Rushing into Creating an eCourse Could Spell Disaster
Kiersten P Mosley Mosley 
Many entrepreneurs are leveraging their expertise and experience to create valuable eLearning courses as a significant source of income, however...
it is crucial to understand that simply launching a course doesn’t guarantee success.
BLOG SERIES: SUCCESSFUL ELEARNING COURSE CREATION
Overview: Building an eLearning course isn't just about creating slides and quizzes; it's about crafting experiences that engage, inform, and transform your audience. In this blog we’ll explore:
Reasons why you are not ready to build an elearning course—yet
Tips on creating engaging content for your audience
Marketing strategies that lead to more conversions
By addressing these areas, you’ll be positioned for greater success.
How To Create A Brand For Your Small Business Your Customers Will Love
In our other blog series, I shared 3 Secrets for Naming Your Startup Business and A Technical How-to for Choosing Your Business Name. We focused on the creative and technical aspects for naming your business and choosing the url for your website. It’s been proven that strong brands are more likely to attract and retain customers, so I highly recommend reading these articles as the first step in your eLearning course creation process. They’ll help you:
Create memorable and relevant names for your eLearning site and courses
Secure your business name, domain name and social media handles
Now, back to our scheduled program LOL…
1. Reasons why you are not ready to build an elearning course—yet
While creating and selling eLearning courses can be lucrative, it’s crucial to understand that simply launching a course doesn’t guarantee success. Here’s why you should't just jump into course creation without careful planning:
- Lack of a niche: What are you passionate about? What do you know a lot about?
Research what topics people are interested in and what courses others are teaching.
Choose something you won't get tired of teaching.
Set your course apart from the competition—offer a fresh perspective or approach. Clearly communicate your value proposition to potential students to help you stand out from the crowd.
- Unclear target audience: Who's the ideal learner for your course?
Conduct market research—find out what the common issues or pain points people are facing.
Create learner personas that outline age, demographics, motivations, problems they need to solve, their existing knowledge and learning styles.
- Undefined goals: What are you hoping to achieve with your eLearning course?
SMART Goals: Ensure each objective is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound.
Actionable Outcomes: Clearly state what learners should be able to do or understand after completing the course.
- Insufficient skill and resources: Do you have the time commitment? Do you have the technical skills? Do you have the financial investment?
Developing a comprehensive, engaging course takes significant time, effort and skill. Don’t underestimate the work involved in planning, filming, editing and designing course materials.
In addition, you need to select the right LMS (learning management system) that aligns with your budget and functionality requirements.
And it doesn’t stop there, you need a robust marking plan to attract learners, build a community and drive sales.
- Inexperience:
Creating and selling eLearning courses is a great way to make passive income, but there’s alternative methods that might be more inline with where you currently are in your business.
Many entrepreneurs start off with consulting; coaching; speaking engagements; workshops and webinars to strengthen their teaching and presentation skills.
Offering the above services first, is also a great way to test your content, gather feedback and validate your pricing.
Kiersten P. Mosley presenting a live workshop.
BTW: I gained experience through fifteen years of presenting my advertising design concepts to high level clients while working at AIR MILES Reward Program®. In 2017, when I opened my own company (For Users’ Sake™), I not only offered free presentations to member networks to test out my content, but also for self promotion. I then went on to paid workshops and webinars, before starting my own courses. Through all this, I always asked for constructive, honest feedback to improve my content. I believe presenting your material in diverse ways is an excellent path to evolving a course into a successful and lucrative venture.
2. Tips on creating engaging content for your audience
Actually, these are not just “tips”—think of this more as a guide to success:
- Engaging Content
Mix of formats: Utilize videos; text-based modules; worksheets; templates; audio; lectures; gamified elements; interactive elements like quizzes; and live sessions to keep learners engaged.
Community building: Create opportunities for networking, peer support, and mentorship. This is particularly valuable for women entrepreneurs.
Success stories: Include case studies and interviews with successful women entrepreneurs to inspire and provide real-world examples.
- Don’t Overload
Unlike Social Media where quantity and quality need to be in harmony, courses are NOT about quantity. They are ONLY about quality. People are busy and looking to achieve a specific outcome within a minimal amount of time.
Break content into manageable pieces to prevent overwhelm and facilitate retention.
- Learning-Centered
Structure the content in a clear, intuitive manner, with logical flow.
Use practical examples and activities that relate to real life situations.
Remember, being authentic and sharing your own entrepreneurial journey—especially challenges—helps build trust and relatability.
- Legal & Compliance
Be aware of copyright laws, privacy regulations, and accessibility standards to ensure your course is compliant and avoids potential issues.
Ensure that your course is accessible to learners with disabilities (e.g., captions on videos, alternative text for images, keyboard navigation)
Design for various screen sizes and devices. Make your site mobile-friendly for learners on the go.
- Course Validation
Run surveys or polls in relevant online communities.
Analyze search trends and competitor offerings.
Consider offering a pre-sale to gauge interest.
Pilot test your course with a small group of learners and get feedback to identify areas of improvement before officially launching
Encourage ongoing feedback to gauge interest and comprehension.
3. Marketing strategies that lead to more conversions
Even the best course won't succeed without a solid marketing strategy to reach the target audience. Here’s a breakdown of the essential elements for creating a successful course:
- Platforms:
Main Players—Teachable, Thinkific, Skillshare and Udemy.
Your own website: Kajabi, Zenler, WordPress.
FUS Academy: Introducing our own system that is solely for women entrepreneurs. Not only do we offer DIY courses to help women build their businesses, we also support women who want to share their business-related eLearning courses on our platform.
- Strategy:
Even the best course won't succeed if no one knows about it. You need a strategy to reach your target audience.
Consider various pricing options (one-time, payment plans, subscriptions, tiered pricing with different levels of support) to cater to different budgets.
Courses are a great way to generate passive income, but they can also be lead generators for higher ticket items like one-on-one coaching and consulting.
- Outreach:
Focus your promotions on websites, communities, and social media platforms where women entrepreneurs gather.
Create your funnels with a series of email marketing campaigns and landing page(s).
Collaborate with influencers, organizations, or other businesses that serve female entrepreneurs.
- Support:
Offer Q&A sessions, a forum, or coaching options to maintain a lasting relationship with your students.
Create a supportive community around your course where learners can connect, ask questions, and share their experiences.
One-on-one course support.
Need Help? You’ve Come to the Right Place…
Even with being an expert in your field, the life of an entrepreneur can be hectic and you may not have the time to give your course creation process the attention it deserves. Besides, we can always use feedback or help along the way!
Contact me, Kiersten Mosley, for a free initial consultation. In about 15 minutes, we can discuss your eLearning project and see if there are ways I can help you reach and engage your audience.