Creating a digital course is often touted as a great way to generate extra income and even passive income, and that’s true. But the reality is, creating a digital course can be intimidating and overwhelming. This post will outline the crucial steps to creating a successful digital course. Follow these steps to make the course creation process a bit smoother.

Step 1: Identify Your Course Topic

To determine your course topic, it’s important to not only consider the broad idea of the course, but also to understand who it’s for, what stage they are at, and how they are feeling. You should also specify the type of course you want to create. Will it be a mini-course or a comprehensive signature course?

For instance, an “Instagram Reels Course for Introverts” would likely be a mini-course, as it focuses on Instagram, but narrows the focus to reels for introverts who are not currently using them. Meanwhile, “Instagram Academy” would likely be a signature course, as it covers multiple aspects of Instagram, such as content creation, engagement, reels, stories, live videos, and hashtags.

Step 2: Conduct Research

Before launching any new digital course, market research and competitor research should always be performed. Market research will help you connect with your ideal course students and understand their struggles, needs, and language. Competitor research, on the other hand, will provide insights into what similar courses are available in the market and how you can create a better, more targeted course with your unique spin.

Step 3: Determine Your Course Promise

Using the market research from step two, determine your course promise. This is what you promise to deliver to your students. For example, the “Instagram Reels Course for Introverts” promise could be: “You’ll receive a step-by-step system that helps you become more visible and confidently and authentically showcase yourself on reels, without having to dance or point.”

Step 4: Validate Your Course Idea

Before creating your course, it’s essential to validate your course idea. One way to do this is to pre-sell your course, which involves outlining the course and the deliverables, but not actually creating anything yet. This helps to confirm that people are willing to pay for your course before you invest time and effort into creating it. Another option is to conduct extensive market research, such as telling your email list what you are working on and gauging their response or starting a waitlist to see how much interest you receive.

Step 5: Course Creation

Finally, it’s time to create your course after all the research, planning, and brainstorming. Map out the modules, lessons, and bonuses, and start recording. Each lesson should have a clear purpose, and it’s important not to overload your students with too much content, as that can cause overwhelm and reduce completion rates. Start with a strategic and manageable amount of course content, and add more later if needed.