How to Create and Launch Your Online Course?
Tags: onlinecourse
Published: 2022-01-24 16:29:22

If you came to this article, it is because you are looking to make your idea of ​​teaching online a reality. How exiting! Let me tell you something before we start: If you're not having fun in the process, it's not worth it! 

Like any creative project you are going to have obstacles and internal blockages, so the first thing is that you have a clear idea of what or why. What motivates you? For what you do? What are the reasons for creating your online course? This will be your gasoline when you think about giving up 💪

My purpose with this guide is to give you a bird's eye view of the key steps you need to go through to move from intention to action.

 

In this express guide you will find:

✅ How to choose an attractive theme to attract the attention of your audience

✅ Ways to validate your idea before launching and sniff out the potential it has

✅ How to define your target audience 

✅ How to design your course based on the objectives

✅ How to create an interesting agenda and script 

✅ Tips to plan and produce your content

✅ How to define the price

✅ Where to host it

✅ How to create a good sales page

✅ Keys to position yourself before launching it

✅ How to launch your course

 

 Let's get started! 😎

 

How to create your online course through [best online course platforms](https://www.howtobuysaas.com/blog/best-online-course-platforms/) 👇
 

**1. Choose the theme
** 

In this first step you need to decide what you are going to teach. The following criteria will help you achieve this: 

It must be an area in which you are an expert , that is, you have knowledge based on your own experience. Don't make the mistake of teaching something from theory. Remember that people are going to pay you to take them from point A to point B, and if you haven't reached point B you won't know how to guide them. 

If you have an audience, use it to get ideas: Do you have a base of people who will be your target audience? Take a survey to find out which is the most demanded topic. 

Make a benchmark : Search Google for courses that are related to your area of ​​expertise, analyze where you see opportunities for improvement and find gaps that you can fill. You can also look in other places like: the Best Sellers section on Amazon, podcasts on iTunes and Spotify, and other online courses on Tutellus and Udemy.

Discover the topics that have the most search volume: you can rely on tools such as the Google word planner. 

A topic that arouses your curiosity: If you like what you are going to teach, you will not only learn more in the creation process, but you will be able to delve into the topic, offering constantly updated content to your students.

A good starting point is to brainstorm ideas , put them on paper and start selecting those that most convince you (and suit you). Remember that with your course you will seek to solve problems that your target audience has.

 

🗂️ Organization TIP:  Create a folder on your computer or in the cloud -for example in Google Drive- to file all the documents you work on in the process. 

 

 

**2. Validate the audience for your course
** 

Now you must move on to the next step: see if your course would have potential clients. Because beyond how nice it can be to have a training space, the purpose is to be able to sell it and generate income.  Here we give you some notions to carry out this preliminary analysis:

 

👍 Check on virtual course platforms if there are already educational options about what you plan to do.

 

👍 Examine the number of students they contain and review the forums to study comments from attendees.  

 

👍 Develop a survey to find out if people would be interested in your course. In order not to go crazy, you can share this format among your acquaintances. In addition to doing a poll, it will serve to establish a general parameter of the public .

 

👍 Design and promote a mini presentation of your course, a preview of the topics to be discussed. It includes written and practical materials plus some type of benefit. Play with the activities, try to generate attraction.

 

👍 Present a webinar related to your idea to interact with potential students and develop your proposal. Listen to their queries, focus on presenting but also on the feedback they can give you, aspects that perhaps you had not taken into account.

 

👍 Visit video platforms like YouTube and search for published information on the chosen topic. Observe the number of reproductions, comments, enter the related channels and draw a conclusion.

After carrying out these actions (it is advisable to try several of them) you will be able to validate your idea. If you see that the results were not what you expected, you will still have time to reformulate the issue and look for other more viable options. If instead the analysis was positive, you are on the right line to start your online course. 

 

🔑 Key idea: Having competition is a sign that there is demand for what you want to teach. If there are already too many, look to create a course for a specific niche. For example: If you are going to give a marketing course on Instagram and you notice that there are 100 competitors, you will have to look for a differentiating element. Instead of covering the general topic, you can develop one that is focused on moms who want to learn how to use this tool for their businesses. 

 

 
**3. Define and describe your target audience 
** 

The previous steps may have already brought you closer to thinking about this key point, however, like any product to be sold, the center must always be the buyer. 

And they can be various types of people. Let's continue with the example of the Instagram marketing course. Who might be interested? 

marketers
Entrepreneurs
advertising students 
Digital Marketing Students 
community managers 
coaches 
Speakers 
Social media experts 
Specialists in social media marketing
 

🚀 Practical exercise:  After writing the types of audiences you can reach, describe for each one what problems they have related to what you teach and then associate the solutions you will give through your online course. 

 

 
**4. Define the objectives of your course 
** 

Before you begin to develop the content of your course, start by listing what your student is going to achieve when they take your course. Think of your goals as future stages that the person wants to be in. 

 

How to write goals
❌Get Followers

✅Build an active and loyal community on Instagram 

✅Have an action plan to grow your account in the next 6 months 

✅Learn to create content that generates interactions 

 

It is not that the first one is incorrect, but we recommend you get out of the generalities that sound like more of the same and specify what the place where the person wants to be looks like.

 

 

**5. Structure your course 
** 

Before order comes chaos. So before you organize your course syllabus, I recommend that you write down everything you would like to teach to achieve the objectives, no matter what order. The purpose of this warm-up exercise is to get everything off your mind. 

After finishing your brainstorming, you will go on to create the agenda. How?

 

1. Organize content into modules 
Imagine this as if it were a video game. You are going to define what those levels or phases will be that the person must go through to achieve the objectives. It is recommended that they be between three and five. 

Modules are groupings of topics that are part of that "big topic".

If we go to the case of the hypothetical Instagram marketing course, they could be:

Platform Basics 
Strategy 
Content 
Advertising 
 

2. Break down the lessons 
Here you will start to develop those thematic units that we call modules into small "bites" of content. 

It is essential that you know the concept of micro-learning, a methodology that consists of creating micro-capsules of content, ideally of 3 minutes, maximum of 6, to generate the perception in the student that they are advancing quickly in their learning process. 

Forget about 30 minute content. Most likely, halfway through, you will lose focus and have a hard time finishing the lessons.

 

3. Choose the formats 
How are you going to present each content? It's time to decide. 

You can choose between the following:

Animations + Video from speaker to camera (You go out talking to the camera and are accompanied by graphics)
Animations + Voice over (Cartoon type)
Presentations (A series of slides) 
Traditional video: You talking to the camera and that's it. 
Templates 
e-books
audio
Illustrations 
Screencast : Screen recording with voice narration

Recommendations:

Avoid having only one format 
Avoid that they are only screen recordings without the appearance of someone on camera because they become monotonous.
 

This is what your index would look like:

Structure example for an online course

 

 
**6. Collect the material on which you are going to teach
** 

This step may seem obvious but I wanted to include it to prevent you from getting stuck writing the script. And it is key because it allows you to refresh what you are going to teach and check if there is something that you had not contemplated and should include. 

A recommended methodology to do this is that of mental maps because it is a way of capturing ideas and organizing them that is very similar to the way our brain works. 

 

Some key ideas to do it: 

✔️ It will always be better to do it by hand and many with colors 
✔️ Put the name of the course in the center 
✔️ Open a branch for each main unit or module. 
✔️ From that branch, deduce the lessons and the main key ideas that you want to transmit. 
 

*If your course is very large, I recommend making a mental map for each module or thematic unit. 


 
**7. Write the script to make your content
** 

Now yes, the time has come to prepare your base to be able to record your contents. This explanation that we will give applies to the video format, with an appearance on camera, as if you were to give a class in front of a classroom, but instead of physical students, you have a camera.

Here are two ways to approach it:

As if you were going to make a movie in which you write the lines that you will learn and then record. 
Create a presentation with key concepts and for each slide you go down the main ideas that you are going to deal with. Then, you build the speech as you practice. 

Which to choose? It depends. If you are a person who likes to write, with a good memory and improvisation makes you nervous, better choose the first path. 

If you are a person who prefers to improvise and improve, choose the second option. 

In either of the two you will need to practice several times before recording. Why? This will give you self-confidence and you will flow better on camera. 

 

 

**8. Now yes… to produce your content!
** 

Recording
The first thing you should take into account is the choice of device. I recommend you choose between:

. Mobile device . Its advantages are the best audio and video quality due to its technical characteristics. At the same time it makes it possible to take more open shots and above all to be able to record anywhere due to its practicality to transport .

. Laptop . You must take it into account to make a Webinar or live presentations since it allows the physical support of a well-placed device. Far from the phone in its image quality.

. And the professional cameras?  If you have a camera to record in high quality, it would be unwise not to use it, however, since this is not the most common scenario, I prefer to give directions thinking of those who do not have them at home and are not going to spend their savings on a professional team 😉

. What if I better hire someone?  It is an excellent idea if you want to get rid of this technical part. Now, if you are just starting out and it is your first digital product, you better not invest a large amount at this stage.

Be careful, this does not mean that you sacrifice quality, but if your content is good, the audio sounds good and your way of teaching is entertaining, you will not need it to look like a Netflix film for it to fulfill its objective 😆

 

Steps to achieve optimal recording
 

✔️ Location : Choose a good location free of noise and with enough space.

✔️ Lighting: Try to get good natural and/or artificial lighting.

✔️ Background composition: Choose the best way to position yourself in the frame, elements and backgrounds.

Example of a good frame: 

 

Example of a good frame to record an online course

 

✔️ Audio : Record the sound with the best possible quality and at an optimal distance from the microphone.

✔️ Rehearsals: Practice in the mirror, with your boyfriend, girlfriend, your family, with whoever you want! But do it. It sounds trite but, practice makes perfect. 

 

After recording you will have to go to post-production, the stage where you edit and give the final touch to your content. If you don't want to spend your time on this, you can delegate it. 

 

🚀 Help material: Wisboo Studio, our expert team in instructional design and audiovisual production, created a series of video tutorials and guides to help you throughout the content creation process. I invite you to sign up for free 😉

 

 

 
**9. Put a price on it
** 

The price is a relative value and depends on several factors:

How much is your audience willing to pay for the solution (course) you offer? How do you know this if you've never done it before? 🤔You can include this question in the initial survey that we suggest in the step of choosing the topic. 
How much does your competition charge? Unless you have built authority among your audience and your course is far superior in quality and depth to those on the market, the cost of your course could be close to what your competitors charge.
Location: The Mexican market is not the same as the Colombian market. Or the Argentine compared to the Chilean. It is very important that you take into account where you are going to sell so that your course has a fair price.
The results that can be achieved with your course: A course that teaches you to create your first Facebook advertising campaign is not the same as one that gives you a certificate as a Facebook Ads specialist to work with it. The first could cost $20 and the second $1,000. 
Your perception of the value you deliver: the idea is that you can feel comfortable with what you are selling, so look for the balance between what is on the market and what you think it is worth.
 

 

**10. Choose a good name
** 
The cherry of the cake. You've put in a tremendous effort up to here so it can't be taken lightly. Avoid falling into general places that sound like just another course like:
 
learn marketing
Graphic design, level 1
vegetarian cuisine

Try to play with the words of your topic , the results you are going to obtain and your target audience. For example:

How to undertake with financial intelligence
Instagram marketing for restaurants 
 Emotional intelligence for remote team leaders 
Create your personal brand in 21 days 

 
**11. Decide where you are going to host it
** 

You almost have your online course ready, but it remains to know where you are going to host it . Because even if your content is the best, if you do not present it on a platform that is attractive and simple for your students, the work will be half done.

 
What should you take into account to choose the platform?  
 

✔️ That you can receive payments from the first day:  that the options are compatible with your local currency and are varied, that is, that you can offer the possibility of being paid with online and offline methods (for example, bank transfer).

✔️ That you own the intellectual property of your content and your contact base: your greatest digital asset is your database. Therefore, make sure that you can export your academy data. 

✔️ Make it simple to configure: Until now you have probably had to learn a lot of things. So, don't get bogged down in the technical part. The platform you choose has to be super friendly for you and your students. 

✔️ Make it look good from a cell phone: This is no longer a luxury, it's basic. 

✔️ That it has good technical support and preferably in one language: that it is comfortable for you to communicate.

✔️ Make it look professional and attractive: Here the saying "Everything enters through the eyes" applies. An attractive look and feel will give credibility to your online course. 

✔️ Make it customizable: to reflect your brand image


 
 
 
**12. Create a good sales page 
** 

A page designed for them to buy your course must have:

 

✔️Course Title 

✔️A call to action in the first section of the page 

✔️ Why take the course? 

✔️ Who is the course for? ( Tip:  Talk about the problems that the person is looking to solve. Example: This course is for you if you want to stop postponing your most important projects)

✔️ What will the person get after taking the course? 

✔️Who is an instructor and why is he the right person to teach it? 

✔️ Agenda 

✔️ What's included

✔️ Testimonials (ideal on video) 

✔️ Price

✔️ FAQ

✔️ Where can I get help 

 

 
**13. Position yourself as an expert before launching your course
** 

If you are a content creator and have an active community, CONGRATULATIONS! you have a fertile ground to be successful with the launch of your course. 

But, if you are not yet recognized as an expert and authority on the subject you are going to teach, this will be a key stage to save you time and disappointment when you launch your online course. 

The key to position yourself as an expert is to share valuable content for FREE. If you don't believe me, do the exercise of thinking about those people you have considered to buy a digital product from.

How many times have they given you value without asking for anything in return? How present were they in your daily life so that you had them in mind when you decided to invest?

So what can you do? 

Create lead magnets: useful content related to the theme of your course that requires the payment of an "E-mail". 😦 How so? The person who wants it will leave you their data in exchange.

 

Examples of lead magnets:

mini course 
Template 
e-book 
audio series 
Webinar
 

Now, it is not enough to create them. You need to spread them in order to see results. How? If you have a blog, create related articles that at the end invite you to download the lead magnet.

If you don't have a blog and you don't have a community, you can run a paid campaign on Facebook and Instagram promoting your lead magnet to reach strangers who have the characteristics of your target audience.

If this is the path you choose to take, the ideal is that you use a landing page as a tool, better known as a landing page, where you communicate the value of your content and the person can acquire it at no cost. 

Thus, you can start building your audience with potential buyers of your online course. 

How many people should you have in your audience to create a sustainable business? There is no absolute answer, but surely this video will help you :) We could say that you should aim to reach your first 1,000 fans.



**14. Launch your course!
**There are several ways to launch your online course. Here we will mention the most used. 

 

🌐 By webinar 
It consists of attracting your potential buyers through a high-value online conference and then, in that same space, selling them your course. 

 

The phases of this strategy are:

Capturing leads :  It is recommended to boost results by investing in Facebook ads. You'll need a landing page for people to sign up and an email marketing tool that allows you to confirm registration and send reminders. 

Realization of the webinar: Find the day and time that best suits your target audience. Your webinar content should include:
 
Your personal story (how you got to where you are) 
Educational content with key topics that you will teach in your course
Space to promote your online course 
Surprise bonus (it can be a special discount for attendees or a gift for those who stayed until the end. For example: a downloadable template) 
Space to answer questions 


Post webinar + sale: Track the people who signed up for your webinar to encourage them to buy. 

 

✉️Launch campaign by E-mail
If you have a subscriber base, take advantage of it so that they are the first to know about your course. Here the key is to determine a fixed enrollment period. For example, from 10 to 20 registrations are open. 

 

Example of a chain of launch emails


A teaser of your course (without saying what it is about, you make a trailer)
what is the course about 
Invitation and notice that registration is now open
Frequently asked questions plus the answer to: Is this course for me? 
Testimonials 
Why take the course 
Notice that registrations will close 
 

🗣️Social Media Launch 
This is the most used by content creators, those who have built communities of thousands or millions of followers. 

Generally what they do is upload stories combined with posts in their feed announcing the launch of their online course. 

It should be clarified that if you do not have so many followers, it is not disposable. In fact, it all adds up . And if you are developing this channel, it is important that you publish it there too 😉

 

Which to choose?

It depends! If it is your first digital product and you do not have an audience, it is recommended to go for the webinar sales strategy because it allows you to build your audience from 0 and quickly convert strangers into customers. 

Now, if you have a large audience, I would encourage you to combine organic strategies (social networks + E-mail marketing) with advertising campaigns (webinar and if you have more economic and team structure, launch formula).

 

And now yes, we come to the end! With these 14 steps you can go from the intention of teaching what you are passionate about to having your online course launched. I can only tell you that you dare to try. The worst that can happen is that you learn a lot and realize that that is not where you want to build and the best thing that can happen is that you discover a new vocation that allows you to create a very profitable business 🏁