What if you could turn your success into a step-by-step guide for other entrepreneurs… and add upward of $5K/month to your income doing it?
It’s no secret that the online course industry is booming.
In 2019, the online learning industry was valued at $80B. That number is set to more than double by 2026.
Why?
Because online courses bring learning into the home. They are a convenient way for students to gain new skills. And they allow the creator to teach multiple students at one time. No matter where they are in the world.
So, if you’ve ever even briefly considered creating an online course… I have one piece of advice for you:
Do it.
Not only will it help you add a stream of passive income to your monthly salary. It will also enable you to amplify your impact without working extra hours.
And if you like the idea but don’t know where to start…
Here’s a stupid-simple breakdown of how thousands of entrepreneurs are adding $5K+ a month to their salary by selling online courses.
Step one: Stop overthinking it. And create your online course.
The wonderful thing about online courses is that anyone can create one. If you have a skill or expertise that others want to learn, you have content for an online course.
For example, let’s say you’ve built your Etsy business from scratch. Or you have a 4/5 approval rate on job applications. There are people out there that will pay to learn how you do it. And by offering self-paced course content, you make those skills accessible and affordable to anyone who wants them.
If you already have a topic in mind, start by mapping out your journey from where you were when you started to where you are now.
What used to frustrate you that now comes easily?
What do you wish you had known when you were first starting out?
What obstacles did you have to overcome on your way?
You can use the steps in your journey to outline your core lessons. Think of each lesson as a steppingstone from the overwhelm you felt at the beginning… to the success you enjoy now.
When it comes to building your course, there are tons of platforms out there. Platforms like Udemy are free for everyone. And platforms like Thinkific or Kajabi offer paid plans with more features.
Step two: Whip up a DIY sales page
The truth is, you don’t need a gargantuan email list to sell your course. You don’t need a huge email following. Or a complex marketing funnel.
To get started, all you need is a sales page. One that creates a meaningful conversation with your readers. And compels them to enroll in your program.
(Not sure what a sales page looks like? Get inspo here!)
Once your sales page is up and running, there are a bazillion ways you can drive traffic to your course.
The important thing to remember is there’s no right way to do it. If you don’t do Instagram, promote on LinkedIn. If you don’t do social media, send emails. But remember that every visitor who lands on your sales page has the potential to become a paying customer.
So don’t let your sales page sit silently on your website. Put it out into the world. And watch the sales trickle in.
Step three: Scale your profits with Facebook ads
If you don’t already have an audience, sales may be slower than you’d like. Fortunately, there’s a shortcut to reaching thousands of people without wasting time posting daily on social media.
Yep, you guessed it… Facebook ads.
You don’t need to be an expert to run Facebook ads. And you don’t need to hit the jackpot first time. You can start with a $5/day budget and experiment to see what works.
It’s important to remember that sales may be slow at first. But when you find an ad strategy that’s profitable, there’s no cap on how many courses you can sell.
To give you an idea of what’s possible…
One of my clients spends $50/day on Facebook ads and generates $3K-$5 a month in profit. This guy started his guitar repair business on his living room floor. And now he’s on track to add $40K+ to his annual income. And it’s entirely passive!
Another scaled from $25/day to $1000/day over the course of a year. They now make six figures a month selling a course on how to make online courses. (Yowza!)
Both these course creators started out by DIYing.
If you want to create an online course… start today
Hopefully, this article has given you an idea of how you can add a source of passive income to your salary by creating an online course.
Now, I’m not saying the road to becoming a wildly successful course creator is easy. But I am saying that if you stick with it, it will be worth your while.
So, if you’ve got something you’d love to teach…
Stop saying “maybe later.” And create your online course today.
Abi Prendergast is a conversion copywriter, evergreen funnel expert & digital nomad.
I help coaches and course creators sell their programs on autopilot with strategic, data-driven funnel copy that gets customers leaping off the fence and conga-ing to the checkout page.
