Online courses have become increasingly popular as a way for people to learn new skills or develop existing ones, with thousands of options available from a variety of providers.
Also, the global online education market is projected to reach US$166.60 billion in 2023, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.48% from 2023 to 2027. (Statista)
Due to this many experts, professionals, and enthusiasts are jumping on the bandwagon of selling online courses to share their knowledge with the world and earn a side or main living from it sitting at their home without any boss, at their own pace.
The question here is this: Is selling online courses really profitable quickly?
Hence, we have come up with this small and to-the-point article looking at the financial pros and cons of selling online courses, finding out whether it’s possible to get profitable quickly or not, and exploring how you can be successful in selling e-learning content.
Let’s start with a little info on…
Understanding Online Courses
An online course is a structured learning experience accessible through the internet. It allows learners to acquire new skills or knowledge at their own pace.
Course creators design these courses, which are then published on an online course platform for interested learners across the globe.
As simple as said!
From technical skills like coding to creative arts like painting, you can create and sell courses online in a myriad of subjects.
But most people make it complex after this…
To be true, it ain’t!!!
And rather a more detailed and critical approach when it comes to tracking, analyzing, and iterating on the course.
The varying subjects cater to different markets, opening an array of opportunities for the course creator.
In the simplest manner of understanding online courses for a creator is: a structured format of videos covering a solution for a specific pain point of a group/niche of people.
These online courses are first planned, created, and finally launched with marketing plans on various kinds of platforms or even hosted on a personal website for maximum control and profits.
If you don’t know about Flowclass, then let me tell you, that this is a platform that helps you do exactly what I mentioned above: To help you launch your personal online course website without going through the hassle of coding or much designing. Try now!!!
The Potential Profitability of Online Courses
Profitable online courses are not merely a myth.
The potential to generate considerable profit exists with the selling of online courses.
Several online course creators have turned their expertise into a lucrative online business, garnering profits beyond expectations.
When you sell your online course, the money you can potentially make is not limited to the number of hours you can teach, unlike traditional face-to-face classes.
Once the course is created and uploaded, you can generate income each time a new student enrolls – it’s almost like passive income!
However, this profitability depends on several factors including the efficiency of your course creation and marketing strategies.
Learn more on online courses profitability.
The Time Component: Is Selling Online Courses really profitable quickly?
While the prospect of making quick profits might seem appealing, it’s essential to understand that creating and selling online courses requires considerable effort and time.
But…
Yes, you can make money selling online courses quickly or if said in a more better way: Increasing the profits by 2x.
See, the online courses industry works mainly on margins and profits.
When you come to hosting your valuably created online course on a platform like Udemy or Skillshare (The 2 gurus in the industry), you basically have 2 business model options to work with:
- Individual sales-based model
- A Subscription-based model
Now, both of these are quite good at generating money online, but what they both lack is quick or instant results to motivate the creators.
And here I don’t mean generating a million dollars on the first day, but rather showing some bucks in the bank account to confirm the validation of the product that’s been created.
Submitting your course to platforms like these basically decreases your profits and takes more eyeballs or sales to make an earning online.
Let me show you what exactly I’m talking about…
Individual Sales-Based Model
This is a model that pays you when someone buys your course in terms of percentage margins fixed by the platform you’re using.
Let’s take Udemy as an example…
Udemy shares money with its creators in this form and that too in two kinds of ways:
- Sales through Instructor’s own promotions: Receives 97% of the revenue when a learner purchases the course from instructor’s marketing.
- Sales through Udemy’s promotions: Receives 37% of revenue when a learner purchases the course from Udemy’s marketing on their website.
Now, can you see how much low profits you get from going to platforms like Udemy, when you think that you’re gonna generate sales through another platform with their free marketing?
Remember this… Moving to the next part…
Subscription Based Model
This is a model that Skillshare has been using from the start and is also slowly propagated by other platforms like Udemy.
What they are doing basically is paying creators/educators by collecting money from learners in the form of subscriptions at a much lower price.
They charge a particular amount for a monthly subscription and then the learners can use any course on their platform irrespective of their price.
You can clearly understand what’ll happen to the profits of the educator’s high-valued courses.
Hence, what better way to sell your online course is: Selling Courses on Personal Sites
Whether you like it or not, this is something more powerful and gives you complete control over your content, its pricing, and its profits.
Also, it’s all on you when it comes to marketing. I know this can be a little hard for first-time ones but this is the best thing you can do if you want more profits in less time.
Rather than accepting 37% profits, make its 2-3x immediately by hosting your course on a personal site. (Flowclass can help you do that in 15 minutes)
The good thing is the number of sales is also in your control which you can improve by proper branding or personal branding.
Finally…
Once your new online course gains momentum, the profitability can be substantial.
Hence, patience, persistence, and continuous improvement play a significant role in your quest for quick profitability.
And you need to get comfortable with that as a creator. Cheers.
Potential Challenges and Solutions when Selling Online Courses
Last but not least, I would like to take your eyeballs rolling into this part of online courses…
Just like any other business model, selling online courses profitably comes with its own set of challenges.
From choosing a profitable niche, and creating engaging content, to getting people to buy your course – the process can seem daunting.
But don’t fret!
With careful planning, use of appropriate tools, and robust strategies, you can overcome these challenges.
Make sure you’re continuously upgrading your courses to stay relevant to the learner’s needs. This relevance and necessity will make it easy for you to market and sell your online course, making selling online courses a profitable venture.
And the most important thing here is to make that CHOICE and to have a clear WHY.
If you’re clear with why you wanna get into this industry and what will be the first thing you’re gonna start with, then everything is possible.
Just keep iterating and keep getting better and you’ll create a unique timeline for yourself.
Conclusion
In conclusion, selling online courses can indeed be profitable, and it all depends on you on how much profitable you wanna be selling your online course, and how you’re gonna operate online.
It can be much more profitable if you just increase your profits as I mentioned above.
Also, it requires dedication, hard work, and continuous improvement to create and sell courses online successfully.
However, with the appropriate strategies and tools, you can position yourself on the path to success.
Now that we’ve demystified the process of online course creation and its profitability, it’s time to act.
Start selling your course today with Flowclass– the world is waiting to learn from you.
The more effort you put into creating and promoting your online course, the more likely it is for you to make money selling courses. So why wait? Start your profitable online journey today!
