How to Sell Your Elearning Courses for Profit [PART 4]

By: Justin Ferriman May 20, 2013
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motivateOver the past month, we have covered the steps you should take to get started in selling your elearning coursers for profit. In the first installment, we discussed how to find a viable topic for your training. Next, we discussed how to set-up your storefront, and then we covered various strategies on marketing your courses to your intended audience.

This last section is discussing the one thing that ties the other parts together. It doesn’t matter how many fancy tools or strategies you have for any business venture unless you have what I like to call Dedicated Motivation. Just as it sounds, Dedicated Motivation is making a firm commitment to your project, using the same motivation from step 1 to step 100 and beyond. Without dedication or motivation, you will fail every time.

All too often you will see business, websites, side-projects, and the like fall flat on their face – not because they are poor ideas – but because the person (or persons) behind it all lack Dedicated Motivation. Think about a time when you were both dedicated and motivated to do something. More often than not the outcome was a success. It didn’t mean that there weren’t trials or tribulations along the way, but your dedication and motivation were able to power through, creatively solve issues, and see the project to the end.

Motivation can come in a variety of ways, and often times it will change over the course of the project. What motivates you now might not be motivating down the road. You should always “check in” with yourself to ensure you are still sufficiently motivated. Everyone is motivated by different things, so you need to find out what it is that speaks to you.

For example, I know that in order for myself to stay motivated, I need to have multiple milestones/goals for a project, and to give myself a mini-reward for meeting them. I break down my goals into sub-goals and sub-tasks (and would encourage you to do the same). You’d be surprised at what a little momentum can do for you! The more “checks” you see on the list, the more motivating it becomes as you get closer to your goal. Make sure you reward yourself for meeting your sub-goals too. Sure, you should always have the end in mind, but creating actionable, measurable sub-goals is a fantastic way to ensure you are always working towards it.

Another important strategy for reaching your goal is to tell others about your project – even if only a few. This holds you accountable because it takes the idea out of your brain and puts it into the open. You are almost forced to create a plan from that point forward. Without one, you will be struggling to make any real progress.

There are a ton of resources out there for you to leverage as you begin this journey – plenty of books and websites to give you more ideas, motivation, and the like. However, before doing anything, make sure your plan (even if just a general overview) is in place.

I know what it takes to carve out your own success piece of the elearning industry pie:

[testimonial name=”Richard Napier” job_title=”CEO” company=”On Demand Education” size=”small” type=”bubble”]

Since we implemented LearnDash, we have seen a very big upswing (like about 60% higher visit rates) in our website stats, and now have 100 members in just a few short weeks. The ease of use of LearnDash has made the actual LMS side far easier than I imagined.

[/testimonial]

[testimonial name=”Laurie Heer” job_title=”Owner” company=”TIP Courseware” size=”small” type=”bubble”]

I would like to take a moment and thank you for your time and expertise in advising me on how to start up an e-learning based company. You have demonstrated a thorough understanding of the many aspects that are involved with courseware design. You were quick to give answers to many of my questions and your problem solving strategies were a great stepping stone in helping to move forward with the completion process.

I appreciate how well you listened to my concerns and helped to further my understanding of learning technologies, courseware design strategies, and marketing strategies. Your integrity and professionalism was greatly appreciated. Thank you again Justin, for all that you contributed towards making my company a success!

[/testimonial]

If you’re serious about starting your project and already have a general idea of what you want to do, then you owe it to your business to schedule a Strategic 60 phone session. Together we can discuss your project, viable way forward, plan of action, and even establish checkpoints if needed. The point is, if you plan on creating a business, even if just a side business, then you have to start treating this idea of your as a business.

Thank you to all of you who have gone through the entire series. If you have any general questions, by all means feel free to contact me.

Go back to Part 3

Justin Ferriman

Justin started LearnDash, the WordPress LMS trusted by Fortune 500 companies, major universities, training organizations, and entrepreneurs worldwide. He is currently founder & CEO of GapScout. Justin’s Homepage | GapScout | Twitter