{"id":20707,"date":"2018-12-04T12:43:09","date_gmt":"2018-12-04T17:43:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hostgator.com\/blog\/?p=20707"},"modified":"2019-07-26T15:21:59","modified_gmt":"2019-07-26T20:21:59","slug":"build-online-course-wordpress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hostgator.com\/blog\/build-online-course-wordpress\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Build an Online Course with WordPress"},"content":{"rendered":"

All the work you\u2019ve done up until today has left you with a store of valuable knowledge. If you\u2019re confident that your hard-earned knowledge can benefit other people, you have a few options for how to put it to use: you could use it to get a relevant job, work as a consultant, or share it in blog posts. <\/span><\/p>\n

Or you could turn it into passive income by creating an online course. <\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re worried the tech side of things would make that too complicated, building an online course with WordPress actually isn\u2019t that difficult.<\/span><\/p>\n

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5 Reasons to Create an Online Course<\/span><\/h2>\n

For many who dream of entrepreneurship, one of the best ways to get started is by <\/span>becoming an infopreneur<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Infopreneurs build a business based on selling knowledge, usually in the form of <\/span>ebooks<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>videos<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>online courses<\/span><\/a>, or some combination of all three. If you\u2019ve learned useful lessons in your professional life that other people can benefit from, then infopreneurship may be the right path for you.<\/span><\/p>\n

Creating online courses as part of an infopreneur business provides a few key benefits. <\/span><\/p>\n

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1. It\u2019s a low-cost path to entrepreneurship.<\/h3>\n

Many forms of entrepreneurship have high upfront costs. Any business that requires a storefront or inventory is likely to require loans or investors for you to get things off the ground. But when your product is an online course, the cost of getting started is relatively low. You\u2019ll need to spend some real time on your product and invest in the right technology to build your course and the website you host it on, but those costs are manageable for most would-be infopreneurs.<\/span><\/p>\n

You shouldn\u2019t need to find investors or go get a small business loan, your main cost will be in time. <\/span><\/p>\n

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2. Passive income means more profit for less work.<\/h3>\n

Passive income is the term used to describe products you create once that keep making money over time. Unlike physical products where you need to keep re-stocking them as they sell, or services<\/a>, where you must continue doing work in order to keep making money, an online course is something you put a lot of work into one time and can keep selling to new students for years to come (or for as long as the information remains accurate).<\/span><\/p>\n

The term can be a little misleading, because you should expect to continue to do marketing work to promote your online course and provide answers to student questions after your course has launched, so the income you earn isn\u2019t <\/span>entirely<\/span><\/i> passive. But you can expect to do less work once the course is finished than you would with most other business models.<\/span><\/p>\n

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3. You position yourself as a thought leader.<\/h3>\n

When you create a successful course, you become a recognized expert in the topic area your course covers. If you want to build or bolster a career as a consultant or speaker in that industry, the course proves that you know what you\u2019re talking about. It makes your insights more convincing to future clients or audiences, and helps increase your visibility in the field. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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4. It\u2019s a good way to build connections.<\/h3>\n

Many of the people who take a good online course will go on to have fruitful careers using what they\u2019ve learned. Your students could end up becoming valuable professional contacts. And some of them could well be potential customers for other products or services you offer. <\/span><\/p>\n

If your course provides real value, then it will become a conduit for establishing worthwhile relationships with others in your industry-or that are on the path to joining your industry.<\/span><\/p>\n

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5. You help other people.<\/h3>\n

The benefits aren\u2019t all about you. A good online course provides real value to the people who choose to take it. If you care about more than just profiting-you want to make a meaningful difference in the world-building a high-quality online course gives you the chance to educate other people with knowledge that will make their lives better.<\/span><\/p>\n

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How to Set Up Your Online Course using WordPress<\/span><\/h2>\n

WordPress isn\u2019t the only option you have for setting up your course, but for most new infopreneurs it\u2019s the easiest option. Here are the main steps you need to take to build an online course with WordPress.<\/span><\/p>\n

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First, Develop Your Course<\/span><\/h2>\n

Before you worry about the technology, you need to get the basics of your online course figured out.<\/span><\/p>\n

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1. Figure out your primary topic.<\/span><\/h3>\n

What\u2019s the main thing your online course will be about? This needs to be broad enough for it to make sense to build a whole course around, but specific enough that you can provide actionable details your students can put to real use. <\/span><\/p>\n

For example, a course on <\/span>How to Build a Business<\/span><\/i> is too broad to be useful to most people-there are too many directions that could go in and not all of them will be relevant to all potential students. Something like <\/span>How to Make Money Selling Your Crafts Online<\/span><\/i> is specific enough for the audience that most needs your help to find it, but still broad enough that there\u2019s a lot of good information you can provide.<\/span><\/p>\n

It also, crucially, has to be something that people are looking to learn more about-enough that they\u2019re willing to pay for that knowledge. If it\u2019s a topic area that\u2019s already been covered a lot of free, why should anyone pay you? Or, if it\u2019s a topic area that might be fun or interesting, but isn\u2019t ultimately valuable to the audience in a tangible way, people will be less likely to spend money for it.<\/span><\/p>\n

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2. Research your audience.<\/span><\/h3>\n

Whatever topic you choose, your online course will have a specific audience. Before you get deep into planning out what to include in your course, take time to understand who they are and what they need from you. You can find <\/span>free tools for doing audience research<\/span><\/a>, and supplement the data you get with <\/span>surveys or interviews<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

You can also learn a lot about your audience by paying attention to what they say on social media sites and online forums. Do some searches on social media for the keywords relevant to your topics and see if you can find online forums and communities where your target audience is hanging out. Hearing from the people you hope to help in their own words will go a long way to showing you what your course should look like.<\/span><\/p>\n

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3. Research your competitors. <\/span><\/h3>\n

Chances are, someone has created a course on a similar topic to the one you have in mind. Go see what\u2019s already out there. Competitor research will show you how to make sure you do something unique rather than repeating advice that\u2019s already available. That could mean focusing on a different audience, taking a different approach to the topic than you initially had in mind, or using different media formats to share the information. <\/span><\/p>\n

Competitor research will also reveal to you how your competitors promote their courses. You\u2019ll gain some ideas for getting the word out once your course has launched so you can get those first students. <\/span><\/p>\n

One tip to consider here: some of the courses on similar to topics shouldn\u2019t be seen as direct competition. Their creators could potentially be partners that help you promote your course, as you help promote theirs. If the information is complementary and valuable to the same audience, consider seeing the instructors as potential partners or sources to turn to for mutual help.<\/span><\/p>\n

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4. Determine the structure and format of your course. <\/span><\/h3>\n

Figure out what your online course will look like. Ask yourself questions like:<\/span><\/p>\n