Unemployment in the U.S. reached up to 19% in May, with many people choosing to use their newfound free time to pursue new and enriching learning opportunities. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to continue working are likewise engaged in online education—it’s a great time to take on a new hobby or improve professional skills too. Beyond keeping busy, e-learning is providing people with skills as the economy reopens and people reenter the workforce.
The online course market is experiencing dramatic growth. Over the two-month period from mid-March to mid-May, 10 million new users signed up for Coursera, marking a sevenfold increase from the same period last year. Class Central’s traffic over the COVID-19 lockdown echoed this exponential growth, reporting roughly the same amount of traffic in one month as they had over all of 2019.
With enhanced technology solutions making it easier than ever to create and monetize online courses, now is the perfect time for brands, small teams, and solopreneurs to develop new revenue streams with online courses. But there are some things to keep in mind when launching an online course during the current crisis if you want to succeed. Here are some tips to take into account.
Deliver distinct value
No matter how passionate and knowledgeable you might be about a subject, if students aren’t looking for it, the course won’t succeed. Thus, before you pick a topic, do a little market research to find out what people are talking about in your space and whether something similar is already being offered. If you can find a unique value point for an already-trending topic, then you are on your way.
It might be a good idea to offer an advanced track in tandem with an entry-level learning track from the get-go. This way, once you have enrolled participants, you can give students the option to move on with deep dives into more advanced material, sneak peeks of other courses you offer, or even a one-on-one coaching program. This will propel continued engagement and keep things interesting for students who are looking for something a little more challenging.
Finally, invite guest speakers to provide different perspectives and voices. One of the benefits of online courses and webinars is the ability to interact with leaders from around the world, so approach influencers and experts to speak to your students. Not only does this add some spice, but it also positions your course as authoritative.
Set the stage for professional presenting
The best way to scare off students is to deliver a course that is poorly staged and executed. Appearances count a lot when you are keeping your online audience engaged, so make sure that you plan out what you are going to say, find the best background and lighting to contribute to the overall feel of your course, and check your video and sound before you begin.
In addition, you may want to consider running your course as a series of live events, rather than as a strictly on-demand experience, as this can add a level of excitement and anticipation to the lessons. ClickMeeting’s webinar platform, for example, offers powerful integrations with third-party LMS tools in addition to native functionalities for personalization, automation, and interactivity.
In one recent case study, architecture tech thought leader and consultant Arturo Tedeschi spoke about the power of webinars for e-learning purposes. “The basic idea was to stay in touch with students all over the world. I needed to reach a bigger audience. And webinars? They are the perfect way to create this kind of connection,” he told ClickMeeting. “Webinars today are the best channel for talking with as many students as possible. It is essential for me because the main goal for me as a teacher is sharing knowledge.”
Times are tough, so give a little away for free
The high rate of unemployment doesn’t just mean a wider audience; it also means your audience may not have the money to pay for an online course right now.
Many popular platforms are offering free courses and certificates right now, so consider whether you can find ways to monetize your online course while lowering the cost (or even eliminating the cost) to students, or provide part of a course as a free trial.
This strategy will pay off in the long run. Offering something for nothing will attract more customers, and while they won’t all convert to paying customers, as Neil Patel explains, the more people you have signed up for free trials, the greater the opportunity for paid customers. Plus, once consumers are back to buying, you’ll be able to count on your virtual students to come back.
“When I saw businesses starting to lose a lot of money, I decided to give more of Ubersuggest’s premium features for free. That means it would take me much longer to break even, but that isn’t something I am worried about right now,” he wrote, because “a large portion of free-trial users doesn’t convert into paying customers, but still, the more trials you get in theory, the more paid customers you will eventually get.”
Use what you’ve already got
While online courses can increase revenue, grow market share, and de-risk your business, it’s important not to overextend or commit substantial resources. If you had a thriving business that wasn’t oriented around education products before the pandemic, then you have good reason to believe that things will improve once the economy does. Therefore, you might want to view your new e-learning venture as a side project that supports your primary business, as opposed to being a full-on pivot.
Leveraging the educational materials that you have already developed and published to create your courses will reduce efforts and costs while securing avenues for growth. Another important thing to keep in mind when diversifying your offerings is to take a long look at the market to identify where there is room for a new product or service built off of your existing business model.
Another way to use business assets that are already at your disposal is to market your course to your existing email list and social media audience.
Market your online course effectively
There is a highly-engaged audience online at the moment, with internet usage for streaming and searches alike through the roof. Internet use is up a staggering 70%, so now is the time to carefully consider how to advertise your course or webinar for maximum impact and conversion.
Here are some tips for communicating what value you are offering to help you bring in students:
- Be concise to cut through the noise.
- Develop your customer personas.
- Tell a story about the course.
- Use social media and blogging platforms like Medium to promote your course.
- Offer a special deal.
- Use infographics and other visuals.
- Give a video preview or a free short webinar introducing a longer online course.
Get interactive with surveys and Q&A
Don’t treat your attendees like bystanders. Instead, keep them engaged with Q&A opportunities, or by creating interactive elements such as games or surveys.
You can also consider tweaking your course content along the way according to survey results or in response to particular areas of interest that come up during Q&A.
Aside from creating real-time capabilities, you can get interactive before you launch to promote your online course and encourage participants to share and comment on content across social channels.
Refine your course content over time
Post-course surveys and analytics, student feedback, and other tools can help you make subsequent online courses even better than the first one.
If you are delivering a webinar or online course for the first time, it’s likely there will be things that need improving, but don’t give up. Respond to what your participants are telling you and keep looking for new ways to deliver educational content to your audience.
Remember that whatever course you publish can and should still be a work in progress. Writing for eLearning Industry, blogger Ioana Moldovan offers some ideas for tweaking course content. “Do you include captions that make them easier to follow? Could you create short videos that learners could consume in 5, 10, or 15 minutes? Could you illustrate your point by creating an infographic instead of plain text? Optimum online content is balanced and enjoyable regardless of the subject you’re teaching.”
There is always room for improvement and incorporating new elements as you become more comfortable with this medium. By sticking with it over time, you will grow your student audience, establish your trustworthiness and authority, and solidify your brand.
Closing remarks
With the dramatic shifts caused by COVID-19, online courses are a growing way to share your knowledge, generate revenue, drive engagement, and solidify brand presence. Whether you are charging admission or delivering free content, there are a few things to keep in mind when designing and executing your online course.
Pick the right topic to bring value to your audience and keep them interacting, leverage the tools you already have at your disposal, market and assess your course effectively, and make it look good. With a great idea and a little effort, you can launch a successful online course.
