How to Create an Online Course: Step-by-Step Guide and Tips.

Have an idea of launching online courses? But confused about how you would do that.

Let me tell you we will be helping you from the start to the end to figure out how to create your online courses. Before we begin let me ask you guys some questions.

Are you passionate about a topic?

Do you think you are an expert at it?

Do you think others could benefit from it?

If you've answered "yes" to these questions, congratulations! You're already halfway there. Let's explore how to shape your course content and set you on the path to becoming a successful course creator.

Why create an Online Course?

To begin with, you must consider why you should create a course. Is it worth investing your time and effort in this initiative?

The resounding answer is yes.

Let's look at some data: According to IMARC, the global online learning market reached $316 billion in 2023. In the United States alone, the e-learning market is predicted to hit $21.64 billion mark in 2024. These figures indicate that people are actively seeking online course options over traditional forms of learning. Moreover, online courses aren’t limited to formal education; you can create content ranging from video editing tutorials for Instagram Reels to courses on cooking your favorite Italian pasta.

As the digital age advances, physical classrooms will no longer be a constraint. Portable education, accessible via handheld devices, is becoming a reality. Online courses seamlessly integrate into our daily lives, offering effective learning opportunities across diverse fields.

So, tapping into this field now is a smart move—it’s an established and rapidly growing space. So you want to be a part of it!

Launch an online course

GOT YOUR CONTENT READY? GRAPHY IS ALL YOU NEED TO GET STARTED!

Now, the next thing you might be wondering is whether course creation is a daunting task. This is where our blog steps in, guiding you through the process of launching your first course, one step at a time. Don’t worry; you won’t have to stress. Just follow this step-by-step guide, and you’ll be able to create, launch, and monetize your course from Day 1.

8 Steps to Create an Online Course.

Step 1:- Choose Your Expert Niche.

When it comes to creating your online course, the first thing you need to do is to select your expert niche.

When we say expert niche, we mean something that ignites the fire within you. It would be a topic that you could teach without getting bored or frustrated. In fact, you will enjoy every moment when you start recording your lectures or modules.

A great example of this is Lidiya Kesarovska, the founder of “Let’s Reach Success”. Lidiya started her blog as a hobby in 2013, combining her passion for personal development and writing. Over the years, she gained traffic, learned about SEO and monetization, and turned her blog into a 5-figure online business. Her expert niche was personal development and she was able to create a successful online course around it.`

Honestly, you can achieve this, but this can happen only if you spend enough time choosing your expert niche. When you are at this stage, think about:

What skills or expertise do you possess that others might find valuable?
Are there people out there who would be interested in learning this skill or subject?
Would these individuals be willing to pay to acquire this knowledge?
Is there a market for this subject where you can carve out a significant share and turn it into a full-time profession?
What unique perspective or approach can you bring to this subject that sets you apart from others?

Question yourself and figure out what you love to do the most and see if there is a market out there for your niche or not. If yes, choose it and think more practically about it. See whether your niche would align with the market demand or not.

Step 2: Validate your Course Idea.

After selecting your expert niche, the next crucial step is to validate your course idea. You want to ensure there’s demand before investing time and effort. Here’s how to do it:

1. Join Like-Minded Groups:

Connect with people who share your interests. Join Facebook groups, LinkedIn communities, Reddit, and Quora discussions related to your niche.
Engage actively: ask questions, share genuine comments, and discuss your course idea. Pay attention to feedback from group members.

2. Understand Your Customers:

Interact directly with your potential customers to understand their needs and problems.

Conduct interviews or surveys with your customer personas to gain insights into their challenges and aspirations. This will help you identify gaps in the market and tailor your course to address those needs.
Remember, your course should be about what you want to teach and also about what your customers want to learn.

3. Evaluate Customer Willingness to Pay:

It’s essential to assess whether potential customers are willing to pay for the courses you’re offering.
You can do this by conducting market research, offering early bird discounts, or pre-selling your course.
Remember, the value of your course is ultimately determined by what someone is willing to pay for it.

4. Leverage Your Email List:

If you have an email list (of at least 100-200 people), you can consider conducting a webinar.
Invite your subscribers and share your course concept during the webinar that you plan to launch a course. Ask if they’d be interested in learning from you.
Gather suggestions and understand their perspective.

5. Analyze Advice and Feedback:

Think about the advice that you got from joining the groups and the suggestions that you received during the webinars.
Try to draw a conclusion from the two and see if it’s positive or negative. But, here’s a piece of advice from us; trust your inner voice even if the conclusion is negative.

6. Check who your Competitors Are:

Identify your main competitors and analyze their course offerings.
Look for areas where you can differentiate yourself, whether it's by catering to underserved demographics, introducing novel concepts, or adopting innovative formats.

7. Assess Google Search Trends:

Utilize tools like Google Trends, keyword planners, and SEO analytics to understand search trends and volume related to your course topic.
By analyzing search queries and keyword popularity, you can measure the level of interest and competition within your niche.
Look for keywords with high search volume and moderate competition, indicating potential demand for your course.

8. Identify Market Gaps:

Finding a gap in the market is key to positioning your course for success.
Explore opportunities to offer something unique or fill unmet needs within your niche.
Whether it's targeting a specific audience segment, introducing fresh concepts, or innovating course formats, differentiation is key to standing out in a crowded market.

9. Embracing Innovation:

While existing courses may hold influence in your niche, there's always room for innovation.
Don't shy away from challenging the status quo and exploring new avenues for delivering value to your audience.
By offering a fresh perspective or unique approach, you can carve out a distinct space for your course in the market.

Step 3:- Crafting Clear Learning Outcomes for Your Online Course

Now as you're done with finalizing your course topic and identifying your target audience. It's time to define compelling learning outcomes. These outcomes serve as your course’s ultimate goals, summarizing what learners will gain. Not only do they guide your teaching, but they also play a crucial role in marketing your course to potential learners.

Here’s how you should do it:

1. Clarity for Learners:

Learning outcomes provide a roadmap. They tell your learners exactly what they’ll achieve after completing your course.
By setting clear expectations upfront, you ensure that those who enroll are the right fit for your content.

2. Effective Objectives:

Craft well-worded learning objectives. For example:
“After completing this course, you’ll be able to carry out everyday conversations in French, use all tenses correctly, and identify false friends in English and French.”
Remember to include these goals on your sales page—they demonstrate the value your course offers.

3. Audience Alignment:

Ensure your learning outcomes address your audience’s needs and fill gaps not met by competitors.
The result? Higher completion rates, better satisfaction scores, glowing testimonials, and fewer refund requests.

Remember, learning outcomes are your promise to learners—deliver on that promise!

Step 4:- Plan your Course Outline

After creating your learning outcome, the next thing that you will have to do is chalk out the layout of your course. Think of it as creating a roadmap for your learners—a journey from point A to point B.

Here’s how to do it:

Check out your competitors’ course descriptions. Pay attention to the topics and sub-topics they cover.
This analysis will give you insights into what’s commonly included. But remember, you’re aiming for uniqueness.
For example, if you are planning to create an online course on digital marketing, you can give your students hands-on experience when it comes to running paid ads. Or maybe you can give them access to a premium tool that you use.
See what value proposition you can add to your online course. Jot down all the topics and sub-topics that you want to add to your course, and then move on to the next step.

Remember, designing your course outline doesn’t have to be daunting. With advanced AI tools like Graphy Assist, you can draft content outlines effortlessly and customize them to your needs. Try to use technology to simplify the process, so you can focus on delivering an exceptional learning experience.

Step 5:- Choosing the Right Online Course Platform.

Now that your course outline is ready, it's time to decide where you'll host your online course. In the vast e-learning market, you have several options to consider:

1. Self-Hosting:

If you're inclined towards self-hosting, especially if you already have a WordPress website, you’ll need to search for a suitable plugin and add-ons that can help you create and manage your course. However, this route can quickly become overwhelming with the multitude of technicalities involved.

2. Online Course Platforms:

Alternatively, you can opt for online course marketplaces like Udemy, offering massive visibility without the need for technical skills. However, keep in mind the significant portion of profits you'll forfeit due to marketplace fees and the limited customization options.

3. Online Course Marketplaces:

Consider leveraging online course creation platforms like Graphy, Thinkific, Teachable, and Kajabi. These platforms streamline the course creation process, providing everything from course creation to website building and eCommerce within one interface.

Why Choose Graphy?

As you finalize your search for the ideal course creation platform, it's essential to assess your options meticulously. While many platforms claim to offer comprehensive solutions, Graphy is providing you with an all-in-one platform online for creators like you.

Why Graphy, you ask? Well, let's look into the reasons:

Comprehensive Features: Graphy is your one-stop solution for online teaching. It offers a range of features to kickstart your online teaching journey. You can create detailed courses and engage with your audience through live webinars and classes. You can also offer exclusive content through membership plans and sell digital products directly from your platform. To ensure effective learning, Graphy provides built-in tests and quizzes for student evaluation.
User-Friendly Interface: With Graphy's intuitive platform, you can navigate through the complexities of course creation effortlessly, even with zero technical skills.
White Labeling: Stand out from the crowd with Graphy's white-labeling feature, allowing you to customize your platform and mobile app to align with your personal branding seamlessly.
Multiple Payment Gateways: Monetize your knowledge without constraints, thanks to Graphy's support for multiple payment gateways, ensuring hassle-free transactions for both you and your learners.

You can have it all on Graphy! So, without thinking much, start your free trial today. Once you finalize the learning management system, you can move on to the next step.

Step 6:- Creation phase

Lights… Camera… Action!

Now comes the most exciting part of your course creation journey, i.e., the creation phase. This is the time when you will put aside all the documentation that you have been doing for months and come in front of the camera to record your power-packed lectures.

If you are creating an online course for the first time, you may find it a bit difficult. In fact, you might even feel overwhelmed. But, believe us, you will become a pro very soon. All it takes is practice and hard work.

So, instead of getting swayed away or feeling frustrated, figure out some ways of working it out.

Step 7:- Choosing Your Business Model.

As you shape your online academy, selecting the right business model becomes pivotal. Let’s explore the options:

Online Courses:

The classic approach—selling courses individually or in bundles.
Offer discounts to learners while ensuring seamless upselling opportunities.
Courses can be entirely self-paced or blended for a personalized experience.

2. Cohort-Based Courses:

Ideal for practical subjects that thrive on communication and collaboration.
Learners progress together, supporting each other throughout the journey.

3. Memberships:

Unlock a reliable monthly recurring income.
Commit to adding fresh content regularly and host live sessions to maintain engagement.

4. Expand Your Reach:

Consider offering a free mini-course or digital product (like an eBook or checklist).
Use it to grow your mailing list and generate leads.

5. Pricing Strategy:

Finding the right price point is crucial. Avoid appearing suspiciously cheap.
Instead, focus on delivering exceptional value to build trust and exceed expectations.

Remember, with Graphy, you have the tools to execute your chosen business model seamlessly.

Step 8:- Launch your Online Course

Finally, the time for your course launch has arrived! (drumrolls)…

Make your course launch big and loud. Share about your online course on all of your social media platforms. Ask your friends, family members, and connections to share it on their social media profiles as well.

Along with this, you can also use paid ways of promoting your online course, like Facebook ads, Google ads, Instagram ads, etc. Analyze where your audience hangs out the most and choose the platform on that basis.

Here, we would recommend you create hype for your online course by pre-launching it and giving access only to a limited number of people at a discounted price. Along with the hype, this will also help you collect some testimonials even before the launch.

How Graphy can help you to create an online course?

Graphy is a robust online course hosting platform that allows you to create, market, and sell your digital products to a global audience.

With Graphy’s fully functional learning management system, integrated payment gateways, top-notch marketing, and sales features, you can easily grow and scale your knowledge-commerce business.

So, without any further ado, sign-up for Graphy today!

Frequently asked questions (FAQs).

Q1. What’s the process of creating an online Course?

You can construct an online course using a course creation platform. These platforms let you upload and organize your content into modules, create additional learning activities and assessments, and manage your students. You can also market and sell your courses on modern LMS. Another option is to use an authoring tool to build a complete course before importing it into the LMS. For simpler courses, creating videos and adding them to your website, either gated or ungated, is a viable option.

Q2. What’s the strategy for pricing my online course?

The online course market has become highly competitive in the last five years. Therefore, it’s crucial to price your course in a way that highlights its value without alienating your target audience. Before setting a price, research your competitors’ pricing to avoid being too expensive or too cheap. You can also gauge what your current audience would be willing to pay through anonymous polls or focus groups.

Q3. What should be the duration of my online course?

The length of your online course should be sufficient to deliver the knowledge your audience expects. If your marketing promises align with the course content, your audience will be satisfied. The value of the content is more important than the course length.

Q4. How can I create a course for sale?

Creating a profitable online course requires careful research and planning. It’s advisable to build an audience before creating an online course. Find out which topics your audience is most interested in, and consider pre-selling the course before you start creating the content.

Q5. Is it difficult to create an online course?

Creating a course may seem daunting, but it’s not as hard as it appears. You likely already have some content that you can repurpose into PDF infographics, eBooks, and checklists. However, since people enjoy video content, ensure you create some videos and not just rely on text-based learning materials.

Q6. Is it profitable to create an online course?

The surge in online education means that creating an online course can be a profitable venture. The key is to ensure that your content is valuable and appeals to a broad audience. Remember, a successful online course requires active promotion—it’s not a “set it and forget it” endeavor.

How to create an online course: Step-by-Step Guide and Tips