Is it possible to create passive income with courses? YES. But it is not as quick or easy as many make it seem. Here will be the truth about the systems you need to create passive income with courses.
Can courses be a great source of additional income? Definitely!
Will creating a course be a quick fix and fast cash influx? Not at all.
What most truly successful course creators don’t talk about is the work that goes into making sales, behind-the-scenes.
Often it’s years of business experience and marketing. But even if it’s not, there are systems, funnels and marketing strategies you have to develop to repeatedly sell more than 5 course spots.
It’s not hard or impossible.
But unless you plan for and create the systems, funnels and other elements that will MAKE those sales happen – you’re doomed.
Most people give up on selling their offers once their launches flop or after they have done the first 20 sales and feel like they’ve reached what is going to be their success ceiling.
But here’s what you really need to create passive income with courses.
If you’re ready to take the next step and create consistent offer sales, explore Evergreen Funnel Formula course.
Systems you need to create passive income with courses
I’ve been in the online course space for almost 10 years and the dream of “passive income” seems to be a neverending quest for many.
Now, let me clarify a few things before we go any further:
- Yes, it IS possible to generate somewhat passive online course sales. You can “live the dream” and be chilling by the beach, drinking a margarita when you see a course sale incoming.
- But it will take more than just creating an online course to actually get there! (That’s what this post is all about!) You not only will need to create your offer but also to create funnels and systems that will give you a chance to generate passive sales.
- Along with that, all the systems will require some trial & error window where you will need to focus more on testing them out and evaluating what works and what doesn’t.
- And the last but not least – all of this will require your online presence to some extent, as well as time for maintenance, to actually upkeep the income flow!
No sales are as passive as most online business owners make them look.
If you seek a way to generate passive course sales that will take no time, energy or monetary investment from you whatsoever – this post will not be a good fit for you.
You must know how you will drive traffic to your offers
How will your offers get to your ideal audience? How will you drive traffic to your offers?
While it’s not a system in itself per se, a traffic generation plan is an important part if you want to create passive income with courses.
None of the following steps will matter, if nobody sees your offers in the first place.
So how to generate traffic?
- Pinterest is a great source of passive traffic! On Pinterest, you can upload your own pins leading to your blog posts or website pages. The best part about Pinterest is that it’s evergreen and the pins you upload today can still generate you traffic later down the road. Some of my most popular pins are from 2017 and they’re still bringing leads to my website. Learn more in this article: 4 tips to generate passive income with Pinterest
- Instagram can be a great source of traffic as well, however, you have to be active on the platform to get consistent leads so it wouldn’t count as evergreen traffic source per se. Learn more: Instagram growth hacks
- Always consider keyword optimization – both on your website, as well as your social media and any other platforms you’re using. Whatever people search online is found via keywords and the more specific are yours, the bigger possibility to be found by the right audience. Learn more: SEO for online coaches
Now, as you have a clear idea on how people will actually get to see your offers, it’s time to consider their further journey!
You must have sales funnels in place
A sales funnel generally is a sequence of events your potential students will go through to, ultimately, enroll in your offer.
Generally, a sales funnel will include elements like:
- A sales page for your offer
- Checkout page to make the purchase
However, more thorough funnels will also have a few more variations and it’s also something you’d want to consider if you want to create passive income with courses.
This would include:
- A free or low-ticket offer to get your audience into your mailing list;
- A Thank you page with a Tripwire offer – a small, tangible offer someone can enroll in right away, something that can work as a product between your freebie and your actual course offer
- An upsell on a Checkout page – an opportunity for your audience to upgrade their purchase with additional offer that complements the initial purchase
Read more: Email sales funnels for online coaches
If you’re ready to take the next step and create consistent offer sales, explore Evergreen Funnel Formula course.
Your email sequences can be the final push
Email marketing is the king of making consistent passive income.
When your ideal student has gone through the initial funnel, follow-up emails is your chance to nourish them and get them ready to buy – even if, at first, it wasn’t the right moment just yet.
Here are the elements to consider in your Welcome email sequence:
- Added value. Give a reason for your audience to stick around! Send an email with added value – another freebie or just a bonus tip they could use right away. This will decrease instant Unsubscribe rates.
- Insight into what you have to offer. Often your mailing list members are just getting to know you – share some insights they might find interesting, establish your experience, your niche and your overall focus.
- Remind about the offer. Use the opportunity to remind your audience about the offer they can get, maybe send them a bonus 10% OFF as an incentive to buy right there and then.
A welcome email sequence can be as long as you wish it to be. It can start as a 3-5 email sequence and later you can expand it into more emails.
The key for ongoing email marketing is to show up in the mailbox of your audience CONSISTENTLY and having a good Welcome sequence in place can be a great first step.
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