Online learning is widespread. So why do so many online students drop out? Enrollments in online classes continue to rise across demographics, with more learners signing up each year, be it as part of their higher education program, for professional training, or even for personal betterment. Yet despite the popularity, a high drop rate in online courses is standard amongst learners.

From an educator’s perspective, it’s not just enough to launch a course, it is equally important that students complete it. A learner who signs up only to drop out later isn’t getting their money’s worth, and worse, hasn’t learned anything from what you had to share. And it’s not entirely necessary that your online course is to blame for it. However, a high dropout rate can lead to a poor student experience which is not great for your online course and reviews.

However, as an online course publisher. what you need to understand is that even in schools or colleges, there are students who do well and score exceptionally well, then there are students who score mediocre and poorly.

So when the instruction is the same across the audience, why does the performance vary? No one factor can be the sole reason for the difference in performance. However, the quality of instruction and student’s level of involvement and seriousness in learning the subject matter are more important elements that decide their success. The same applies to the online class sessions today.

Online Course Idea Inspiration: Unique Online Courses That No One Thought Would Make Money, But Are

The apprehension about the high dropout rates in online courses and any related negative press is because of one simple fact. Currently, the education industry sees online courses as a separate method of instruction altogether. On the other hand, online learning is a mere extension of offline education. Think of it this way.

A decade or less ago, online banking was considered to be a tedious task that needed an obscene amount of technology, access, finances, and time to build. However, today, net banking is a given. One can’t even imagine banking without net banking.

Online education today is the same. HBX and MITx are online communities built by Harvard business school and MIT, respectively, for their students, offering various online courses. Online classes are actually of value; you just need to find the right student willing to learn.

What will happen to the traditional education model?

Noted Harvard Business School Professor, Clayton Christensen, known for his disruptive innovation theories, has predicted that half of the American colleges will be bankrupt in about 10 to 15 years. And he is not alone in believing this.

The U.S. Department of Education and Moody’s Investors Service project that in the coming years, completion rates of small colleges and universities will triple, and mergers will double. The thousand-year-old industry is ready to be disrupted like never before.

With the advent of the low-cost processing fee, fast internet, and mobile devices, everyone in the world is a learner, and anybody who decides to teach or share knowledge can launch their online course and get access to millions of learners around the globe.

Building an online course

While traditionally, online courses have been seen as labour-intensive online courses complete with animations, course content, hosting solutions, learning management software, instructional design, and much more. But that’s not what the audience wants.

In the age of YouTube and Facebook, people expect video content. As per the We Are Social 2019 report, we average consume almost 2.5 hours of video content daily. So to create your online course content, all you need is a laptop, a decent camera phone, a mic, excellent well-lit background, and you are good to go.

Here’s a quick link on how to do this on a low budget: Shoot and Serve: Ways To Turn Your short Videos Into meaningfully long Online Courses

Successfully launch and sell online courses

It indeed takes time to sell online courses successfully. However, when done right, this can become a steady secondary income. All successful online course publishers have had the same story. It starts slowly, then as the outreach increases, slowly and steadily combined with positive reviews, paid campaigns, and inbound content marketing, pushing the online course to a larger global audience.

Important Note: Building the course content & its content pipeline that would be used for inbound marketing is a one-time exercise. Once the entire pipeline is built, you can repurpose the same material for marketing your online course time and again.

The same technique applies to every online academy and online course. With consistent & inbound solid content marketing, you can build a formidable online academy selling that sells top-notch online courses.

Quick Tips on how to sell your online course quickly:

• Promote your course on your blog
• Start a YouTube channel
• Post content on your dedicated FB, LinkedIn, and Instagram Pages
• Share posts via your personal channels as well
• Share a Promotional Video
• Share Live Videos on Social Media
• Build an Email List by sharing free content in exchange for their email IDs
• Publish Student Testimonials
• Offer Discounts for your course
• Promote your course with Ads
• Guest blogging

Need more inspiration. Here’s a quick read on how to sell your online course faster: How to promote your online course and sell fast?

Anyone can launch a course. All you need is knowledge, expertise, and a zeal to put in the bare minimum effort required to launch the course. By combining all the tools you need in one place, Knorish has made it that simple.

Finally, the last thought we want to leave you with is this. According to a recent Statista report, the global online course industry will be worth $46 Billion by 2025. Opportunities exist currently for any kind of online course, and with the power of the internet, you can find interested learners from across the world. All you need is to take the first step!

So what are you waiting for? What would be your online course about?