Should you have an online course or membership?

Everyone's selling an online course or membership these days aren't they? They are the best way to make "passive" income in your business, right?

I think it is something to think about, but it's not for everyone. There are a few things to consider first.

Is it right for you?

Do you want to run your business online? Or are you likely to run your business in person (once we can)? Do you want passive income in your business?

We all think a course or membership will boost our income, but it's generally not a short term fix. If you do most of your business via referral or word of mouth, you likely don't have a big email list to sell to, which will take time to build.

Do you enjoy creating content or do you find it a chore? Some people would rather do 1:1 coaching and not have the hassle of creating something and having the tech to go with it. Although it can be low tech to sell a course (you just need a PayPal button), over time you might need to have a website for them to go to.

Audience

Do you have the audience for a course or membership? Your email list will convert at around 1-2% (and less for social media). This is really small, so if you know you will need to sell 100, you will need a list of at least 5,000. I found this shocking at the start, and wasn't really prepared for that. I still don't have a huge list, but I'm realistic about launches and how much money I can make each time.

Not really passive

Passive income is bandied about as a way to make money and sit on a beach. Some passive products are like that, and if you create a course, or a book, then all the time is upfront and you can reap the rewards later.

But you still have to market the thing, and regularly put it in front of people to get more sales, it's not one and done. And if you have a membership, you need to decide how high touch it is. Do you have a community with it? Do you do live classes or Q&As? You have to retain members and most come for the content and stay for the community.

Course vs membership

An online course can be something you produce once and then sell as a product on your website, and put in your sales funnel, so it needs little or no interaction from you. You could run it live and launch it that way.

A membership is a longer term thing. You need to commit to it and be prepared to host it well. You will need to bring members in regularly and you will need to nurture them.

If you want to know more, look at my masterclass Pricing your Online Course or Membership. More info here.