Online courses have grown in popularity over the last 10 years. The recent pandemic only accelerated the boom in e-learning. We can learn almost everything online now.
If you have an area of expertise, now is the time to share what you know with others through an online course. I’ve explained my top 7 Reasons to Start Your Online Course in a recent article, now I want to share some common mistakes.
It may make sense for you to scale your business through an online course. You’ll reach more people, grow your audience, help more people with your expertise, and turn a nice profit. If you’ve decided to give it a shot, you’ll want to be sure to avoid these common mistakes.
#1 – Creating the Course YOU Want (Not the Course Your Audience Needs)
When you create a course, your main priority is delivering what the student wants and needs. Remember, it’s not about you. You might think you know exactly the kind, of course, your audience would like, but without solid data, it’s just a guess.
Instead, think hard about the target audience. What problems are they struggling with? What is their goal and what do they need to know to accomplish that goal? Be as specific as you can. There’s a saying.. “the riches are in the niches.”
To find the answers to these questions, ask your target audience. Survey a handful of your loyal customers or ideal clients. Narrow down your survey so it’s simple and quick to fill out, while still giving you useful information to move forward.
#2 – Stuffing Your Course (Making it too Long)
As an expert in an area, you have a lot of information on your course subject. It can be tempting to try to capture everything you know and put it in the course. After all, students will think they’re getting more bang for their buck.
In actuality, a long course has several drawbacks. First, it may overwhelm your students. They might get distracted, discouraged, and frustrated slogging through content.
In addition, large courses will take longer to create and will require more of your time. More modules mean more time to make sure videos, handouts, and pages are up to date.
The best courses are highly focused. They deliver exactly what the student needs to know to accomplish their goal or solve their problem. Don’t clutter your course with extra unnecessary information. You can always create a second course if you have more important content to share.
#3 – Skipping a Pilot Program (or not doing one before you go too far)
A pilot program is where you run a beta test of your course to a small group of people to see how it goes. It’s an opportunity to test out your course with a small group of people, obtain feedback on specific aspects of the course, and then make any desired adjustments before the full launch of the course.
It’s highly recommended to run a pilot before you get too far into your course creation. You’ll get input from your students that may change what goes into your course, how you promote it, what market you market it to. You’ll learn how well it’s received by your students, and how well you like teaching it.
A long time ago, I built a full stand-alone course on website security. I sold the program, taught the program, but then realized I didn’t like teaching the material enough for a full class. So I wasted all that time and money on something that wasn’t going to work for me. (I have since incorporated it into the Website Marketing Workshop)
So a beta test will help you avoid the same mistake I made. You can start your pilot even before you finish all the course content, and then create more modules and lessons as you go.
#4 – Putting All of Your Effort on the Course but Skimping on the Marketing
Creating an online course is hard work. It takes time and energy. Once you’re done, you may be tempted to step back, relax, and watch the results. This is a mistake.
You need to have a solid and strong marketing plan if you want your course to be successful. How are you going to tell people about your course? The saying “If you build it, they will come…” doesn’t apply to course creation. You need to tell the world about your new course, particularly those it may benefit from.
How will you advertise it and put the word out? Do you have an email list that you can notify about your new course? What social media platforms will you use? Will you use other marketing channels? Be specific and intentional with your marketing efforts. Be sure to have a marketing funnel.
Conclusion
Launching an online course is a great way to scale your business. You can share your expertise with people all over the world, and diversify your income stream. In addition, you can create your course once and then sell it over and over again.
To set yourself up for success, avoid these common mistakes. Create the course your audience wants, don’t make it too long, run a pilot, and market your course!
Fortunately, courses evolve and change as needed, so even if you make one of these mistakes, it’s not the end of the world. Learn from your mistakes and make your course that much better!
