Online course platforms are lucrative, but only if you know how to use them right. Online course platform are available on a wide range, but only some creators make the most of them. One may have a well-planned and creative course ready to be launched on their website, but they might not be able to monetize it. Knowing how to form online courses and make money from them makes or breaks the whole deal. Thus, it is important to note the following tips that would be essential for one to make money from the online course platforms.
The tips are as follows:
- At first, one needs to have a well-planned strategy to cater to the demands of marketing, and only then would they be able to sell their courses online efficiently and profitably.
- One has to decide on an excellent hosting platform to make money while teaching online courses. One can self-host them or rely on Learning Management System (LMS) services to assist the creator with the hosting.
- One should make use of the best LMS themes to form an attractive and well-crafted online school. Then, LMS plugins (for example, Masteriyo) can be used to craft online courses with the desired number of lessons and quizzes without hassle. When you sell online courses from your own website, credibility builds up.
- It is essential to ensure that the content in the online classes is appropriately structured and uses suitable forms of media to enhance engagement.
- One of the most important things to be taken care of in terms of the online course platforms is that one is to integrate safe as well as secure gateways of payment into their respective system so that the students or their parents can buy and access the online courses present in the different platforms without any sort of hesitation.
These were some general tips. However, if we strictly adhere to financial tips, the following are very important.
- Charging of up-front fees for the courses being offered- Users mostly prefer lessons that come with up-front fees, enabling them to buy the whole course directly before accessing it. Here. No hidden fees are included, and hence it appeals to the students. The straightforward transaction also helps boost the revenue made by selling content on online course platforms.
- Making use of the subscription model for recurring fees allows the creators to transform the online school into a membership site where the students will be required to purchase subscriptions on a monthly or yearly basis. They will also have to renew their subscription after a certain period.
- Charging for course certification- This has been known to act as a positive incentive for users to try the course available on the online platform. If the lessons offer them what they have been looking for, they would want to pay for the certification as that would add to their skills. In addition, it would help them in the future.
- Charging for extra downloadable materials- If the creators have course materials that are downloadable and which allow the students to have a better understanding of the subject or field that they are dealing with, then the creators can consider charging for it.
- Selling the products and services through free courses- Free courses appeal to the masses, and it is still possible to profit from free course materials by attracting students to the website with the help of minimum exposure to the content that shall entice them to purchase the entire course.
- Offering a tier payment system- The creator offers some part of the course for free, but if the students want access to the entire course, they will have to pay for it.
- Pre-sell online courses- It implies marketing of the course even before it is launched. A simple poll or survey immensely helps as it allows the creators to understand which course topics are popular amongst the target audience.
- Offering of premium consulting- The creators can offer the course free but charge the students for one-on-one consulting. Live sessions can be scheduled to talk to interested students about the course material and provide them with the necessary guidance while clearing their doubts.
- Selling course licenses- One can make money by selling the license of already established and thriving online schools or course marketplaces. It eliminates the need for a platform that is required to host online courses.
Following these tips, one will not only be making some side income but actually be earning significant profits through their online courses.