How Much Does It Cost To Start an Online Course – Guide 2024
Building an online course is a lucrative and rewarding business idea, most particularly in the coming 2024, whereby digital learning reaches new heights. Be it to an already established entrepreneur or a fresh face in the online education market, knowing how much it costs to develop and launch an online course will help you take that very important first step.
Starting an online course isn't just about the content but the investment in the right strategic tools for delivery. In this post, we itemize and dissect the costs of creating an online course for inside-details experience and recommendations on the best ways to budget for it.
Keep reading to know the average cost of an online course and ways to optimize spending for an increased return on investment.
First of all, take a quick look at this table. It shows the estimated range of costs:
| Expense Category | Estimated Cost Range |
|---|---|
| Curriculum Development | $0 - $5,000 |
| Tools and Resources for Curriculum | $0 - $100 |
| Content Creation | $1,000 - $10,000 |
| Tools and Resources for Content | $250 - $1,000 |
| eLearning Platform Subscription | $0 - $500/month |
| Marketing and Promotion | $500 - $5,000 |
| Additional Costs | $200 - $1,000 |
| Total Estimated Cost Range | $1,950 - $22,600+ |
Now, let's dive deeper to examine each major cost in detail.
Breakdown of Costs:
1. Curriculum Development
Curriculum development is the most critical and perhaps the first step of creating an online course. Depending on your course's length and complexity, the cost of curriculum development can vary dramatically. This can cost upwards of $50 to $100 an hour for some instructional designers. You will save money if you decide to write a curriculum all by yourself, whereby your time is your primary cost.
- Google Docs or Microsoft Word: These can be very important tools in the development of your curriculum. Both provide collaboration and are relatively user-friendly, thus making it rather easy to get organized with the content for your course.
- Trello or Asana: Project management tools like Trello or Asana help you keep track of your course development process. They allow checklists and tasks to be created with deadlines attached to them, so that one is able to complete the course on time.
Brett Williams, for example, also uses Trello. See how he manages it:
2. Content Creation
This entails video production and editing as well as the development of supporting items such as PDFs or quizzes. The cost of making an online course, in terms of developing the content, would lie in the bracket of $1,000 to $10,000 or more, depending on the quality and length of the content.
Videos need to be of professional quality, since they have a very high impact on engagement and student satisfaction.
- Camtasia or Adobe Premiere Pro: These both are high-end video editing tools that come with quite a number of features to offer in producing videos of high quality. Camtasia is user-friendly and great for beginners. On the other hand, Adobe Premiere Pro is perfect if you're a professional who wants detailed editing done for your videos.
- Canva: An excellent tool, Canva can churn out beautiful supporting materials such as infographics, presentation slides, and downloadable PDFs. Canva is user-friendly and has numerous available templates.
Matt Giovanisci strongly recommends focusing on content. Check out his approach and tips:
3. eLearning Platform Subscription
You'll need to host your online course on an eLearning platform. All of them cost differently, from free ones with limited features to a premium of $500 a month. The chosen platform is very important, for different platforms will provide different user experiences, empowering or hindering your ability to manage the course effectively.
- Teachable: Teachable, at $29/month, really sports an intuitive user interface and packs in most of the features needed for building online courses and management of students. It is top-notch for beginners.
- Kajabi: Kajabi is an all-powerful, one-click solution to course creation, marketing, and selling—starting at $149 a month. It's great for entrepreneurs looking to grow their online business.
- Udemy: Free to use, but it takes a percentage of your sales. Udemy is one of the popular marketplaces for online courses, so you gain huge visibility and access to a large student base.
4. Marketing and Promotion
Marketing will be the way forward to attract students into your course. But how much does it cost to promote an online course? The amount you will devote to this course will be determined by your goals and strategies.
On average, expect to spend anywhere from $500 to $5,000 for marketing campaigns. Effective marketing will help you attain your goals of enrollment by ensuring that your course reaches the targeted audience.
- Social Media Advertising: Advertise on places like Facebook and Instagram to reach demographics. Budgeting for social media ads can increase your course visibility tremendously.
- Email Marketing: Tools like Mailchimp and Convertkit will help in maintaining your email list. Keep the audience interested by sending regular newsletters and promotional emails that may trigger enrollments.
- SEO and Content Marketing: Investing in SEO tools and processes, such as keyword optimization and content marketing, allows visibility of your course to people seeking information on search engines. You will be able to attract organic traffic through the development of a blog or resource section on your website.
Find out more about Convertkit from its founder, Nathan Barry, in this article:
5. Additional eLearning Costs
Other expenses will include hosting your website, buying a domain name, or other software you may need for your course. These can add another $200-$1,000 to your overall budget. Having a professional and functioning website enhances your credibility and provides a seamless experience for your students.
- Bluehost: Starting at $3.95/month for website hosting. Bluehost is one of the best and most reliable ways to host a website, together with amazing customer support—an entrepreneur's favorite.
- Namecheap: $10/year, for registering your domain. Namecheap provides affordable domain registration services with extras, like protection of privacy.
If you don't know how to create your own website and how much it costs, this article is for you:
Creating an online course can be full of expenses in 2024, but effective planning and investing will help you never overspend. From the development of the curriculum to advertising for your course, knowledge of this financial terrain will assist you in choosing wisely so that returns on investment are maximized.
Knowing all of the elements highlighted in this guide, you can easily answer the question, "how much does it cost to create an online course?" You might be making a training program or a full eLearning course; knowing where to distribute your budget is what gets you on the right path.
Make a start now and let 2024 be the year you put a turbo under the online course that will teach and inspire. Good luck!
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