The Four Pillars Of Effective Online Courses

The future of education is bright. Thousands of leaders, educators, and business executives around the world are turning to online teaching. Creating online courses can help an individual to achieve scalability, passive income, and total freedom.

Not only can successful online courses help you to procure the above, but they can also provide leads for new enterprises and public speaking gigs.

Not just any online course can be successful, though.

We believe that one must utilize the proper building blocks to craft a successful, wide-reaching course, which is why we want to discuss our four pillars of effective online courses.

1. Strategy

2. Production

3. Implementation

4. Marketing

Continue through this article and we’ll show you exactly why each one of these pillars is as important as the next as an acting foundation for your future success in the online course realm.

1. Strategy

 

 

In theory, an online course seems like a brilliant idea.

Who doesn’t want passive income, scalability, and enormous amounts of traffic on their personal website?

Unfortunately, the idea of getting from point A to point B can feel overwhelming for many.

How does one develop and organize a plan or curriculum?

How does one create a clear and defined brand or idea so that it appeals to many?

Does one need videography equipment, and if so, what kind and how much will it cost?

The questions seem to go on forever. You can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but the light seems so far away. This is why it is so important that you have the necessary guidance from someone who has been through the process and wants to help you.

Our team here at Course Creek can help you strategize in a number of ways by:

• Refining your course idea with business validation

• Creating a schedule of accountability

• Finding the proper software that meshes with your business

• Crafting or improving your brand image

• Creating SEO strategies

• Designing your course and content

• Turning increased traffic into leads

• And much, much more…

2. Production

 

The only way that your project will attract a large audience is if it looks professionally produced and visually captivating. At Course Creek, we have the right technical expertise to help get you there.

Some of our clients lack the necessary skills in certain areas of video production, and that is okay.

When it comes to cameras, sound, lighting, teleprompters, make-up, scripting, directing, and post-production, we can help! We’ve already helped to guide so many of our clients from start to finish thanks to our knowledge of video content creation.

If you are looking for production assistance, we can work with you to develop a plan that fits your course and your needs.

3. Implementation

So you have your video content recorded and ready to go.

Now what?

Our third pillar is implementation, and it refers to utilizing your content once it is created. Here at Course Creek, we like to view implementation in two steps.

Step 1

The first step is to implement a lite version of your course onto third-party marketplaces. The idea here is that you will benefit from the free traffic that these platforms generate already. This can also help you to obtain a steady stream of passive income.

Step 2

The second step is to build a self-hosted platform where you will provide customers with your main piece of the pie. This platform is where your full course, for example, will lie. It will act as an upgrade for your customers as they move up the loyalty ladder.

While it may seem simple at first glance, good implementation requires a lot of work. From handling files to creating titles to navigating unique platform application procedures to implementing SEO and captions, there are many smaller steps involved.

When it comes to using a host, we highly recommend Kajabi.

Proper implementation means creating several revenue streams, creating a path to upgrade for your customers, and paving the way for free traffic.

Marketing

 

Marketing. We all know it’s important, though many of us have no idea what it entails.

Marketing is a multi-disciplinary field of expertise and one of the biggest aspects of your business. We know that every customer in each industry is going to be different, meaning one individual will have different needs than the next.

Our goal at Course Creek is to create a comprehensive plan that takes advantage of a number of the elements listed below so that we can help our clients to increase traffic, leads, and conversions.

You don’t need a static website, as it doesn’t provide you with enough of the necessary tools or information. Instead, you want what is called a Learning Management System. Learning management systems can provide you with static content, as well as:

• Built-in email systems

• Course curriculum modules

• Lead magnets

• Landing pages

• Funnel and pipeline creation

• Multiple course offerings

• Subscriptions

• Lead tracking

• Communities

• And more!

While our team can help you to build your online course and market it on any platform, we highly recommend using Kajabi, or LearnWorlds. 

Seeing the Four Pillars In Action

Some people are bullet point learners, and we understand that. Look below for a detailed summary of how we can put each of these pillars into action:

Strategy:

• Help you determine the theme of your course/s.

• Help you to create and organize a curriculum and shot list.

• Advice on instructional design and cohesion of the lessons to the modules.

Videography:

• Video Type Strategy

• Paid Content

• Pitch Content

• Free Content

• Lecture

• Demonstration

• Live Broadcasts

• Behind The Scenes/Casual

• Consult on needed videography gear.

• Consult on lighting and audio gear.

• Consult on editing and/or managing editor.

• Review trial runs and help ensure we have a format. 

• Consult on organizing the files.

• Editing Requirements

Implementation:

• Manage the build and design of the Learning Management System.

• Manage the build and design of the CMS ( Kajabi )

• Manage the Import of course content to the main course platform.

• Manage application process for hosted course marketplace systems.

• Manage import of course content on entry point marketplace systems.

• Manage design and copy of landing pages for all coursework systems.

• Manage the design of all traffic funnel infrastructure.

• Manage the implementation of foreign language captions.

• Manage deployment of a 24x7 chat system.

Digital Marketing:

• Branding

• SEO organic

• Page Copy

• Blog/Article Copy

• Course Platform Landing Pages

• SEO Paid

• Google

• FB

• Instagram

• Email Marketing

• Lead Magnets

• Freemium Offerings

• Newsletters

• Automation Sequences

• Transaction Emails

• Strategy & Scheduling

• Social Media

• YouTube Channel

• Facebook Page & Group

• Instagram

• LinkedIN

• Other platforms TBD

Kicking Your Course Into High Gear

Implementing these four pillars as a foundation for your online course can help to make sure that it is successful, scalable, and effective. We know it may seem like a lot of work, but that is why we’re here to help.