One of the great challenges when it comes to is managing to develop a material that, in addition to being necessary for those who buy it, does not quickly become obsolete.
This concern is not in vain. After all, no one wants to invest to create material that, in a short time, ceases to be interesting for their audience.
If you have something to teach and have already decided that you want to share your knowledge in the form of a digital product, you probably think about scaling your business.
In this post, we are going to show you 9 tips to help you keep your product always up to date:
We are sure that at the end of this text you will do what is necessary to keep your course as current as possible.
The disposable era
Surely you already know that the pace of transformation of the world is getting faster.
The changes are remarkable, from consumer goods, for example cell phones and computers, to the labor market, and this is even more noticeable when we talk about the digital area.
It is very easy to notice how outdated things are when we think of physical products.
For example:
If you buy a wireless device today, it will most likely be considered outdated within 1 month.
But do not think that this is a problem only in this type of merchandise. It is possible that there are online courses that go through the same dilemma.
In the digital market, this happens because there are very competitive players that are constantly being exploited by different people. The result of this is a high number of digital products on the same topics and that often even have a similar structure and content.
Of course, more than one person has knowledge about a certain area and that, for this reason, there will be different products on the same subject.
We are not saying that you need to innovate to the point of creating something totally out of the ordinary. There are other alternatives to this problem, such as exploring micro niches.
In addition, one course will never be the same as the other, since they are two completely different people who are going to teach the classes.
The problem that we want to show is that we are living in the era of the disposable, and everything that is no longer seen as necessary and current is quickly forgotten.
So what do you do when you realize that your online course is outdated when compared to other content in your niche?
Could it be that the secret is to look for new areas of action?
Calm! Despite the constant news, despair is not the solution!
What you need to do is develop the following attitudes:
1. Never stop studying
Surely you did a lot of research before deciding on the topic of your online course, even if you were already one in the chosen topic. Regardless of what your path has been, we are sure that you have studied hard to create all your material.
The problem is that, after the course has been created and sold, many people think the job is done.
However, if you have highly engaged students and an audience that hasn’t bought your product yet, but is showing increasing interest in what you have to teach, you need to keep studying so you don’t get left behind.
Remember how we talked about how everything is constantly developing?
This is the main reason not to stop updating yourself, even if you think you already know everything about your niche.
When there is an audience that faithfully follows your work, it is very likely that they have doubts and want to solve them with you.
The more information you have, the greater the chances of being able to better serve people who are looking for solutions in your product or communication channels, such as blogs and websites.
2. Update your content when necessary
The second clue so that you do not create an obsolete online course has a lot to do with the first.
The more you study, the more you learn, and therefore you can better perceive the gaps in the content that you had not seen before.
If you realize that you have some information that was not very detailed in your product or even that you have forgotten to cover some topic, do not be afraid to make small changes in your material.
But of course, for that, you need to inform your students about the modifications.
One suggestion is to create additional modules or even complementary materials, like an ebook, for example, to address what was missing.
Additional information is always welcome. This is even a way to charm your customers, maintain the relationship with them and, perhaps, arouse the desire for a new purchase when you launch another course.
By offering what’s best for your students, in addition to helping them find solutions, it also improves their experiences with your course.
With that, they can even become your ambassadors and recommend your product to other people.
3. Attention to the competition
Although your online course is considered the best in its niche, it is always good. When you have a clear idea of what other people in your area are doing, you can better think of strategies to.
Also, different people create different products.
When you see another course in your area, but with analytical eyes and not those of the person who produced it, you manage to capture what is different about that material from yours.
This can be a way to find some detail that you can improve in your online course.
But be very careful when doing this analysis!
The goal here is not to copy what other people are doing, let alone address certain issues just because a newer product did.
Even because, if you do exactly the same thing as your competition, you are plagiarizing content, which is considered a crime.
4. Analyze the reviews
Everyone knows that it is impossible to please everyone with the same content. When we think of online courses that also happens.
For this reason, rest assured that you will receive criticism throughout your journey as a Producer.
Of course, some criticisms that are made should not be taken into account, mainly those that are directed at personal areas. But there are some comments that can help you to have new ideas and make you realize some problems that you may not have seen. before.
So, what you can do to avoid creating an obsolete online course is to analyze all past comments well and use those that are constructive criticism.
From there, think of ways to improve what people have told you.
5. Worry about the student experience of your online course
In a world as turned towards technology as the one we are living in today, “empathy” is the word for those who want to distinguish themselves.
This means that you must always put yourself in the place of the other, who in an online course is your student.
This way you will be able to understand what the person is possibly feeling when buying and doing your course and, based on this, you can propose improvements to your product to improve the user experience.
Speaking of technology, so that your course never becomes obsolete, you should always be concerned with the student’s usability:
- Is the one chosen to host your online course the ideal one for your users?
- Do students find it easy to find answers whenever doubts arise?
- Have you used the?
- Is it easy to locate access to the lessons?
- Have you explored the maximum possible in your product?
In addition to these questions, think of others you can ask yourself to make sure you’re doing everything you can to ensure a good user experience.
6. Invest in training and events
You know when people talk about the importance of having daily doses of encouragement?
Trainings and events in your area of performance can be excellent to put it into practice.
There are several programs for those who are in the digital market and we believe that you should not be left out of them, because when you go to the events .
With that you can have new ideas for your online course, in addition to making contact with people who can be your partners in the future (we will talk more about partnerships in the next tip).
Pay close attention to the trainings and events around you and don’t be afraid to invest in some of them. Choose the ones you consider most interesting for your business.
7. Work collaboratively
As we said in the tip above, meeting new people is always good. But in addition to knowing her, it is important to try to establish some alliances.
Of course, if you want, you can work alone.
But if you have people who support you and give you new ideas, you may be able to update your online course whenever necessary.
8. Learn to adapt
At the beginning of this post we talked about how the world has changed rapidly, mainly when it comes to technology.
The way to keep up with all these changes is to learn to adapt whenever necessary.
Keep in mind that not only new opportunities will appear for you, but also new challenges, and it is your duty to achieve them.
Therefore, learn to adapt your way of creating or disseminating your online course when you feel you have to.
A good example of adaptation is to think about the market beyond your country.
If you have a product that has worked well in yours, and you have done some research and realized that it is also highly sought after in a different language, why not try to translate it?
Try not to limit your horizons! But be careful not to end up losing focus and trying to do more than you can.
9. Plan your future
Finally, our last suggestion to help you create an online course that does not get out of date refers to you.
Who are you now and who do you want to be in 5 years, for example?
What are the objectives that your online course has now and what are the objectives that you want it to reach in the future?
Will your course be useful to someone who wants to buy it in 10 months or 10 years?
Thinking about the future, whether near or far, is essential to understand what you need to do so that your product is not outdated.
After that, define the actions that you must carry out so that your course is required in the coming years and do not forget to always have your buyer person as a reference as the main improvement of your course.
As you have noticed, it is possible to create an online course and prevent it from becoming obsolete. From now on, think about our tips and put them into practice! Voucher?
Do you still have doubts about creating an online course?
Do not miss our post with.
This post was originally written in July 2017 and updated to include more complete and accurate information.
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