How to decide if you should have an online course
The COVID-19 pandemic that hit the world in early 2020 forever changed the way speakers, consultants and trainers—experts—deliver value. Reactions ranged from relaxing into the downtime to complete revamping of their business strategy, who they deliver value to and how they deliver value.
Many share the buzz about offering an online version of their expertise and rush to deliver their exact in-person material online in live Zoom sessions, online courses or recorded webinars. In my various social media feeds I see ad after ad about how easy it is to make this transition and how people need to do it right now. The urgency is palpable.
Stat: only 5%-15% participants finish an online course
Although a sobering statistic, it doesn’t answer the question of whether or not you should deliver your expertise (or more of your expertise) online: should you have an online course?
Think of your business as an investment. It is the biggest investment you ever make in your most precious resources, time and energy. When you make an investment, you expect an ROI. Any financial planner will tell you to protect your investment portfolio. One strategy is to diversify the investments that make up your portfolio.
The same is true for your business. To protect your business, it’s smart to diversify your products and services—and an excellent product to add to your business is an online course.
However, like any investment, there are potential risks that go along with the rewards to think about before diving in.
Tyler Basu states in his Influencive article, “What your customers really need is a way get from Point A to Point B—from their current reality to their desired reality—as quickly and efficiently as possible. What they need is a transformation. Your online course is their shortcut.”
So before rushing to build your online course, let’s first consider the basics of choosing to develop and host an online course.
Be realistic. It will take resources to get a course online. There is risk in spending money and time, even though the buzz is, “It just takes…” However, having poorly produced courses that aren’t selling or participants who don’t finish deteriorate your brand, your bottom line and also kill customer retention. You don’t “just” put a keynote speech, in-person workshop or training event together. Use that same attitude and set the bar high for your online course.
TIP: Think about how much money you have budgeted and search for a platform that fits your technical needs, administration skills and budget. Don’t commit to a delivery date until you clearly understand the amount of time it will take to plan, build, test and launch your online course.
It takes time. In many cases, it takes at least double the amount of what you think it will take to create an online course. It will also take money to set up an online course on a delivery platform as well as develop any related communications (email, texts, etc.) that you may need to support customers as they work through your course.
TIP: Don’t commit to a delivery date until you clearly understand the amount of time it will take to plan, build, test and launch your online course.
Review your content. Have an honest conversation with yourself about your writing content skills and ability to create companion course assets such as videos and supporting documents. The best online courses are refreshed versions of source content and clear, thorough support documentation.
TIP: Consider outsourcing your weaknesses to a subcontractor or small firm who specializes in setting up online courses. Get organized around all of the assets you’ll need to deliver an engaging experience for your course takers.
Respect your online participants as much as your in-person participants
Think about your brand. The technology, assets and everything you do with your online course should mirror your brand in style, effort and investment. Do you have brand guidelines and assets that will seamlessly translate into your online course platform?
TIP: Get organized around creating a seamless experience for your customers that spans all touch points across your content online from your website to print collateral, emails, promotional ads, social media and your online course.
You can create something powerful online
Imagine launching a highly engaging course that’s user-friendly for you and your participants. Participants will not only finish your course, but because of your expertise and how you delivered an effective, engaging experience, they want to get more from you.
What could that do for you and your business?
When done right, a high-quality online course can do many good things. Expanding to the online space will help you hedge the uncertainty of life. Whether it’s a pandemic, recession or something happens in your personal life, an online course can safeguard your revenue and allow you to be in two places at once.
What are your thoughts?
Use the comment section below to share your questions and thoughts about this article.
“Your expertise should be accessible in as many ways as possible.”
