Passive Income Idea #1: Create an Online Course

Today, many people in different fields generate passive income by teaching online courses or classes. Whether they’re already professionals in their chosen subject or amateur enthusiasts, delivering online study programs offers a great way of topping up their other income. Some online instructors even go on to make what started out as a passion project into their main source of income.

Read on to learn more about online course creation, the software you’ll need, and how to structure online classes.

Can anyone deliver an online course?

If you have a skill that you can pass on to others, and you can reach people who want to learn from you, there’s nothing stopping you from delivering online learning. You simply have to convince people that you have what it takes to be a great instructor.

So, how do you sell an online class or course? One way is to give some of it away for free. You need people to connect to you as an instructor, especially if you’re new to teaching online classes. Generating passive income from your classes is about leaving your audience thinking, “I want to learn more from this person.”

By posting a few free classes on your website and sharing them on social media, you’ll give people the chance to get to know you a little bit and work out whether they like your coaching style. If they do, they’ll be much more likely to pay for classes or even a full course program.

The skills you need to deliver a successful online class include some expertise in the subject you’re teaching—the more impressive your skills, the more trusted you’ll be to share them. Additionally, you’ll need to be confident, authoritative, good in front of the camera or on mic, and able to explain things in a clear, interesting way.

Online class instructors can cover all kinds of fields, too. You might consider teaching subjects like:

• Yoga or pilates

• Strength training

• Playing a musical instrument

• Writing techniques

• DIY projects

• Electronics repair

• Accountancy skills

• Modern languages

• Sports techniques

• Auto repair

Focus on something you’re particularly good at and, crucially, really enjoy talking to other people about, and it’s likely that it’s something you’d be perfectly placed to teach other people.

What software do you need to deliver an online course?

The software available to deliver professional quality classes and courses is easy to use, low-cost, and yields impressive results. Take a Squarespace website, for example, which offers everything you need to host, brand, and market your online learning services. 

Look for a single online platform that gives you the ability to:

• Create and sell professional online courses

• Upload and organize video courses

• Host downloadable materials students can learn from

• Schedule live one-to-one or group classes

• Send email updates to your target audience of existing and potential learners

• Integrate your online instruction brand into your social media channels

If you’ve ever been online to watch a tutorial video, read a how-to guide, or listen to an instructional podcast, you’ll know just how impressive many of today’s online instructors are. The software available to deliver pro-level classes is easily accessible. 

The only other aspects you’ll need to think about are hardware options, including:

• The kind of microphone you’ll use to record audio

• Whether you’ll use a USB mic cord or audio interface

• What kind of lighting set-up you’ll have

• Whether you’ll use your laptop’s built-in camera or a professional camera 

Again, these options are widely available at a relatively low cost. Once you have them in place, you’ll have everything you need to start creating and marketing attractive online classes.

How to structure online courses

Structuring online learning starts with identifying your learners’ goals. Maybe you’re looking to deliver different, one-off classes that help people achieve a particular result entirely within a single class (e.g., five exercises to firm up your abs in a week). Or, perhaps you’re looking to help people incrementally achieve results over a series of lessons (e.g., tone every muscle in your body in eight weeks).

Developing a program of study will require more of your time, but it can give you a better chance of getting people to pay for your expertise, because bulk-buying classes means that learners get more for less. It also helps you to attract potential customers for your classes by giving away the first class in a series for free. To achieve the final result, the learner needs to sign up for the rest of the classes in the course.

When structuring a class or course, consider the average skill level of the person you’re teaching before you begin planning your curriculum. Think about what is possible for them to achieve within the period of the class or course, and then define how they can expect to have developed their skill or knowledge by the end of that period.

Finally, break the learning down into simple, bite-sized chunks, but don’t skimp on detail. If you’re showing someone a technique for developing their abs over the course of a single class, for instance, talk to them about why abs are difficult to keep firm, tell them how the technique works the muscle, and walk them through the feeling they should have while carrying out the exercise. 

If your classes are rich in detail, delivered with enthusiasm and your own personal style, and give people achievable goals, they’ll be more successful at generating passive income.

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This post was updated on August 21, 2023.