[av_heading heading=’113. How to Build an Online Education Business – Crash Course for Beginners – by Jan’ tag=’h1′ link_apply=” link=’manually,http://’ link_target=” style=” size=” subheading_active=” subheading_size=’15’ margin=” padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=” custom_class=” admin_preview_bg=” av-desktop-hide=” av-medium-hide=” av-small-hide=” av-mini-hide=” av-medium-font-size-title=” av-small-font-size-title=” av-mini-font-size-title=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=”][/av_heading]
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How can you learn everything about building an online education business in one session? You can’t!
But, in this article, we CAN give you the absolute basics that you need to get started.
Here, you’ll get an overview of the process, but the Langpreneur Business Breakthrough course delivers the whole package— a complete roadmap to building your dream business.
So, let’s begin.
What you’ll learn:
- How to stand out to your customers
- What your business REALLY does
- Why you need a website, and what to include
- The why what, and how of marketing and sales
- The course that delivers all the answers
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Stand out from the crowd: know your niche
The online world is vast, so what’s the best way to get people’s attention? Aim to be a big fish in a small pond by selecting a particular segment or niche in the market. In online business jargon, that’s called “niching down.” and it helps you stand out and be the best in your area.
To find your niche, start by considering the education area and demographic you want to serve.
Examples:
Japanese (education area) + Businesspeople (demographic) = Japanese language training for businesses who want to succeed in the Japanese marketplace.
Japanese (ed) + French speakers travelling in Japan (demo) = French speakers who want to learn Japanese to travel comfortably in Japan.
Language educators (ed) + want to build a business (demo) = Language educators who wish to use their skills to create a viable business.
Niche down even further through your methodology by developing a unique style or method of teaching. Ideally, this method works brilliantly for your demographic and can be scaled to other demographics as your business grows.
Example:
Olly Richards — StoryLearning.
Olly niched down from polyglot to teaching Spanish only, then developed the StoryLearning method. Once that core business began to grow, he expanded it to include teaching other languages using the StoryLearning method.
How do you know if you’ve niched down far enough?
If your business is growing and gaining momentum, then you’ve probably found your niche. You have a good niche if it’s narrow enough so that you’re automatically the best player in that niche. Check out Creator Smarts on YouTube to learn more about momentum.
Understand your customer avatar
“Before you create a product or sales materials you need to know exactly who your avatar is and the words they are using and the things they are struggling with.”
You’ve narrowed your niche, but who are you selling to? You will only have a business when you are solving someone’s problem, so you need to be very clear about the issue and who has it. That person is your ideal customer avatar.
Get to know your customers — particularly your buyers — and pay attention to their pain points and the language they use to describe them. Then create content to attract and serve those people. Ideally, you’ll build a keen audience of people who are just like your avatar.
Develop a brand statement to keep you on track
Your brand statement has two purposes. First, it helps identify your niche and customers to build an identifiable brand by stating who + results + benefit.
Example — The Langpreneur Business Statement:
“We help people turn their passion for languages (Avatar)
into a profitable online business (Result)
so that they can live an independent life doing something they love.” (Benefit.)
Secondly, your brand statement helps to keep you focused. Consult it whenever you have a new idea and ask, does this fit with my brand?
Brand statements are often long and detailed, so use yours to develop a shorter tagline for your website, podcast intro and marketing.
Example — The CreatorSmarts tagline:
“Learn directly from the world’s leading creators and leverage your own audience to build a smart education business.”
Build an engaged audience and beat the competition
Possibly the best way to attract an audience when you’re starting is by developing a personal brand that includes your origin story and a framework or system that only you teach. (Check out episode #112 Should Creators Build a Personal Brand or Business Brand?)
However, having a huge audience doesn’t guarantee you a massive income.
“What matters most is what happens after people go to your website and sign up for your newsletter.”
So, what you need is not huge numbers but excellent conversion rates. Your successful online education business will grow when it has a highly engaged, niche audience that wants to buy your products.
To build that audience, you must understand your avatar’s struggles and give them the solutions they want and need.
Your content should pique their interest, demonstrate your expertise and have them diving straight for your opt-in bar.
What is your real business?
It may sound like a silly question, but do you really know what is attracting your customers? For example, they come for your course — or do they crave community?
Example: The Langpreneur Community
The product: In-person events
The perceived benefit: Learning how to use an existing audience to develop an online business
The REAL benefit people came for: Networking with other language entrepreneurs and in-person coaching.
Get to know your audience by asking questions. When they like a product, offer more of the same, but improve it. Create a premium version, or make other levels available. If you started with a beginner course, offer intermediate and advanced ones too.
Consider having group coaching or one-on-one sessions as a high-end product.
“It’s a synergy. You offer something, work with more clients, learn more about their problems, create better, more expensive products, and solve bigger problems. Use that in your marketing to create even more high-value clients.”
As you grow, create an ecosystem
When your business expands to six figures, create a “world” for customers to join. In Olly Richards’ StoryLearning World, he attracts his audience through YouTube, podcast, and blog.
Once people enter his ecosystem, he offers a world of possibilities, from 30-day challenges and books to premium courses and more. Every learner who arrives is likely to find their perfect solution — but it’s all based on the StoryLearning system.
Your business needs an online home
Creators attract their avatars by posting content on various platforms. You might be a YouTuber, podcast host, blogger or Instagram influencer, but those are not your business. Instead, they give you the means to entice customers to sign up to your mailing list.
Eventually, you’ll need to create a website, but if that seems daunting, start with a landing page, a one-page website where people can sign up and download your lead magnet.
Most bulk email providers such as Convertkit, Mailchimp, and MailerLite will host your landing page and have online tutorials to help you build and run it.
When you’re ready for more than a landing page, then build your website.
Include these essentials:
- Business name
- Tagline
- Logo
- Your face and origin story
- An opt-in field
- Social proof — testimonials, places where you’ve been featured etc.
Validate your product and feel great about selling it
“Make sure that people will buy before you put all the time and effort into creating it.”
Don’t assume that you know what your customer wants and will buy; ASK them first.
Email them and say, “what are you struggling with right now when it comes to….”
When they reply, go deeper into their pain points. This time ask, “what are your biggest questions about…? (the identified pain), and “what would it mean to you when you’ve finally solved them.”
Use those answers to work out the benefits they’ll get from your product.
Example: a course to teach Russian cases.
CUSTOMER RESULT: Master the Russian cases
CUSTOMER BENEFIT: Have smoother, more confident conversations in Russian
DEEPER CUSTOMER BENEFIT: Get the best out of your stay in Russia because it’s easier to find your way around and to make friends.
Knowing all this gives you the sales language and the exact product you need to solve your avatar’s biggest problem.
Pre-sell your product before you create it
You’ve identified pain points and benefits, now, email your list and advertise on your channel. Let them know – “you asked, and I’m ready to deliver!” Market and run it as a live Bootcamp.
Don’t create anything except a potential syllabus or framework until enough people pay upfront to make it viable.
Now, create weekly live sessions and include follow-up homework.
Record everything, and recreate the homework as worksheets and assignment tasks.
Collect testimonials from those initial happy customers.
Finally, you can package the whole thing into an evergreen course on your website.
Creators often have qualms about charging for their products and services, but you now have a product that genuinely solves a big pain point for your ideal avatar. They’ll gladly pay for that solution, so you can be both proud and pleased to provide it.
Email Marketing is vital for selling products
Even the biggest influencers with huge audiences still sell most of their products through email. Yes, it’s possible to sell directly from your channel with a good sales pitch, but email marketing is twice as effective.
Why it works:
- Email is intimate, and people feel like you’re speaking directly to them.
- You’re not dependent on algorithms to contact your email list.
- Regular contact keeps you in your customers’ minds. Too often, people find your work but then move onto the next thing and never return. How will they know when you offer their perfect solution if you have no way of contacting them?
“You must be seen, to sell. Understand that your avatar has a problem. If they come to you and you don’t solve their problem then they will go somewhere else.”
Steps for marketing:
- Create helpful content that brings potential customers to your website or landing page.
- Offer a valuable lead magnet — (PDF, audio file, free lesson, quiz, masterclass, webinar or free consultation) — in exchange for their email address.
- Follow up with a series of emails to prepare them and educate them about your product, then a full-on sales email.
- Continue to send regular emails which entertain, offer value and sell a product.
Follow-up emails sell your solution to the problem
Attract quality leads to your list, warm them up then sell within seven days.
Before they buy, people need to understand the value of what they’re getting. You’ll need to educate them and dispel false beliefs before they part with any money.
Email one: tell the story of your struggles to demonstrate that you understand their pain.
Email two: show that your system works — I learned this, and it changed my world.
Email three: It worked for these happy customers too.
Emails four, five, six: Start breaking false beliefs, e.g. your service is expensive — show that it’s a bargain compared to ROI.
Email seven: sales email. Make the offer and add some urgency – create scarcity. Perhaps there are 20 spots available, the price goes up tomorrow, or it’s closing soon and won’t be open for another six months.
Connect all the emails so that they form a cohesive story. At the end of each, prime the reader to open the next day’s email and provide links to the previous ones.
Crash course or in-depth training? It’s your call.
In this article, we’ve only scratched the surface of all there is to know about building a successful online business.
To learn from Olly Richards, one of the world’s best online education businessmen, sign up for the Langpreneur Business Breakthrough course this week and get 50% off.
Be quick, because this offer is open for ONE WEEK ONLY.
CLICK THIS LINK TO GET STARTED ON YOUR ONLINE BUSINESS JOURNEY TODAY
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