Online courses can be a lucrative endeavour for industry experts out there.
Around 75-80% of technology-related training is offered online in many of the companies that belong to the fortune 500.
According to a Brandon-Hall study, online learning requires 40-60% less employee time than physical training. But there are certainly more reasons why offering online courses works best these days.
Here are several reasons why online courses are popular and how beneficial they could be to professionals and organizations:
- Full-time job. Successful online training programs can generate enough revenue to quit your full-time job and focus solely on the production of training materials.
- Side income. Even if you’re employed full-time or work as a freelancer/solopreneur, creating educational content can sell and generate some capital for funding something you care about.
- Brand recognition. Teaching is one of the leading elements of establishing authority. This is why so many book writers are established industry influencers.
- Landing additional opportunities. Online courses can lead to selling your consulting or freelancing services, bringing additional revenue, and growing your clientele.
- Speaking gigs. Public speaking opportunities are available for professionals who can testify for their skills. Online courses make a great portfolio.
- In-house training materials. If you hire staff, you can both monetize your classes AND provide the resources to your team for initial onboarding/training.
- Professional networking. You can co-author a course with other industry experts.
- Building a network of partners. You can feature a sponsor or two on your site or within your training curriculum in exchange for a fee (#1 and #2) and discussing new business opportunities with your new partners.
Whether you are planning to offer business courses or just planning for internal training programs for your company, make sure you leverage online courses for optimal results.
Creating online courses presents a unique opportunity to make education more accessible, scalable, and flexible. It allows educators and experts to reach a global audience, create a passive income stream, and experience personal and professional growth.
The interactive nature of online learning also fosters a continuous improvement cycle through learner feedback. These factors combined make creating online courses a compelling and rewarding endeavour for anyone with knowledge or skills to share.
