As a course creator, I hear a lot of questions about how much money you can actually make with online courses. The truth is that you can make anywhere from $0 – $100000k/year and more with your online programs. I know this from my own experience. And I know this from working with my clients and seeing first-hand the successes of their programs.

In this article, I want to share my mistakes when I launched my first online course. I will share what I learned from that experience and how I made more than 50K with my second online program over six months. I know that if I can do it, so can you!

What I learned from my mistakes

I believe there is just as much to learn from my failures as from my successes. Let me illustrate what I did wrong before I give you the solution I found to my problem.

When I created my first course, I locked myself into my room and thought long and hard about what I wanted to share with my audience. I wanted to give shortcuts and easy-to-follow templates to write better copy for their social media. I knew I had some precious knowledge and experience to share about this subject. I had raving reviews about my approach when I shared it with a mastermind group, so I was sure I had something of real value that could sell.

Since I was confident about the value and had proof of the usefulness from my audience, I created my course. I made the course outline and wrote my lesson plans. I recorded and edited the videos. I set up my class in the learning management system of my choice and wrote a compelling sales page, and then I clicked the launch button in my learning management system. And then I waited.

And waited… and waited.

Nothing happened. Nobody joined my class.

I scratched my head.

Now, what is wrong in this scenario?

Please take a minute to think about what I could have done better in the scenario above.

After some thinking, it dawned on me: “Wait a minute. Just because I published a course with great content doesn’t mean that people know the course exists.”

And I know I am not the only one who has made that mistake. I have spoken with many frustrated course creators that made the mistake of spending hours and hours creating a course with great value and then assuming that people would magically find it.

The 3 main problems in my first approach

After researching and learning from other people, I identified 3 main problems I needed to address.

The pressing problems I identified that I made along with most struggling course creators that I have met were these:

Problem nr. 1: Spending hours of hours creating a course with great value in the course creator’s eyes but failing to make sure it is filling a need and solving a burning desire for the audience

Problem nr. 2: Not letting people know that the course exists.

Problem nr. 3: Not thinking of the online course as part of a bigger business model

Because I failed to address these three problems in my first course, the revenue I made on that program was minimal.

Luckily, I was curious and persistent because I knew for a fact that other people had success in doing big business with online courses. I had even attended several courses, paying both $ 1000s and $ 10000’s.

Once I discovered what successful course creators do, I could do the same for myself and my clients.

The 3 critical solutions to create $50K

And the proof of the solutions I found is in the pudding. Because once I solved these three problems and created my business around my second course, I generated $50K in 6 months.

The solution to problem nr. 1: I stopped spending hours creating a course before knowing that I had an actual audience for my course. I do my research to ensure a great customer market fit. Then I develop the outlines for my content and set up my course structure in an LMS. After that, I do a pre-launch where I sell my course. When I pre-launch, I KNOW that I have people signing up for my course before I record a single video.

The solution to problem nr. 2: Nobody knew of my first course. I realized the importance of sharing, sharing, sharing about my course, and doing it consistently BEFORE I do the launch. In my new book, you can read about how I create a launch schedule, social media posts, and an email campaign to get people to know the course is coming, get excited about it, and sign up once it is there.

The solution to problem nr. 3: I didn’t think of my first course as part of a bigger business model. I now know the extreme value of thinking in upsells. A course is like a book. It is an introduction to the solution I provide to my clients. But I know that many of my clients want me to do it either WITH THEM or FOR THEM. Once I created packages in small, medium, and large, my revenue picked up.

These 3 clever solutions have worked wonders for me in my course business and my clients, and I know they will create results for you too.

And the last thing that helped me propel my business forward was getting advice from someone successful.

Right now, I’m learning to play golf, so I am taking golf lessons from a professional. I can only get so far on my own, even though I study others and look at what they do. The thing is that I can’t see my blind spots—others who are professionals in their field can.

I’m also publishing my new book on course creation. Even though I have published five books in Denmark, I have not published a book in the USA. So, I hired a professional publishing company to help me publish my book.

In business, I have learned to focus on what I do best and get help in the areas I want to develop.

If you want help growing your business with high-quality online programs, I’m happy to help.

To get my help, here is what you can do next:

• Get my new book on online course creation. As a bonus with the book, you get a FREE companion course that guides you through the phases of creating your program. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BKQKTLMF
• In the book, there is also a QR code that gives you 50% off my flagship course, where you get detailed instructions to create your course step by step with community support.
• If you want more individual support, you can learn more about the different options by scheduling a call with me here: https://calendly.com/sophiehhiggins/15

You can find more information about my course creation support services here: https://sophiehhiggins.com