How to create an online course: step-by-step plan and platforms for creating an online course 
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In modern times, the market is oversaturated: it’s not possible to write a training course on your knees, get cash out and that’s it. A training course today is a full-fledged business that requires a lot of time and money.
How to launch a successful course? The founder of the digital agency DEITY, Elizaveta, shares her experience. Read the article to the end and you will receive step-by-step instructions for launching your online project. Go!
Why do you need an online course?
Online education today is not what it was 5 years ago, when the information business market was just beginning to make itself known. Now everyone can become anyone: get a new profession, their own community, knowledge and prospects - everything that current universities can barely cope with.
When you want to create an educational product, plan to become "Harvard" in the future. This is a lucrative business, but don’t look at it just to make money.
Another online school for training in mentoring or manicure, training from an expert - you need to understand what the market is flooded with.
Low-quality courses do not survive - this is good news for the buyer (student) and bad news for dishonest “launchers”. Therefore, the final result and benefit to the consumer are important.
What are the most common mistakes newbies make? Let’s look at examples.
Newbie mistakes
Uniqueness is the main value of any project, which earns the founder better than a sales manager. Over 4+ years of experience in digital marketing and 30+ successful cases in EdTech, we have identified the Top 3 common misconceptions of beginners.
1. “I came up with a course, recorded it, posted it on the platform - now it will sell”
Developing an online project is not the same as putting a product on the marketplace. A specific advertising strategy is required: advertising, funnels, SEO adaptation, and so on.
The goal is to understand what pain your target audience is covering. Only then can you calculate the financial model.
2. “I want to quickly launch and make money”
As already mentioned, you won’t be able to do everything quickly, take the profit and ride off into the sunset. The market will not forgive “freebies”, simply because of competition.
A lot of analytics, strategy development and a detailed business plan are vital. “Fast, high-quality, inexpensive” - all at once is impossible.
It is important to convey the goal and benefit for the student, study the target audience, and form your audience. The best option: read books on your topic or ask a neural network for help, i.e. master the basic theory.
A project is an investment, cost calculation, planning, work and deadlines. A good producer in the field of online education will reduce your work and free up time, but the materials and any expert advice will be needed from you.
3. “I want to launch to a warm audience without updating it”
The most common mistake is the desire to remove the “low hanging fruit”. Sell to those who have long wanted to buy it without updating the audience. There will still be demand for launching your first stream, but not for the second.
According to cohort analysis, the audience needs at least 100 days to “warm up” and buy a new product.
These 3 months will cost you investments in employees, launching advertising (including bloggers), a couple of tufts of gray hair and a trailer of nerve cells. The conversion, of course, will not be as high as at the start from 0 “to warm”.
Completing training and awarding diplomas for the first cohort is the starting amount of work; focus on the long term.
Our advice: expand your audience from the first day of working on the project, and don’t stop - it’s an ongoing process.
How to make a high-quality EdTech product from scratch? Now we will tell you step by step, read carefully.
How to create an online course for free, from scratch - step by step
You can do it on your knee, it’s free. The positives end there. Even “free” has a price, so you will have to master the following knowledge: methodology, design, installation, production, marketing, SMM, copywriting and a few more on top.
No time and energy to master it? We need a team. Let’s briefly figure out who does what, and why.
Let’s take a look below at the example of our landing page https://deityagency.com/courses, a producer of online courses, and what was done with it step by step!
Methodology
A system of rules and processes by which the team works, it helps to structure the work, improve results and minimize errors.
Design
High-quality visuals are user-friendly. Good design makes everything clear and enjoyable to use. Plus, it’s one of your competitive advantages.
Installation
The assembly and processing of video material necessary to create a cool story that will captivate the listener. Correct editing holds the viewer’s attention, adds interactive features and conveys the right emotions - increasing loyalty.
Production
The cycle of creating content necessary for promotion. This includes filming, sound recording and more. A well-organized production is the key to quality. Nowadays there is a lot of attention from consumers to production.
Marketing
Goal: to attract attention and arouse interest among potential customers - this is what a marketer does.
Sales
Converting a lead into a client. Formation of prices and paid subscriptions, personal discounts and promotions - this is done by the sales department. It is the OP’s job to squeeze out leads.
SMM
Social media management forms interaction with potential leads and is responsible for promotion on VKontakte, Telegram and other social networks.
Copywriting
Writing texts: social networks, landing pages, SEO materials. A correctly written text will retain attention and interest, and through a competent call-to-action will add leads. It is required for all marketing materials and advertising campaigns.
How you can increase your income and improve lead conversion – we’ll look into it further.
How to increase conversion and sales
Analytics is the key to everything. Investigate each case individually: by fixing one webinar, you can get x5 in profit. Sometimes you will have to adjust the product itself.
Today, infobiz has changed a lot in terms of consumer behavior. Example: previously, up to 70% of revenue came from webinars and marathons. Now people have begun to think more, make fewer compulsive purchases based on emotions, and incomes in the Russian Federation have decreased.
Through webinars, broadcasts and live broadcasts, you can still make 40% of your revenue. The rest is the task of the sales department and additional incentives.
Before you sell, you should think about where you will sell everything.
Platforms and services for creating online courses
There are many services for hosting courses. For example, GetCourse or AntiTrainings. You can also pack everything into a bot, Telegram, use Tilda, or create your own platform. It all depends on the budget, platform capabilities and training features. Let’s take a closer look at the different options.
What programs are needed to create online courses?
Popular services: Getcurs and Anti-Trainings.
GetCourse: user-friendly interface, many tools, integration with CRM, convenient payment connection. Data is stored on their platform and there are flexible rates.
Anti-Trainings: focused on practical knowledge and skills, avoiding “water” and theory; provide a high level of content.
How to create an online course on Tilda
First, register an account and select a tariff for the project. Then you can choose a ready-made template for the site or make it yourself, so we place all the information there: pictures, videos, photos, and so on. You can add separate pages for lessons or areas of study.
We install paid access, integrate payment systems, for example, Yandex.Checkout or something else. Through Zero Block we are creating a personal account where students can see progress and have access to materials.
We add mailings and email chains, test and launch.
How to create an online course in Telegram
Through BotFather we create a new bot and gain access to the API via a token. Using ManyBot or ChatFuel, we customize the bot to suit your requirements, add menus, message chains, and so on.
We upload content: lessons, homework, additional materials and all that. After that, we add automation, for example, checking tests or remote control. We launch, test, fix and send to work.
Now comes the fun part. Go!
Online course launch plan: step-by-step instructions
Super! We wrote and posted our educational project. Now it’s time to launch it, the question is: how? Very simple: follow the instructions, step by step. We do everything sequentially.
1. Valuation of your assets.
You need to clearly understand your own knowledge, skills and team, as well as time and money. Determine what you have in place to start a new business and what needs to be improved or added.
2. Analysis of supply and demand in the selected niche.
Study the market: is there interest in your product? Compare your competitors, find out how they operate, and find your competitive advantage. This is critical when developing a strategy.
3. Analysis of target audience and purchasing power.
Understand who your target audience is: age, interests, income. Assess whether they are willing to pay and how much. This will help you set up your marketing and sales correctly.
4. Development of a marketing program for the course.
Select channels and advertising formats and determine your budget. It is important that marketing attracts your target audience. Monitor your audience analytics to see if the right people are coming to you at all.
5. Calculations.
Break everything down into small steps, calculate expenses and income, and draw up a step-by-step plan. You will be able to control your budget and not go beyond it.
6. Development of a launch strategy.
Plan all the steps: from preparation to the first sale. The strategy must be clear and understandable to the entire team.
7. Selection of a team, drawing up an organizational structure.
Find specialists and assign roles. A clear organizational structure will simplify management and improve teamwork.
8. Formation of a plan for 3 or 6 months.
Define goals and objectives for the coming months. The plan must be realistic and take into account possible risks and obstacles.
9. Marketing strategy.
Include different channels and tools in your promotion plan for maximum coverage, add a variety of approaches, a strong offer and handling objections.
10. Content strategy.
Determine what content will attract and retain your target audience. Plan your publications in advance and monitor their quality and relevance.
11. Launch of MVP.
Release a minimum viable project - this is the basis so that the student can start studying, and you can receive information and start processing feedback. At this stage, you can track the performance of the project: the platform and its mechanics, ease of communication for students, and so on.
12. Work on mistakes, conclusions.
Analyze results, identify errors and improve processes. Constantly working on mistakes will make the final result better.
To sum up, what do we come to?
conclusions
Launching an online course has become more difficult and there are three global solutions to the issue.
- You can do everything yourself. Learn all aspects, master a lot of new areas. This is an irrational waste of resources, time and effort, and no one can guarantee success.
- The second option: hire employees to delegate. An excellent option, especially if you select specialists well. Coordination and management are still up to you. The cost will be higher, but there will be less headaches. One stream is definitely enough for you.
- Third: contact a digital agency. The ability to delegate comes with experience. The agency has all the resources, experience and proven effectiveness. The cost is offset by flexible rates and the time you save.
It’s up to you to decide which one to choose.