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So you’re thinking about putting together your first online course, huh?
Best. Decision. Ever.
Now we know there's a common belief that you need a bazillion followers and overflowing DMs on every social platform in order to launch a successful online course. Today, we’re here to shatter that myth and guide you through a straightforward step-by-step guide to create your first online course that not only sells like hotcakes but also helps you grow your following and generate income, allowing you to invest more in the things you love most.
Getting Started
First off, forget about elaborate, university-level course curriculums with lessons planned into the next millennium. You don’t need that right now. Don’t look at someone a decade or more into their online business journey and think that’s what you’ve gotta do. Instead, focus on what successful course creators did in their early days. The key is just to start. That’s what you need right now – simplicity and action. And that’s exactly what this article is all about.
Introducing The Starter Or Mini Course
First off, forget about elaborate, university-level course curriculums with lessons planned into the next millennium. You don’t need that right now. Don’t look at someone a decade or more into their online business journey and think that’s what you’ve gotta do. Instead, focus on what successful course creators did in their early days. The key is just to start. That’s what you need right now – simplicity and action. And that’s exactly what this article is all about.
Creating Your Starter Course Step-By-Step
When it comes to actually creating your starter course, it can be as easy as making a sandwich. You’ve just gotta know the steps and the order to layer them in, and I’m going to take you through each one here so you’ll be able to go from “I have no idea what I’m doing” to “check out my awesome new starter course, y’all!”. Let’s get to it.
Step 1: Identifying A Beginner Problem
The first step involves pinpointing a problem your target audience faces at their starting point. For instance, if you're teaching guitar, you’re not going to jump straight into face melting riffs by Van Halen, you’ll want to start with basic chords or a simple song, not advanced techniques.
Struggling for ideas?
AI Tool: Chat-GPT
Use a little AI magic like Chat GPT...
AI Tool: Copy Creator
Or our very own AI-powered tool, Copy Creator, to brainstorm and generate initial lesson concepts and ideas based on your target market and their needs.
Step 2: Creating Momentum
The second step is about progress: how to move your learners from knowing nothing to achieving a significant milestone. In other words, how do you take your students from point A to point B? This could be going from strumming a couple chords to rocking out a full song, from wanting to eat plant-based, to preparing a few quick, healthy vegetarian meals, or from getting a new German Shepherd puppy to having them fully house trained so you don’t have to worry about your furniture.
Copy Creator example: course ideas for new German Shepherd owners
The key is to provide value and clear progress in a few simple lessons. Create a journey that gets them wins early, and gets them hooked on making progress.
Step 3: Developing A Course Outline
Once you have a clear problem and a path to solve it, it’s time to sketch out your course. Again, feel free to lean on AI tools like Copy Creator to help create your course outline in the click of a button.
Or you could try a Chat GPT prompt like:
“I’m creating a digital course on how to housebreak a German Shepherd puppy. Could you generate a simple course outline with 3 to 5 lessons for this course?”
Copy Creator example: how to housebreak a German Shepherd puppy
This outline should break down the course into manageable segments or lessons, giving you a frame work to build upon.
Step 4: Structuring The Lessons
After outlining your course, it’s time to get detailed and arrange the lessons in a chronological order.
Copy Creator example: specific lesson ideas fror housebreaking German Shepherds
This structure should guide the learner naturally from one point to the next, ensuring a streamlined learning experience.
Copy Creator example: lesson on how to crate a German Shepherd puppy
If your course is about “housebreaking for German Shepherds,” break it down into the nitty-gritty. You want to create a roadmap to success for your students.
Step 5: Recording Your Content
The final step is producing the content. This is where most start feeling overwhelmed and tangled in tedious tech know-how; but it can be a lot easier than you think. Forget about Hollywood-level productions and using every tech tool under the sun.
Featured app: Searchie’s AI-Powered Screen Recorder
Just use one simple tool like Searchie’s free AI-powered Chrome extension to record videos or audio lessons directly from your computer. Remember, your content doesn't have to be perfect – it just has to be helpful and engaging. So don’t over complicate it – just get it done.
The Right Platform For Your Course
Now that your course is ready, the question is: how do you deliver it effectively? While tech-savvy creators that have the time, resources, know-how and desire, might opt for building their own website from scratch…
Platform: Searchie - Create, Manage and Sell Your Content All In One Place
For the other 99% looking for a quick-and-easy hassle-free option to create, host, and provide an engaging user-friendly experience for their members, a no-code platform like Searchie provides everything you need. An easy way to host, manage, and sell your course, complete with AI tools and integrations to enhance the user experience.
So if you’re not already a Searchie user, go check it out and see how much easier it can make your life as both a content and now digital course creator.
The Next Step: Turning Your Course Into A Business
Now that you’ve got your recipe for your killer starter course, remember creating your course is just the beginning. The next crucial phase is attracting leads to build a customer base. The absolute best way to do this is to turn your content into a lead generating machine. So go give this article a read to learn how to do exactly that!
Remember, the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Your first online course might just be that step, leading you to a thriving online business.
Thanks for reading!
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