Online learning allows students & instructors to experience freedom while still leveling up. But with the growth of the market also grows competition. Thus, it is vital to keep up with the trends and offer something that sells.
Throughout this article, we will review how you can create an online mini-course that will help you generate leads and get clients times faster. By the way, the whole process will take less than 48 hours.
So, if you are ready, let’s dive into it!
The following article covers:
#1 Choose a specific topic for the specific target audience
#4 Create your mini-course without much effort
#6 Create your website and mini course sales page
What is a mini-course?
A mini-course is a short educational program that tends to be highly niche-specific and focused. It is designed to equip students with skills and knowledge in a targeted area within a short period of time.
Mini-course benefits over standard courses
Typical characteristics of mini-courses that distinguish them from standard ones and even make them better include:
- The mini-course is shorter in length. This is beneficial as it makes keeping learners engaged and motivated far easier.
- It allows you to deliver key concepts and in-depth details of niche topics in a clear and concise manner with no water.
- It is niche specific & targets particular learning outcomes. This allows for the efficient achievement of the original goals & outcomes.
- It is a great way to get new leads easily. You can use mini-courses to showcase your expertise in the field. And when people see that you are good at what you are doing, they are more likely to trust you and consider your online courses as well.
So, at the end of the day, mini-courses allow for time and cost-efficient learning both for students and instructors. Also, they provide targeted learning experiences that contribute to the growth of your client base.
3 mini course examples
To avoid confusion, let’s overview 3 examples of mini-courses.
- “Basics of Digital Photography in less than 7 Days”. Courses such as this one allow you to also declare with the headline that the course is precise, short & to the point.
- Another example is a niche marketing course; for instance, instead of “Social Media Marketing: Basics,” you can offer a “Social Media Marketing for Small Businesses: Boost Brand Awareness & Get a Practical Plan.”
- “Introduction to Personal Finance: Build your Perfect Budget” is also a good example, as it showcases the theme & the outcome within the headline.
Not only can you make your mini-course as a main offer, but also present them as a bonus offer. Let’s see how other creators bring these into effect.
On his webpage, I Will Teach You How to be Rich, Ramit Sethi introduces one of his mini-courses. As you read the title and the course description, it becomes apparent who the mini-course is intended for. Besides, the mini-course is free. This means the learners will need to leave their email to get it, making it an excellent way to increase the client base.
Therefore, if you already have a course, you can easily generate a mini-course topic, potentially increasing your earnings, even if the mini-course is offered for free.
Another example of using a mini-course is by offering it as a bonus. We can see this tactic employed by creators and author Chris Guillebeau. Chris also offers his mini-course bearing the same title on the webpage of one of his books.
What makes his offer even better is that the mini-course is not publicly available. So, only those who get the book can have access to it.
Now that we have a better idea about mini-courses and their usage, let’s walk into the main steps.
#1 Choose a specific topic for the specific target audience
To reach the target audience and spike interest, you must know who your audience is. So, based on your expertise and industry, identify your target audience through research and create specific topics for a few mini-courses to get started with.
With online courses, you have the chance to pick a general topic and go into all the details. However, your mini-courses should aim at covering narrower topics. Make sure that the topics are up-to-date, specific, actional, and interesting. These are three factors affecting the selling potential of the course. Also, the course must be built around solving a specific problem and offering to-the-point solutions that learners can start implementing.
Example topic: “Email Marketing: Create Sequences & Templates that Work”
Maximum mini-course duration: 2-4 hours
#2 Set the aim of your course
The next step is to set goals for your course. Potential goals are:
- Sell more courses to increase the income level.
- To gather a wider audience and grow your client base
- To generate more leads and increase brand awareness
- To promote your other courses and implement cross-selling & upselling strategies.
Example aim: Make $500 within the first month from course X.
Maximum mini-course duration: 2 hours
#3 Outline your course
Instead of focusing on creativity, focus on value. When creating a course, ask yourself why someone would purchase it, and what value will they gain? Everyone considers education an investment; thus, make sure you offer value good enough to bring them a return on that investment. This is one of the most motivational factors behind purchases.
It is time to create an outline for the course. To give value, include topics that provide information, in-depth analysis, and solutions to the problems.
An example outline for the “Time Management” Mini-Course can be:
- Introduction to the course & basics of time management
- Challenges faced
- Techniques of time optimization
- Techniques for overcoming procrastination
- Tools & Resources.
Also include description, goals & learning outcomes sections in your outline besides topics.
Maximum course duration: 2-4 hours
#4 Create your mini-course without much effort
When you have an outline and topics, write down the key solution/value your course provides. Now, based on this, start building up your whole course. You can use AI to help you with video scripts. Also, you do not need pro editing; simply make sure your videos look nice & clean with no special effects. Pay attention to the audio, background, and quality of the video.
When recording the videos according to scripts, ensure that you do not sound robotic. Also, use examples to illustrate concepts better. You can utilize whiteboard tools to explain certain ideas even better.
Keep in mind that the length of a mini-course varies from topic to topic. However, typically, those are courses that take from a few days up to a few weeks to complete.
Example content: Make your life easier with ChatGPT & Loom to create audio and text content.
Maximum mini-course duration: 10-14 hours
#5 Price your minicourse
Another vital aspect to take into consideration when building a mini-course is pricing. The pricing strategy is usually based on the original aim.
Let’s say you are trying to sell a course. First, you can offer a free lesson or PDF of key concepts, and users can easily access it after providing their email in a special form. These emails can be collected into a sequence, and you will have your leads for an email marketing campaign.
To gain customers who are ready to appreciate the value you provide, do not aim to price the courses cheap. Many beginners make these mistakes. However, this may make you look like someone who does not have enough expertise. Thus, consider the market and audience as well as your competitor’s ad offer pricing based on these factors.
Example price: $25: Example goal 500/mo from course X, need = 20 customers.
Maximum mini-course duration: 2 hours
#6 Create your website and mini course sales page
When the course itself is ready as well, now you need a website to start sales on. One of the most efficient and feature-rich LMS platforms that will allow you to build a website within minutes is Uteach.
Uteach comes in handy with every functionality needed for course creators. It has a website & course builder, integrations, multimedia support, quiz & certification builder. Plus, it allows for fast website setup for free.
When you set up the website, do not forget about setting up a sales page for the course. The main components of a successful sales page include a banner in the headers and a CTA below every section. Make sure to use readable fonts, contrasting or complimenting colors, and visuals, as well as leave enough white spaces. Also, here are a few examples of Primary CTAs you should use, including “Get the Course Now” and “Get Access.”
Maximum mini-course duration: 2-4 hours
#7 Promote your mini-course everywhere
When everything is ready to go, it is time to promote your course everywhere. Establish an online presence on social media, and ask your friends & family members to share the course page. Also, set up a marketing budget to create efficient and highly targeted social media ads; they will bring a return on investment when done properly.
Other marketing techniques to use include email marketing, affiliate programs (which work well with influencers), discounts, deals, and limited offers.
Example marketing tactics: Campaign on 500 leads, post sharing on social media, ads meant to reach 1000+ people on Facebook.
Maximum mini-course duration: 14-18 hours
All set, let’s get started!
Now you know how you can easily get your first mini course going in just 48 hours!
As you can see, mini courses serve as more than just a primary income source; they also provide an opportunity for cross-selling. Thus, you get the chance to reach a broader audience, generate additional income streams and establish expertise in your niche.
We believe these little steps help you to turn your expertise into a profitable business. And to make it even easier for you, we provide you with a 14-day free trial!
FAQ
Are you still not sure about the number of modules, duration and pricing of your mini-course? Let’s address these questions and find the optimal solutions for you!
1. How many modules should a mini-course have?
Typically, mini-courses can be covered in 3-5 modules. However, it is not a strict rule. The divisions within your topic can help you decide on the number of modules. For example, having three modules might make sense if your topic naturally breaks down into three main sections. Try to keep your course length under 3 hours.
2. How much should a mini-course be priced for?
You can price your mini-course beginning with $0 to even $100. Let's say you have a mini-course that offers 3 hours of video content on a specialized topic, and you're targeting a niche audience with a moderate income level. In this case, you can price it for $49-$99.
3. Can I update my mini-course later?
Yes, you can update and repurpose a mini-course later, just as you do with online courses. For example, you might turn a written mini-course into a video series, an ebook, a podcast, or vice versa. Thus, you will reach a wider audience and present it in a format your students like best.
Your website can be ready within minutes
Create your website within minutes with Uteach.
Uteach is a potent automation that comes in handy with a website & course builder and a variety of customization options. So, stop hesitating and get started. Make sure to utilize the power of every feature, including the local payment gateway, live functionality, and white labeling.
A few tips for building better websites are SEO-optimizing the webpages, displaying past client testimonials or your certificates, leaving just enough white spaces, creating landing pages for each course, and you are good to go.
Book a demo now to see all the features in action and get your first mini-course going!
