There are two ways to make money: Provide a service or sell a product.
To be successful here you have to deliver quality work time and time again.
But if you currently offer a service, it’s the product side of things that can get sticky. You’ve heard of others creating an online course but is that the right choice for you? Chances are, if you’re exceptional at what you do, the answer is yes!
The Online Course Craze
Take a look at Udemy.com, a website that exclusively sells online courses created by businesses and people. Here, you’ll see how popular this method for reaching clients has become. Right now, Udemy says they have 11 million students and over 40,000 courses. That’s on one marketplace alone.
Online courses are without question a popular way to spread knowledge and make money.
To some, that can sound discouraging. You might think that everything has been taught before. You might worry that it’s difficult to compete with the online course craze happening today. But I encourage you to think of it in a different way.
There is a clear need for online courses. People want to hear from experts without paying the high dollar fees of one-on-one coaching (at least not initially).
So, is now the right time for you to create a course? Here are four ways to tell.
1. You Want a Source of Passive Income
Perhaps the biggest reason businesses create an online course is to create a new source of passive income.
Passive income is the money you earn at all hours of the day. You don’t have to be in front of your computer, on the phone or in a meeting to be making money. Your work continues to bring in dollars long after you’ve stopped working.
Businesses of all sizes benefit from passive income streams. Small businesses benefit because they can make more money with fewer team members. Medium sized businesses benefit because they add revenue streams to their budget, helping them grow faster.
If your business is looking to bring in more money (and what business isn’t), having an online course could be just the passive income stream you need to help you reach your income goals. Not only will you have a product to sell, earning you money while you sleep, but you’ll also see the spillover in other areas of your business.
2. You Need to Establish Credibility
Let’s pretend for a second that your business isn’t a household name yet. Let’s pretend that your business is still working hard to become a known name in your industry.
Having an online course makes it easier to establish instant credibility.
Have you ever heard the expression, “she wrote the book on it?” It implies that an author knows her stuff because she literally wrote a book about a topic. She has instant credibility.
Online courses give you that same type of street cred.
When you sell a course that you’ve created about a specific subject, you’re showing the world that you have some level of expertise on what you’re selling as a business. You created the course on it, so you clearly know your stuff.
By adding an online course for sale to your website, you’re creating instant credibility. Even if someone doesn’t buy the course, their eyes and ears still look/listen closer to what you have to say because you have proven that you have a strong, in-depth knowledge about a specific subject.
3. You Want More Clients
Many times, having a course leads to attracting more clients. If you want to sell more of your team’s services, this is the way to do it.
As mentioned, having a course generates passive income. Many people will take the path of least resistance and buy your course before working with you. You’ll attract that revenue while continuing to sell your expertise in your industry.
As the person or team takes your course and gets to know more about your skillset, they’re secretly getting sold on working with you. They know you. They know your brand. They know what you stand for. When they’re ready to go to the next level, they think of buying from you first.
But let’s say a potential client opts not to buy your course. You can still use it to attract more clients simply by having it available as credibility booster.
The bottom line is this: You’ll have an easier time selling your stuff if you have a second option to work with you and the street cred to back your reputation.
4. You Have Too Many Clients
Having too many clients is a nice problem to have. Still, it’s a very real problem that can create burnout in companies and a very real struggle. It’s hard to maintain a solid reputation when taking on more work than you can handle. Quality can suffer when you try to do too much with too few resources.
Having a course can alleviate some of this burden while still boosting your reputation (see point #2).
With an online course, you’re able to reach more people without having to trade time for money. You have a product to sell, which will help you attract more clients without adding to your already overflowing workload.
Are You Ready?
You know the benefits, but are you ready to create your online course? Let’s do the litmus test.
- Do you want more passive income?
- Do you want more credibility?
- Do you want more clients?
- Do you want fewer clients without sacrificing revenues?
Raise your hand if you answered yes to any of these questions. If you’re hand is up, now is the right time for you to sell your brains and get your online course out into the world.
One of the hardest things about having an online course is making it known that it’s available. That’s where we can help. Contact our team for a free business consultation so you can find more areas where you can sell your course and make more money.
