Tips to launch your online learning academy in 2022

So far, the eLearning domain was limited to institutions and funded startups who could venture into spending big on creating eLearning programs and in the technology needed to enable such ecosystems. Several studies already predict that the eLearning industry will grow to $1 Trillion by 2027.

But the most interesting shift that is happening today is in the space of the gig economy. Individual coaches, trainers, tutors, artists, painters, hobbyists across the world are looking for ways to monetize their knowledge online. One of the most lucrative ways to do this is by building an online academy. Platforms such as Knorish enable experts and businesses to go online and launch online academies that offer coaching programs complete with a variety of content formats.
So here’s how to get started in building your online academy:

First the basics

The fundamental factors include choosing and finalising a catchy yet simple and an easy to remember brand name, a logo and trademarking that brand name. This first step is the same as one that a business owner would consider when starting any new business. This protects your IP and hence is critical.

Next: Your Specialisation

How do you stand out from the sea of experts in your domain? Find that micro specialization that makes you the expert in that domain.

For example, weight loss coaches. There are thousands if not lakhs. How do you stand out? So then you relook at your expertise and find that unique aspect.

Maybe you could offer specialized weight loss coaching for diabetics or offer weight loss coaching programs specifically for women post pregnancy.

This is key to success since people would associate with you basis this specialization and will be willing to pay more for the services and programs rather than someone offering a run of the mill offering. So consider that distinct aspect of your coaching or training that helps you create that unique brand for your business.

Step 3: Finalize Course Topic & Content

Once you have the specialization honed in, the next step is to create content around that as your product offering. Setting your learning goals and then developing a course syllabus to lead the learning process are necessary steps in the content creation process. You’ll need to divide the course curriculum into primary topics and sub-topics to develop a course outline.

More importantly, research into what kind of content already exists online and offer better. You can also search online for keywords and terms that you believe people will use to learn more about the course topic and content you need.

Step 4: Create Content

Videos are the most favoured content format in online courses. But not all online courses have videos. You could create an email only course where content is shared periodically via emails. You could have a course that has documents. You could create videos, embed videos from YouTube, add PDFs, PPTs, case studies, checklists, mindmaps, reports, documents, slides, and of course assignments that check for understanding levels. The type of the course content can be any. What matters is which format is your audience most likely to consume most.

Step 5: Website Design

A website is crucial to the success of an online learning academy. Because when potential customers visit your website, they get to learn more about the academy, discover courses & their pricing, make payments for those courses, and learn from the content offered. So better the website, the better your chances to convert potential learners to paying customers.

One advise that I can share here is that if you are new to website designing, stick to a pre-designed template. Because once you have a reference to start with, the end design won’t be too far from what you had chosen. This eliminates a lot of design & tech challenges while the website design work is ongoing.

Step 6: Ideate & Finalize Sales Funnels

The real problem that holds course creators from growing their online business exponentially is the lack of efficient marketing & sales. And the number 1 way you to enable this can solve that is by building a sales funnel. Imagine a sales funnel. A sales funnel essentially brings the maximum number of people to your website, educates them about your products & services, and convinces them to buy your content/services with a series of landing pages, emails, videos, offers, ebooks, webinars or other assets.
So if you wish to grow your business profitably, you need to finalize what kind of sales funnel do you wish to enable for your business. And there are many. You could consider a webinar funnel, ebook, video, or even a mini course funnel. There are hundreds of different funnels that one can consider, choose one that fits your needs and style.

Step 7: Other Important Tools

The key purpose of your website is to enable business and income growth. Hence, you will need additional integrations, settings and tools in your website that give you complete control, and enable faster business growth.

Here is the list of things you need to know to make the online academy website work smoothly.

— Payment gateways that automate payment collection
— Integrations for chat forums, marketing & sales analytics
— Tools that help you manage and enable secure website & course accesses
— Cloud infrastructure to enable secure website and content hosting.
— Learner notifications, reminders and emails
— Tools that enable automated sales funnels for faster business growth
—Integrations for GST, refunds, enabling a blog, course completion certificates, and coupons.

So really there is a lot of tech that needs to be in place to build a formidable online academy.

All of these tech solutions listed above are available as standalone solutions which can be stitched together. One would need a website to showcase your brand and offerings, LMS to enable the content, tools for payment collection, learner management, emails, marketing, security, hosting, and so much more. Naturally, most creators shudder at the thought of setting up an eLearning business simply because of the sheer amount of tech expertise needed.

Or you could choose an all-in-one platform like Knorish that lets you manage and grow the business from one tool.

Focus On Mobile Learning Maybe Even App Based Learing

Everyone has access to a smartphone and a decent internet connection. And really to continue learning that is all that is needed. If you want to make money selling your online course, you should be focused on the mobile learning industry. One way to achieve this success is to ensure that your website is mobile optimized and is easy to view on mobile devices. The next step of growth is to work and launch your own android and even iOS Apps. But the genesis of this starts from making sure your online courses are mobile-friendly.

Success Factors

Online course business is a lucrative industry. As forever digital products, you can sell as much as you like and earn in 6 figures very quickly. But what differentiates successful course creators from others is that they have a fanatic level focus on marketing and sales. 80% focus on optimizing marketing and sales and 20% on content delivery or coaching online.

With these few tips in mind, you are well on your way to start creating and selling your own e-learning courses successfully.

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