The e-learning industry is exploding. According to research, it’s expected to hit $350 billion by 2025. 

Before now, it was a game for content creators, bloggers, and coaches to make money selling different types of online courses to their target audience. That has changed as small businesses are also diving in.

Are you a small business owner who thinks creating your own online course isn’t worth it? 

This article will give you reasons to rethink and consider it. You’ll learn four key benefits your small business stands to gain by creating online courses. 

What is an online course?

An online course is a program of learning that is systematically organized to virtually pass knowledge or skills to a target audience on a particular topic. 

An online course may include text, images, videos, hyperlinks, and infographics. While creating an online course for your small business may sound like a hassle, there are online platforms that can help, including Thinkific, SendPulse, and Kajabi. These services can help you both build an online course and promote it.

Let’s dive into the reasons your small business should create one.

1. Attract potential customers 

Customers want to spend their hard-earned money with businesses that feel their pain. So, offering a course that shows your customers how to solve their problem is a step in the right direction.

Say you sell kitchen utensils in your online store. Creating a course that teaches your target audience how to choose kitchen utensils or how utensils can decorate their kitchen is a great way to bring them closer to you. Your business will come to their mind whenever they need utensils.

2. Demonstrate thought leadership 

Businesses that sell the same products and services as you spring up daily. The competition is fierce and creating an online course in your industry is one of the ways to position yourself as a thought leader. When people derive value from the knowledge you shared in your course, they will trust your judgment and seek your opinion when it matters. 

That on its own can win you more customers directly, or through referrals.

3. Train employees and contractors

When you hire employees or contractors to do remote jobs for your business, the only way to train them and build their knowledge and skills is through online live training or an online course. If you want your remote employees to do a good job, you have to train them and give them the tools they need to succeed. 

You can create online courses that educate workers on what is expected of them to meet the goal of the business. You also can update online courses so any new strategy your business develops can be added easily and workers will know what has changed and how to adapt. 

And since courses are in digital format, employees can access them at a time that is convenient for them. 

4. Inspire brand loyalty 

If people derive value from the online course your business created, they may share it with others, buy the products you recommend, and recommend your brand. It helps to provide a platform where course participants can discuss, connect with one another, and share what they have learned from your course. 

Course creation platforms support you in building a community. You can even leverage social media platforms like Facebook to create private groups. Not only will a community of loyal customers create more awareness for your brand and business, it also will provide you with suggestions on how to beat your competitors.

Businesses that want to remain relevant need to be open to new ideas that will make a difference. Creating an online course either for your target audience or employees/contractors is a strategy you might want to try.  

Now, you need to identify a problem that you want to solve for your customer or employee/contractor, sign up for one of the course creation platforms, and go ahead and create your first online course. 

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