The online course market hit $187.5 billion just a year ago… and it looks like it’s going to grow to $244 billion by 2022.
And that’s why you see so many people creating – and selling – online courses about all sorts of weird topics.
- People sell courses that show people how to use excel for small business. They show people how to create remarkable reports that help business owners run their business better – and they do well doing it.
- People sell courses about how to take better pictures of your newborn baby. And if you think about it, it makes sense. Not everyone can afford to hire a professional photographer for pictures, so might as well teach people how to do it themselves.
- People sell courses that show landlord owners how to properly screen their tenants. It’s important too. There are a lot of people who own property and rent it out. This course helps anyone who’s ever had a problem collecting the rent.
And the examples go on. And on. And on.
Now, I know you probably have questions. Questions like:
“What if I don’t have an idea for an online course? What can I do?”
“What if I never created an online course before?”
“What if I’m not expert enough?”
#1 If you want to create and sell online courses, you’ll need a good idea.
That much is true.
I already showed you why you need to start small, but let’s take it a step further. Let me show yo how to come up with a concrete online course idea in 15 minutes or less.
I have 3 strategies for you.
Strategy #1: How do you help people right now?
How do you help people right now in your life?
What do people already ask you for advice about?
Do they ask you for relationship advice? Tech help? Do they bounce ideas off you? What do your friends see you as?
Let me show you an example…
Camille Holden and Taylor Croonquist teach people how to create remarkable powerpoint presentations. How did they start doing it?
Here’s the full story…
Camille and Taylor worked for a company, and they quickly noticed that people would always ask them questions about Powerpoint.
Even people who weren’t their boss would come to them for advice about powerpoint.
And then one day, they realized something, “We have a skill that we can teach other people. And we do it already when people ask us questions about powerpoint.”
So, they decided to create a course about it. And they went on to become successful.
And that’s the first strategy.
The key?
They already had a skill that people wanted to learn. And when they thought about their life, they saw first hand that people were already asking them how to do what they did.
So, instead of trying to pull an idea out of thin air, if you want to create a profitable online course, you should think about the people who currently ask you questions in your life.
Maybe people aren’t asking you for advice about powerpoint. But maybe friends always ask you for relationship advice. Or maybe colleagues ask you for advice about fitness.
Whatever it is people ask you about, if you want to find a course idea, one of the BEST ways to do it is to figure out what people already ask you about…
…and then create a course about JUST THAT.
Now maybe you’re having trouble coming up with an idea.
And that’s okay.
Because here’s ANOTHER strategy you can use to find a good idea for an online course.
Strategy #2: What questions do people ask you over and over again?
Maybe you’re a freelancer, a coach, or a consultant. Or maybe you’re a blogger, an author, or a professional speaker. Well, many people who read Social Triggers are just like that.
Well, do you ever find that people come to you with the same problems? Over and over again? Maybe they ask the same questions. Maybe they just have the same issue countless other people have had too?
Probably, right?
Well… you could create a course that solves those problems.
And that’s exactly what David Cooper did.
You see, David Cooper was an accountant for small businesses, and he noticed that small businesses kept asking the same questions over and over again.
So, he created an online course that answered those questions and offered it to his clients. And before you knew it, people started to view him in a much more positive light.
Plus, they started to turn to him for all sorts of business advice… not just accounting… because he proved to them that he had their back.
Now, of course, a course won’t be able to solve these problems for people as good as you would be able to solve them one on one…
…but not everyone can afford to hire one on one help.
And when you create a course, that gives you the opportunity to help people in a way that they can afford you… and also in a way that doesn’t require you to trade your time for money.
Now think about it.
Do you find people often have the same problems that other people have? And these are problems that you believe you can solve?
That could ALSO be an online course idea.
And finally, let’s say people don’t ask you for advice. And let’s say you’re not a consultant (or maybe you are) but you can’t come up with an idea.
Well, that’s where this last strategy comes into play.
Strategy #3: ‘Find The Pain – And Eliminate It.”
You see, you may not have skills like Taylor and Camille did with Powerpoint. And maybe you’re not a consultant like David Cooper.
Maybe you just want to start an online business selling online courses, and you want to make money doing it.
What can you do?
That’s why you should “Find the Pain – and Then Eliminate It.”
Here’s how it works…
Just because people don’t ask you questions or bring you problems doesn’t mean problems don’t exist. So at this point, that’s when you can go out into the REAL world and RESEARCH problems.
And that’s the “Find the pain” portion of the technique.”
How do you find the pain?
Well, my favorite strategy is this:
Step 1: Find 3 or 4 best-selling books on the topic.
Step 2: Read the 5-star reviews and the 1-star reviews and look for “trigger phrases.”
A trigger phrase is an example of someone describing a problem in their life
A trigger phrase is also an example of someone bragging about a success in their life.
(If you’re confused, don’t worry. I’ve got an example).
Step 3: Start to compile a list of “Pain points” and “Solutions.”
That’s it.
Now let me show you this in action…
The topic is relationship advice for women.
When I searched that out on Amazon, I found 4 books. You could pick any books that have a decent number of reviews. I just happen to choose these 4 randomly…
“Ignore the guy, Get the guy”
“Why men love bitches”
“The soulmate experience”
“the 5 love languages”
NOW, GO THROUGH THE REVIEWS OF THESE BOOKS AND FIND THE TRIGGER PHRASES.
And while doing it, I found these examples of people describing problems in their life:
“I just went through a pretty rough patch with a man I thought cared about me where I was easily set aside when anything else interesting came up. ”
“I wish I would have read this for the ex before the last. I did everything wrong!! He must think I’m a total wimp and he’s now got an even bigger ego.”
“My relationship unexpectedly fell apart, and I found myself very distraught and alone…”
If you’re looking to help people with relationship problems, finding these problems helps you understand where your ideal customer is coming from. It helps you see the pain they’re going through so you can hopefully solve it.
Now that you’ve found the pain people experience… your goal is to figure out what a potential solution might “look” like.
So, I want you to imagine a friend came to you with this exact problem. What would you tell them?
If a friend told you, “My man always sets me aside,” you’d tell your friend, “Well, don’t let him do that. Make him put you first.”
If a friend told you, “I’m distraught and I’m alone,” what would you say? “You just got out of a relationship. You should be single and happy about it!”
Right?
Do that for each pain.
Just like this…
And as you can see…
“I just went through a pretty rough patch with a man I thought cared about me where I was easily set aside when anything else interesting came up. ”
The solution?
Never be second choice. How to make a man put you first.
“I wish I would have read this for the ex before the last. I did everything wrong!! He must think I’m a total wimp and he’s now got an even bigger ego.”
The solution?
Never be second choice: How to stand up for yourself and win respect in your relationship.
“My relationship unexpectedly fell apart, and I found myself very distraught and alone…”
The solution?
Why I’m happily single (for now): How to Get Past A broken relationship
NOW DO YOU SEE HOW THIS IS TAKING SHAPE INTO A POSSIBLE ONLINE COURSE?
You start with pain. You know the solution. And that’s where your course comes in. You can help people go from pain to solution.
And bam.
You’ve got your first online course idea.
If you’re at a loss for what to do to solve the problem, it’s time to start researching. Look for people who had the problem and solved that problem – and SEE WHAT THEY DID. Synthesizing good ideas is just as important as creating good ideas.
And that’s it.
Those are the three strategies to find an online course idea in 15 minutes or less.
Now, of course, this is something I show you how to do, in-depth, inside my new course Seven Figure Courses. Including how to find the idea, how to turn that idea into a profitable idea, and most important, how to VALIDATE the idea…
…but this should get you started.
So, for now…
If you’re thinking about finally creating an online course, I want you to use each of these 3 strategies, and leave a comment with what you come up with.
Do it right now.
Don’t delay.
If you don’t use all 3 strategies, just use one. And leave a comment sharing. I’ll pop in to provide feedback throughout the day…
…but make sure you leave your comment before tonight.
source http://feeds.socialtriggers.com/~r/SocialTriggers/~3/TgQqUIjcARo/
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