With the rising need of the hour being online education platforms, it is no wonder that this market is estimated to grow about USD 375 billion by 2026. Leveraging this growth spectrum everyone is getting into this industry looking to make some big bucks.
However, developing a successful online education business is not what it seems like. There is a lot of competition. And hence you need to be extremely cautious and execute every step of your plan with great precision.
Here are few tips to create an eLearning website
- Research your field
- Realize with your strengths
- Study your audience
- Know your competitors
- Devise a robust business plan
- Develop your eLearning platform
- Adopt a foolproof revenue model
- Formulate your course plan
- Engage your students
- Promote your virtual schooling platform
- Use a multi-language approach
- Introduce review and rating system
Let’s get to the details:
1) Research your field
Before you take any further steps towards planning and executing your business development, you need to first know your field in and out. There are three types of eLearning websites from which you can choose the one most suitable for you.
Online learning platforms
These kinds of platforms are the ones that promote self-learning. The course materials are provided in the form of documents, video, or even audio files. Students can learn on their own and on their own time. The admin of this portal may be allowed to track your progress and issue a certificate once you have completed your course. Usually used in the school curriculum. Eg: Byjus
eLearning marketplaces
This is our typical online school where teachers and students can interact with one another. In other words, this is a virtual school system. In this platform, students can learn from teachers across the world and they can also pick the subject of their choice. Eg: Udemy
2) Realize your SME area (Subject Matter Expertise)
This age values subject matter experts rather than a person who has little knowledge about everything. Hence take some time out and self-analyze as to what and where your strengths are.
Channelize them and form a teaching/coaching strategy that suits you. Research and see if your chosen field has any value in the market. Based on this you can then understand who can benefit and to who does your chosen field of study apply.
3) Study your audience
This is your bread and butter. Studying and selecting the right audience will take you a long way onto the path to success. You will need to understand your target audience to devise a suitable curriculum. Your course and curriculum will depend on-
- Their age
- Their qualification and
- Their aim
4) Know your competitors
Given you are a newborn in this already thriving industry; you will have to do your due diligence before setting foot into this world. There cannot be a better teacher than experience. Hence look up a bunch of established eLearning professionals. Good learning doesn’t always come only from success stories. And it is not simply said that failure is the stepping stone to success. You have lots to learn from their experiences.
- How they came up with the idea?
- What were their next steps?
- How did they get the attention of the right audience?
- How did they grow their empire?
- How to manage from the backend?
5) Devise a robust business plan:
This forms the foundation of your business. Putting everything in black and white will give you a clear perspective as to what needs to be done when and how. You will need a clear description of what your end goal is.
For that, you need to look into the current market situation and make an analysis of whether your chosen field will take off in this competitive world. You must be well prepared to make informed decisions about everything from conceptualizing to marketing plans.
6) Adopt a foolproof revenue model
Simply put- A revenue model is the one that decides how you earn your income. You could choose any of the below revenue model suitable for your business-
- Membership model
- Subscription fee model
- Freemium model
- Separate fee structures for one-to-one and one-to-many classes
- Separate charges for certification and course materials
7) Create your e-learning website
Before you start developing the eLearning platform you can consider launching your tutorials through another already established platform. This will not only help you gain experience but also gain a steady student base.
However, if you want to start by building the online platform you have two options-
- Developing the website from scratch (on your own or by hiring a tech team)
- Purchasing a turnkey solution – A eLearning software
However straightforward this step might seem to you, there is a lot of planning and strategies that get involved before anyone can take this step. One cannot build an online platform without having a proper game plan to move on. A platform built without any consideration is no more than a bare shell.
8) Formulate your course plan
This is one of the most challenging steps in this entire business development plan. Having the right material and clear execution of the same forms the basis of an eLearning platform. For this, you need to keep in mind-
- Your target audience
- Your chosen subject
- The aim of this course
Learn and implement the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound) course plan. This along with an efficient LMS (Learning Management System) will work wonders to promote your business.
9) Engage your students
Being only user-friendly and having relevant content doesn’t always gain, retain, and grow your student base. It takes a lot of creative thinking and hard work to keep your students rapt with attention all the time.
Here are a few ideas that can work in your favor-
- Virtual group discussions
- Guest lectures
- Pop-up quiz and debates
- Supervise discussion forums
- Group projects and assignments etc.
10) Promote your virtual learning platform:
Effective marketing is the key to success. There are many types of marketing models that you can adopt to attract the right audience and secure the perfect ranking on the SERPs. Here are a few models that will help you out to move forward in the right direction-
- Social media marketing
- Multimedia marketing
- Content marketing
- Influencer marketing
- SEO techniques etc.
11) Use a multi-language approach
Online platforms are a great way to reach out to a wider audience. Once your business takes off you can also plan and incorporate other languages. Customers will be attracted to the ones they feel closer to home. And hence providing tutorials in their native language will elevate your business to the next level.
12) Introduce review and rating system
All that is good in this world is the fruit of patience. Now that you are a business person you should be able to take in the positives and negatives and strategically turn them into your strengths.
To build a successful business you should be open to feedback and reviews from your audience. This is how you will come to know if your business plan and the user experience you provide are up to their satisfaction. And thus make changes accordingly.
Hope this article was able to enrich your knowledge about developing and starting your very own online education business. By now you would have understood that this business is not as simple as it looks. However, we are always available to guide you in the right direction.
All the best!
