Creating an online course is a great way to monetize your hobby, or area of expertise.  Plus, it's a flexible job that you can do from anywhere in the world, and FUN because it allows you to spend time with others who value your same hobby or knowledge base! 

 In this blog post, we'll discuss:

How to Turn your Hobby or Expertise into an Online Course

1. Identify Your Potential Audience

The first step to creating an online course is identifying your audience. Whom do you want to learn from your course? Who would most benefit, or would enjoy  knowing what you know? AND, who would be willing and has the means to pay? Once you know who your target audience is, you can start planning your content and creating course materials.

2. Find Out What They Want to Learn From You

Research to find out what value your audience wants to learn from your course.  Do they want to learn your favorite hobby, so it can also become their favorite hobby? Do they want to use a skill they learned from you to make more money? Do they want you to teach them to have more FUN in their life?!

“Research” does not have to mean a lot of work, it could be as easy as reviewing past social media posts, or blog articles you have done on the subject and seeing which information your target audience found most valuable. It could also mean testing some ideas that you have with new blog posts and social media, and watching how people respond. 

The fastest and best way to find out what your audience wants is to simply ASK THEM. I know this sounds scary, but the “value” you will receive to craft your “value offer” is invaluable! Amy Portefield gives great advice on how to make course calls on Episode 280 of her podcast “Online Marketing Made Easy”. Find the transcript to that episode here.   

3. Craft Your Offer

Offer = The Value Your Customer will Gain from Course + Vehicle You Will Use to Deliver That Value + Price

The Value the Customer will Gain from Course: this goes back to step 2 when you find out what your customer wants to learn. 

Vehicle: your value delivery method or course structure.

The best part about creating an online course is that you can make it as comprehensive or as simple as you want. If you want to, you can create an online course that is interactive and hands-on. Or, if you prefer, you can create a course that is entirely self-paced and asynchronous.  At this point just pick a delivery method that you believe would be the easiest for you, and your audience to utilize in order to communicate/receive the value you want to deliver. 

Note of caution: This is not the time to pick your specific platform, or worry about the technology. You could go down a rabbit hole looking at the different types of technology, and spend hours comparing prices. Just pick the type of course you want to deliver so you can craft your offer. Once you see people are responding to your offer, THEN you can get down to the nitty gritty of deciding upon the specifics. See a recent list of 7 Types of Online Courses here. 

Price 

via GIPHY

Do not stress over this part. Take your  best guess at what people would pay for the value you are delivering, and then let the market correct it for you. You will not know what the right price is until people start paying you for your course, so just pick something to start with, you can always adjust later!  For more guidance,look to your competitors. Check out these great tips from Kajabi. 

4. Sell Your Offer to Your Audience

Most of us have a lot of drama around “selling.” But, I encourage you to stop the noise in your head, and just listen for a minute. You have identified a group of people who would like to have the value you have to offer, and you have put together a plan to give them what they want. They can’t have this value from you, unless you tell them about your online course! It’s that simple. Buyers are waiting for you to share your offer with them.

So go to your audience, via phone calls, in person meet ups, social media posts or email and give them the opportunity to buy from you!  Check out the business Mirasee’s suggestions on how to promote your online course here!

5. Build Your Online Course

Now it is time to build your online course… yes, after you’ve sold it. Selling, then building, will give you the freedom to tweak your offer as you get feedback during your promotion period, instead of laboring to create a beautiful course that no one wants to buy. My favorite online course platform is Kajabi. See my affiliate link to try Kajabi FREE for 30 days here. You have many platform options to house and deliver your promised course, just make sure whatever platform you choose they have great online help to teach you how to use the technology. 

Good luck building your online course, you’ve got this!