Elearning has become a booming market. To notice the growth, just look at the numbers.
The online course industry was worth $107 billion in 2015, $190 billion in 2018, and is expected to exceed $300 billion by 2025!
This means that there’s huge potential for making money by selling online courses.
You might be wondering just how much money you can make. Well, of course, on several factors, such as the price, the length, and content of your course, how many students you have, and where you sell it.
Generally speaking, you can make anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars for each course you make. For example, Udemy instructors make an average of $7,000 per course, while Skillshare instructors make an average of $3,000.
Naturally, outliers always make much more or less than the average. For example, some Udemy instructors make over $100,000 per course, while others make less than $500.
So, if you’re considering teaching online, you should know that it is possible to make good money from it. This article shows you how to make money from selling online courses anytime!
Are Online Courses Profitable?
As we already stated, online teaching is a radically growing market. So it’s safe to say online course creation is profitable.
Making online courses provides one of the best business models for digital entrepreneurs. The demand for them is increasing, and people are more than ready to pay for them, making them one of the most lucrative methods of generating money online.
This is great news to start with. However, you’ll need more research into your course topic of choice to launch an online course.
Only one aspect of the process is creating course material. You may get an advantage by focusing on marketing, sales, and your personal brand.
The benefits of selling courses online
You may launch an online course for a passive income or a genuinely stunning new source of revenue; nevertheless, it can also provide several benefits to your online course company.
Creating an online course can:
- Strengthen your online brand and presence as a whole.
- Make you a thought leader and a credible source of information in the industry.
- Provide you with a loyal following of your current clients as the demand for easy-to-follow knowledge continues to grow.
- Bring more opportunities for new, profitable businesses,
- Be a powerful magnet to attract potential clients and online business leads.
Nowadays, in the knowledge society where information is power, using your knowledge through online education is a revolutionary way to make money. Also, it can open up a wave of opportunities for your business. Moreover, you can use the knowledge to educate your community.
Creating an online course can also be a great way to build a membership site. Membership sites sell subscriptions for students, and you can get recurring income.
How much revenue can you expect from selling an online course?
The revenue is the amount your online course will make without extracting the costs of equipment, labor, etc. If you want to know how much your potential revenue would be, you will need to calculate the following:
Revenue = Size of your audience x Conversion rate x Price of the course
Let’s break this down by each component:
Size of your audience: In other words, how many people you reach. Suppose you don’t already have an audience. In that case, you can make an educated guess about how many individuals you expect to contact based on your target market. Do you expect to reach 100 subscribers, 200 subscribers, or 1,000 subscribers?
Conversion rate: It’s a percentage of people who become your customers. The subject, price, and ability to attract and sell to the appropriate customers influence how well an online course performs. You can run the calculation for conversion rates from 1% to 10% and see different possibilities to create objectives based on them.
Price of your course: Pricing your online course is one of the most important parts of creating an online course. Depending on where you host your online course, how complex is your course content, how long is your course, and how much you spend to create an online course. These are just a few factors that you need to take into consideration.
However, how much revenue you’ll achieve varies greatly from one online course creator to another. Therefore, you must consider many factors that affect your potential revenue.
How to make money selling courses online?
If you’re curious about how to increase your online course’s value, we present ways to make more money from your online course.
Create a sales page that caters to all the stages of the sales funnel
A sales funnel generally determines how much a potential customer knows about your product and how close you are too convincing them to buy it.
Your sales page should address all the stages of the funnel, including basic information for people who just happened to be on your landing page and a CTA button that redirects to payment processing for people who are set on buying your online course.
In between, some people need convincing. This stage of the funnel leaves the most room for interpretation. These people might need a blog post with step-by-step guides or some youtube videos with a sneak peek of your course content.
That’s why it is important to set up your website and not just rely on online course platforms. For example, you can include all the links and recourses on your page as well as dive into email marketing and set up a newsletter.
Build an email list
Email marketing has the highest ROI among all the promotion channels because it can be personalized and nonintrusive for customers.
The most effective way to promote your products is via email. Your clients’ email addresses are the lifeblood of your business. Therefore, you must track down and collect these details so that you may link with them and develop a relationship. There are several options for gathering this information, including on your blog, social networking sites, and any other platform.
Build your personal brand
Making money from online courses can be much easier if people recognize you. It doesn’t mean you have to be famous in general, but people in your industry should know who you are and what you do.
To establish a personal brand, you can:
- start a blog
- start a YouTube channel
- set up a Facebook group
- post video content on social media
Additionally, you’ll need to be active on social media like Linkedin and Facebook, write guest blog posts, and give talks at industry events.
You can also create courses with other thought leaders in your field. It will also help you establish your expertise on your niche topic and online courses. Other creators will approach you, and you can co-create more courses with them!
Think of it as a part of your personal development and not as a marketing move. You will reach more people, and those people will more likely stay with you if you are yourself.
Educate yourself
Speaking of personal development, there’s nothing like a great level of expertise that will increase the value of your online course.
The more knowledge you have on the topic, the better your course will be. People will see more value in it and be willing to pay more for your lessons.
It doesn’t necessarily mean you need to go to college or get a bunch of SSL certificates, though it won’t hurt. You can seek information elsewhere, like professional forums and the expertise of more experienced colleagues.
Even if you think you have in-depth knowledge about everything, there is to know you can also develop your teaching skills. Your course idea might be great, but the better you convey information, the more people will benefit.
Pre-sell your course
Pre-selling is a technique where people sign up for a product before the official launch date. It may seem crazy, but whole sectors of the Internet are built on pre-selling products, such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo.
Pre-selling an online course brings together both marketing and sales. In addition, it can give you an idea of how much the online course development will cost.
You avoid wasting resources on a course that won’t sell.
Pre-selling an online course is also helpful if you want about what your learners are interested in. It also helps to determine who is your target audience.
You can create a free pilot course to test your idea and build your email list. It’s also a great way to get feedback on your work.
Use a tiered payment system
You charge different fees for different services. For example, suppose your online course operates on a subscription pricing model. In that case, there can be some free levels and some “premium” functions you would additionally charge for.
Similarly, you can offer free or cheaper pilot courses and start charging more once your students enter advanced material.
Sell course license
Apart from traditionally selling an online course, you can sell licenses to companies that don’t want to create the course themselves. It creates a great opportunity for passive income, and you don’t have to make much effort.
The company handles the technical details, the marketing, and the customer service management. You only need a content course idea and basic equipment to create your course and then collect the annual licensing fee.
Even if you have a niche-targeted marketing plan in place, you’ll still need to sell your course to businesses and institutions that may be interested in it. You’ll make money each month, and you’ll be able to take off some of the management duties.
Conclusion
So, how much money can you make selling online courses? The answer varies depending on several factors we went over in the article. From the size of your audience to the pricing of your online course, these are the essential factors determining how much you can get from selling online courses.
Making money selling courses online has never been easier, but it doesn’t mean it doesn’t take dedication. However, if you’re willing to put in the hard work and are creative with your pricing and sales strategies, you can certainly make a good living from your courses. So keep these tips in mind as you get started!
