How to prepare for online course creation?

12 Dec, 2022

If creating a digital course is on your to-do list, here are some tips on how to prepare for online course creation!

Online course creation can be an amazing way to create passive income and monetize any of your already existing experience and knowledge.

The best part, you don’t need to be a teacher or any kind of educator to make it happen. Anyone CAN make an online course with all the tools already available online.

Plus, there are many ways how you can create an online course for free.

If you’ve thought about creating your own digital course, this article on how to prepare for online course creation will give you an insight into what exactly to do BEFORE the actual process starts.

Are you ready to make your online course a reality?

How to prepare for online course creation?

STEP #1: Figure out what your audience truly needs

See, there often can be a MAJOR difference between what you THINK your audience needs and what they really need.

And the first step of preparing for online course creation is understanding how you can create a product that your audience truly wants.

Here are some practical tips to make it happen:

Notice which ones are your most-read articles, your most shared and liked posts. That’s what keeps your audience coming back for more – those are the topics they truly want to learn all about.
Follow the questions your audience asks. What topics are they the most curious about?
See what other industry leaders focus on. Often, your competitors have figured it out before you!

Figure out what your audience truly needs. Keep in mind your preferences vs your audience’s needs. Find the middle ground between what you’d LOVE to work with AND what your audience is eager to learn all about.

Related read: 5 Steps to choose the best course idea

STEP #2: Bulletproof your idea

Once you’ve come up with your idea, it’s time to bulletproof it!

This time, you should be more direct in your communication with your audience and make sure they really like your final idea.

This can be done in several ways:

Share it with your audience in Instagram or Facebook polls and see whether that’s something your audience would like to purchase;
Ask in relevant FB groups, giving some idea on what goals your course would help them to reach
Share it with your mailing list and see what they’ll say!

You can still stay mysterious and not spill all the beans. There’s no need to tell all about it. Instead, give some valuable insights into the type of content that will be provided within the course.

STEP #3: Choose the best fit platform for you

There are PLENTY of different platforms to consider but let me give you a quick insight into the most popular ones.

Here will be a free guide comparing most of the popular platforms, their pros & cons.

As of now, my go-to suggestion for your first course would be Thinkific.

There are several benefits of using Thinkific, especially if you’re just getting started.

It’s easy to get started with, all the key setup elements are there and the best part – you can get started with a free plan AND all plans (including the free one!) have ZERO % transaction fees.

A major plus for Thinkific is that it’s one of the most well-established online course platforms and they also offer a great built-in community space. The overall user experience is very thought-through and creates a great space for your students to work through the content.

STEP #4: Set the timeline

Having a timeline set beforehand will help you to keep yourself accountable.

Do you want to finish your course in a month or in a year?

P.S. The longer time you allow yourself, the longer time you will take!

Realistically, preparing and launching a full-stack online course could take 2-3 months. However, it can absolutely be done in less as well. OR take a lot longer, in case you’re covering a very in-depth topic or need a lot of supporting materials.

Base this on your past experiences with any digital content creation:

How long does it take to write content? What timeframe do you need to finish a blog post? This will give you an idea in how long time the outline for the course could be ready.
How long does it take for you to design a presentation? Keep in mind that you will be using a template that will help you to recreate new slides in a faster speed.
How long does it take to do a video recording? Will you edit your own videos or would you outsource?

Make sure to add in some extra time so you don’t have to stress yourself out in the process.

And remember, it WILL take some extra time.

Don’t forget to include some extra time for your launch period!

STEP #5: Make your design choices

If you already have rock-solid branding and you’re planning to use it for your online course creation, you don’t have to worry much about course design features.

However, if you don’t have business branding just yet or you just want to get creative with your online course, I definitely suggest making your design choices BEFORE you start actually working on the content.

Here are some things to consider and prepare!

What colors will be used in your design? Prepare a color palette. For inspiration, you can research Pinterest or ColorHunt.
What fonts will be used in your design? While this might seem like an easy & quick decision to make, I still suggest reviewing some of the available font options and consider which will deliver your message the best!
What additional design elements you’d like to include? For example, patterns or specific backgrounds. Maybe some professionally designed elements like illustrations?
What templates could you use to design your materials? Here will be some of my favorite Canva templates for online coaches!

Making these decisions beforehand will help you to be more prepared once the time to create an online course comes!

One of the best ways to understand what would be the best fit for you is by researching, for example, templates on CreativeMarket! Such templates give you a great idea of how different colors and fonts can work together.

Besides that, you can also purchase these templates to make your design process a lot easier!

STEP #6: Join Savvy Offer Hub

Your Course Creation Membership is a space that will help you to plan, create and scale your digital offers.

Within the Membership, you will find 30+ video guides and masterclasses, covering topics like finding the best course idea, creating and designing your educational materials, marketing and selling your online course. Plus inside you’ll also have access to all of my best-selling courses and challenges for starters!

If you’re ready to make your course happen, learn more about Savvy Offer Hub.