Why is NOW the right time to create your first course? (And how much can you earn?)
Love the idea of running your own courses? Find out why NOW is the right time to start, and how much you can earn.
There are lots of great reasons to create and sell an online course. The most obvious two being you can help more people, and you can earn more money. But how do you know when is the right time to try, and whether you should even try at all?
If you’ve never created an online course before, it can seem like a big step. It’s going to take an investment of your time, and you risk it not working; maybe you’re rubbish at creating courses, and maybe no one buys it.
So it’s much easier to park the idea in your mind, and tell yourself either that it’s not for you, or that you’ll think about it later, at the ‘right time’.
But when is the right time? And how much could you realistically earn from a course?
Eight reasons why NOW is the right time to create your first course
The truth is that by not exploring the potential of online courses, you could be missing out on a lot of fun, and extra money. Here are eight reasons why right now could be the perfect time to make the leap and investigate creating your first course.
1) You can reach more people
If you work 121 or face-to-face, there is always a limit on the number of people you can help. But when you create an online course, you can reach and help virtually unlimited numbers of people. And the longer you wait to create your course, the more people who need or want what you do will go without your help.
2) If you don’t, your competitor will
Every day you don’t get your online course out into the world you risk a competitor stealing a march on you. Imagine how you’ll feel if you see someone launch the course YOU had been thinking about. And growing THEIR following, reach and income. Don’t let someone else create and steal the online course market in your niche – get there first!
3) You create a new income stream
The more income streams you can develop in your business or freelance work, the more financially secure you will be. If one income stream suddenly dries up – for example a big client stops hiring you, or a platform you sell via changes its regulations – you could be high and dry if you are 100% reliant on it. But if you have multiple income streams you can push those more to cover the income gap.
4) You’ll have a ‘passive’ income
I’m personally not a fan of the term ‘passive income’ (no income is truly passive) but once you have created a course and the marketing for it, you can earn money with minimal ongoing effort. So if something happens in your life – maybe you get sick or just want to ease up on your workload – you can keep your income ticking over without needing to work 24/7.
5) You’ll be more protected from the cost of living crisis
It seems almost every day now there’s news about another price hike – food, fuel, power… the cost of everything is spiralling. Which makes it more important than ever to find new, clever ways to earn more money. Creating a course you can sell could give you an extra income (and peace of mind) to help cushion you against financial worry.
6) It’s fun!
Trust me, creating online courses can be infectious! And not just courses; other people who have taken Create And Sell Your First Course used their new knowledge to create masterclasses too, giving them even more income streams – something that was invaluable for many during lockdown when their businesses couldn’t operate as usual. You’ll soon find out how fun it is to come up with course ideas and maybe you too will soon have a range of courses and classes on offer.
7) You can monetise your existing profile
Do you have an asset you are missing out on earning money from? I have seen people with loyal and large social media followings or brilliant books or podcasts miss out on potentially thousands of pounds because they have no course to sell to their followers. If people like what you say and trust you, the chances are they’d love to get practical help from you via a course. And if you don’t create one, you’re just handing money to savvier competitors.
8) There’s still so much potential (and money) in courses
With so many people creating courses over the past two years thanks to lockdowns, it can be easy to feel like you have missed the boat. But you haven’t. The online course market is continuing to grow and there’s room in every industry for new courses that help people solve problems. To give you an idea of the potential, the UK e-learning market is expected to grow by USD 9.94 billion from 2020 to 2025. So there’s plenty of room for your new course!
It’s much easier to create your first course than you think – with our help
It can feel daunting considering creating a course from scratch if you don’t have experience – I know because I was in your position eight years ago.
That’s why I developed Create And Sell Your First Course, an online course that guides you step-by-step through the process of coming up with an idea, name and price, planning your course structure and each lesson, and building and selling your course.
It’s the complete guide and designed for complete beginners. I even show you how to launch and sell your course with easy-to-use, free technology. Here’s a short video showing you just how easy it is to start creating your first course:
You get lifetime access to the course, so you can return to it whenever you need, plus five group Q&A calls with me, the founder of Talented Ladies Club and creator of all our courses.
So if you have a question, get stuck on something, or want feedback on an idea (most people find this the most valuable aspect of the calls as I can help you develop a more sellable idea or course name, and give you confidence in your pricing) you have my help.
Here’s what former students say about the course:
- “You have hands down been the best practical trainer I have watched, listened to, and believed in.” Graham Proud, Four Steps Training and Management Consulting
- “You really are an expert in your field and you communicate your pearls of wisdom so well.” Kate Davies, Freelance Interpreter/Trainer/Consultant
- “Working with Hannah has been fantastic. She puts so much into her course and goes above and beyond.” Rebecca Wilding-Jones, career coach
- “This course is by far the best investment I’ve made in my business to date. Thank you Hannah!” Frances Cushway, career coach
- “This course by Hannah Martin is excellent. Every one of the sessions is packed with practical and clear instructions on every step needed.” Maria Alejandra Gonaldi, calligrapher
- “This course is one of the best courses I have ever done. Incredible content, an incredible tutor and really easy to follow and do.” Marie Hall, Empowerment House
How much can you earn from an online course?
So exactly how much can you make from your first online course? Of course there’s no guaranteed sum. How much you earn depends on how good your research and the course you create is, and how effective your marketing is.
I’ve launched courses that have sold poorly, and I have launched courses that sold out and brought in a healthy return. And I have distilled my learnings from both into Create And Sell Your First Course to help you.
On the launch of my first email course launch, Twitter Tune-up, many years ago when our following was much smaller, I sold 44 places at £65 each. Fashion stylist Sally Smy made back her investment in Create And Sell Your First Course ten times over with her first cohort (and went on to sell masterclasses afterwards).
Copywriter Emma Rundle sold out her first cohort. And medical intuitive Bobbi Vogel made over $24,000 from her first launch to an initial list of less than 300 people. (For transparency, this was an exceptional result!)
Your first launch is also just that – your first. Once you are in Create And Sell Your First Course you can use it again and again to create more courses and classes, and to keep marketing and selling your first.
As I mentioned earlier, I am not a fan of the term ‘passive income’, and of course creating and selling your first course will take some work. But I can show you how to shortcut most of the mistakes first time course creators make, and make structuring, building and selling your course much easier and more fun. Get your course right and you too can enjoy the peace of mind of a residual income in future.
If you want to get your course dreams out of your head and into your back balance, there’s never been a better time to get started. And I can’r wait to help you.
So come and join us in our next cohort of Create And Sell Your First Course right now.
