Course Creator: Should You Become One?
In 2016, I created my first online course. Titled, The Nourished Child Blueprint, it was my first foray into online courses.
Why did I do it? I wanted to embrace passive income, reach more parents, and have a greater impact.
That first course was followed by Eat Like a Champion (Teen Edition) and then The ADHD Diet for Kids. I’ve gone on to record other courses and workshops to provide training for parents.
I like the idea of a course. Especially when you find yourself repeating the same basic nutrition information over and over to your clients.
Courses can be a direct way to get the nutrition basics covered.
Business to Consumer Online Courses: Do They Sell?
As an online course creator, I can’t help but notice the tide may be shifting in the area of course creation. Especially in the business-to-consumer (B2C) sector.
I’ve always noticed the course creators who were making the big bucks were selling online to other businesses. This is called B2B (business to business).
If you’re selling a How to Do SEO course to other online entrepreneurs, if it’s solid information and well-marketed, it will sell.
Why?
Because it’s hard to run a successful online business without good SEO. In other words, business owners need to know SEO. It’s inherent to the success of their business.
But selling online courses to consumers is different.
A How to Be Healthy or How to Eat Healthfully course doesn’t seem to sell as well. I think this is because people who are making a personal change – something they have or want to do for themselves –may have a harder time engaging with online courses.
For them, knowing isn’t enough.
Education doesn’t ensure a change will happen.
They need more.
How Being a Course Creator May Enhance Your Business
If you’ve always dreamed of being a course creator, there are a few ways I’ve seen nutrition entrepreneurs use online courses to enhance their business.
- Create a basic course and include it as part of a group program. Everybody starts on the same playing field.
- Create a course that only 1:1 clients can access. Use it as a springboard for deeper conversations that can be personalized to the client.
- Create a very basic course, give it away for free and sell the bigger, deeper class on the back end.
- Create mini-courses or lessons, sell them independently, and offer the option of buying them together in one larger course.
How to Make Sure Your Online Course Sells
If you intend to develop an online course, here are a few things I’ve learned as a course creator. I hope they help you!
- Marketing is key. Assure good SEO so that your course can be indexed and found on search engines. Remember: Creating a course is one thing; selling it is an entirely different beast.
- Build your email list so you can let your followers know you have a new course. Market the course to your growing list periodically.
- Make your course different from the competition. There are many nutrition courses available now as I write this in 2022. Your course will need to be different, offer another angle or perspective on your topic, and deliver results.
