Are You Really Ready to Be a Course Creator?

Gwen: 00:00

Hey, course creators. It's time to amplify your genius. Welcome to course Creation Station, where we talk about creatively sharing your expertise and designing the most awesome learning experiences. I'm, um, Gwen Tanner, career course creator. And in this episode, we're going to discuss what it really takes to be a course creator. If you're anything like me, you might have some doubt about whether you're really up to the job of teaching new skills to an amazing group of students. It happens to all of us, so stay tuned for more.

They call it impostor syndrome, that icky, deep down in your stomach nervous feeling we get when we believe we're not worthy or that we're not good enough. It's described as having anxiety or a feeling of insecurity or even dread. And this sometimes happens because we're having a moment where we're feeling self conscious or just flat out inadequate for a task that we've committed to doing. Like creating a course? Yeah, like, yikes. We're creating a course to teach what we know, something that we're good, no great at doing, but we still feel unsure that we have what it takes. It's normal to feel this way if you have valuable skills or ideas to share. Creating a course can be a good way to share your expertise and possibly make some extra cash on the side, or perhaps even build a business around your knowledge. And I acknowledge that it's not as easy to create a course as some try to make it seem.

What I can do is help you think through a few questions that you might want to ask yourself before you set off on your course creation journey, because I don't want you hanging out in the land of impostors for too long. I believe in your skills and knowledge, and I know you can do it. So I'll ask you a few questions and I want you to answer them honestly. And don't worry, I won't hear you. But you'll appreciate taking time to reflect on your own responses.

Okay, so question one: Do you have the time to create a course? Course creation is a time commitment. You'll need time to create the course, and that includes creating the content and all of the materials your students will need. If you plan to sell your course, you'll need time to market it. And once you've enrolled students, you'll need time to help them by getting them set up with all the course materials and answering their questions. And they're going to have a lot of questions. If you plan to make a course that is self paced, for your students, meaning you will not interact with them during the course. You will still have to answer any support questions they may have. Then you'll have to spend more time maintaining your course and troubleshooting any issues. So honestly, do you have time to commit to creating and maintaining a course?

Question two: Do you have the patience to learn new technology? While the course creation technology isn't too difficult to master, you'll have to make some decisions. You might have to learn graphic design, video editing and other software tools. You might need to learn how to use a new video camera or how to take high quality photos with your existing camera. You'll need to have patience to try these tools and decide which ones are best for your needs. Is this something you want to spend time learning?

Question three: Are you ready to make the investment? As I mentioned earlier, you need to know if you have time. You will invest a lot of time creating and running your course, and you'll probably have to pay for some of the tech tools to create your course and a platform to run it. In addition to that, you may need to invest in some hardware, such as a camera and a microphone. And if you have an older computer, you might need to replace it. So honestly, are you willing to open up your wallet to bring your course vision to life?

Question four: Do you have the knowledge, expertise or passion for your topic? The best courses are created by those who have interest and passion for their topics. You don't have to be an expert if you're willing to learn and be a thoughtful guide to your students. Your enthusiasm will make your course engaging and make it much more interesting for those you're teaching. Plus, it will make it more enjoyable to create if you're passionate about it. So be honest. Are you passionate about your topic and are you willing to dive deep and learn more about it?

Question five: Do you have a good idea for a course? It's not just about hearing that it's fun to create a course and then deciding to dip your toe into the water to try it yourself. And yes, course creation is fun, but you need an idea whether you're creating a course for free, and especially if you want to sell it, you have to have a good idea. Let's say you're a big horror movie fan like I am. I get the idea to create a course on, uh, horror movies. And my big idea is to list ten horror movies for students to watch and then have ten quizzes about each of them. Now, is that a good course idea? No, it's not. No student would get much benefit from that. So just make sure your idea for a course is a good idea. Thinking about the course you want to create? Be honest. Is it a game changer for your students, or does it seem more like a list of videos that you want to put on your learning management system or your course platform?

Question six: Are you willing to put in the work? Well, that course isn't going to create itself, right? Are you willing to put in the effort to write content, record videos, and learn how to create workbooks? The best courses are supplemented by additional activities and materials that you will have to design. In addition to creating things, you will need to do research on the best course platform so that you can run your course. And I talked about course platform research in episode two, so check that out and if you plan to sell your course online, you will need to work with marketing and ecommerce platforms. In most cases, we're not familiar with marketing and ecommerce, let alone how to sell a course online, so there might be some unexpected additional work to do. You really have to decide if you're willing to put in the work. So are you willing to do it?

And question number seven: Where will you teach your course? Now? Let's say you're willing to put in the time and make the investment, and you have an amazing course idea. Then ask yourself, can this course be taught online, or is it better to teach locally in person? Sometimes you may want to do an in person workshop so that your students can better interact with you or one another. And sometimes you may need specific equipment that your students wouldn't have access to if your course was only available online. While most courses can probably be taught online, you will need to understand what's best for your course. So, thinking about your course idea, does it make sense as an online course, or should it be taught in person?

So are these questions you have already considered as you started planning your awesome course? Trust me, course creation takes commitment and discipline. If it's something you really want to do well and actually finish and get it out to your students, you don't want to start off all gung ho and excited about it, then fizzle out when you see it seeping into your free time or your bank account. After you ask yourself these questions and decide yes you still want to create a course, then just get started. You are ready. Don't let that impostor syndrome suck you into feeling dread and insecurity. If you answer yes, then you're definitely ready.

And if you can't honestly answer yes to these questions, then think about what it will take to get you to yes, it could be a change, such as tweaking your topic a little, or scheduling in some dedicated time for working on your course each week, or even hiring someone to do the things you don't feel comfortable doing. But you've got this, and if you feel like you don't got this, then please feel free to reach out to me and we can figure it out.

If you have any questions, or if you want to learn more about what it takes to be a course creator, be sure to connect with me. And thank you for joining me today for this episode of course Creation Station. Be sure to visit coursecreationstation.com to view today's show notes and subscribe.