How to Make a Living With Your Writing: Online courses, webinars, events, and membership sites

Many authors teach — either in colleges, universities and schools, or as part of writing courses, literary festivals, summits, and seminars.

Online training courses have grown in popularity over the last few years, but they have moved into the mainstream since the pandemic sent the world online. As an example, check out Masterclass, where famous writers teach writing, screenwriting, storytelling, and much more.

You can turn a live event or course into an online version or create a new digital product, and the available tools make it easier than ever. Once you know how to use basic video and audio software, you can also use those skills for book marketing. In an increasingly digital world, your ability to use these tools can help to set you apart and increase your income streams.

I’ve been creating and selling my own online courses for over a decade, as well as being an affiliate for others. You can find them at TheCreativePenn.com/courses

Why create an online course?

Perhaps you already teach in-person events and want to take them online, or you want to share your knowledge with students around the world and help others with your expertise.

You might want to increase your revenue with a higher value scalable product based on your book, as people pay more for multimedia material. You can also offer higher-priced extras like one-on-one support or a mastermind as up-sell options.

Decide on the type of course

There are many kinds of online training experiences now. Options include:

Live webinar series or event with replays for download:

This model is used by many conferences that were previously only live events. Speakers deliver material live and the recordings are available later for replay. You can do this on a smaller scale by offering a webinar series or even an individual lecture with replay.

Evergreen online course:

This is my preferred model, as you can set up the course and then it continues to sell over time. Students can buy the course anytime and work through the material at their own pace, starting as soon as they purchase. There is no overhead in terms of management or extra time. You can create courses of different lengths for different price points and even offer free options so people can try out your style of teaching.

Online course with scheduled start date and personal support and/or extras:

This is the launch model approach where you open and close the course at various points during the year. This allows you to welcome a new cohort of students each time, supporting them at a prescribed pace with personal help and support or live events during the period of the course. These are usually priced higher than the other options, as you will need to spend more time with students.

Each of these options has benefits and drawbacks and there are many variations of each. Investigate courses in your niche and attend or purchase some so you can decide what might work for your audience and your lifestyle.

Decide on the topic

If you have a book (or a blog or a podcast) already, you could present that material in an alternative way to serve the needs of your existing audience.

You can also survey your audience and ask for their biggest questions around your area of expertise. This will give you a lot of material you can use within the course. I use Google Forms or you can use SurveyMonkey or equivalent tools.

Research what people are looking for in specific niches. Examine the bestselling books on Amazon in your sub-category, or check the top websites in your niche. Look at the top questions on Quora and/or questions on Twitter around a topic or join Facebook or LinkedIn groups on an area.

In order to be profitable, your course needs to be specific and address a painful problem that people will pay money to solve.

Plan the content and prepare your material

Start by brainstorming possibilities. If you have a book already, use your table of contents as a starting point. If you’re a speaker, you might have presentation decks to work from. I often plan in Scrivener or in Keynote and create a skeleton of the major sections.

Expand this list into smaller bite-size chunks that you can turn into separate videos. A training course is a journey as much as reading a book should be, so organize it in a logical sequence that guides the customer through.

Use multimedia. You will create core videos and audio, but you could also consider PDF downloads, worksheets, workbooks, exercises, and other aspects that bring the material alive. You could create bonus videos with experts in a niche, as well as live webinars with participants and even curate a community on Facebook or another site. Some courses include homework and other one-on-one help, but this adds a lot of ongoing work and takes time, so be clear on the commitment you’re willing to make.

Decide on your price point early on because this will guide how extensive the course should be. Don’t spend months creating a mega course which will cost you time and money and perhaps only sell to a few people. Start with something small, especially with your first endeavor, as you will learn along the way and you can scale up over time.

Create a sales page that includes benefits to the customer, testimonials, and information about the content, as well as how to buy and Frequently Asked Questions. You’re welcome to model any of mine at www.TheCreativePenn.com/courses

By the end of this preparation phase, I will have completed Keynote decks for each of my videos as well as the logos and images needed throughout. Everything is in place for recording.

Learn how to use the (basic) tools

You will need to use some technology in order to create your course and you will improve with practice. There is a learning curve for any new skill, but good news: it’s a lot easier than it used to be!

Start with whatever you already have, for example, most laptops come with some form of basic video and audio software, or you can use your phone if necessary. Don’t over-invest until you’re sure what you need.

There are many options so investigate what might work for you. Currently, my technical setup is as follows:

•   Blue Yeti USB microphone for high-quality audio

•   Screenflow on Mac for video recording and screen capture as well as editing (or use Camtasia for PC)

•   Zoom.us for recording interviews. It can also be used for webinars.

•   Amadeus Pro for editing audio (or you can use free software Audacity)

•   Keynote for slides (or use PowerPoint on PC)

I use Teachable for hosting, selling and managing the course, which means I don't have to maintain a separate site with plugins and a payment system.

I’ve done my own tech setup before and it is a huge pain, whereas with Teachable you pay a scalable monthly amount and they do all the maintenance. You basically drag and drop your finished files. They can also handle digital taxes for you. Super simple!

Record, edit, and publish your content

Once you have prepared your material, you need to record and edit it, then upload it to the site you use to publish.

Plan specific blocks of recording time. Creating video is like a performance, in that you have to project energy into your presentation. It can be tiring for introverts, so I set aside time in the morning for recording video or audio when I have the energy.

Plan longer than you need. If you have material for 30 minutes of video, then plan at least 90 minutes to record it. You will stop and start as you go through and you may find things you want to add. I find it easier to record several videos with all the mistakes and then go back later to edit them. Recording and editing will take always longer than you expect at the beginning.

Keep everything organized and backed up. I use separate folders for slides, raw video, edited video, audio, exercises, bonus interviews, etc. Make sure you also back up the material just in case. I use Dropbox and an external hard drive.

Open the doors!

Tell your audience about the course. If you have a website, podcast, or email list, then start by telling those who know you.

Go wider. All the usual principles of marketing apply when you sell a course, just as when you’re selling a book. You can do content marketing—blog posts, podcast interviews, social media sharing, and you can also use paid advertising like Facebook Ads to attract your target market.

Work with affiliates. If you have a network of professionals within your niche, you can work with them to cross-promote your course with an affiliate link. Many of the platforms, including Teachable, offer a simple way to set up and manage affiliates.

All the online course hosting services, including Teachable, have training, webinars and help on how to optimize every stage of your course.

For more detail on my step-by-step process, check out my course on how to Turn What You Know Into An Online Course.

Questions:

•   What are the benefits of creating an online course? How could it form part of your multiple streams of income?

•   What type of course might be useful to your audience?

•   What topic will your course be on?

•   How much time do you need to set aside for learning new skills, preparing and recording your course?

•   What tools and technology do you need to investigate? What skills do you need to learn, and how could they be useful for your wider author business?

•   What is stopping you from creating an online course?

Resources:

•   Teachable for creating and selling online courses — TheCreativePenn.com/teachable

•   My courses including on how to Turn What You Know Into An Online Course — www.TheCreativePenn.com/learn

•   Masterclass courses by famous authors, writers, screenwriters and more — TheCreativePenn.com/masterclass