Why Create Online Courses? Top 10 (Unexpected) Reasons

There are a ton of different reasons for creating an online course, and some of them are quite unexpected for most aspiring course creators.

It seems like everyone has an online course these days, which may have left you wondering…Why create an online course? Should I create one too?

Most people create online courses to make a living teaching online, and that's pretty much it, right?

Or, is there any other added value or advantage for you as a course creator, that would justify that you spend your time creating courses, other than the direct revenue that they generate?

This post answers that question by exploring the top 10 unexpected reasons for getting into online course creation.

Whether you're pondering the purpose behind creating online courses or looking for unique insights in education, you're in the right place.

So, why create an online course?

Here are 10 reasons why you should create an online course:

Generate leads for your business
Build your brand and become an authority in your industry
Create true freedom and live your dream life
Opportunity to teach what you love when you love, and where you love
Leverage your existing content (and expertise)
Opportunity to reach a global audience
Stake your claim in a booming industry!
Take back your customers from your competitors
Market Research On Steroids
Make passive income (even when you sleep!)
Super easy to create

So without further ado, let's dive in and explore each of these reasons for creating an online course that go beyond the obvious, providing a clear understanding of why creating an online course could be the transformative step you've been thinking about.

Table of contents

Reason 1: Lead Generation

There's hardly any business that doesn't need new leads. Their lack of it would definitely wreck the growth of the organization.

So, as a business owner, how do you drive new leads in a more strategic way?

The answer is simple - by creating online courses. That is to say, you can simply your products or services into quick courses for your customers.

And the truth is - I’ve tried a whole lot of different lead generation methods over the years, and nothing really compares to an online course.

It helps you reach your ideal customer, bring them into your sales funnel and ecosystem, nurture them, and prepare them for what comes next -- even if you haven’t quite figured out what that is yet 😃.

Take for example - Shopify, an eCommerce platform currently has more than 230 online courses simplifying the use of the platform and they are available to more than 750,00 students.

Interestingly, these courses have accelerated their growth and a 491% increase in customer retention.

So, ideally, online course creation acts as a lead-generation machine that:

Cross-sells and down-sells other parts of your business like coaching services or other higher-ticket services
Up-sells and drives new, higher ticket clients, customers, and partnerships
Builds your email list, social media growth, and audience overall
AND… helps you fine-tune who your ideal customer is!

Whether you create an online course for free specifically to drive lead generation or a fully paid course to increase sales, the end result is the same: new, relevant, and ready-to-used leads for your business 😉.

Reason 2: Build Your Brand and Become The “Go-To” Authority in Your Industry!

If you’re an entrepreneur, coach, consultant, professional service provider, or salesperson, why create an online course?

Well, the reason is simple - To establish and position yourself as an authority because that's what allows you to up your game significantly in your industry.

People usually write books to prove their authority, become thought leaders, and establish their brands. But you'll agree with me that it's such a huge commitment that takes time and money.

As if that's not enough, there are usually a lot of unnecessary chapters in a book that make it super boring for readers, but that's not the case with online courses.

They are usually more to the point, helping students to focus on the relevant topics and interests they need to learn.

That’s the key here: relevance! 😉

That's how you add value in your chosen niche - by focusing on what your audience needs and giving it to them without menacing words.

Want to know the most interesting part?

With the growing popularity of videos as media files, online courses are now much more accessible, practical, and engaging.

You're allowed to add quizzes, assignments, surveys, and even communicate with your students one-on-one. What better opportunity to connect and have mentees learn from you?

And truly, that's what makes you a thought leader and a go-to authority in your space.

The more relevant you are to those you serve, the more trust you build. You stay top of mind and become the person they want to work with now and in the future.

But, how about the freedom this path gives you?

Reason 3: Create True Freedom And Live Your Dream Life

Honestly, this is one of the best reasons why you should create online courses. It gives you so much freedom to live your dream life!

Look at me seated here on the Belgium coast at 8h30 AM writing this blog post, while the kids are still asleep ☺️

It's not exactly the Caribbean, but for my family and me, it's the next best thing. We come here every year and we love it, and we manage to do it several weeks at a time thanks to my online course activity 😉.

It could be that you're tired and frustrated about your usual 9-5 or worried that you're not spending enough time with your family.

Whatever your current situation is, it’s likely you want a bit more freedom:

To work when you want, where you want…
To work on the projects that inspire you the most…
To work with the people you want to; those you can best help…
To have more time to spend with your family and simply live your life!

And guess what?

It's totally achievable.

I know that sometimes when you own a business, it’s easy to slip into the trap where it owns you.

If you want to create an online course, it still requires hard work and effort. But, approached correctly, you can do it in a way that fuels your freedom instead of stealing it.

Imagine how it would feel to make money while you sleep.

To be able to create a new module (or an entire course) while on travel? To not have to work for several weeks, but still have money rolling in each day?

This is the power of adding value to people's lives through online courses!

I love the passive income it brings and it can work for you too☺️.

You just need to be passionate enough about this path and interested in your chosen field or topic.

And this brings us to the next reason why you should create an online course.

4: Opportunity To Teach What You Love When You Love, Where You Love

There's this popular quote that goes, "Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life."

I can't agree any lesser.

Creating online courses gives you the opportunity to tap into your passion. Here's how it goes:

If you have a skill, you can teach it!
If you have unique expertise or insight, you can share it!
If you have a hobby or interest, you can build upon it!

You can pick a course topic around your business and build on it. It becomes another source of income.

Alternatively, you can create an online course that has nothing to do with your career, but instead with some other skill that you have acquired in your life or even your passion.

I'm truly passionate about software engineering and my courses are centered on that.

That's the power of creating online courses!

You can teach what you love. So long as it has a positive impact on your students, you can and will make a living doing it 👍.

This kind of freedom is not so easy to come by. 😉

The best part is that you already have all the materials needed to create your online course but maybe you don't know it yet, bringing us to the next point.

5: Leverage Your Existing Content (and Expertise)

A lot of course creators worry that creating online courses is a lot of work because you'll get overwhelmed getting the needed materials to put together a course.

Now take a step back. Chances are that you already have the required materials for your online course...

You’ve already written about it in the past…
You’ve recorded videos and audios and done interviews…
You have created resources, workbooks, and training for clients…
You have endless notes from client sessions and past projects!

You likely have a backlog of content that’s just screaming for you to repurpose it into course material that not only teaches your students but provides them with a practical roadmap.

So, sure… creating an online course does require work but truly, a lot of work you need to do has already been done.

You’ve racked up years of experience, and now is the time to share this with other people so they can learn on their own time.

Wherever they are in the world… which leads us to the next point.

6: Reach a Global Audience

Over the next few years, the e-learning industry as a whole is set to boom!

But apart from that, we're currently in an era where access to knowledge and people is at our fingertips. We only need a simple Google search.

With social media being part of our lives, we can learn anything we want and connect with whomever we want anytime!

We only need a laptop, a smartphone, and a stable internet connection, and boom! you're reaching millions of people worldwide.

But, here's a tip - To ensure that your online course reaches a more global audience, you should consider releasing the course in multiple languages.

The bottom line is, no matter where you are and what you teach there’s a large and relevant audience that awaits you😉!

7: Stake Your Claim in a Booming Industry!

I have hinted at this several times already...

The e-learning industry is booming and thriving and definitely a good reason why you should create online courses because the industry growth will not slow down...at least, not anytime soon. 😉

Are you ready for this? It may surprise you!

Studies suggest it will grow to $325 billion by 2025!

On its value, studies also suggest that the global e-learning industry will reach approximately $400 billion by 2026.

This isn’t a trend.

This is the future!

It provides a massive opportunity for you as you can stake your claim in this booming market.

But the time to act is now because this virtual gold rush will soon come. In fact, you could already argue it’s underway.

Celebrities, renowned investors, famous business owners, artists, and athletes… more and more of them turn to online courses to further establish their own brands.

At the moment, having these kinds of people involved helps you because it shines a light on e-learning as a whole.

But soon, it will be very hard to stand out, just like it is now harder to start a new podcast or YouTube Channel when compared to several years ago.

The bottom line is there is no better time to join the party! 😉

If you're yet to, you're allowing another brand to take what is rightfully yours and this takes us to the next reason why you should create online courses.

8: Take Back Your Customers From Your Competitors

Whatever industry you are in, there are people currently searching for ways to learn the skills you have at the moment or solve problems you already know how to solve.

If you don't step up and give them what they want, sell it to them - your competitors will definitely do the job for you.

Guess what you'll be losing.

A relevant audience and a credible additional source of income for your business.

To this effect, it's very important to create online courses if you want to stay on top of the game in your industry and not hand your customers to your competitors on a platter of gold.

9: Market Research On Steroids

An often forgotten and under-appreciated reason for creating an online course is that it breeds fresh ideas and leads to new opportunities.

How is this so?

By creating and launching online courses, you gain a better understanding of your target audience.

You work directly with them through the quizzes, assignments, surveys, and feedback which then guide you toward what they need.

If you listen and observe carefully, you’ll likely find your online course leads to new, exciting projects/products/services:

Coaching
Consulting
Membership Sites
Masterminds
Virtual Summits
Real-World Events
and other courses and programs…

Few course creators create a single course and leave it at that. Most of them create more courses (or other related services) because their students guide them toward what they need.

So, as amazing as an online course can be to your bottom line, it’s also one of the best forms of market research.

The best part is that once you start creating online courses, the income flow intensifies without you needing to do much! This takes us to the next point.

10: Make Passive Income (even when you sleep!)

This is another incredible reason why you should create an online course!

Passive income is literally the Holy Grail of online course creation business. To some extent, everyone needs it!

Once you create and publish your course, it starts working for you.

As you build more momentum, it soon takes on a life of its own.

Sure, you have to keep fueling the fire and driving traffic and opportunities toward it (through ads, content marketing, social media, etc…).

Yet once the wave begins, it continues to do its thing while you sleep, spend time with your family, work on other projects, and however else you’d like to spend your time 😉.

Online course creation, when approached correctly is a stepping step toward your financial freedom.

It's been working for me for years and I have no doubts that it will benefit you as well.

11: The Best Part of All… It’s Easier To Create an Online Course Than You Think!

This last reason may be the most important of all… creating an online course doesn’t have to be hard.

But that's as long as you're not trying to do everything yourself.

So, how do you create an online course the easy way?

You should use the right course-building platform. It does not only give you the tools you need but specific training and resources for how to use them.

You can create an online course in a simple and easy-to-understand way, and sell it to your students successfully without much trial and error at all.

Also, some platforms are very affordable, especially for beginner course creators, and super easy to use.

With a platform as reliable and robust as OnlineCourseHost.com, much of the hard work especially the technical aspect is taken care of for you.

Integrated with AI, you don’t have to worry about landing page design, video hosting, or anything like that.

It’s all taken care of for you, saving you both time and money.

All you need is a reliable microphone and (maybe) a solid camera.

Beyond that, your success comes down to the type of course you create and the impact it has.

I’m not saying it’s easy or doesn’t require a solid work ethic, but with the right guidance, it doesn’t have to be hard at all, and most of all it's super fun. 😉

That’s our mission here at OnlineCourseHost.com, not only providing you with a robust and super easy-to-use online course platform but also with the knowledge that you need to become a course creator, including:

This begins with our ever-growing Course Creator Academy, which features dozens of articles, guides, and practical resources to help you build, promote, and grow your online course.

As part of the academy, if you have any questions or doubts about course creation, you can ask anything you need at the Course Creator Facebook Community.

Just request to join and we will approve it, you don't even have to be using my platform. All it takes is that you are an aspiring or experienced course creator, with a willingness to learn 👍.

And if you’re ready to start working on your online course, we’d love to help you build it from start to finish.

And, if you are looking for a platform to host your online courses, create an account at OnlineCourseHost.com and start creating your courses using our Free Plan. 😉

I hope this helped. To get notified when I release new content here in the Academy, you can subscribe to my weekly newsletter:

Check out also any other posts that you might be interested in on the blog home page.

That's all I got for today, see you soon, and until next time I wish you Happy Teaching!

Vasco Cavalheiro

OnlineCourseHost.com Founder & Online Course Creator

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You are welcome to ask me any questions in the comments below: 👇👇👇👇