Here at Teachable, we aim to be the #1 source for resources and guidance on creating a successful online course. But let's talk about what we mean when we say "online course." I know, that might feel basic, but the online course world is new, and it's important that we're all talking about the same thing. Think about it for a second. :thinks:

You've probably heard the term "online course" used in a few different ways. You may have encountered email courses, for example, which are just that: lessons delivered as a sequence of emails. These don't require any technology but an email service provider, like Convertkit, MailChimp, or Aweber. On the other end of the spectrum, you can get degrees from accredited universities and institutions through online classes. In those scenarios, you'll have a teacher, a cohort of classmates, and graded assignments that culminate in a final project or exam you'll need to pass or fail. You'll likely have deadlines, and may have to attend virtual classes and do projects with classmates. You'll often leave these programs with a degree or certification.

Online courses hosted on Teachable are usually somewhere in the middle of those 2 extremes. Teachable gives you an online space to host your online courses. We call your Teachable site a school, and you can add any number of courses to your school. You can deliver the content via email, but it lives in your Teachable course at a special domain. And since you can make your content available to any students who have a login, courses on Teachable are usually more flexible and less formal than traditional university courses.

And how can these online courses benefit you? Let's take a look at the common benefits of teaching online:

• You can start over. If you're looking to make a career or lifestyle change, an online course like this can help you build up a reputation as an expert, make passive income, and earn money from anywhere.
• You can stop selling your time. If you are getting burned out offering your time to clients, an online course can be a lifesaver. You can translate some of your services to an online course, and offer them to clients who can't afford your hourly rate for 1-on-1 attention, or get stuck on your waiting list.
• If you earn money sharing your knowledge at training events, in classrooms, or as a coach, you can translate part of your program to an online course. You'll be able to share your knowledge with people who don't come hear you in person, and earn more without doing more.
• You can monetize your following. If you have an online following and already create content, you can expand some of what you know into an online course and offer it to your fanbase at a higher price point than you would a simple product like an ebook. It can get you income that doesn't depend on partnerships, sponsorships, or other external factors.

Now let's talk a little about scope when it comes to creating your online courses. No matter why you are coming to online courses, you're likely dreaming of all the possibilities. "What if I taught people exactly how to get hired in content marketing? What if I created a unique and transformative training program that helped people realize the power of a vegan lifestyle, make massive life changes, and live 30 years longer? Or...maybe I should just teach people how to update their LinkedIn profile to get hired."

For most of us it's natural to imagine our big dreams, but it's actually not a great idea to start your course journey by creating your magnum opus. At Teachable, we talk about online courses in 3 tiers: Mini courses, Regular old courses, or standard courses, and Flagship courses.

Here's what I mean: A mini course is a very short course with only 1 or 2 sections. Students can learn the information is just a handful of lessons, or steps. A mini course can be completed in under an hour. It's a valuable course on a very specific topic that gives your audience a taste of your main curriculum. Most mini courses are free and only require an email address to sign up. Free mini courses are used primarily for growing your email list and audience. Paid mini courses usually cost less than $50, and may be used to test your audience and see if they're willing to pay for your content, and they may also be used as part of a preselling tactic. They can also appear as upsells, bonuses or add-on offers.

A course, on the other hand, is your bread and butter. It's more robust than a mini course, but still digestible. It can be completed in a few sittings, but it provides a more substantial transformation than a mini course. For example, students will learn a new, valuable skill that allows them to make a career or life change, or save money or time. These courses are usually $100–$500.

A flagship course is your magnum opus, your life's work, your ultimate product offering, the last and best thing you can offer before pivoting in your business. Flagship courses often require months to complete, and usually include higher touchpoints, like one-on-one attention, a mastermind group, a certification, or personalized feedback on student work. These courses provide an extreme life or career transformation, and often have a price point between $500–$2000, and sometimes more, depending on how valuable the information is.

There is a special relationship between these types of courses. Remember the 4 stages of building an online course business? You'll use a mini course to get through stages 1 and 2: validating your course idea and building your audience. In stage 3, you'll build your full course, and in stage 4 you'll launch it and start selling. We'll get into that process in much more detail in other lessons. For now, you just need to understand this relationship.

In our resources here at Teachable, we focus on mini courses and regular old bread and butter courses. Why? Because you don't need to create a flagship course until you're neck-deep in your course creation journey. And, if you're ready to create your flagship course, you've likely already figured out a lot of what we need to cover to help you get your course business off the ground. And that's our goal—to give you the information and strategies you need to build a viable, profitable online course business.