Online courses have become an increasingly popular way for people to monetize their knowledge and skills in recent years. An online course allows you to leverage your expertise on a particular topic, package it into a structured learning program, and sell access to students interested in learning from you.
Creating an online course can be highly lucrative if done right. Unlike traditional employment or freelancing, an online course can generate semi-passive income since you put in the majority of work upfront in creating the course content and platform. After that, revenue can continue to roll in from course sales even as you focus on other projects.
For those with in-demand tech skills, online courses represent a major opportunity to capitalize on your knowledge. The global e-learning market is projected to grow over $374 billion by 2026. Within this market, tech-related courses are especially popular given how fast technology changes. There is no shortage of people looking to learn new technical skills or stay updated on the latest advancements.
Importance of building a reputation and community following before creating the course
While having in-demand tech expertise is the foundation, successfully selling an online course requires more than just knowledge. You need to establish yourself as a trusted expert in your field and build a community of potential students interested in learning from you.
Before creating a course, it is crucial to spend time building up your personal brand and credibility online. This means actively posting content related to your expertise on platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, forums and more. Share insights, how-tos, case studies and more to provide value to your target audience.
Building a reputation and community before releasing your course gives you an engaged audience to market and sell to more easily. The stronger your personal brand, the more trust potential students will have in you and your course content. This translates to higher conversion rates and more revenue down the line.
Identifying Your Area of Expertise
The first step to creating a profitable online course is identifying precisely what you can teach that others would pay to learn. As an expert in a technical field, you likely have extensive knowledge you can share. However, it is important to narrow your focus to a specific, in-demand skillset or technology you have advanced experience with.
For example, don’t simply create a course on “web development.” This is too broad. Instead, focus on a specialized sub-field like “Building Web Applications with React and Node.js.” By targeting popular frameworks and libraries, you cater to clear student demand while also showcasing deeper expertise versus high-level overviews.
It is also helpful to browse tech-related forums, groups and communities to see what common pain points and questions pop up. This provides insight into what skills and knowledge gaps exist that your course could fill.
By strategically determining your “niche” area of expertise with high demand, you set yourself up for creating a popular course that provides tremendous value.
Importance of choosing a topic where you are a subject matter expert
Attempting to create an online course on a topic you don’t have sufficient expertise in is a recipe for failure. Students will quickly see through any gaps in knowledge and technical competency. This destroys credibility and trustworthiness—the currency that allows you to successfully sell and profit from sharing your knowledge.
That is why it is so important to only develop courses focused on domains you have extensive real-world experience and mastery in. Whether through professional work, personal projects, academics or specializations, ensure you have an advanced understanding of both theoretical foundations and practical applications.
Beyond just technical competency, you should also have experience applying concepts in real job roles, freelance gigs or similar contexts your students are likely preparing for. This allows you to provide authentic perspectives and advice in your lessons.
Examples of how real-world experience enhances the credibility of the course content
Here are some examples of how real-world expertise and experience can enhance the value, credibility and salability of your online course content:
- Developed fintech web apps for 5 years at a startup – Teach web development for finance
- Worked on AI team at big tech firm – Teach applied machine learning
- Built own eCommerce site from scratch – Teach eCommerce development with Shopify
- Data analyst for healthcare company – Teach data analytics with healthcare data
- Ethical hacking hobbyist – Teach cybersecurity and ethical hacking
- Mine cryptocurrency and develop blockchain apps – Teach cryptocurrency investing and blockchain development
- Published research papers in quantum computing – Teach introduction to quantum computing
So leverage your background when identifying course topics! Students inherently value learning from seasoned practitioners versus strictly academic or theoretical material.
