The web is filled with articles that talk about eLearning courses as a great way to earn some extra cash. Thanks to technologies like WordPress content management system (CMS) and learning management systems, all you need to create and sell a course online is expertise in your subject.
Thanks to this, selling online courses has become one of the most popular ways to create profitable income for online bloggers.
If you too, want to share your expertise with the world wide web, here’s how you can do that in just a few easy steps:
Build A Website
Building a website with WordPress is a pretty straightforward process. Simply log on to WordPress.com or WordPress.org, create an account, and follow the steps to build your website.
Contrary to popular belief, creating a website isn’t absolutely free. Website owners have to pay a retainer fee for the domain name of their choice, along with the hosting fee to keep their website on the web.
While all that isn’t free, it certainly is affordable. With a hosting service like BlueHost, you can get started for as low as $2.75/month.
If this is your first time creating a website, it might be a good idea to go through other websites that sell courses to get an idea of the kind of content you must have on your website.
As a rule of thumb, your website should, at the very least, effectively reinforce your expertise in the subject of your course. After all, nobody wants to learn from someone who doesn’t know their stuff.
Integrate An LMS And Create Your Course
Next, it is time to find a learning management system (LMS) that is compatible with WordPress. An LMS, in simple terms, is a platform that allows for easy creation, seamless deployment, and effective tracking of online courses.
If you are just starting out, it may be a good idea to go with a free WordPress LMS. However, as you become familiar with how the platform works, along with its strengths and weaknesses, you may want to upgrade to a premium version.
Once you have identified the right LMS, it is time for an LMS-WordPress integration. For most LMS, a WordPress integration is a simple process and the customer service reps are more than happy to guide customers through the process.
Once the integration is out of the way, you can use the LMS to create your course, add lessons, quizzes, assessments, and certificates. Keep in mind, if you want advanced features like the ability to add video lessons, you may have to purchase the premium version of the LMS of your choice.
Promote Your Course
Once you have created a website and listed your online course for sale, it is time to find customers. While marketing an online course deserves a dedicated blog post of its own, here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Build Topical Authority: As mentioned earlier, nobody would want to spend on a course if the author is not a renowned expert in the field. To build topical authority, write in-depth blog posts, free guides, and generally useful and entertaining content for your target audience.
Collaborate with other bloggers in your niche, create a social media presence, answer questions on Quora, to become visible to their audience and eventually be recognised as a figure of authority in your knowledge. If you have any professional certifications relevant to the course you are offering, it is a good idea to mention them every now and then.
- Create Powerful Landing Pages: Create a dedicated landing page for your course. List out all the benefits of taking the course. The simplest way to understand the function of a landing page is to think of it as a salesperson. When a visitor lands on the page, the page will try to convert them into a paying customer.
Promote your landing pages in your collaborations and on your social media network. At the same time, make sure they are optimised for search engines so they show up in search results for the most relevant queries.
Promoting an online course is no easy feat and requires constant efforts. If you’ve completed the previous steps, and are struggling with the promotion of your online course, here’s a great guide.