If you’ve ever wondered why so many online business sell courses, well, because creating an online course is good for business.
Because of the work we do, we’re lucky in the fact that we get to work with solo, small and big businesses and help them develop additional channels to bring in traffic and in turn sales. One of the channels is often developing an online course.
At which point you may be thinking – well I don’t want to be a course seller. I’m not in the business of teaching, I’m in the business of [fill in the blank].
Like a good salesperson, let’s answer that objection straight of the bat and then we can move onto why creating an online course is good for business.
But I’m not a teacher
To help alleviate your stress I’ll lean on experts both in name and company who themselves an online course. The best place for me to gather some of the best experts whose business isn’t course selling (teaching) is to go to Masterclass (an online education site that features the best of the best). When we go here we’ll see tons of business owners who have online courses.
Here’re a few names you may recognise:
Now, what is the founder of Spanx, best selling author and incredible documentary filmmaker doing creating online courses?
Well, they’ve understood the power of education. Whilst we all accept education is powerful, not everyone truly understands its power outside of the conventional school system.
What these celebrities and other everyday business folks have understood is that when you educate someone on a subject they’re interested in they now see you differently.
Why creating an online course is good for business
After completing Ken Burns online course would you hazard a guess what I did next?
If you thought I picked up my iPhone and started shooting like a good entrepreneur you’d be wrong.
I actually went onto Netflix and started to watch his documentaries.
Getting an insight into my sequence of actions should have you clambering to create an online course.
Because you’ll now realise that I now see Ken Burns as the master of documentaries. So much so that I want to purchase and consume more of what he has to offer.
In other words, because he taught what he does, I trust him.
So the reason we create an online course technically is for traffic and sales. But principally we do it because it positions (that’s a good marketing word to go explore) us as an authority on the subject.
This doesn’t just happen with uber celebrities. It’s happening all around you. For example, Wagamama’s taught me how to make their delicious Katsu Curry. Now I always seem to buy my Katsu curry from them.
Start creating your online course
At this stage don’t overthink it. If and only if you embrace the principle that educating your customers using an online course will benefit your business, it will be worth pursuing.
That being said, if it’s good enough for the Founder of Starbucks It should be good enough for you.
At worse, you’ll build trust with your audience. You’ll position yourself as an expert within your niche/industry. And maybe make some profit on all those online course sales.
On the topic of creating an online course, we’ve got a free series here on the blog or hang fire for a more condensed future post.