How to Create a Mini Course: Tips & Examples
If you’re just at the beginning of the online course business, a mini course might be the way to go. If you want to create an online course today, without much risk, it’s the best method to test the waters. Also, it’s the fastest way to launch an online course if you don’t have much time and want to expand your online course business in the future.
3 Mini Course Examples
To give you some inspiration here are some examples of mini courses:
Example #1: Take part in a creative challenge and record the process
In this mini course, you’ll teach the joy of participating in a creative challenge while documenting your artistic journey. Whether it’s a painting, sketch, or digital artwork, you can share how to capture the entire process from start to finish. Explore techniques for showcasing your progress through behind-the-scenes (BTS) footage, sharing insights and tips along the way.
Example #2: Indroductionary course about you and your passion
Are you eager to share your unique story and passion with others? In this mini course, you’ll showcase you audience with your expertise. From identifying your core passions to articulating your journey, create a compelling narrative that resonates with your target audience.
Example #3: Make a video that shows your workspace
In this mini course, you can shows your learners your unique workspace. From organizing your tools to setting up the perfect lighting, you can give expert tips and techniques for capturing the essence of your creative environment.
Mini course Pros and Cons
Starting with a mini course is a wonderful marketing option for those who are busy with their side hustles and don’t have time to devote endless hours to building online courses.
If you are still wondering if you should sell your courses with a subscription model or a single purchase model, mini courses go perfectly with the latter because it takes off the pressure of creating content on a regular basis.
What is more, starting up with a mini course allows you to test the waters and validate the online course ideas with your audience. Compared to the full-length course, it takes the pressure off investing lots of time in something that you are not certain about.
Mini course Pros
A mini course is a short online course and there are a number of benefits for creating one.
- You don’t need any previous experience
- Easy to set up
- No huge investments of time or money
- You have the opportunity to provide a high-quality course quickly
- You can develop it in your own time
- You are more flexible to create at a moment’s notice
Larger online courses may have particular things you want to say about an issue or to cover a particular subject. Minicourses are usually quick and easy and are ideal for giving something of interest to your audience.
With mini courses, you can work in your own time and create it at your own pace. You won’t have to dedicate months or even years of your life to create a full-length course when you’re unsure of how to reach your goals.
Additionally, you can create a mini course with the mindset of developing it as much as you can in the shortest amount of time possible. What is more, it enables you to get feedback from the online audience, iterate and improve it with time.
Mini course Cons
From the perspective of an online course creator, some cons of mini-courses may include:
- Since mini-courses are shorter in length and scope, they may not bring in as much revenue as a full-length course.
- With limited time, it can be challenging to keep students engaged and motivated throughout the course.
- Mini-courses have a limited scope and focus, which can limit their appeal to a wider audience.
How to Create an Mini Course. Step-by-step guide.
You are here because you want to create an online course, and you want to do it fast. An online course needs a great website to sell it. Whether you’re a designer, marketer, photographer, coach, or visual artist, collection of online course templates will help you get started and create a successful website for any online course.
Developing an online course used to require immense skills in different fields, including coding (if someone wanted to create a course using creators like WordPress) and designing. But today, with the introduction of online course platforms, you can create an online course from scratch, in minutes. If you choose the right online course platform, it all comes down to the content, not a website or a sales page anymoer.
If you don’t know where to start, or you’re worried that creating the course will be time-consuming, then this paragraph is for you.
First, choose the online course topic, then do some research about it. Next, plan the course outline and test the idea in the real world. If you’ve done that, you can create your content.
After that, it’s time to set the price and put your course online. Finally, launch and promote your course among your audience and build a community of returning students.
We recommend starting from a mini course and then scaling up to a regular size course.
Online Course Content
Creating a mini course content is similar to creating a regular online course (but faster). Below you can find the step-by-step guide on How to set up an online course (or a mini course).
- Choose the perfect online course topic
- Research your course topic
- Plan and Outline the Course Content
- Test the course topic idea
- Set the Course Goals
- Create your course content
Whatever you do as a content creator, a great way to make a mini course and earn some extra money is to show people the process of your creation. Low-hanging fruit is to simply turn your camera on and record how you make the work done. You can make a short video while doing your work and sell it as an online course on a course platform to feed your audience with some special BTS content.
What makes a successful online course?
The most effective online courses are planned carefully; they’re not created on the spur of the moment. Defining course goals and learning objectives during the course design process results in a well-thought-out and interesting online course.
Step 1. Choosing the perfect online course topic
Choosing the course topic is an essential step in creating the right course for the right people. You have your passion; knowledge, skills, and experience that your audience is willing to pay for. It’s time to look at it closer and put it in words.
Defining a course topic shouldn’t be a difficult task. Look at your everyday life. Most likely, people already ask you for advice on certain topics or consider you an expert in some area.
PRO TIP: Align your passion and expertise. Select a topic that excites you and matches your knowledge and skills. By teaching what you love, you’ll create engaging and impactful content for your audience.
Step 2.Researching your course topic
Online research for course topic ideas is an important parts online course creation. Well-conducted research will help you get inspiration for your course topic. It can be an extensive Google search, checking on competition, social media dive, as well as going through related books on Amazon.
Step 3. Planning and Outlining the Course Content
It’s time for the building blocks of your online course, a blueprint. After the research, you will have many ideas for your online course content. Planning the entire online course can be overwhelming. Sorting through piles of content creates a risk of confusion about what should be included in the course.
A clearly defined course outline will make sure outlining is manageable. A course outline is a simple but incredibly useful way of planning your online course lessons.
PRO TIP: Break down the course into logical sections or modules that cover different topics or subtopics. Arrange them in a sequential and cohesive manner to create a smooth learning journey.
Step 4. Testing the course topic idea
Now that you have your ideas on the table, it’s time for evaluation. Run through your topic ideas again. Do online research if it is in demand. Are there any competitors offering similar courses? Can you find any books on the topic on Amazon? If you are into SEO, check the ranking potential, and if the keywords you want to use have some traffic.
You can also ask people if they like it and explain why. Be prepared to welcome suggestions and make improvements. As you work on the offer, it’s important to find someone motivated enough to pay money to learn about it.
Step 5. Setting the Course Goals
To create a great course, it’s good to define what you want your students to learn.
Defining the learning milestones will help you communicate to your students about what they can achieve with your online course. It’s a part of the planning phase, and it can be done on a high level. Write it down in your notes.
Step 6. Creating your course content
Engaging, interactive, and fun content creates a great learning experience for online students. The best way to deliver learning outcomes is to mix different multimedia: videos, screen recordings, presentations, audio, hand-outs, and exercises. Learn the pragmatic approach to planning and recording video lessons, preparing bonus materials like downloadable files, and engaging students in active learning with exercises in how to plan and record video lessons for an online course.
The process of your course creation will go smoothly if you divide it into smaller chunks and plan it in your calendar. The time you’ll spend on an online course creation depends on the value you want to provide to your audience.
and there is more…
Step 7. Recording the videos
We are all familiar with recording fun videos on our phones.
But how to record professional videos for an online course? Start by assembling your gear:
- Camera
- Microphone
- Lightning
- Editing Software
To record your content, you need a camera, microphone, and editing software. It would be great to get some additional lighting, like LEDs (if you are recording indoors), and put them on tripods.
PRO TIP: Audio is essential for an online video course, so if you have an echo in your recording room you try to can put some blankets on the walls and floors.
Bonus: How to sell your first course
The decisions you make when creating an online course, from choosing the subject to pricing the course, when done right, will help you make money. An important factor in selling an online course is also choosing the right online course platform for the size of your audience.
When starting out with no audience, placing your online course on a grouping platform can help boost your sales.
But, if you have an audience already you can sell to, it’s best to use a course-building platform for an individual creator that allows you to sell one or multiple online courses from your own website and scale your business globally.
- Put your course online
- Determine your course price
- Launch, promote, and build a community
- Sell an online course
1. Put your course online
Online course websites and templates
A clear, benefit-oriented website will sell the course for you. That’s why choosing a website builder is an important part of this task. It all comes down to answering this simple question: Why should someone choose your coure over another? Present the promise to your customer, so they know what to expect. Check out our guide on how to create an online course website.
It would be great to have a ready-made course template, wouldn’t it? A ready-to-go template makes it much easier to build your online course website and lets you focus on its content and structure.
An online course needs a great website to sell it. Whether you’re a designer, marketer, photographer, coach, or visual artist, this collection of online course templates will help you get started and create a successful website for any online course.
A good online course website template offers:
- A course outline with sections
- A course website layout
- A course website design
- Your bio section or an author page
- A course landing page with the course trailer, time duration, description and other multimedia
- Headers, paragraphs, and image placeholders
- Buy buttons
- A checkout page
From a preset outline to a checkout page, a good course template helps in creating and selling your course, keeping the best conversion practices in mind.
2. Determine your course price
Pricing is a crucial factor in the success of beginning your online course. After spending time making content, pricing is the next thing to do. The decision of what price to charge is a crucial element of any business and may cause a little bit of anxiety. However, putting a price on your abilities doesn’t have to be a daunting task.
Frankly, it’s simple. When you develop or offer online classes, the best price is one that brings about the feeling of fairness and satisfaction for you and your customers.
3. Launch, promote, and build a community
Launching your online course is an exciting moment. Don’t feel shy about promoting your own course. Be proud of what you make and share it with the world.
A good and consistent promotion pays back in new students.
It’s best to promote your course (high convertions) on your own blog and with an email newsletter. If you have a well-performing social media it might become your significantly converting channel.
When you convince people to buy your course, it’s important to find a way to make them stick around. A community is the best way of doing that. Students can share their experiences on the Activity Feed; they can talk about courses and help each other learn. And when you perhaps launch a new course they will be the first ones to find out about that.
How much should you charge for a mini course?
Mini course can be marketed as an early access courses with a discount.
A short video course is a great way to engage your audience in the process of creating your art and getting paid for that. Creators usually set the price of short video courses from $10 to $50. However, how much you’ll earn depends on how you price your online course and its value to people. If you put your heart into creating the video and promoting it on social media, you can make an additional passive income on each of your artworks by showing people how you made it.
If you’re looking struggling to decide if a mini course is for you, here’s our top recommendation. Just do it! It’s the less risky way to start your online platform. Start from a mini course, and charge $10-50 for it. Then, find ways to enhance its value to $100. Finally, opt for a premium price of $250.A mini course and its price are based on value-based pricing and on the belief that the lower the cost of your course, the less time you’ll devote to developing an online course. This means you can offer multiple mini courses at $10-$50.
The rule of thumb in how to price your online course is that the lower the cost of the course then you must convince more people to purchase it, which means you have to need to be more aggressive in promoting it. With the higher cost of the course, you will need to convince fewer people, meaning you spend less time on promotion.
How Creating Mini-Courses Changed My Business (and Can Change Yours, Too)
When I started my online business, I was thrilled to help clients grow and succeed.
However, as the business grew, I found myself working long hours, juggling marketing, sales, and client work.
It was clear I needed to rethink my business model to scale and have more time with my family.
That’s when I discovered the power of digital products. By selling digital products, I was able to add an additional stream of income to my business while also helping more people.
But my favorite digital product is the mini-course.
This quick-to-create digital asset is a game-changer.
Not only does it build your list with qualified buyers, but it also injects cash into your business every month.
Plus, it provides a low-cost gateway into working with you that can lead to higher-priced offers down the line.
What is a Mini-Course, Anyway?
A mini-course is a type of online course that is short, targeted, and compact.
Mini-courses are designed to be more focused and specific than traditional online courses, and are often used to teach a specific skill or solve a specific problem.
Because they are shorter and more targeted, mini-courses are often easier to create and more affordable for students.
Benefits of Creating a Mini-Course
Creating a mini-course is a great way to share your knowledge and expertise with more people that you can with your 1:1 services. It also allows you to diversify your income, build your list with qualified buyer (not just freebie-seekers), and can lead people to your higher-priced services and programs.
By creating a mini-course, you can also:
– Provide value to your audience: A mini-course can help your audience learn a new skill or solve a specific problem.
– Build authority in your niche: By demonstrating your expertise through a mini-course, you can establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry.
– Generate passive income: Once your mini-course is created, you can sell it repeatedly without putting in additional effort.
Mini-courses are smaller and more focused than longer Signature Courses, making them easier to create with less of a learning curve.
And don’t worry – you don’t have to be a person with 20 years of expertise under your belt. If you’ve got something to teach other people from SEO to coding to quilting to scrapbooking – you can create a mini-course!
How to Create Your Mini-Course in Record Time
Now that you understand the benefits of creating a mini-course, it’s time to start building one for yourself.
Whether you’re an established expert or just starting out, creating a mini-course can be a great way to grow your business and reach a wider audience.
But where do you start? How do you turn your knowledge and expertise into a valuable mini-course?
Here are the steps you need to follow to create your own mini-course and start generating passive income while providing value to your audience.
Step 1: Choose Your Mini-Course Topic
Before you start creating your mini-course, you need to decide what you want to teach.
First, think about what you are passionate about and what are knowledgeable in. Then, consider your audience and what they would find valuable and interesting.
Once you have your topic, you need to narrow it down to a specific area of focus. This will help you create a course that is focused, valuable, and relevant to your audience.
Here are some tips for choosing your mini-course topic:
– Identify your target audience and their needs: Who do you want to teach? What problems do they need help solving?
– Research your competition: What topics are other people teaching in your niche? How can you make your topic unique?
– Keep it laser-focused: Your mini-course should be focused on one specific topic, providing your students with a promised transformation.
Your mini-course should be laser-focused on providing your students with a promised transformation.
For example, if you were a social media consultant, you could create a mini-course on “How to create Instagram Reels.”
Step 2: Outline Your Mini-Course Curriculum
The next step is to outline your curriculum. This is where you will decide what lessons you will cover.
You can create an outline using a mind map, a bullet point list, or any other method that works for you. Just make sure that you include the main points you want to cover and the order in which you want to cover them.
The next step is to outline your curriculum. This is where you will decide what lessons you will cover. You can create an outline using a mind map, a bullet point list, or any other method that works for you. Just make sure that you include the main points you want to cover and the order in which you want to cover them.
Here’s how to create a solid mini-course curriculum:
– Define clear learning objectives: What do you want your students to learn in each lesson?
– Include teaching points: What information do you need to convey to help your students achieve their learning objectives?
– Add a conclusion: How will you wrap up each lesson to ensure your students understand the information you presented
Step 3: Create Your Mini-Course Assets
To make your mini-course more interactive and engaging, create supporting materials like worksheets and other assets. This can help your students to better understand the information that you are teaching, and will also make the course more memorable.
Here are some tips for creating mini-course assets:
– Use visuals: Including videos, slides, images, or other visual elements can help break up the content and make it more engaging.
– Create worksheets: Worksheets can help your students apply what they’ve learned and reinforce key concepts.
– Consider adding quizzes or assessments: Including quizzes or assessments can help your students check their understanding and reinforce the learning objectives.
You can use tools like Canva, Google Slides, or Microsoft PowerPoint to create your mini-course worksheets and other materials.
Step 4: Record Your Mini-Course
Now that you have your outline and assets, it’s time to record your mini-course.
You can do this using a screen recording software or a webcam.
Just make sure that you have good lighting and sound quality.
You can also use props or visual aids to help illustrate your points.
Keep it simple and on topic.
Make sure that your recording is high-quality and that the audio is clear. You may need to invest in a good microphone if the sound quality of your computer isn’t clear enough.
Step 5: Outline Your Mini-Course Sales Page
In order to sell your Mini-Course, people need a place to purchase it.
That’s why it’s important to create a sales page that effectively promotes your mini-course.
To create a sales page for your mini-course, follow these steps:
1. Start with a headline that clearly states the benefits of your mini-course and grabs the reader’s attention.
2. Create an opening that sets the scene and introduces the problem your mini-course solves. Explain the pain points and frustrations your audience is facing and how your mini-course can help them.
3. Detail the curriculum of your mini-course, highlighting its key components and what the reader will learn. Make sure to include any unique or value-added elements that will make your mini-course stand out.
4. Share testimonials from previous students or customers who have seen success with your mini-course. This will give potential buyers social proof and help build trust.
5. Offer bonuses or additional resources that complement the mini-course and make it a more complete package.
6. Use strong calls-to-action throughout the page to encourage the reader to take action and sign up for your mini-course.
7. Close with a final call-to-action and a sense of urgency, such as a limited-time offer or a guarantee.
Remember, the goal of your sales page is to convince the reader that your mini-course is the solution they need, so make sure to clearly communicate the benefits, include social proof, and offer a compelling call-to-action.
Step 6: Design the Sales Page for Your Mini-Course
Once you’ve outlined your sales page, it’s time to design it.
You can use a tool such as LeadPages or you can use your own website to create a professional-looking sales page.
You can also hire a designer to create a custom design for you.
Make sure that your sales page is visually appealing and easy to navigate, and that it includes clear calls to action such as “Buy Now” or “I’m In!” that encourage people to sign up for your mini-course.
Step 7: Launch your Mini-Course and Make Money
The final step in creating your mini-course is to launch it to the world.
Launching can be a very exciting and lucrative process.
To maximize your chances of success, it’s important to have a clear and well-executed plan in place.
The following steps can help you launch and sell your mini-course with confidence:
1. Create buzz: Before you launch your course, create buzz around it on social media. Share teasers, sneak peeks, and behind-the-scenes looks to build excitement and anticipation.
2. Utilize your email list: Utilize your email list to promote your mini-course. Write an email introducing your mini-course and explaining what it’s about, what the benefits are, and why your audience should sign up. Offer an exclusive discount or bonus for your email subscribers.
3. Leverage social media platforms: Choose the social media platforms where your target audience is most active, and use them to promote your course. Share posts, run ads, and collaborate with influencers to reach a wider audience.
4. Utilize video content: Video content is a great way to showcase your mini-course. You can create a trailer or a promotional video that highlights the content, benefits, and value of your course. Share the video on social media and your email list.
5. Make it shareable: Encourage your students, friends, and followers to share your mini-course with their networks. Offer an incentive for referrals, such as a discount code or bonus content.
By utilizing these strategies, you can launch your mini-course quickly, reach a large audience, and sell a ton.
Time to Get Going On Your Mini-Course!
I hope I’ve opened your eyes to how doable it is for you to get your expertise packaged and out into the world as a mini-course!
Follow the steps outlined above, to create a mini-course from choosing your topic to launching it to the world.
Time to get busy and start planning your mini-course today and take your first step toward building passive income!
