How to Create Profitable Online Courses In 2017

My favorite story I've ever read about The Online Course Industry is about a guy named Purna Duggirala. He's from India, and he runs a website called Chandoo.org. He shows people how to use Microsoft Excel. And now he sells online courses about Excel, too.

And in 2014, he pulled in more than $1,000,000.

Yep. 7 figures. Selling online courses. ABOUT EXCEL.

What's interesting is this:

This isn't an isolated case. There are regular people who started - and grew - a business selling online courses...

...and they're making a GREAT living doing it.

Not everyone reaches that astounding 7 figure mark, but there are people who do amazing things in all types of industries:

* Meet Kim Greco, from Paws and Possibilities. She runs dog training services out of her facility in Maryland. She's got several trainers on staff, and is doing well. However, last year, she put together an online course that helps dog owners train their dogs.

* Meet Cole Joseph, from Cole's Classroom. He's a photographer, and he's passionate about showing other people how to take better pictures. In 2013, he launched an online course called "Newborn Photography." It did well, but he wanted to do better. In 2014, he kept creating and selling online courses, and made almost DOUBLE his yearly corporate finance salary. And things got even better in 2015. He quit his job and went on to TRIPLE his revenue all by creating and selling online courses to photographers. It's now 2017 and he continues to grow!

* Meet Camille Holden and Taylor Croonquist, from Nuts and Bolts Speed Training for Powerpoint. One day they noticed that all of their colleagues asked them for help with Powerpoint. And that's when they got the bright idea to "create and sell" an online course about Microsoft Powerpoint. Eventually their online course business did well enough so that they could both quit their jobs and focus on creating - and selling - online courses fulltime.

What's going on?

Well...

The market for online courses is big.
And it's getting bigger.

According to Forbes, the market hit 56.2 billion in 2014 - and early estimates suggest the market DOUBLED in 2015 to 107 billion.

And when you look at the people who create - and sell - online courses, they're often just regular people...

...They don't have a degree in "instructional design."

...They aren't certified teachers.

...They aren’t tech wizards.

...They aren’t experienced business owners.

It's pretty cool.

And when you dig deeper, you'll quickly notice:

There are 3 types of people who can succeed at creating - and selling - online courses.

Yep, three types of people. They are as follows:

Person #1: You run a service based business, and you're looking to add a second income stream where you don't have to trade "time for money."

As Kim found out with dog training, the bulk of the work "creating and selling online courses" is done at the beginning...

...and then you can reap the rewards for months and years to come.

Person #2: You want to start - and grow - an online business in a fast growing industry.

And even if you've never started an online business before... and never created an online course before... you're in the perfect spot because you don't come with "Old dog" syndrome where it will become impossible to teach you "New tricks."

I'll share more about Cole soon, but what happened when he started Cole's Clasroom? The truth was this: He worked fulltime in corporate finance. Then, one day he decided to pursue his passion of teaching people about photography.

It started small, but with dedicated effort, things eventually took off.

Cole Joseph was just someone who worked in corporate finance. Then one day he decided to pursue one of his passion projects and things turned out well.

Person #3: You already have an online course or two, but you'd like to approach growing your online course business more strategically.

There are plenty of people who create and sell courses, and they make a little bit of money on the side. A few thousand dollars here. A few thousand dollars there.

But how do you create - and sell - online courses that do so well that it can become your main source of income?

Believe it or not there's a proven process for accomplishing this, and I plan on sharing more about it in the coming weeks.

Creating and selling online courses is an amazing industry. If you can't relate to any of these three people, I'd love to hear from you.

(Just leave a comment below)

But I've noticed that people who could create online courses and sell them don't do it.

WHY?

The opportunity to start an online business selling online courses is there, but why don't people seize it?

I know why. I first heard about the online course industry from a friend way back in 2007...

...and I didn't create my first online course until 2012.

Why?

I had a few concerns.

Concern #1: "I have NEVER created a course before. I can't do it!"

People think creating - and selling - online courses has to be tough. And you know what, when you're thinking about doing it, you might be overwhelmed by how much work you need to do.

I know I was.

So I procrastinated and told myself I couldn't do it.

However, fast forward to 2012, and I released my first course to the world. Here's a screenshot of what it looked like:

Yep.

That.

The course contained 3 little videos, and the video quality was bad. I'll share more about this experience in my new video which I'll send to you real soon where I'll show you why your first online course will look bad - and that's okay.

But those 3 videos went on to generate six figures in revenue. Why? Because, while the videos were low quality, the content INSIDE the video was great.

And that's what's most important.

Concern #2: "The course I want to create has already been created. What should I do?"

If someone already created the course you want to create, that’s GOOD NEWS!

I know that’s counterintuitive, but bear with me…

When you come up with an online course idea that has NEVER been done before, that means one thing: there’s probably no one interested in buying it.

Seriously.

You might think, “But people need what I’m selling,” and maybe they do. But the internet is so large that if people need it, and are willing to buy it, there WILL be someone else selling it.

As a matter of fact: if you come up with an idea for an online course, and you can’t find someone selling a course similar to what you want to offer, I’d find a new course.

Why?

Because if people already created courses about it, that means there are people who actively buying courses about that topic. THAT MEANS THERE ARE CUSTOMERS TO BE GOTTEN!

Concern #3: "What if I'm not an expert? Can I still create a course?"

As I revealed in my first video, "Your Credentials Don't MATTER."

On paper, I was a complete joke. I almost failed 12th grade. I applied to work at Google and got rejected...

...but when I started my online business, nobody ever asked to see my credentials. Instead, all people cared about was this: could I actually help them?

Plus, when you create an online business, you'll notice that there are actually three types of credentials. There are the credentials you get from traditional schooling. There are the credentials you get from the proven success of people you've worked with in the past. And then, there are the credentials you get from your own success in your own life.

And no matter who you are, I'm betting you have SOMETHING you can talk about. I mean, if you have kids, have you ever helped your kid study for a test and they got an A? Maybe you could create a course that shows other parents how to help their kids study.

I'll go over more of this soon, but for now, don't worry about credentials.

Concern #4: "Nobody actually buys online courses! They can get the same information for free."

I used to believe that too. I used to think all online courses were a complete joke. "Why would anyone buy that when they could just get the same information for free?"

"And why wouldn't people just read a few books about the topic?"

You see, for years, I always learned through reading books. Lots of books. But I began to notice something as I got older...

Reading books is a great way to learn about new topics, but sometimes, reading 15 books on a topic isn't physically possible. Especially when you have a problem that you'd like to solve right now.

Plus, when you read a book, it's up to you to "figure out" how to apply it to your life. And sometimes the "figuring it out" part can be the hardest part of all.

However, when you take an online course, things are much different: often times, you're going to learn the material, just like you read a book. But then you're shown how to implement the stuff.

And that's key. Education is meaningless without implementation. And online courses show people how to actually do the work.

Plus, have you ever learned something and had a question that you needed an answer to? Often times, with online courses, you can email the instructor and get those questions answered.

However, have you ever tried emailing a popular author? Did they ever respond? In my experience, not often.

Now I know there may be some other concerns, and I'm curious about yours. So make sure you keep reading and share them in the comment section.

In the meantime, here's why I'm so excited about this entire opportunity...

Online courses have changed so many lives - for the people who sell them and the people who buy them.

When you think about it, what is the online course business, at it's core?

Well, it's all about helping people!

I mean, think about Kim for a second. She's a dog trainer. And she gets paid to train dogs. Getting paid is great for business...

...but think about her clients for a second. They likely have dogs that do bad things like: pee on the floor, chew up dirty underwear, and bark at all hours of the night.

Now, if she sells an online course that shows a dog owner how to fix those problems, don't you think their life will be MUCH better?

Of course!

What's most interesting is this:

I had a chance to talk to Kim about her business, and I felt as if her eyes just lit up when she talked about what she did for a living.

And that's the secret:

When you create - and sell - online courses, you're getting paid to help people...

...but you also get paid to do what you love.

Moving on...

For the first time, I want to show you how to create - and sell - profitable online courses

For years, I've showed people how to build an audience. I've also showed people how to sell (without being salesy). And, I've also created the software Zippy Courses that physically allows people to create and sell online courses...

...but I never put together a FULL training series (and online course) that shows people exactly how to start - and grow - an online business that sells online courses.

That's about to change.

I've got an all new video series that I'll release later this week where I'll show you how to find a profitable online course idea in 15 minutes or less.

Then, I've got more material including worksheets, webinars, and more that can help you create - and sell - a profitable online course.

And who better than me to show people how to do it?

In my not so humble opinion, no one.

Here's why...

You see, there are plenty of other "online business experts" who teach people how to build an online business selling courses, but the truth is, in many cases, the first course they ever made was an online course on how to create online courses.

They put the cart before the horse. Sigh.

Actually, a running joke about these people between me and my friends goes like this: "Hey, I'm a business coach. I can help you start a business for $10,000!" And when you ask them how they learned they say, "I hired a business coach who charges $20,000!" And when you ask them how they learned, "I hired a business coach who charges $50,000."

Before you know it, these business coaches are charging premium prices and they don't know their ass from their elbow when it comes to starting - and growing - an online business.

Not me though.

I've built profitable online courses about many topics including blogging, social media, social skills, sales skills, productivity, and more.

And it's doing well.

I don't say this to brag, but take a look at these sales results from Social Triggers:

What do you notice?

Consistent growth. Year after year. Five years running. Do you know what that means? It means it's probably not an accident. It means there's likely something going on "behind the scenes" that allows me to create online courses that convert time and time again.

And I want to show you how I do it for the first time.

Plus, the one thing almost no one else can say is this:

Yes, I create and sell courses, but I also helped build one of the leading software products Zippy Courses that help people physically create and sell their course online.

So, not only have I perfected the process for myself, I've had the opportunity to help people in almost every industry you can think of with their online course business...

...and I plan to share all of the "behind the scenes" techniques and strategies I use to create what I call "Seven Figure Courses."

My big question to you is this: have you ever considered creating and selling online courses?

If the answer is yes, I'd love to hear more about your desires in the comment section. So scroll down and leave a comment.

IF the answer is no, I'd love to learn why not? What's holding you back?