Do you want traction or traffic for your startup or SMB? Than go ahead and create an online course in your niche.
If you use an on-demand platform like Udemy, you can get a lot of exposure and traffic.
According to Teachable
“EdTech is undeniably booming. Take this headline from Forbes, “Online Learning Industry Poised for $107 Billion in 2015” or this one “Edtech Startups Raised $59Million in February 2016” from EdSurge. Investors believe there is money to be made in EdTech.”
In 2016, I am bullish on online education. Who wants to go to college and pay crazy high tuition fee? In the US, the college board of education reports that: “the average cost of tuition and fees for the 2015–2016 school year was $32,405 at private colleges, $9,410 for state residents at public colleges, and $23,893 for out-of-state residents attending public universities.”
My friend Dennis Smith just launched his book UDEMY LIFE. Anyone who wants to create an online course must read this book. He interviewed me for this book and and I will let Dennis share what we talked about 🙂
Enter Dennis (with his cunning smile)…
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Ali Mirza I met Ali through the Udemy Facebook groups and immediately liked what he was doing on Udemy. He’s a social media guy much like myself and owns his own social media company in Dallas. It was a natural to share his knowledge of social media with others on the Udemy platform. Make sure to check out his courses if you are looking to expand your social media reach.
Do you remember when you first came across Udemy?
A friend told me about Udemy in June 2015. I knew about online education platforms like Khan Academy and Lynda but had not done any online courses before Udemy.
When did you launch your first course on Udemy?
I believe it was July 2015 when I launched my first Udemy course. I launched at 2am in the morning and saw the first sale at 11am the next day (the best feeling ever).
How many do you have now?
I have 13 courses on Udemy right now. They are mostly related to social media, blogging and startups.
What’s your most popular course?
It’s about Instagram marketing (how to attract the RIGHT fans, build relationships and convert them to paying customers). Instagram is HOT and if you are not using it, you are losing.
Do you have a course creation tip?
Break your course down into smaller pieces and work on it every single day. Baby steps and consistent progress is the key IMHO.
How about advice on marketing Udemy courses?
First learn and respect the platform (Udemy). What I mean is this. Use the right keywords in your course title, subtitle and course summary. Most of your sales will come from Udemy organic and promotions so optimize your course for that.
What tools do you use to stay productive throughout the day?
Only my email. I stopped using task list a while ago. My email is my to-do list. Eliminating my task list allows me to focus on less (only email) and get more done.
What advice would you give to other Udemy instructors?
Learn from other instructors. I pay a lot of attention to what others are doing so I can learn from them. If there is a popular course in your category, take it and see “why” it’s so popular. Then apply what you learned in your own journey.
What advice would you give to newbies?
Just start – Think of a course idea (what can you teach), Break it down into small pieces and start working on your course ideas. Mostly likely your first course won’t be a super hit but if you keep on learning and make consistent progress, you will get there.
What are some of the things Udemy has allowed you to do?
Extra passive income and industry thought leadership. I have travelled to Mexico and recently to Miami using my Udemy income.
Any upcoming courses?
Yes – I have several courses planned. These will be related to marketing and startups.
How about one last thought or piece of advice?
Don’t obsess over BIG GOALS. They are nice but it’s the baby step progress that keep us going.
If you want to start working on your course this weekend, here are the steps I would recommend.
- Signup at Udemy (its FREE)
- Watch this FREE course on “How to create your Udemy course“
- Search and find existing courses in your niche
- Make notes of good and bad reviews (pain points)
- Just START and follow steps that you learned in the Free Udemy course
Website: http:// www.isocialyou.com
Udemy Profile: https://www.udemy.com/user/alimirza/
Watch my Udemy Life interview :