As we enter 2022, there has never been a better time to be a digital content creator.
The online course industry is in a high growth state. People all over the world are building and diversifying their businesses through not just online courses but digital products — including membership sites, content downloads, live training, and communities. Everyday entrepreneurs are finding new opportunities to top up their income, pursue their passions, and build their own businesses with lower barriers to entry and a higher likelihood of success than ever before.
Here at Thinkific, we understand how daunting the process of creating, launching, and scaling your first or next online course can be. But don’t worry — whether you’re an existing Thinkific user or brand new to online course creation, we’ll share the benefits of launching an online course, the best time to launch, and steps you can take to turn your dreams into a reality this new year.
What are the benefits of launching an online course?
The world is changing with the premise of entrepreneurship becoming more accessible than ever before. You no longer need to go traditional labor and capital intensive routes to break into entrepreneurship. You can build and control a thriving digital business rooted in your most valuable asset — what you know.
We believe the rewards to creating an online course, from the financial, to the promotional, to the intangible, are endless. If you sell coaching, advising, consulting, or any other kind of professional services, an online course can be your most powerful lead generation tool.
Perhaps most importantly, an online course delivers value to your leads. By sharing your expertise and helping your leads achieve a successful outcome before they buy, you prove your worth better than a proposal, an ad or a marketing email ever could.
Not only this, an online course allows your leads to get to know you. By launching an online course with us, your students will learn from you over a period of days or weeks, rather than in one session. This gives them time to feel more comfortable working with you, and builds trust, an invaluable tool to help you sell your services.
Lastly, an online course is a natural stepping stone to upsell from. Research suggests that the probability of selling to a new prospect is 5-20%, while the probability of selling to an existing customer is 60-70%. Courses are an easy way to create existing customers to sell to!
When is the best time to launch an online course?
Search data from Google Trends shows that for the past 5 years, there has been a consistent spike in user searches for “online courses” around the New Year. In fact, comparing December to January search activity over this period reveals an average search increase of roughly 150% from one month to the next. The most likely explanation for this jump is the routine of setting New Year’s resolutions for personal self-improvement, including commitments to learning and development opportunities.
What does this mean for you as a course creator? With this insight, you can build and launch your course in time for the New Year knowing that your content will meet the demand of a new crop of bright-eyed students who are feeling motivated and eager to learn.
What are your next steps?
This data solidifies the fact that 2022 is your year. No matter where you are on your entrepreneurial journey, it’s time for you to scale your business, revenue, impact, and take it to the next level.
As we gear up for the new year, join us at Amplify 2022, a FREE two-day virtual experience that brings together the emerging knowledge commerce community. From January 26-27, 2022, learn from 30+ industry leaders who are at the forefront of the digital creator movement.
Even more exciting — join a community of 25,000+ like-minded digital entrepreneurs who are at various stages of their journey. With inspirational keynotes to tactical roll-up-your-sleeves workshops, we guarantee you’ll walk away with actionable insights that they can use to level up your digital business.
Not only that, Amplify will also equip you with the following tools:
- Cut through the noise: Walk away informed, inspired, and empowered. Learn the (actual) need-to-knows and no BS strategies from the entrepreneurs at the forefront of the digital creator movement.
- Sharpen your skills: Develop tactical skills to help you turn your knowledge into a real, live business in no time. You bring your brains, we’ll bring the tools. And maybe a coffee or two.
- Explore the future of knowledge commerce: Stay ahead of the curve with no Delorean required. Get a front row seat to learn about the emerging trends in digital product creation.
- Make new creator friends: What could possibly be better than hanging out with 25,000+ digital entrepreneurs and plotting ways to change the world?
Why Amplify?
We don’t want to just talk about the benefits of Amplify, we want to show you.
Alcides Santopietro, one of our course creators, has generated 402 student enrollments and almost $20,000 of revenue since the Amplify Summit last year. He emphasizes that he started out just like any other course creator — eager to learn, but not sure where to start.
“I realized that if I want to learn insights, techniques, and strategies to make my courses succeed, the best source would be directly through Thinkific professionals,” he says.
“The guidance given was incredible because it really forced me to engage and take action. I was able to foster engagement and participation, so it was a really important part of the training. It was extremely valuable and well-rounded.”
Not only this, Alcides says he’ll carry the insights he’s gained as he plans his 2022 course agenda.
“I can take what I’ve learned and apply it to my next 10 or 100 courses. I can use what I’ve learned this year or 5 years from now — obviously, the market will change but it’s knowledge that can be multiplied many times.”
Reserve your FREE ticket for #Amplify2022 here. This is truly only the beginning of the movement.
