So, you have learned and practiced music for many years but intend to teach others. It is easier to do this today, compared to some years ago, thanks to the wide use of the internet.
However, your music skills will not be enough if you plan to be successful. You will need to include entrepreneurship skills. Therefore, you are a musician offline and a MUSICpreneur online.
Why Create an Online Course in Music
There is a limit to how much you can earn from music gigs, concerts, and in-person training. Creating an online course gives you access to global students and more earnings.
In 2020, 71 million people registered on Coursera, an online learning platform; the number skyrocketed to 92 million in 2021 and is expected to continue growing. The industry is expected to generate about $360 million by 2026.
The exciting thing about creating an online course is that you can easily combine it with your daily job. A tutorial recording can be resold to millions of students without any additional stress.
Aside from being scalable, it also requires low startup capital, and sharing your music experience with others will help you build credibility and authority in the industry.
Here are tips for creating a successful online course in music.
Research Your Targeted Audience
There are new online music courses uploaded now and then. As a beginner, you must stand out to be better competitive.
Research the music market to identify a problem you can solve better than anyone else. One way to do this is by checking out available courses and evaluating the teaching method used by the instructor.
Put yourself in the learners’ shoes; if you think you can teach it better, you have a subject to develop your course.
Check different music forums and answer people’s questions. Observe specific problems a lot of people are experiencing. Gauge people’s response to your help on the forum.
If you receive many compliments with comments on how they have searched everywhere but could not find an answer, you may have discovered a subject matter to develop a course on.
Draft an Outline
Once you have decided on a subject matter, the next thing to do is draft an outline of how you want the course to look.
The length of your online music course will depend on the complexity of the topic. Beginner’s classes, for example, might be text with diagrams and downloadables introducing them to musical terms and instrument names.
An advanced class may feature videos to show the students how to play a particular sound or illustrate a paragraph.
One way to determine the best format for your online course is by drawing inspiration from when you started learning about the subject yourself. Think of what you hoped your instructor had done differently to hasten your learning process.
Decide on a Business Model
As noted earlier, creating your online music course marries music and entrepreneurship skills.
There are many e-learning platforms where you can upload your course. They reduce the stress of marketing the course yourself. This is perfect for a single online course.
Meanwhile, creating and running the courses on your website is possible. This is good for a continuous online course where the students pay a monthly membership subscription fee.
Another model is conducting a one-on-one live training session with your students. Irrespective of the model of your choice, ensure it is flexible, scalable, and generating revenue worth the time invested.
Publish and Promote the Course
Once the course is ready, publish it on your preferred platform, depending on your chosen business model.
Read about digital marketing online to get ideas for effectively marketing your course.
Digital marketing can be challenging, and you are bound to make many mistakes when doing it for the first time. Therefore, only invest minimally in it for a start.
During this time, concentrate on organic marketing methods, which include word of mouth and social media posts.
Inform your family and friends about your new course. Offer discounts for the first few buyers and keep in touch with your students.
Request for testimonials to share and feedback to further improve the course.
Conclusion
As more people search for ways to improve their skills, the e-learning industry will continue to rise. Online music courses are purchased by professional musicians and people interested in learning music during their leisure time.
The passive income generated from creating an online music course is limitless as the internet gives access to students globally.