The great thing about online courses is that anybody can create one.
But just because you can create one doesn’t mean you should.
If you decide to build your own online course before you’re ready, or before the right circumstances are in place, you could end up wasting your precious time and energy only to have it fizzle.
But get the timing right, and your online course could help build your brand, scale your business, and boost your income.
So, how to know if you’re ready to build your own online course? Let’s look at the 3 key factors that can help you figure it out.
Three Signs That You’re Ready To Create An Online Course
Demand
Many inspirational movies have been created around the premise of “build it, and they will come.” Unfortunately, creating an online course doesn’t work in the same way. Before you decide to build your own online course, you must establish that there is a demand for the content you’re going to create.
This should be easily determined if you’re already running a successful business. If you’re fully booked, unable to take on new clients, and don’t want to hire an employee or contractor to scale the business, a course can be a great addition to your list of services.
Do you constantly have people reaching out to ask you for your help, advice and guidance? Are your friends, colleagues, or customers already requesting an online course? If so, these are great indicators that the timing is right.
Time
Thanks to an extensive selection of online course builders, course creation is easier than it’s ever been, but it still takes a lot of time and effort to build your own course. If you’re already overworked and struggling to manage your business, how do you plan to find time to research, develop, launch, and market an online course?
Be prepared to spend at least a few weeks of full-time work to create your course – or several months of hustling in the evenings and weekends if that’s the only time you have.
If you’re really committed to building your online course, take a look at your calendar and see if you can utilise any quiet periods to put the work in.
Audience
Online course creation has never been more popular, but that also means the competition is immense. There are probably a bunch of other people in your niche offering similar courses. Now, that doesn’t mean you don’t have something unique to offer, but it does mean it will help if you have an existing audience ready and waiting to support your new course.
You don’t necessarily have to have the biggest audience, but you should have an engaged one.
Do you have a strong social media community with people who seem engaged with and connected to your brand? Have you built a good-sized email list? Do your subscribers and customers respond positively to your content, products and services?
Having an interested, enthusiastic audience will make it much easier to build your own online course; you’ll have a better idea of what kind of content to produce and how to market your course.
Is It Time To Create An Online Course?
Have you ticked all the boxes and decided you have the time, audience, and demand needed to build a successful online course? Excellent – but what next?
You could get started on planning writing and preparing. But, creating a course by yourself can be quite a daunting prospect. Luckily, you don’t have to do it alone.
If you need support or advice on how to get started building an online course, I'm here to help. Contact me (Debbie) today to find out more.
If you’re interested in setting up a course or want to know more about how it all works, sign up for your FREE four-page online course planning checklist.
Perhaps you just want to get started on your online course, then my 90 min Zoom Online Course Planning Session might be just what you need.
Checkout my Online Course Creation Packages:
Online Course Planning Session
Online Course Setup Package
Online Course Complete Package
Would you like to check out my preferred online course platform, here's a one month free trial of Thinkific (note this is an affiliate link).
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Author
Debbie Mills Robertson
Online Course Creation | Email Marketing | Website Design
debbie@taskdiva.co.nz
027 345 7000
