Thinking about creating an online course but not sure if you should? If you’re like me and you’ve been going back and forth as to whether you should actually create an online course you’re not alone. However, there are signs you can look for to help you decide if you should create an online course.
Should I create an online course? Yes, here are 7 signs to look for as to whether you should create an online course.
- People Are Telling You That You’re Good at Something
- You Have a Large Following
- You Have a Different Insight on How to Do Something
- You Have a Tutorial That Gets a Lot of Visitors
- You’re an Affiliate For a Course That Sells Well
- You Like to Teach
- Your Looking For a New Way to Monetize
If you’re looking to create your first online course this article is going to dive into the seven signs to help you know if you should create an online course.
7 Signs You Should Create an Online Course
If you’re debating whether you should create an online course look to these signs in your online business as a clue that you should do this. With that said lets get started.
#1 People Are Telling You That Your Good at Something
To start have you ever had people tell you that your good at something it could be a big clue. A lot of times we think we might be OK at something but often don’t recognize it.
Sometimes it takes an outside perspective to realize that we’re actually are very good at something. It’s in those moments we need to realize we are actually good at something.
I know this has personally happened to me a few times when I’ve had family members tell me that I’m great at creating blog posts and over the last 12+ years I’ve created hundreds if not thousands of blog posts and never realized that I would be considered good at that.
As a result this has made me realize that maybe I should create a course on that.
Big Clue: If people are telling that your good at something then maybe you should consider making a course on that.
Now obviously this all depends on what you’re good at but if its an actual skill that people are looking to learn this can be a big clue as to what you should be doing.
#2 You Have a Large Following
Next if you have a large following or even a moderate following online you should create an online course.
Now there are a few ways this can work. This could be a following on your blog, a following on your podcast, even better a large subscriber base on your YouTube channel.
YouTube is actually one of the best ways to sell online courses even if you’ve got a few hundred subscribers following you. The reason for this is because YouTube does a great job of building a connection with your audience.
Podcast would be a great second option for driving your audience to a course, and blog post would be a great third option to selling online courses on.
Big Clue: If you have a few hundred YouTube subscribers, podcast subscribers, or a blog with 30,000 pageviews you should consider creating an online course.
With even these kinds of numbers you would be able to at least make some course sales provided the course topic is closely related to your YouTube, podcast, or blog.
#3 You Have a Different Insight on How to Do Something
Another reason to create an online course is that you have a completely different insight on how to do something. This could be literally anything out there.
A good example of this is membership site that I’m apart of called Income School. This membership is all about helping people start an online business with a blog or a YouTube channel earning an income with ads, affiliate products, and info products.
On the surface that sounds like what a lot of other courses and memberships teach but they do it way differently. That’s probably why I’ve been a member with them for so long.
Just one example of something they do differently is that almost every other course teaches is to build backlinks to your website to grow your traffic. Income School does not want you to build backlinks.
They believe you should not build backlinks because it will only damage your site in the long run. When they first came out with this they got a lot of flack from other people in the market.
However, the numbers speak for themselves. They’ve made millions online and never built a single backlink.
Big Clue: If you do something that’s way different from what others are doing and getting great results it might be a clue you could create a course about that topic.
So what is something you’re doing differently that you think others would like to know.
#4 You Have an Tutorial That Gets a Lot of Visitors
You can also look at the content you’ve created overtime. Are their any articles that stand out that you’ve created that people are reading all the time. Better yet do you have a tutorial type article that shares how to do something that people are reading on your blog.
Another thing to consider is if you are getting comments in that article. If people are telling that this is helpful article and that it helped them get a certain result then this is a clear indicator that you may be able to create a course on this topic.
A good example of this for me is an article I wrote several years ago for one of my other sites about the top 10 most common security password questions. This article did so well for me that Forbes.com even linked to it.
Big Clue: Look at your top 10 posts and see what people are reading on your blog. You can also do this with your YouTube channel or Podcast. Is there an article you could turn into a course.
To do this go to your Google Analytics. Click on Behavior, Site Content, and then Page Views. Also set the time to the last 30 days. You should see a screen that looks like this.
Skim through the top 10 articles and see what topics people are reading on your site. Any type of how to type article may typically be a clear sign you should create a course on that topic.
#5 Your an Affiliate For a Course That Sells Well
Another clue to consider is if your an affiliate for a course that is selling well. An affiliate is someone who promotes other people’s products and services and earns a commission on a portion of the sale made.
For example, if your blog topic is on golf and you promoting a course on golfing and earning a portion of the sale why not create your own course on the topic and make 100% of the sale.
Even better is if you know that you could create a better course than the one you’re promoting then this may be a clear sign you should create this course.
Big Clue: If you are promoting someone else’s course and you know that you could create a better course than the one you’re promoting.
To do this look at all the courses you promote. What could you do to make that course better. How could you incorporate your unique style and what could you add to make that course better than your competition.
#6 You Like to Teach
Sixth, on this list is if you like to teach then you may want to consider creating a course. Not everyone likes to teach but if you know a certain topic really well then creating an online course may just be right up your ally.
You may also have a unique way of teaching something that nobody else is doing. Teaching is not the easiest thing to do if you’ve never done it but it is a skill that can be learned.
Big Clue: If you have a unique teaching style that is something others in your niche aren’t doing then you may want to consider creating an online course.
To do this review other courses on your topic and look at how they are teaching the content you want to create. Then consider how you could teach the content in a different way others aren’t.
I recently did this with some courses I’m working on right now. I joined a membership and noticed the way they taught their courses were more of an overview at 30,000 feet versus a step by step over the should approach.
#7 Your Looking For a New Way to Monetize
The final way you should consider creating an online course is if you’re looking for a new way to monetize your online business.
If your monetizing your website with ads and affiliate products then adding courses could be a great way to ramp up your earnings.
Not only that when you create a course its something you own and control. With ads and affiliate products you have a lot less control over them. Google can adjust there search algorithm, and affiliate programs can change their commission structures.
Big Clue: If you’re looking to spread out your financial risk and monetize your online business in other ways then creating an online course may be a great option.
To do this check out Teachable to get started with your online course business.
