How do you align your online courses with your business vision?

1 Define your vision

Before you start creating your online courses, you need to have a clear vision of what you want to achieve with your business. Your vision is your long-term aspiration, your purpose, and your direction. It should answer questions like: What is your mission? Who is your target audience? What are your core values? What are your unique selling points? How do you want to make a difference in the world? Your vision should guide your decisions and actions, including the topics, content, and format of your online courses.

2 Identify your goals

Once you have your vision, you need to set specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals for your online courses. Your goals should align with your vision and help you move closer to it. For example, if your vision is to help small businesses grow with digital marketing, your goals might be to: create a course on email marketing that attracts 1000 enrollments in six months; increase your email list by 50% in one year; or establish yourself as a thought leader in your niche. Your goals should also be realistic and manageable, considering your resources and capabilities.

3 Choose your topics

The next step is to choose the topics for your online courses that match your vision and goals. You want to create courses that solve a problem, fill a gap, or provide value for your target audience. You also want to create courses that showcase your expertise, passion, and personality. To choose your topics, you can: do market research and find out what your audience needs and wants; analyze your existing content and see what performs well; brainstorm ideas based on your knowledge and experience; or ask for feedback from your customers or followers.

4 Design your content

After you have your topics, you need to design your content for your online courses. Your content should be engaging, informative, and actionable. It should also reflect your vision and values, and communicate your unique voice and style. To design your content, you can: use a curriculum framework and outline the learning objectives, outcomes, and activities; choose the best format and delivery method for your content, such as videos, slides, quizzes, or worksheets; create a consistent and professional branding and design for your courses; or use storytelling and examples to make your content more relatable and memorable.

5 Market your courses

The final step is to market your online courses to your target audience. Your marketing strategy should align with your vision and goals, and showcase the benefits and value of your courses. To market your courses, you can: create a landing page and a sales funnel for your courses; use social media, email marketing, and content marketing to promote your courses; leverage testimonials, reviews, and referrals to build trust and credibility; or offer discounts, bonuses, or incentives to encourage enrollments.

By following these tips, you can align your online courses with your business vision and create courses that serve your audience and your business.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?