6 Effective Strategies to Earn From an Online Course

Developing and selling an online course is an efficient way to earn large amounts of money online. Even though the process is pretty simple, there are some ways to further improve it.

You can change your payment structure or the outlook of your brand to get better results from the sales. In this post, we will discuss all these various factors. 

6 Proven Strategies to Earn From an Online Course

Before we get into the strategies, there is something you need to keep in mind. All these strategies are applicable after you’ve developed and put your courses on sale. 

With that out of the way, let’s dive right into it. 

1. Subscriptions

Most people think of online courses as a one-off payment product. Your customer selects a course, pays the amount in full, and that’s about it.

However, this business structure doesn’t fare well in the long run. You are always at risk of losing new and old customers. 

How do I avoid it?

You can avoid this problem with the help of a subscription-style payment structure. It will enable you to categorize your courses according to their demand. 

This way, you can charge your customers on a monthly, quarterly, or yearly basis and maintain a steady flow of income.

How do I decide the subscription price?

Firstly, you have to separate your courses based on their field of study. After that, you have to get the average price of your courses per category and determine a price. 

It is important to note that the price should break even your monthly sales. Otherwise, this payment structure will not yield profits for you.

2. Upfront Payment

The most efficient way to earn from your online courses is to get the payment upfront. This helps you keep track of your cash inflow in a steady manner. 

Compared to subscription-based payments, it can get messy once you develop a large user base. You have to buy different services to keep track of them. 

How much should I charge per course?

It comes down to the demand for your courses. You have to price each course differently. This way, you can get the best value out of every module in your store. 

Important Note: You can charge high prices on courses related to coding, Adobe tutorials, and marketing topics.

For example, you can place a $100 price tag on courses related to Python learning. Whereas, for Adobe tutorials, you can put a $50 price tag per course. 

3. Certifications

Another way to make money off of online courses is through post-learning certifications. It will give your customers a sense of accomplishment and encourage them to buy more courses. 

Moreover, the certifications aspect adds authentication to your courses. People are more willing to buy a course if it adds value to their professional ventures. 

Are there any examples of such certifications?

One prominent example of such an approach comes from Coursera. The platform collectively earned over $1 million in a single year based on certifications. 

We have a detailed analysis of Coursera which you explore for its various functions. 

4. Pre-Orders

One way to earn money from online courses is through pre-sales. You can advertise your courses beforehand and charge money for them. 

In this case, you have to state the content of your courses in detail. This will develop a sense of wonder among your user base. 

How is it better than other strategies?

The main reason businesses use this is because you don’t have to use extra resources to keep the course sales up. 

You can create a list of customers and then provide them with their desired course according to a plan. 

Moreover, you don’t have to inject further resources to boost sales. Once the course is out, it will only be available to those who paid in advance. 

This will create a sense of exclusivity which you can use to your advantage. 

5. Course Licensing

One niche market related to online courses is licensing your course to a brand or company. Creating an online course is a hefty task. 

It includes time, research, and many hours of hard work. Most companies don’t want to cross that bridge. Instead, they outsource courses from smaller creators. 

How much can I earn from licensing?

Think of licenses as rights to sale. You hand over your rights to that course and in return, you get a percentage of every sale. 

On average, you can easily earn between $100 to $2500 per course. It all depends on how well developed your course is according to the market demand. 

6. Funnel-Building

You also use your online courses to promote a separate product or service. These courses usually come in the form of tutorials, guides, and introductions. 

The only downside of it is that you make money from the product or the service. Your online courses are offered free of cost to develop a sense of curiosity. 

Is it better than other strategies?

Well, it’s a double-edged sword. Sometimes it can work wonders in terms of sales while in some cases it can yield zero sales. 

It all depends on how well you craft your introductory piece. The key to creating a useful introduction course is through engaging the user. 

How much can I earn from it?

As it turns out, you are not directly making money off your course but the product/service behind it. So, your revenue varies according to the demand for said product/service. 

Let’s suppose, you create an online course for graphic designing software. Given how unique the software is, you can earn anywhere between $200 to $1000 per sale. 

Reasons to Create Online Courses

In the current internet era, you can teach people about almost anything. It can be as simple as hammering nails into a wooden plank or as difficult as coding. 

The point is that there is a market for every skill set on the internet. If there is a market, there is a user base for it. 

You can use it to your advantage and earn from it. Moreover, the best part about online courses is that there is no limitation to your growth. 

There are numerous examples of people earning thousands of dollars monthly from creating and selling online courses. 

It takes quite a lot of effort to develop online courses. However, the risk to reward ratio is worth your time. 

Wrapping Things Up…

This brings us to the finish line of our post on 6 different strategies to earn money online. We hope this information helps you to turn your courses into high-income sources.

Online courses work on the simple 1-on-1 transaction structure. However, with the right knowledge, you can improve how customers buy your courses in the long run.