspects like how in-depth the course will be, what tone you are going to use throughout the course, and the unique learning objectives you have.
Break down your course subject into a specific topic, eLearning goals, and segment them further to targeted subtopics and lessons. Keep in mind that creating a course outline is not mandatory. You can straightaway move on to creating the course content if you have a clear deal about what you want to offer to your learners.
Create the course content and learning materials
If you want to create a successful and truly engaging online course, you should try integrating more than a type of course content.
Here are some of the types of content you can create.
- Text
- Images and infographic
- PowerPoint presentations
- Videos
- eBooks in PDF format
Regardless of the topic you select, refer to multiple resources to integrate into your online course. Once you gather all the learning materials, you can start recording the videos. If you already have podcasts or webinars on the subject, don’t hesitate to repurpose it and use it for your online course.
Monetize right
After creating an online course, you must come up with tactics like providing the course for free or based on subscriptions. When selling premium courses, you must conduct market research to check out prices of similar online courses on popular eLearning websites to understand the general course rates.
Another factor you must consider is your target audience; if there is no one to buy your online course, there is no point in pricing it high. When coming up with the course prices, you must strike the right balance between affordability and profitability. The best way to price your online course content right is to price it according to the value you are offering.
Create an eLearning platform to host your online course
After creating your online course, you must think of ways to deliver your course to your target learners. There are plenty of eLearning platforms that you can choose to host your online course, but none of them offer the flexibility that your own eLearning platform provides. Today’s modern technology has made it quite simple for educators to create online learning platforms using white label solutions.
Choose the best course management software to create a full-fledged online tutoring marketplace to host your self-paced online courses. Pinlearn is a ready-made software solution that helps you connect with learners of all levels.
Conclusion
Creating a successful online course can be a trick, but things become easy if you know your target learners and core subject. Not only will you be creating a steady income, but you will also have the benefit of sharing your expertise in your subject area. The learning needs of students change constantly; hence you must come with strategies to keep up with the changing needs of your students. Be read to improve, adapt, and enhance your courses on a consistent basis.
