5 Reasons Why you should Create an Online Course and How Improv Can Help — KATIUSCIA BAGGIO

The title might create some objections, I know. You might be thinking “ Why should I create an online course? What is “improv”?

I’m pretty sure that, especially after this past year, you heard a lot about online courses. Almost all the in person training and coaching went online, due to the external restrictions. You also probably know that even long before the Covid-19 era, the e-learning field was booming. I’m talking specifically about on demand and self-paced training, not live courses. Those courses you can start and finish when you want, because they are always available to you.

I started to buy online educational programs many years ago and I loved the possibility to follow the lessons based on my schedule. An amazing online course I took was B-School, created by the well known Marie Forleo. I decided to enroll in her Program in 2019, when I quit my full time job to start my new venture as an online course creator. This training gave me the framework to start to move my first steps and to understand more the skills required to build and online business. What I particularly liked about B-School was that every unit was released on a specific date, and in between there were suggested exercises and practice.

That’s exactly the format I’m using now on my latest online course, where I teach others how to build and publish their first digital training. After publishing my courses on Lifelearning, Skillshare, Avocado and Udemy, where I currently have more than 26.000 students from all around the world, I also built my own online academy, “Improvise and Succeed”, based on the coaching and training methodology I share on my book.

Starting an online educational business was one of the best decisions of my life so far, and here are the reasons behind.

1. On demand and self paced training give you the opportunity to build more freedom in your life. If you are an expert in some fields, you can teach your topic once and then you can sell the same course over and over again, without having to trade your time. You can be on vacation and, at the same time, people around the world can follow your lessons.
2. You can share your know-how and your passion with a larger number of people. Thanks to the Web, access to your training becomes exponential. You create a positive impact and make a difference in people life worldwide.
3. You build legacy. Publishing an online course, like writing a book, gives you the opportunity to spread out your message, independently from your physical presence. Your course will be always available to others, no matter what happens in your life.
4. You build self-confidence and authority in your field. Once you have a framework in place, it is quite easy to create and publish an online course, even if you are not a techie person. What you need is a smart phone, a small microphone, one or two lights, and a topic to teach. After you create your first course, your self-esteem will ramp up. People will get more familiar with your brand and they will start to see you as the “go to expert”.
5. You create a flexible side business, without necessarily quit your job. The investment required to start is extremely low. Also, you can run your side business independently from external conditions. As long as there is Internet connection, your course is available on the market.

These are the five major reasons I see behind building an online course, based on my personal experience. You might have other motivations, different from mine.

Now, let’s go to the improv side. How improv can help in all of this?

Improvisation (called also “improv”) skills help you to take actions even if you don’t feel totally prepared and/or you are unsure about your abilities. In reality, improv is much more than that. It teaches you also how to deeply listening and connecting with others, and building positive relationships. This is the topic of my book, “ Improvise and Succeed “. The question is how can this help you in creating an online course?

Lot of people get stuck in the online course creation process because they don’t feel prepared. It’s never for them the right moment to sit down and create the layout of their course, or stand in front of a videocamera and start to record their first video. Or, they start but then they don’t go ahead. There is always something missing, that could be clarity, self-esteem, willingness to show their face to the worlds, etc. etc.

Improv skills help people to start the creation process despite their resistance, and keep going even when their mind is telling them they should stop. It’s not about perfection, it’s about progression. Your first online course will probably be not perfect, and very likely you will be the only one to notice that. Once you create your first digital product, you build the know-how and the self-confidence that will allow you to create your second, third, fourth course, and so on…

You can always go back and edit or improve your first course. The platforms that are available today — no matter if they are marketplaces like Udemy or software hosting companies like Teachable — give you lot of flexibility in that regard.

On my online course creation training, specific for beginners, I suggest my students to build a course that lasts max 1 hour. After your course is created, you can always extended on a second step, if you wish.

If you are interested in the topic, watch my free masterclass on how to create and publish your first online course. Here is the link. Enjoy it!

Originally published at https://www.katiusciabaggio.com on March 2, 2021.