Online courses are one of the several ways that creatives can make money on the internet. What are online courses? These are a set of learning activities or lessons that are delivered using the internet. People who take such lessons usually try to learn something new. Online courses are typically delivered through any one of the following:
- Quizzes
- Podcasts
- PDFs and slideshows
- Webinar recordings
- Videos
As your online course can be delivered through any of the above-mentioned methods, you need a reliable tool to create your courses. While there are so many online course creation tools on the internet, only a few are effective. This is why prospective online course creators need to choose the right tools for their courses.
The pathways for creating your first online course
Before you look for the right course creation software, you need to have an outline of how to create your course. Using a clear outline for creating your online course(s) easily creates pathways to becoming a successful online course creator. These are the necessary steps for creating your online course:
- Plan your course outline: This is the first step to ensuring that you create your online course. It is always good to create an outline as this acts as the main guide to making you succeed.
- Choose the right topic for the course: You may want to choose the right subject matter for your online course. There are numerous course topics to choose from for your online tutorials.
- Know the needs of the audience: Before you proceed, it is important to understand your prospective audience and their needs.
- Note the learning objectives of each course: You need to be able to understand the learning outcomes of your course. This way, you know the value that you are offering your audience.
- Use a storyboard: A storyboard helps you to organize the content of the course and visualize the course flow.
- Choose the right course creation tool: Course creation software helps make your online lesson a reality. Numerous premium online course creation tools are available to be used. However, it is also important to note that there are just a few reliable online course-creation tools. As soon as you have the right tool, you can start creating the content.
- Choose an online hosting platform: After using the right online course creator to create the course, the next stage will be to choose the right platform. There are several available options that you can upload your online courses in the e-learning market. These options are:
1. Self-hosting: Using your WordPress website and a plugin
2. Marketplaces for online courses: You can use Udemy, Coursera, and so on.
3. Online course systems: You can use Kajabi, Teachable, Podia, Thinkific, or LearnWorlds.
Importance of creating online courses
Many content creators usually package and sell their expertise on specific subjects and niches. When you launch your online course, you create a smart pathway to make money. In addition, as a creator, you build your authority on that subject. However, if you do not have the right e-learning course creation software, this may not work. While most content creators usually rely on expensive and paid tools to create their online courses, this can be done with easily available tools.
Benefits of creating online courses with software and tools:
1. Free: If you are just starting as an online course creator, there are numerous free tools that you can rely on. This means that if you do not have any budget, the free online course creation tools will help you get by.
2. Low-cost: Low-cost course creation software solutions are for creators with a fairly low budget. These tools ensure that you create your online courses while also delivering premium quality.
3. Easy creation of videos: Many free online course creation tools allow you to create professional videos. Apart from creating the video, you are also able to record the videos and also edit them. These video tools can also be used to record PowerPoint presentations and used for webinars. Such tools usually make video recording very simple. Furthermore, you can easily choose a video-hosting service to upload this video.
4. Use available tools: Many online course creation tools support content creation through your phone or laptop. While professional and expensive course creation tools usually demand high-end cameras, anyone with a phone or a laptop can easily record new videos.
5. Hassle-free: Using online course creation tools helps take off the hassle of creating your courses. With such tools, you can create your e-learning tutorials without stress. You won’t have to build from scratch as there are already available templates and formats that you can use to create engaging course flows.
6. Faster process: Using available online course creation tools helps you to quickly create your web tutorials. Whether you are creating a PDF, video, or audio, an online tool always makes the process very fast. If you find it difficult to deliver your training at the right time, you need an online course creation tool. You need such tools if you specialize in topics that are in high demand and need to be live as soon as possible.
7. Free templates: An online course creation tool usually come with free templates. This means that rather than start creating the course from scratch, you can rely on available templates to give your online courses the needed structure and form.
8. No need for an instructional designer or an in-house developer: With an authoring tool, you do not need any developer or instructional designer. This is a simple tool that allows you to drag and drop intuitive elements to create your online course.
9. Helps you scale your business: Using online course creation tools not only provides you with all you need to create your courses, but this tool also helps you to scale faster. With an online course creation tool, you can easily cater to the demand of your course. Such tools help accelerate the process of content creation rather than relying on the manual method.