The Ultimate Guide to Starting Your eLearning Business
Selecting the Appropriate Business Model
Before you decide to launch an eLearning business, it’s recommended to consider the business models associated with it. There are 2 types of business models in eLearning and based on the business you would like to run, you can choose the one that matches your needs:
- The "Night School” Model
- The "Academy” Model
The "Night School” Model
Considered as a classic business model for eLearning, it’s been widely used in most of the schools and institutions around the world. In this business model, learners have to pay an up-front fee only once for gaining access. There is a fixed curriculum from beginning till the end which learners have to follow while their progression is effectively tracked with the help of quizzes/tests. The best part about this business model is it doesn’t let you deviate from the main topic or involves any "extras” (except for the additionally bought ones).
As far as the selling of the courses is concerned, there is no defined limit. It’s usually advised to develop one that solves the major issues of your audience. Depending on the content and the utility of the courses, you can sell them from $10 to $5000 or even more.
Who is it Ideal for?
Being a flexible business model for eLearning, it can be easily adapted by most online schools or teaching institutes. Catering to a myriad of eLearning businesses over the last few years, this model is considered to be ideal for:
- New businesses as it helps to test your products and get feedback from your audience.
- High-ticket businesses that involve selling products at a one-off value of $2000+ or more.
- Online businesses that include selling one-off courses without the support of a "school” environment.
However, there are some cons to choosing this method which involves:
- The consistent launch and relaunch of products is required to update the course content
- To get results, you need to create high-quality courses that involve more time and effort
- As every course has a unique sales funnel, you need to create multiple funnels for every course
