Learn What it Takes to Become a Course Writer

Learn What it Takes to Become a Course Writer

Learn What it Takes to Become a Course Writer

Ever wanted to become a course writer but you’re not sure how? You’re not alone! Many people see the writing and publishing an online course as something reserved for someone with expert level knowledge, and that can make it hard to know where to begin. But if you have the desire and initiative, becoming an online course writer doesn’t have to be difficult or out of reach. In this article, we talk about what skills are necessary to become an online course writer, ways to improve your chances of success and how to go about making it happen.

Do you have to be an expert in your field?

Not always. In fact, that’s one of course writing’s biggest benefits. As a course writer, you don’t have to be an expert, but you do need to know enough about your subject matter so that you can provide accurate information and helpful solutions. To be successful in writing courses for students, it’s important that you develop an understanding of not only what you know about your subject but also what you don’t know. While there isn’t an exact path for becoming a course writer, many writers pursue careers in education (high school English teachers are particularly sought after) or take on other teaching roles before pursuing online writing jobs.

Do you need to know all there is about digital marketing?

This is an important question to ask yourself because if you don’t have enough of a background, then you will find yourself spending extra time and money. Don’t just learn what you can so that you can write courses; learn what your audience wants. The more market research you do, the better your content will be. If your audience doesn’t like your marketing tips, they won’t complete your course, and then you won’t make any money.

How much time will it take you?

Time is one of your most precious resources, so spend time well. Learning how to become a course writer will probably take you somewhere between three months and a year, depending on your starting point and whether or not you have an idea for an online course already. Many new freelancers make things more difficult for themselves by trying to complete too many tasks at once. Slow down, prioritize and get out of your own way as you plan—your business needs it!

Do you need a PhD or higher education degree?

It helps to have a team with higher degree qualifications like PhDs. Many people think that writing and teaching online courses requires you to have some type of graduate degree. While an MBA is one option, an advanced degree is not a requirement. In fact, most course writers are entrepreneurs, writers or business owners who wanted to share their skills with others and created their own online course as a way of doing so. The good news? Online courses can actually be written by anyone, and they don’t require special training or experience in education. Many successful course writers simply wrote about what they were most passionate about—and figured out how to translate that passion into something educational for others.

How long should lessons be?

Today’s students are digital natives and technology is one of their strongest skills. If you want to engage them, you need to be able to offer learning in an interactive format that matches what they’re used to—video, audio, text as well as graphics. You don’t need any expensive technology—many of today’s best authors create audio or video content with simple webcams and editing software that comes free with your computer. In addition, many hosting platforms allow you to create a website where students can interact with each other and download homework or access additional reading material. One word of warning: keep everything short and make sure it doesn’t look too much like schoolwork!

How to use Blogs to Get the Word Out about Your Course Writing Services?

Once you’ve finished writing your first batch of posts, you’ll have a solid foundation of content that will serve as an excellent source for building up your business. Not only will blogging help you build up credibility, but it can also be used to market your services and products, connect with others in your industry, and even boost employee morale at work. All of these benefits will ultimately help you gain more clients—which is what we all want. So don’t think about starting a writing business as simply something that helps you get more customers; think about it as something that has multiple purposes and brings value across various aspects of your life. Keep writing!

How can I use SEO to promote courses?

This is an important question, and one that many new course writers are confused about. When creating online courses, it’s incredibly important that you create content in a way that makes sense to Google crawlers as well as your actual audience. And when talking about SEO, there are no shortcuts — you have to learn how these algorithms work yourself by performing research and testing different approaches with your own content. However, once you know what works best for SEO and how your students will interact with your courses, outsourcing some of these tasks might be necessary. The good news is, most of these tasks can be outsourced fairly inexpensively (such as design work), so keeping costs down should be a top priority.

Am I ready for all the work I need to put into this, especially at first?

The short answer is no. The longer answer, while still no, has more nuance: Just like any other skilled profession, becoming an author requires an investment of time and energy in learning your craft and practice. You don’t become an expert overnight. It takes time and effort to grow as a writer (or photographer or course creator). If you aren’t willing to invest that time and energy into your business, then writing courses might not be for you—at least not yet. But if you have both passion for teaching others about something you love and are willing to keep learning about how students learn best, you can learn what it takes to become a successful course author. And I hope our post helps with that goal!

Ever wanted to become a course writer but you’re not sure how? You’re not alone! Many people see the writing and publishing an online course as something reserved for someone with expert level knowledge, and that can make it hard to know where to begin. But if you have the desire and initiative, becoming an online course writer doesn’t have to be difficult or out of reach. In this article, we talk about what skills are necessary to become an online course writer, ways to improve your chances of success and how to go about making it happen.

Do you have to be an expert in your field?

Not always. In fact, that’s one of course writing’s biggest benefits. As a course writer, you don’t have to be an expert, but you do need to know enough about your subject matter so that you can provide accurate information and helpful solutions. To be successful in writing courses for students, it’s important that you develop an understanding of not only what you know about your subject but also what you don’t know. While there isn’t an exact path for becoming a course writer, many writers pursue careers in education (high school English teachers are particularly sought after) or take on other teaching roles before pursuing online writing jobs.

Do you need to know all there is about digital marketing?

This is an important question to ask yourself because if you don’t have enough of a background, then you will find yourself spending extra time and money. Don’t just learn what you can so that you can write courses; learn what your audience wants. The more market research you do, the better your content will be. If your audience doesn’t like your marketing tips, they won’t complete your course, and then you won’t make any money.

How much time will it take you?

Time is one of your most precious resources, so spend time well. Learning how to become a course writer will probably take you somewhere between three months and a year, depending on your starting point and whether or not you have an idea for an online course already. Many new freelancers make things more difficult for themselves by trying to complete too many tasks at once. Slow down, prioritize and get out of your own way as you plan—your business needs it!

Do you need a PhD or higher education degree?

It helps to have a team with higher degree qualifications like PhDs. Many people think that writing and teaching online courses requires you to have some type of graduate degree. While an MBA is one option, an advanced degree is not a requirement. In fact, most course writers are entrepreneurs, writers or business owners who wanted to share their skills with others and created their own online course as a way of doing so. The good news? Online courses can actually be written by anyone, and they don’t require special training or experience in education. Many successful course writers simply wrote about what they were most passionate about—and figured out how to translate that passion into something educational for others.

How long should lessons be?

Today’s students are digital natives and technology is one of their strongest skills. If you want to engage them, you need to be able to offer learning in an interactive format that matches what they’re used to—video, audio, text as well as graphics. You don’t need any expensive technology—many of today’s best authors create audio or video content with simple webcams and editing software that comes free with your computer. In addition, many hosting platforms allow you to create a website where students can interact with each other and download homework or access additional reading material. One word of warning: keep everything short and make sure it doesn’t look too much like schoolwork!

How to use Blogs to Get the Word Out about Your Course Writing Services?

Once you’ve finished writing your first batch of posts, you’ll have a solid foundation of content that will serve as an excellent source for building up your business. Not only will blogging help you build up credibility, but it can also be used to market your services and products, connect with others in your industry, and even boost employee morale at work. All of these benefits will ultimately help you gain more clients—which is what we all want. So don’t think about starting a writing business as simply something that helps you get more customers; think about it as something that has multiple purposes and brings value across various aspects of your life. Keep writing!

How can I use SEO to promote courses?

This is an important question, and one that many new course writers are confused about. When creating online courses, it’s incredibly important that you create content in a way that makes sense to Google crawlers as well as your actual audience. And when talking about SEO, there are no shortcuts — you have to learn how these algorithms work yourself by performing research and testing different approaches with your own content. However, once you know what works best for SEO and how your students will interact with your courses, outsourcing some of these tasks might be necessary. The good news is, most of these tasks can be outsourced fairly inexpensively (such as design work), so keeping costs down should be a top priority.

Am I ready for all the work I need to put into this, especially at first?

The short answer is no. The longer answer, while still no, has more nuance: Just like any other skilled profession, becoming an author requires an investment of time and energy in learning your craft and practice. You don’t become an expert overnight. It takes time and effort to grow as a writer (or photographer or course creator). If you aren’t willing to invest that time and energy into your business, then writing courses might not be for you—at least not yet. But if you have both passion for teaching others about something you love and are willing to keep learning about how students learn best, you can learn what it takes to become a successful course author. And I hope our post helps with that goal!