Why Creators Should Consider Monetizing Through Online Courses
The goal of this article is to reframe the way creators think about online courses.
After having a conversation with a Tiktoker/Twitch streamer I’m friends with, I realized creators are leaving money on the table because of a few misconceptions regarding online courses. Here are some reasons creators do not create online courses.
There’s already a course teaching topic ‘X’, so I can’t create one on that topic.
Only experts should create online courses
People who can’t do, teach.
This article will discuss the size of the online course market as well as the value online courses provide to customers. First, let’s debunk each of the misconceptions above.
Misconception: “There’s already a course teaching topic ‘X’, so I can’t create one on that topic.”
Reality: Everyone learns differently and some people are better at explaining things than others. If you believe you can teach a concept better than any of the other courses on the market, you should.
Dave Ramsey has earned millions of dollars over the past three decades teaching personal finance. Here’s a quote from his book, Financial Peace, “I claim little originality in any of these philosophies, but I simply offer a new presentation of these ideas in a different format.”
Misconception: “Only experts should create online courses.”
Reality: Everyone’s had a math teacher that skips steps when solving a problem. The material is second nature to them, they forget that not everyone is comfortable with the fundamentals. More often than not, there’s more value in learning from someone who is only one or two steps ahead of you than there is in learning from an expert. Alex Hormazi is worth $100M. Here’s his take on the subject:
https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxdtABjbfBh9D9snasVKx1wx0rTZENoHiq
Misconception: “People who can’t do, teach”
Reality: Creators, if you make sure to only teach skills that have helped you achieve something, there’s no need to worry about this. Customers, make sure to vet course creators before purchasing a course. If they’re teaching a course titled: How To Go From 0 → 10,000 Twitter Followers, check to make sure their Twitter account has at least 10,000 followers.
With these misconceptions out of the way, let’s discuss the opportunity the online course presents. The remainder of this article will cover:
The Size Of The Market For Online Courses
The Value An Online Course Can Provide To Your Audience
The Value Of Online Courses More Generally
The Size Of The Market For Online Courses
The online course market is a subset of the E-Learning market. Many online sources claim that the online course market is $250B+. They’re really talking about the E-Learning market which encompasses the entire spectrum of products and services related to online learning. This article focuses on the customer-to-customer (C2C) sector of the broader E-Learning market. A creator selling a course on Kajabi is characterized as C2C, Mcgraw Hill selling its services to universities is not; yet both are part of the E-Learning market.
I couldn’t find a source that zoomed in on this sector, but here are some statistics from a few of the largest C2C marketplaces in the E-Learning space:
In 2021, Coursera’s total revenue was $415.3 million, up 41% from $293.5 million in 2020
In 2021, Kajabi did $1.5B in annual customer GMV ($1.5B in courses were sold on Kajabi)
In 2020, Instructors on Teachable earned $456.7M, and the number of creators earning six figures increased by 38%
There are around 10 other marketplaces of similar size, and the E-Learning industry is projected to continue the rapid growth it has experienced over the past five years. In short, the online course market is a very large pie, and there’s plenty of room for creators to grab a slice.
The Value An Online Course Can Provide To Your Audience
What about creators who provide tutorial-based, instructional, or educational content for free? Why would their audiences ever pay for a course? Where’s the value?
Consider that content that is distributed for free is always going to be optimized for views. For example, a Youtuber needs to focus on creating an attention-grabbing thumbnail, an intriguing hook, identifying the right video duration, coming up with an intriguing title, etc.
All of these things take time, effort, and attention
They limit the type of content the creator can produce
These two factors reduce the value of the content. Creators have to embed both entertainment and a reason to pay attention into every video, blog, or podcast they create; and they need to create content around trending topics.
Sure, creators are always trying to make the most valuable content possible, but that’s balanced with a variety of other objectives that optimize for the almighty algorithms we’re subject to.
With a course, creating value for a specific audience becomes the primary focus. You can sell a package of 20 videos that teach customers a skill all at once. In regards to the 20 videos, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. On Youtube, however, all of these videos need to attract attention as stand-alone content. Naturally, that’s going to complicate things.
Additional Motivation To Produce Online Courses
The expansion of the online course market is extremely beneficial to EVERYONE.
More available online courses means:
A greater ability to customize an à la carte education/curriculum
Reduced barriers to education
The ability to learn information at the time it’s most relevant
Greater variety of teaching styles (everyone learns differently)
Online courses enable people to learn in a way we’ve never seen before. Why not contribute to the E-Learning ecosystem?
