How to recession-proof your business with a successful online course
It’s no secret that the cost of living is absolutely skyrocketing. Interest rates and bills are slowly creeping up, and inflation is steadily rising.
If you’re like many business owners who are starting to feel the pinch, you’re probably wondering what you can do to boost your earnings.
Honestly, it’s times like this that it pays to have multiple income streams for your business. And one of the best additional income streams you can create is from online courses.
Online courses allow you to create a passive income, having money flowing in while you continue working on your day-to-day business. Sounds perfect, hey!
Almost any business can create an online course
Service-based businesses:
If you provide a service to people, you’ll likely be able to create an online course.
Coaches, consultants and service providers who find a drop in 1:1 sales see the value in investing in turning their 1:1 framework into a 1:many model.
By pooling your knowledge into an online course, you can share your teaching with multiple people at the same time. You can sell your online course to more people at a lower price point.
For example, if you’re a wellness coach who usually treats clients in a 1:1 setting, you can transform what you constantly tell clients into an online course with various modules (e.g. sleep, eating, exercise, meditation etc.).
Set your online course price to be competitive yet appealing, and you may find you sell more online courses than in-person 1:1 sessions.
Hi, lovely!
I’m Alethea & welcome to CloudXS Digital! We help coaches, consultants and service providers grow their impact online with beautiful, conversional, student focused online courses. We share lots of tips and tricks on our blog to help you get started with your online course. You can learn more about working with us to build your online course here.
Online Courses
Websites
Digital Marketing
Automation
Product-based businesses:
Although it’s not as common, product-based businesses can also create and sell online courses. Do you have FAQs that keep occurring about how to use your product?
Turn these FAQs into short how-to courses.
For example, if you sell makeup products, you can create an online course about how to apply makeup. Break this down into sections – foundations, eyes, lips etc. and link to the products in your store for additional sales.
The steps to building your online course to recession-proof your business
- Look at your 1:1 framework
To create your online course, you first need to know the steps you currently take in a 1:1 client setting. How do you get your clients from start to finish? What is the transformation they receive when working with you?
Ask yourself:
- What problem do your clients first present with
- What steps do you take them through
- What is the end result (i.e. how have you solved their problem)
These steps can become the modules for your online course.
- Break down your steps (modules)
Once you know the steps you take your clients on, you can break these steps (modules) down into lessons. What do you do with your client during each step to keep them progressing? These smaller steps can become your lessons in each module.
Think about the best ways to present these lessons:
- Videos
- Workbooks
- Quizzes
- Checklists
- Cheat sheets
Remember, a mix of lessons is the best practice, as everyone learns differently.
- Build up hype while you’re creating your online course
Now you’ve got your online course all mapped out (i.e. you know what your modules are and the lessons within each one), create a landing page to start directing people to.
A waitlist is a great way to build hype and gauge early interest in your online course. Send your landing page with your waitlist sign up to your email list and advertise it on social media.
- Use your waitlist to test your online course
The beauty of having a waitlist is that you know these students are super keen fans who want to do your course. It’s also great to ask all (or some) of your waitlist to be your ‘beta testers’.
Most course creators would offer the course at a reduced rate in return for your test students giving you feedback on the content and highlighting any issues they come across. By doing this, you can confidently launch your online course knowing your students will love it.
- Launch and sell your online course
You’re ready to launch your course when you’re confident your content is exactly what your audience needs and you’ve ironed out any tech teething issues. (Handy hint: self-paced courses work so well as students can join at any time).
As you launch your course to the world, set up a sales funnel, sending traffic to your sales page from email marketing or social channels (Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook etc.).
6. Sit back and enjoy the additional business income
Now all the hard work is done, and you’ve successfully added an additional income stream to your business. Your online course will help more people and transform more lives than you can with 1:1 sessions. It’s a win-win situation!
Are you ready to chat about recession-proofing your business with an online course?
Creating and building online courses for our amazing clients is our passion. It’s what we do every day as we know the benefits for any business with an online course.
You’ll get an additional income stream, and it’s easier than you think. You have the knowledge already, and you do this work every day. Let us help you get it out of your head and into the form of an online course that will make you money.
Please get in touch today if creating an additional revenue stream through an online course excites you!
Alethea Tuitahi
Online Course Designer & Founder
Alethea specialises in creating beautiful, conversional, student focusd online courses. Allowing course creators to deliver their course or program to the world… sans tech frustrations and problems. Need help building your online course? As a Thinkific specialist, Alethea is here to help! Book in a free call here.
Disclosure: Some of the links provided in this blog are affiliate links. I only promote services that I personally use and love. I will be paid a small commission if you use this link to make a purchase.
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