How To Start An Online Teaching Business: The Definitive Guide

Learn about how to start an online teaching business and the guidelines to start an online teaching business even if you are just a beginner.

In our previous articles, we have talked a lot about online teaching and how to start your successful online teaching career. 

Again, we are here to help you in letting you understand the importance of the imperative principles which form the foundation of online teaching business.

To start a flourishing online teaching business, a few simple rules and strategies are needed. 

In this article, we have compiled them all! 

Here, you will be reading about some success promising guidelines to get you where you want to be. 

So, let’s get started! 

1. Discover Your Customers’ Pains

After deciding about your aim of being an online teacher, what should be your next step?

The very first step which most of the online teachers usually take is planning a course and then search for the interested audience in their course.

But actually, it’s the other way around! 

You should either look for the available audience for your future course and check if there is a demand for this course. 

Or, just simply create a course that is already in demand!

By creating an in-demand course, you will not face any hard time related to the launch of your course.

In fact, you will earn more success if you look into the PAINS of the people around you, look for their demands; what do they really want to learn.

Look for those questions which they have been constantly asking online and answer them in your online course.

In short, it is all about finding the PAINS of your audience and plan a course in accordance with them and not the other way around.

2. Choose An LMS Platform

Choosing a learning management system (LMS) means a software application for the documentation, tracking, reporting, and delivery of courses.

A platform where training and development programs run.

You can choose any LMS platform for your course because there are so many available now.

For instance, various sites host online classes, such as Udemy, Skillshare, WezIQ, Alison, and most important of all Weshare; where you can successfully run your online courses.

We advise you to start your online courses with Weshare first and let everyone know your success story!

Google also offers a course builder, with a few handy tools for developing your class.

Using different platforms means using different business models; meaning a plan for paying you per student and giving you a share of advertising revenue.

Decide what can work best for you.

Different platforms have different requirements so choose wisely where you need to post your lessons upfront.

3. Acquire The Necessary Gear

There are a few necessary things for you to have to make videos for your course. 

Many computers already come with a camera and a microphone.

So, if you already have these two things, you can start making your videos.

If not, do not worry!

Buy them as they are not very expensive gears.

A nice trick is to save the receipts of this investment and as you are starting your own business, you should know that you can deduct this cost of your necessary gears from any profits you make.

To make a video from your computer, it should at least have an intel core i5 4th generation or equivalent processor with at least 2.7GHz speed.

But if you want to search among your options and you can afford it then we recommend you buying a durable computer; a refurbished Apple Retina 2014 Macbook Pro.

It is quite affordable and can surely handle all of your demands for video production.

Its processor is a 4th Generation Intel Core i5, which can run at a speed of 2.6 GHz. 

This laptop or other similar ones range between $300 to $560.

4. Come Up With An Initial Outline

Coming up with an initial outline means having a rough draft in front of you and a neat plan for your business. 

This is the most basic and important step in your journey because before even interacting with your audience, you have to come up with a reliable course outline.

For this, you need to set a few objectives in your mind.

Jot them down and keep brainstorming about them.

Brainstorming will give you a mind map and confidence to act further on your plans.

Search for the questions and pains people frequently ask about online.

After when you have decided on the topic on which you are going to work, you have to break every idea into chapters.

The hierarchy of ideas into chapters will provide you with a clear road map on which you will need to work on further.

A confused mind will not get you to anywhere near your wanted results, so having a clear mind about your course outline is pertinent.

Remember that creating an outline for your course is just like creating a clear visual representation of your work in steps or subchapters.

Your work becomes most organized while coming up with an outline.

Everything that you are going to mention in your course should be enlisted in your outline.

5. Ask For Feedback

It is always good to ask for feedback about your course even before you start making your videos.

It will save you time and energy.

Saving your time and energy will keep you motivated and encouraged towards your goals.

Trust us!

You can find any other expert and weigh on them for a fruitful feedback.

Or you can rely on a group of audience to give you feedback on your course plan.

So once you have a viable and proven script, you can move on to making videos on it.

Even when you are done with your first video, make sure that someone also reviews it and tells you how it sounds.

Do not fret about having this feedback.

Just take them as guidelines to make your work more polished. 

The more polished your work is, the more it is going to sell itself.

Think of it this way that the more feedback you have taken the more confident you will be about your results and final shape of the online course.

Stay positive all the time!

6. Create Your Content

After creating an outline for your course and successfully getting nurturing feedback on it, the next step is to create the complete content. 

Theoretically, it seems better to cram all of the information you know about your course topic in your first course. 

Also, in theory, a longer course is considered more reliable.

Unfortunately, both of these assumptions and acts do not work well for online courses.

People do not demand longer courses because longer courses demand longer hours, which people usually do not have to spend on online courses.

So, try to create your content accordingly.

People always look for a quick fix for their problems, a quick answer to their questions.

They demand a quick remedy for their pains.

Create your content in a comprehensive way, which people can grab at their free hours.

Make your course sound easy to understand.

The courses which always stand in steps, seem easy to comprehend than other courses out there in your competition.

There are many approaches through which you can structure your course but the most important one is to break your course down into points and steps. 

Start it with basic information and stay in a flow. 

Do not jump from one point to the next one unless you make yourself clear on each step.

Complex wordings and long structure of the course make people confuse about deciding whether to attend the course or not.

Try to stay brief!

7. Promote Your Online Teaching Business

When you are done planning your course, the one thing that would worry you the most is marketing of your course.

About marketing your course, you should follow these points without any worries and by the end of these points you will have a clear mind on how you want to do marketing:

1. Brand Launch 

First of all, consider the marketing of your course as a launch of your brand; it is a product. 

So, build a ‘Coming Soon’ page. 

Use software like SeedProd to build this page. 

This will get your audience’s attention and increase the number of your emails even before creating the curriculum.

2. Social Media Campaigns

Try to talk as much as possible, on social media about the launch of your course. 

Use all the media power in your hand, use Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, or whichever you use frequently. 

The more the better.

3. Podcasts

You can also start a Podcast to hype up your online course. 

Podcasts are considered an excellent way to show your knowledge about any topic you like to talk about. 

It would be a way of self-promotion.

4. Webinars 

Run a weekly webinar to connect with your potential students. 

Try reading our articles on ‘Title Webinar Generator’, this way you can come up with a catchy webinar title to attract a good amount of audience.

5. Using Ads

Promoting your products through ads is considered the most effective way. 

So, pay for ads to promote your course. 

It is a faster way of getting good results.

6. Shout-outs

Ask your professional or non-professional network partners to give you a shout-out. 

The more people read about you, the more replies you will get.

7. Help Exchange 

The exchange of help is also a good strategy. 

Reach out to blogs or podcasts to see if they need any kind of help, especially marketing. 

If so, ask them to return the favor and that will give you more opportunities for good marketing. 

It’s an ultimate win-win for both parties.

8. Mini-Course

Creating a free ‘mini-course’ is a great strategy. 

It is just like selling your course before even selling your course. 

This way you will give people a good taste of the value of your course.

9. Discounts

You can also offer a discount for your first round of students. 

It will generate tangible revenue for your course and it will create a system in which you can gather feedback or testimonials.  

10. Course Translation

Try translating your course in another language to open the market and this is an insanely valuable tip.

11. Sales Page

You can also create a course sales page, a whole page dedicated to selling your online course.

12. Emails

When it comes to digital marketing, we believe that having a large list of emails can come so much handy.

We assure you these points would come in super handy! 

8. Set The Right Pricing

Another vital thing to note before starting your online teaching business is the pricing. 

People tend to directly link the quality with the pricing.

Keeping this fact in view, you should always choose a suitable price for your course such that it reflects the quality of your course.

A price above $100 is usually acceptable since it gets you a clear pass in the online teaching community and also gives you your potential students. 

It also gives students a good reflection of your course’s quality.

Keep this in mind that higher-priced courses attract people just like the way higher priced brands attract everyone. 

Low prices lead people into thinking of the low quality of your course.

So do not underestimate yourself and put a good price tag on your course.

9. Plan And Communicate Your Schedule

One of the greatest things about being an online teacher is the flexibility of hours. 

You can select any hours of the day and any days of the week.

You can also adjust your hours according to your students’ demands.

This is because there would be many people who like to attend these kinds of courses either on weekends or during lunch hours on the workdays.

There can also be a few people who travel a lot and they like to keep up with these courses in their own way.

So, try to communicate with all of your students and let them know about the flexibility of your hours. 

The more you communicate with them the more you are going to keep up with all of them in a better way.

It is just that simple!

Conclusion

So these were all the guidelines that you need to adhere to to launch your online teaching business. 

We hope this article was helpful for you and it will help you launch your course successfully.

We wish you all the best!

You May Also Like

15 Proven Ways To Be An Effective Online Teacher

Passive Income: 6 Steps To Make Money With Online Classes

How Does Online Tutoring Work?

Start A Small Business At Home With These 9 Steps

How To Make Money As A Personal Trainer Online

22+ Easy Ways To Make Money Online For Beginners Without A Website Or Blog

How Long Does It Take To Develop an eLearning Course?

Leave a Comment