Using Your Expertise To Educate People Online

Many people want to get out of the rat race and stop working 9-5, but they aren't sure how to go about it. One way is to build your own personal brand by using the experience and knowledge you have and sharing that with others!

Here, in this comprehensive guide, we’re going to talk about how you can use this experience and expertise to educate people online. Read on to learn more:

Why Educate People Online?

First of all, you should be aware of some of the benefits of educating people online. There are many benefits of teaching people online rather than in person in a traditional learning environment. One of the main benefits is that you get to have more control over your teaching environment, so you can make it as inspiring as you like. People choose to learn with you, too - they aren't forced into it. They have a choice. This means you know that the people consuming your content and taking your course are there because they want to be there, and this can be a fantastic motivator!

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Then, there’s the ‘Teach once, sell multiple times’ benefit. This is where you simply create one YouTube video or course, and you can continue making money from it providing people keep on buying it. You can be on hand to answer questions and things of course, but you won’t need to teach the same things over and over again to benefit. In this respect, it’s very much like a passive income that you will barely need to think about. If you create multiple videos and courses, you can end up with a lucrative income without working for hours and hours on end each week.

Educating people online also allows you to build a community of people who learn together. They can contact one another on forums, on Facebook groups, or even with Twitter hashtags. These groups and hashtags can also be a way for potential students to learn more about your courses and what you can offer them. Social proof is a fantastic way to sell your material - there’s nothing quite as powerful as it! You will also steadily build your brand and authority online as you continue to share information and expertise, both free and paid. You could become a household name or an industry name for sharing your expertise in your own unique, authentic way.

Below we have some ideas and advice on how to get started if this sounds like it could be something that is suited to you:

Know Who You’re Creating Content For

First of all, you need to have a good idea of who you’re creating content for. Your content will not speak to everybody, and trying to speak to everybody may only hinder your success. You should think about who your audience are, perhaps even create some consumer profiles, so that you can speak and relate to them directly. Treating this like a business is important, and creating consumer profiles is something that a business owner would do. In order to be successful you can’t think of yourself as somebody who creates content in their spare time or as a hobby; it must be treated and thought of as a business. Doing this will make all the difference. Now, you may want to create content for specific people, such as the disenfranchised and underserved. There are courses that can help you with this, such as the University of Redlands MALT program. Investing in yourself by taking courses and always aiming to learn something new will make a big difference to your success. You will instantly become a more desirable and valuable person to learn from. Get started on those consumer profiles first before creating any content and your content will be far more targeted and successful.

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Set Goals

Setting goals gives you something to aim for and can stop you from getting complacent. What would you like to achieve as you educate people online? Would you like to create a successful business? Become a public speaker? Maybe you’d simply like to build up a following on YouTube, or become a little known in an industry you’re passionate about. Set both short and long term goals that will help you to stay focused, but make sure they are actionable. Actionable goals mean you can come up with a plan to achieve them, rather than just leaving it over to fate to decide! Write down your goals and put them somewhere you can see them every day. Keeping them fresh in your mind will keep you focused and motivated and help you to get to where you want to be sooner rather than later.

Gather Together The Equipment You’ll Need

Make sure you have the equipment you need to educate people and create high quality content. You don't have to take out a huge loan to gather everything together all at once, but you should make a plan and prioritise things. For example, a quality laptop, such as the macbook pro, is portable, functional, and will allow you to create multiple types of content. A good video camera is also a good idea, and perhaps other types of video equipment, such as a ring light and backdrop. There are plenty of YouTube videos out there that can help you to get started, so take a look and make a list of the things you think you’ll need.

Create YouTube Videos

YouTube videos allow you to create and post content for free. You can monetize your videos by setting up ads and using affiliate links, but you should always disclose that this is what you are doing. YouTube videos will allow you to begin making a name for yourself before anybody begins purchasing your content; people won’t know that they want to purchase any of your content if they don’t get a feel for your style first. Creating youtube videos may seem daunting, but it is something that can be self taught, and you can start off small and simple to begin with. What’s important isn’t how amazingly edited the videos are, but how great your information is. They do need to look good to a degree, but when you’re just starting out the key is just that; getting started!

Write Blog Posts

Blogging isn’t dead yet, and writing blog posts can be a quick way to share your expertise and knowledge with people. If you love writing, this could be a great medium for you. Buying a professional domain name from the beginning shouldn’t cost you too much, providing you compare a few different ideas first, and it’ll make your blog seem more trustworthy. You can also design your own site using platforms like Wordpress, and again, there are plenty of tutorials on this if you’re not sure how to begin. Eventually, you may consider having a professional website built, especially if you begin charging for different services, perhaps consulting and one to one Skype calls. Until then, start small and do what you can to get your name and your content out there.

Micro Blog Using Instagram

Instagram is a great tool for sharing high quality pictures, and it also allows you to do something called ‘microblogging’. You can write a caption along with your instagram picture that counts as a microblog. Treat it just as you would a regular blog; no spelling or grammar errors, creatively written, interesting and informative, etc. You may also want to use a tool that allows you to put paragraph breaks in your caption, as Instagram doesn’t allow you to do this just yet. It can make your writing more digestible.

Create Online Courses

Now, on to the real money makers! Creating online courses are a great way for you to continue making money passively once you have built a bit of an online reputation. Using sites like the following can help depending on what you want from a platform:

• Udemy

• Rcampus

• Learnopia

• Peer to peer university

• Thinkific

Explore these sites and see which you think you’ll prefer to use. As we mentioned earlier, creating courses is great because you create the course once and you can continue making money every time it is purchased. However, you will need to market your courses!

Send Out A Weekly Newsletter

To keep people in the know and up to date on what you are doing next, you can consider sending out a weekly newsletter. Build up your mailing list by offering free valuable content, and then find the right balance; you don’t want to spam people, but you should be consistent with your efforts.

Don’t Put It Off - Just Get Started

If you know this is something you want to do, don’t let analysis paralysis get a hold of you. Just take a baby step today and get started!