Creating an eLearning course can be a fantastic way to establish yourself as an authority on a subject. It can also be extremely profitable if you know how to publish and market your course properly. However, there are many rules, both written and unwritten, for publishing courses. Although they may seem simple or unnecessary, following these principles can be the difference between extreme success and failure.

Mistake #1: Letting the Content Speak for Itself

Yes, your content should be good enough to stand on its own without a lot of fancy tricks. However, the reason people are signing up for your eLearning course is because they want to learn about what you personally have to teach them. They could look on Wikipedia for most of these answers and find them. eLearning courses are supposed to be a step beyond that. Provide personalized instruction in your videos. Make sure that your students know you have something to say, not just something to teach. If you don’t put a bit of your personality into the videos, your students have no reason to view your course, rather than the course of anyone else.

Mistake #2: Focusing on the Money

“Invest your money wisely”
If you’re coming to eLearning as an entrepreneur looking to make money on the side, that’s fantastic. However, most students are able to tell when you’re coming to a course with the specific intention of putting forth the least amount of effort in order to get your paycheck. This turns students off your courses and you’ll not get popular through word-of-mouth. Also you will not be able to recruit students to join your other courses.

Mistake #3: Owning Low-Quality Equipment

If this is your first course and you don’t want to invest in high-quality equipment without knowing whether eLearning will be profitable then you may be out of luck. Many of the best websites on which you can sell eLearning courses, such as Siminars and Udemy, have requirements that all videos must be of the highest quality. Audio definition should also be high-quality in order to provide students with an excellent experience. If you’re not sure whether you can deliver this kind of quality with your current equipment, consider renting a studio or equipment set-up, or borrowing one for the time being. If your course is successful and you want to create another, you can always invest later.

Mistake #4: Not Marketing Yourself

Marketing is one of the most terrifying and, unfortunately, important aspects of selling an online course. If you can market yourself, you’ll be well on your way to sharing your course content with thousands of eager students. If not, your course will likely fall into obscurity with other videos that no one ever manages to find. If you can find a platform for your work, advertise by joining forums, mailing lists, and sending out notices on social media. By marketing yourself, you’ll be able to reach a wider audience, which is good for you and your prospective students.