IT/Technical/marketing expertise needed

[dylanmarlais]

I have over 25 years of experience in designing and delivering face-to-face courses in the UK and overseas. As these have been successful courses (and organisations have paid a lot for delegates to attend them), I believe that there might be some mileage in offering them online, either at a lowish price so that everyone who could benefit can attend, or at a highish price, whilst still making the courses more accessible to people and businesses (without having to pay for flight, travel and accommodation costs etc). So I am looking to work with someone with IT skills and marketing skills (asking for a lot, I know!) to get this started and possible for the long-term. As I say, the courses are tried and tested over many years and I have made a living from them. The question is, will they be successful when offered online and how best to do that?

 

[antropy]

So I am looking to work with someone with IT skills and marketing skills (asking for a lot, I know!) to get this started and possible for the long-term.

I'm not sure you need someone else to help you, I think you should try to find a course sharing platform online like:

Online Classes for Creatives | Skillshare

Skillshare is a learning community for creators. Anyone can take an online class, watch video lessons, create projects, and even teach a class themselves.

www.skillshare.com

Coursera | Courses, Professional Certificates, and Degrees Online

Learn in-demand skills with online courses and Professional Certificates from leading companies like Google, IBM, Meta, and Adobe. Explore flexible programs—from short courses to full degrees.

www.coursera.org

etc.

And create the course on there yourself.

Paul.

 

[dylanmarlais]

Thanks Paul. I suppose I was looking for an easy solution by sticking to my skillset and asking A N Other to do the work in setting up the IT, hosting, etc. But it may be that there are platforms out there that will mean that even a technophobe can manage. I will have a look at that site. Many thanks again.

 

[Alby10]

As Paul mentioned, there are a number of course platforms out there inc Udemy etc.

You could also look at creating your own website eg Self hosting etc, membership site etc and utilise various methods to promote eg Social media, Affiliates etc.

 

[antropy]

You could also look at creating your own website eg Self hosting etc, membership site etc and utilise various methods to promote eg Social media, Affiliates etc.

But that's exactly what the OP wants to avoid ?

Paul.

 

[Alby10]

Lol, it's been a while since i have been on this forum

No, the OP states: " So I am looking to work with someone with IT skills and marketing skills (asking for a lot, I know!) to get this started and possible for the long-term" which means they are looking at how to supply and market the courses online and asking for help, which i have PM'd the OP about, hence my comment.

 

[brandvine]

A good testing ground for ideas like this is YouTube. Set up a free account and start posting some of your content there.

It requires consistency of posting and you may not like the idea of putting out your course content for "free" but believe me it will pay dividends down the road.

Ahrefs have a keyword tool where you can check search volume for the types of videos you wish to put out: https://ahrefs.com/youtube-keyword-tool. Make sure to get these in your title and description to stand the best chance of being discovered.

As you say, your content is tried and tested but this is a useful method for seeing how it works online.

 

[dylanmarlais]

A good testing ground for ideas like this is YouTube. Set up a free account and start posting some of your content there.

It requires consistency of posting and you may not like the idea of putting out your course content for "free" but believe me it will pay dividends down the road.

Ahrefs have a keyword tool where you can check search volume for the types of videos you wish to put out: https://ahrefs.com/youtube-keyword-tool. Make sure to get these in your title and description to stand the best chance of being discovered.

As you say, your content is tried and tested but this is a useful method for seeing how it works online.

Thank you for this.

 

[antropy]

No, the OP states: " So I am looking to work with someone with IT skills and marketing skills (asking for a lot, I know!) to get this started and possible for the long-term" which means they are looking at how to supply and market the courses online and asking for help, which i have PM'd the OP about, hence my comment.

That's true, but it's going to take a lot of money and expertise, especially marketing, to make a success of a self-hosted website in the online course industry in my opinion. I think you'd be better off helping them create a profile and courses on an existing course sharing website.

Paul.

 

[Alby10]

Fair point Paul ?

 

[fantheflames]

There is value from having a website.

The most value will come from setting up your course on third party sites as you will already have an audience on those platforms.

It's just a matter of setting up your courses right.

You can drive your customers to your website through the third party sites.

But you'll need purpose for your website that is something different to what you'd offer on the third party sites.

Good luck!