3 Steps to Simplify Your Online Course Creation Process
Apr 09, 2024
Are you feeling overwhelmed with the idea of creating an online course for your coaching business?
Your coaching business is growing and you are starting to consider creating an online course, or two (or more). You have reached that minimum number of 1-1 clients to provide the base level of revenue needed to keep your business moving forward.
You love to work directly with individual clients, helping them along their transformational journey. Yet, you have the desire to reach more people and help more people experience the same transformation as your 1-1 clients. You are ready to take your expertise and knowledge, your services and programs offered to your 1-1 clients and turn that valuable content into an online course or group program (or more!).
You have all of these awesome ideas floating around your brain, or in a notebook, that are just waiting for you to turn into that online course. Yet, you feel stuck. You don’t know where to start. You are overwhelmed, maybe a little fearful, of all the work that is needed to put together a course that will be accessed by many more people.
The process of creating online courses can be daunting and overwhelming. There’s so much to learn, to do, and to connect all together to create one well-structured, flowing course.
You're not alone.
Most people go through this process of overwhelm. Today, I want to share with you three steps to reducing the overwhelm of creating an online course.
Before we get to those three steps, there is one thing that you need to do first – one thing that will help you to work through the online course creation process more efficiently.
When you focus on one problem or pain point, one solution, and one audience, you are going to be able to create an online course that is well-structured and focuses on the transformation your learners will experience as they work through the content. By narrowing your focus, you can create a course that is more targeted and effective.
So, take your notebook full of ideas and decide where you are going to start by answering these questions:
- What is the one problem or pain point you are going to help your learners work through?
- What is the one solution that you are going to provide your learners with to give them that transformation?
- Who is your ideal audience of learners for this course?
Now that you have simplified your process down to one problem, one solution, and one audience, we can walk through the three steps to reducing the overwhelm of starting the online course creation process.
3 Steps to Simplify your Online Course Creation Process
Step #1 – Ask yourself, “WHY am I creating this course?”
It is important to start this online course creation process by thinking through and really understanding the WHY behind creating an online course.
What is your motivation for taking your knowledge and expertise and turning it into an online course? Why are you creating this course? What are you hoping the impact will be on the learners who go through this course? What is the transformation or benefit your learners will get at the end of completing the course?
Answering these questions and understanding the WHY behind creating this specific course will help you in creating the learning objectives and outcomes for your course.
When you start to get overwhelmed with the amount of potential content you want to include within the course, come back to review your WHY and learning outcomes.
Does that particular piece of content tie into those learning outcomes? If it doesn’t then leave it out. Remember, simplicity is key even in the content and materials you provide. If they don’t help the learner reach those learning outcomes then it is not necessary to include that piece of content.
Step #2 – Consider HOW you will deliver your course.
The next step is to consider HOW you will deliver your course.
What method will you use to deliver the course content? Will it be a self-study course? A mix of self-study and group coaching? Will the course material be delivered live or pre-recorded? What hosting platform are you going to use to deliver the course to your learners? What tools will you need to help you create the teaching materials?
Understanding the HOW will help to set yourself up for success as you begin the creation process. Having an idea of how you want to deliver the final course product to your learners will guide the design and format of your course, dictating the plan of how you will present the content.
Rather than trying one thing or another, you can create a clear plan of how you will deliver the course to your learners in a succinct and clear way.
Step #3 – Develop the WHAT of your online course.
Finally, you need to decide on WHAT you are going to teach in this online course. Of course, this comes back to that one problem and one solution. However, you also need to decide on how you are going to structure the content in a way that takes your learner on a journey from that one problem to that one solution.
How many modules or sections will there be? What types of supplementary materials will you have available? Will you include video and audio options? Will you have worksheets? Handouts? Slide deck notes? Will you use quizzes or assessments?
As you begin to work through the course creation process, your answers to the questions in this step may change. But it is always good to map out the layout and direction of the course so you have a clear idea of the course progression.
Does each module build on top of the other in a systematic and relevant way? Are there any key topics missing? Spending some time figuring out the outline of your course will help to keep you on track and working towards those learning outcomes as you create the different lessons of content.
To recap, the online course creation process doesn't have to be overwhelming.
By focusing on one pain point or problem, one solution, and one audience, you can simplify the process as you work through the three steps:
- Ask yourself, “WHY am I creating this course?”
- Consider HOW you will deliver your course.
- Develop the WHAT of your online course.
Remember to tie every piece of content back to your learning outcomes, consider how you will deliver your course, and decide on what type of materials you will use to deliver your course.
With these steps, you'll be well on your way to creating a successful online course that will have a positive impact on your learners.
Grab the Roadmap to Online Course Success Template and craft your course with confidence.
From defining your course's unique promise to outlining learning outcomes that stir emotions, this tool has you covered. Follow the steps within the template to simplify those complex ideas into actionable essentials that keep your learners engaged and excited to learn.
Fill in the form below to download the template now and start your journey toward creating a lasting impact!
