Building and marketing an online course can be an extremely lucrative venture. With the ability to reach millions worldwide and the flexibility to work at your own pace, this field offers immense opportunities for those ready to delve into it. Whether you’re a seasoned expert in your industry or simply have knowledge to share, creating an online course could be your next big step in digital marketing. This step-by-step guide will help new marketers navigate this path. 
Step 1: Identify Your Niche and Target Audience
The first step in building your online course is identifying your niche. This is the specific area of expertise you wish to share with your audience. Once you have identified your niche, research your potential audience. Understand their needs, desires, and what problems they need solving. This information will guide you in designing a course that truly resonates with them.
Step 2: Outline and Develop Your Course Content
With your audience and niche identified, it’s time to outline your course content. List down all the topics you need to cover and arrange them in a logical sequence. Aim for a mix of theory and practical elements to keep your audience engaged. Keep the language simple and easy to understand. Utilise various mediums like videos, audio, quizzes, etc., to enhance the learning experience.
Step 3: Choose the Right Online Course Platform
Choose an online platform that fits your needs. Some popular choices are Teachable, Udemy, and Coursera. Other options would be to install Optimizepress or similar products into your WordPress sites and utilise their plugins to help build out your pages and membership areas. Look for features like easy course creation tools, marketing features, and customer support while choosing your platform.
Step 4: Pricing Your Course
Pricing your course can be a bit tricky. Research similar courses and see what they charge. Your price should be competitive but also reflect the value your course provides. Offering introductory discounts can attract early learners.
Step 5: Create a Pre-Launch Marketing Strategy
Start marketing your course before it’s live. Utilise social media, blogs, email newsletters, and webinars to generate buzz around your course. Offer sneak peeks of your course content to attract potential students. If launching via one of the popular online platforms, then consider a launch where affiliates are recruited to help drive traffic to your sales pages.
Step 6: Launch Your Course
After all the preparation, it’s time to launch your course. Announce it to your audience via emails, social media posts, and blog posts. Consider hosting a live event or webinar to answer queries and interact with potential students. Maybe list your launch on the likes of Muncheye.com to help attract affiliates.
Step 7: Post-Launch Marketing and Maintenance
Your job doesn’t end after the launch. You need to continuously market your course and update it with new content periodically to stay relevant. Monitor your students’ feedback and make necessary adjustments to improve their learning experience
Building an online course can seem overwhelming, but with the right approach, it can be a rewarding endeavour. However, it requires consistent effort and strategic planning. If this seems daunting, there’s a done-for-you business that can handle all these aspects for you. Check out this link to explore a comprehensive ‘done for you solution’ to kickstart your online marketing business without the hassle.
Creating an online course can be an enriching journey, transforming you from an industry expert into an online educator, and in the process, establishing a valuable and rewarding online business.
This is a guest post from Muddaiah Jayaram if you would like to be considered for a guest post please contact me.
