How to Start a Online Courses Business in 2024
Last Updated: 12/17/2023
How I Started My Own Online Courses Business
Hey friends! I wanted to share the story of how I started my own online courses business from scratch. I’ll walk you through the steps I took and what I learned along the way.
Finding My Niche
The first major decision was choosing a niche. With online courses, it’s smart to focus on a specific, narrow topic that you have expertise in. I thought about areas I was passionate about and could teach others. After some brainstorming, I decided to create courses in social media marketing. This was a good niche because I had worked in the field for 5 years and saw high demand for learning these skills.
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Creating My First Course
Once I picked a niche, it was time to develop my first course. I outlined lessons on topics like growing a following on Instagram, social media advertising, analytics, and more. I structured the course into 10 modules mixing video lessons I filmed, downloadable slides, and quizzes to reinforce learning. It took about 6 weeks to put together the first version of the course.
Building My Website
I used WordPress and the LearnDash plugin to build the website for my courses. I wanted an elegant yet simple site that made it easy for students to browse courses and enroll. I invested in a premium theme and some stock photos to make the site look polished. The final step was integrating a payment processor to handle all the checkout logistics.
Pricing My Course
Pricing was tricky. I researched competitors’ prices and ultimately decided to price my social media marketing course at $199. This felt like a good value for the amount of content. To incentivize enrollment, I also offered a payment plan option and occasional promotions like 20% off for first-time students.
Getting the Word Out
Once my course was live, it was time to promote it! I leveraged social media and started building an audience interested in social media marketing. I partnered with influencers in the industry to help spread the word. Email marketing to subscribers was another key strategy. My goal was to provide value by sharing free tips before inviting them to enroll in the paid course.
Refining and Expanding My Offerings
I closely tracked student feedback and data on enrollment, completion rate, etc. This helped me identify areas for improvement. For example, I realized some lessons needed better examples, so I updated them. After a few months my first course was thriving, and I began creating several more courses to form a complete social media marketing curriculum.
And that’s the story of how I started my online courses business! It was a ton of work but also incredibly rewarding to see students benefit from the courses I built. Online education is an amazing way to share your knowledge with the world. If you’re thinking of starting a course business, I hope my experience gives you a helpful blueprint to follow.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What platform should I use to host my online courses?
Some top platforms to create and host your online courses include Teachable, Thinkific, Podia, LearnWorlds and Kajabi. Compare features like course creation tools, payment processing, marketing capabilities and more. Make sure to choose a platform that allows you to customize your branding.
How much should I charge for my online courses?
Pricing your online courses depends on factors like your niche, course length, production value and target audience. As a benchmark, courses range from $20 for short entry-level courses up to $500+ for very extensive premium courses. Study competitors and test different price points. Offer bundled deals, payment plans and occasional promotions.
What makes an effective online course curriculum?
The best online course curriculums have clear learning objectives, organized modules and lessons, high-quality multimedia content, opportunities for student interaction, quizzes/assignments and downloadable materials. Make sure to structure your curriculum in a logical flow for students.
How do I get students to enroll in my courses?
Some top marketing strategies include SEO optimization, social media marketing, email sequences, affiliate partnerships, guest posting, addressing pain points with free content and leveraging influencer promotions. Focus on providing value and building relationships with your audience.
How can I improve my online courses over time?
Analyze student feedback through surveys and reviews. Track student completion rates, satisfaction and engagement. Update your courses periodically with new material and examples. Add more interactive elements. Improve the student experience based on issues reported. Stay on trend with new online education tools and techniques.
