Are online courses profitable?

Contrary to what course hosting platforms will tell you, not all online courses are profitable. Why?

Let's take a look at 5 reasons why some courses are not profitable. 



   1. Lack of Marketing and Advertising

This is key to ensuring your course is profitable. If you do not market or advertise your product how will anyone know it exists? 

If you are not a sales expert, Google SEO guru or Facebook ads genius AND you don't want to gamble your money away on paid ads, we strongly suggest you chat to a digital marketing agency on what your options are. They can give you tips on how to sell the course yourself or they can do it for you. 

    2. Too Much Creation vs Not Enough Execution

One easy trap to fall into is spending all of your money on creating the perfect product but not launching it in a timely manner. 

We chat to heaps of people who have spent over 12 months creating their 'perfect' course but have not got to the vital point of launching the damn thing! Don't be afraid to launch a Minimum Viable Product and tweak it over time. The most important thing is to start making $$$. This won't happen if your course continues to sit in 'creation mode'. 

   3. ​Expensive Video Production

Producing the 'perfect' video with epic lighting and all the bells and whistles is going to cost a bomb. Sure it will look amazing, but the cost of it may out-weight the profit you will make from selling your course. 

We once encountered a course creator who had spent over $50,000 on ONE highly produced video. To our knowledge, this persons course is still yet to be launched. Don't fall into this trap. 

Once again, go for the minimum viable product and then tweak the videos overtime. Save your $50,000 video for when you are making a profit. 

    4. Paying for Unnecessary Course Platform Features

One of the first questions we ask potential clients is "what are you course platform needs". Do they need graded quizzes? Certificates? Essay upload features? Discussion boards? Or do they need something really simple such as modules with a video, some text and a simple quiz. 

Not all platforms are created equal and they all offer different features. Don't be duped into paying for the medium level Pro Plan when you could start off on a Basic Plan. If you find over time you would like to upgrade your platform to have extra features GO FOR IT! But don't purchase the Porche when you are first learning to drive. Go for something simple and save some $$. 

    5. The Content is not a Course
A common myth we like to debunk is NOT ALL CONTENT IS A COURSE. Did we say that too loud?

Can an eBook be converted into a course - Yes. But will it need a lot of changes to make it educational, engaging and students accountable? Hell to the yes. 

A course has the following elements: 

• Clear learning objectives that learners WILL achieve by the end of the course
• Something to learn about
• Something to do - like activities 
• A clear finishing line with all of the objectives completed. 

If a course has the above points then great! If not, add them in. This will turn your content into a course and will make your students very happy (and your course profitable!). Check out our cheap as chips How to Create an Online Course Mini-Course that is JAM PACKED with clear steps on how to make your course a bloody good one. 

As always, we are here to help you. Get in contact with us if you any type of help. Need a quick chat for some advice? Call us on 0439710944. Need us to do some work for you, book in a time via our Contact form. 

Happy learning! 

Lisa Listama
Boss Lady - Sparkle E-Learning. 
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