Online course creation is becoming more and more popular. Many people create online courses as a way to share their knowledge and make some extra money.
However, there are a few mistakes that many course creators make. We'll share some of the most common ones here. Avoiding these mistakes will help you create a successful online course and begin building a passive income through your online business.
What are some common mistakes course creators make?
Many people are interested in creating online courses but may not know where to start. There are a few things you should know before creating your first online course, and a few mistakes to avoid.
These are a few common mistakes online course creators make:
- Not starting with your audience first.
- Not building an online community first.
- Making your online course too broad or too big.
- Trying to market to everyone, rather than finding a specific niche.
- Not considering the student experience.
- Letting perfectionism get in the way of launching your course.
1. Not Starting With Your Audience First
One of the biggest mistakes we've seen many people make is to begin building their online courses without their audience in mind first.
The very first thing you should do—even before you start building your course outline—is to think about your ideal audience and the problems they're facing. Your course will be successful if you can provide value to your audience by helping them solve a problem they're facing.
But if you don't know your audience, how will you know what their pain points are?
If you think you have a great course idea but haven't yet done the research to know if the information will provide value to your audience, you may end up wasting a lot of time and money creating something that doesn't appeal to your customer base.
2. Not Building an Online Community
Another common mistake that online course creators often make is to begin creating and selling their online courses without building trust and credibility with an audience first.
How many course creators have dropped into your DMs trying to sell you their courses or coaching programs without building a relationship with you first? It's a pushy sales tactic and usually a bad idea because it gives the wrong impression of your intentions.
One of the best ways to validate your course idea is by getting feedback from people who would be interested in taking it. And one of the best ways to get feedback is by building an audience and community first. This will help you create a course that people actually want and need.
And when it comes time to launch, you'll have a group of people who are ready and eager to buy your course because you've already done the work of proving that you are valuable to them.
What are some strategies for building an online community?
Here are a few tips:
- Start a blog or podcast related to your course topic and update with a new blog post or podcast every week or so to keep your audience engaged.
- Create a Facebook group or LinkedIn group related to your course topic where you can share valuable information related to the courses you plan to create.
- Host webinars and Q&A sessions related to your course topic.
- Offer free resources (such as templates, worksheets, and checklists) that people can download in exchange for their email addresses.
There are many ways to build an audience and community. But the main thing is to start with a group of people who you know will be interested in your course topic and build trust and credibility before you try selling them something.
3. Making Your Online Courses Too Broad
When an online course creator makes their course topic too broad, they often run into the problem of not being able to provide enough value to their students.
If you're trying to teach everything about a certain topic, it's going to be difficult to create a course that is high quality and provides enough value. You'll also have a hard time marketing your course to people who are interested in that topic.
On the other hand, if you focus on creating a high-quality course on a specific topic, you'll be able to provide more value and make more money. You'll also be able to market your course more effectively because you'll be targeting a specific group of people.
How can you make sure your course is specific enough?
Here are a few questions to ask yourself:
- Is there another online course on this topic that's already successful? If so, what makes yours different or better than theirs?
- What problem will my audience solve by taking my course? If the answer is “a lot of things,” then your course is probably too broad.
- Can I explain my online course topic in a single sentence? If you can't, it's probably too broad.
When you focus on creating a high-quality course on a specific topic, you'll be able to provide more value and make more money.
4. Trying to Market to Everyone
Course creators often make mistakes by trying to market to everyone, rather than finding a specific niche.
When you're first starting out, it can be tempting to try and make your online course appeal to as many people as possible. But this is a mistake.
The more specific you can get with your niche, the easier it will be to attract students who are interested in taking your courses. And when you focus on a specific niche, you'll also be more likely to get more sales because your target audience will know who the course is for.
For example, rather than offering a general "Web Design 101" course that anyone could take, try narrowing down your focus and creating an online course for "How To Build A WordPress Website For Beginners." This way, only people who are interested in learning how to build a WordPress website will be interested in signing up.
When you market to everyone, you're essentially marketing to no one. And this is not an effective way to sell your courses.
The key here is to get specific with your niche. Don't worry about trying to appeal to a broad audience, otherwise, you'll end up wasting time and money on marketing that isn't effective.
So how do you find the perfect niche?
Here are a few questions that might help:
- Who is my ideal student?
- What are the biggest problems my ideal student is facing?
- What solutions can I offer to help my ideal student solve their problems?
Once you have a good understanding of your target audience, it will be much easier to create a course that appeals to them and provides value.
5. Not Considering the Student Experience
One of the most important aspects of course creation is the overall student experience and learning objectives. You can have great content, but if the student experience is poor, your course is almost sure to flop.
It's important for the course creator not only to think about what they want to teach the students but also how the students will learn and what they'll be able to do after taking your course.
What do you want your audience to know, do, and feel?
A good rule of thumb is to think about what you want your students to know, do, and feel. When they are finished with your course, what knowledge will they have that they didn't start with? What will they do with this new knowledge? And how do you want them to feel once they've completed the course?
Pro tip: As you create the sales page or landing page for your course, include a few bullet points that tell your audience what they will know after completing your course and what they can do with that information. It's a great marketing tactic and will get your students excited about diving into the content!
6. Letting Perfectionism Get in The Way
Online course creators also make mistakes by trying to perfect their course and not launching it soon enough. It's natural to want your online course to be perfect before you launch it to the world. But this can often lead to delays and mistakes.
The truth is, there IS such a thing as too much commitment. Your course will never be completely perfect. And that's okay.
In fact, one of the best things about online courses is that they're constantly evolving. You can always add new content, update existing lessons and make changes to the course as you go along.
If you find yourself stuck in the trap of perfectionism, try asking yourself a few questions that might help:
- What's holding me back from launching my online course?
- If I had to launch today, what would I need to change or improve?
- What can I do later to improve my course content?
Don't get caught up with tech and digital products.
Many online course creators do one of two things when it comes to technology and digital products: they either get shiny object syndrome and think they need to buy all the things, or they get completely overwhelmed with their options and don't know where to start.
If you're just starting out, it's best to keep things simple when it comes to technology and tools. Don't spend too much time or money trying to figure out which camera or microphone is the best.
You don't need anything special or fancy when you're just getting started. Really, all you need is a computer or smartphone and an internet connection to get started.
Grab that smartphone or free screen-sharing software and start recording! As you get a course or two out there and begin to make some sales, you can invest in higher-quality equipment.
Launch your course and begin gathering feedback.
Remember, there is no such thing as a perfect online course. So don't wait until everything is perfect before you launch – you'll never be done. Start with what you have, and make changes and improvements over time.
Many course creators will start by launching their course to a private Facebook group or a small VIP following before sharing it with the whole world. Once you start selling your course to some trusted VIPs, you can get feedback from your students and make changes based on what they want. And when you listen to your students and give them what they want, that's when the real magic happens.
Avoid Common Mistakes and Begin Building Your Online Business
When it comes to online courses, many course creators tend to make these few common mistakes. But when you're aware of these mistakes, you can avoid them and begin building passive income with your successful online business.
Whether you are just beginning your journey in course creation with an idea that is still growing, or if you're ready to dive into building a business by sharing your knowledge and skills with others, you can learn from the mistakes of those who came before you. To find out more things you should know before beginning your online course journey, check out this recent article.
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