From designing a website to mastering sun salutations or sourdough bread, taking master classes online has become prevalent during the coronavirus pandemic and they continue to be big business.
Many of these are “side struggles” by the class teacher, who uses cash from ticket sales to supplement their regular income. So, with the cost of living rising, do you have specialized skills or knowledge that can be turned into profitable master classes or a webinar?
The topic does not have to be related to your business. It could be related to your hobbies and interests. Maybe you’re a singer, yoga expert, ultramarathon runner, or just published your first novel?
There are plenty of platforms out there that will help you with pricing, marketing and payments, or you can try to sell the course yourself, using services like Zoom and Eventbrite.
Of course, video conferencing platforms like Zoom have been the big winners during the pandemic, when video calls have replaced face-to-face business meetings and a lot of social activities have been moved online, doing all of that may inevitably change the way we learn.
During that time, “everyone learned how to learn online,” says Lucy Griffiths, author of Make Money While You Sleep, who has sold seven-figure online courses since the pandemic began in March 2020.
“Whereas people used to go to night school, now they want to learn things at home,” she says. “You can also sell to companies. You can connect with the companies’ human resources departments and offer courses and training that will help their employees.”
How much can you do?
The amount of money that online course creators can make is surprisingly high.
When he was in his early twenties, in 2018, web developer Adam Gaines created a seven-hour online data visualization course, broken up into 60 bite-sized recorded clips. He has since made $76,000 (£62,800) selling it on an online learning and education platform called Udemy.
“It took me about five months to produce 60 videos, working on them three days a week while I was living in Thailand, with no expenses,” he says. “The course teaches people to create great interactive charts and graphics on web browsers – like the ones you see in interactive journalism stories.”
In the UK, the course is listed at £59.99. However, Janes says most people pay a discounted rate of $10, Janes receive between $3 and $5, and the platform — which controls course pricing — takes the rest.
Janes chose to host it on Udemy because he was aware that a large number of web developers are already using the platform to develop their skills. “With Udemy, you don’t need to really have a pre-defined audience – if you make a good course and you put it there, you naturally get traction. More and more people start buying it, and Udemy promotes you.”
He did some marketing for himself, by asking popular web development bloggers if he could write guest blog posts about data visualization programming, which he learned about while studying at Harvard. “No one said no because it was free content for the person running the blog. And at the end of every post I wrote: If you want to know more about this, here is a link to my course.”
In the first month, 644 people signed up for the course, and it quickly attracted five-star reviews. Since then, about 21,000 people have bought a Guinness chapter. It now takes very little of his time – he estimates he spends about 20 minutes a week answering students’ questions, and makes around $1,000 (£830) a month.
Anyone wishing to create a course is advised to find a “niche”.
“If you set up a course, for example, on introductory JavaScript, you will compete with 100 courses that are of very high production quality and you will be completely drowned out.”
Griffiths agrees: “The more location you are, the better. Try to appeal to a certain demographic, like a makeup course for women over 50, whose complexion has changed since menopause. You really want to talk to a pain point, your client’s problem—whatever they’re up against. “.
She also recommends keeping every part of your course short. “People are really time poor. If you say, ‘It will take me less than an hour to learn this topic,’ that is actually a selling point.”
Finally, when selling your course, it’s worth noting how much experience or qualifications you have, she says.
Catherine Burnington began teaching the art of mandalas – an intricate geometric design, usually in a circle – online during lockdown when her work as a tour writer and guided walking leader disappeared overnight.
“Although I’ve never studied art before, I have drawn and painted mandala art for years because I’ve always been obsessed with patterns.”
I thought the class would attract people who want to be distracted and learn a new hobby during the pandemic.
“I believe that being creative is very beneficial for your mental health and doing mandalas in particular is a form of active meditation. It is very calming and relaxing.”
She signed up for a basic plan on Zoom, which costs £11.99 a month, and decided to host her course on Obby, a platform that I’ve known sells arts and crafts lessons.
“It means that I didn’t have to advertise it or handle people’s payments. They brought customers to me, and all payments were made through the platform.”
She charges each student £18 per class, and you get 80% of that, after Obby takes his fee. “It went really well, right away. People loved it and got great reactions. Now I’ve taught hundreds and hundreds of people.”
A student asked her if she would consider giving a company class and she has since started offering this, charging famous multinationals £300 for an hour online class that all of her employees can join. “This is where the money is. These classes are much more profitable.”
It also now makes reservations directly through its website, mandalameadow.com, which reduces the amount you pay in fees.
At the height of the lockdown, she was earning up to £1,500 a month from her classes, but nowadays she says her monthly income from teaching mandalas fluctuates from £50 to £1,000, depending on the number of corporate clients she attracts. “It’s really different – and it regressed when the world opened up again.”
However, she still feels a great deal of satisfaction from her side hustle, and is proud of the way she has been able to support herself during the pandemic.
“I was able to finish paying my mortgage in lockdown. And I didn’t get a penny from the government.”
Consider offering free advanced lessons
Matthew Shackleton is a veterinary physical therapist who had just started his business, Shackleton Veterinary Physiotherapy, treating lame pets and zoo animals, when an epidemic hit his income and decimated him.
“I was only able to go out and treat the animals if they were in very severe cases – eg, paralyzed.”
He decided to offer two free hour-long webinars, aimed at zoo keepers, on how to spot the exact signs that an animal is lame and administer its treatment. “Keepers can sometimes struggle to notice hidden lameness because they care for a variety of different animals.”
He posted his free webinars on his Facebook page and a few Facebook groups for veterinary professionals and zookeepers.
“It all started to go downhill from there,” Shackleton says. Over 200 people attended each webinar, and they were so well received that they led to a plethora of paid opportunities for hour-long talks with zoos around the world, as well as veterinary conferences, universities and veterinary schools.
“At first I had Impostor Syndrome and was getting paid £50, but over time I started getting paid £100 to £150,” says Shackleton. “It’s been really helpful to have that extra cash during the lockdown.”
Since the lifting of restrictions, he has also been invited to give in-person workshops at zoos, and can now charge up to £1,000 for a day of his time. However, most importantly, he says, having lots of conversations with guests has generated a great deal of interest in his work as a veterinary physiotherapist.
“I’ve upped my profile with vets and pushed my pet business forward. Plus, out of those conversations, I’ve gone to some very large zoos and ended up treating a lot of animals that, historically, have never received medical treatment.” A large part of the income came from my business, which is now sustainable, because of those free webinars.”
How much does it cost to create an online course?
There are a large number of platforms where you can host an online course.
Some, like Udemy and Obby, will get a share of the revenue you make from each sale, while others, like Skillshare, will pay you a fee each time one of their members watches your course.
Others, such as Teachable, Thinkific, LearnWorlds, and Podia, typically charge a monthly fee of $24-$39 for the basic plan, and may also take commissions or transaction fees on top.
Another popular site, Kajabi, charges $119 per month but no transaction fees.
Look at the types of courses that are already available on the different platforms. Ideally, you want to find a website that actually attracts the type of people interested in purchasing your course.
Alternatively, you can host and promote the class yourself, for example, by offering a live class via a video conferencing platform – then record it and sell the recording later, for example, via a payment plugin on your website.
This is especially worth considering if you have a large following on social media or can promote your course to a few related professional groups or networking groups, thus being confident in your ability to attract the audience yourself.
If you are sure your class will take less than 40 minutes, a Zoom meeting with up to 100 participants is free. Otherwise, you need to sign up for a personal membership plan, which costs £11.99 a month, or the class will automatically end after 40 minutes.
You can also sell tickets to the Zoom live event via Eventbrite or Ticket Tailor. Every website will need to cut your revenue from ticket sales.
In general, you should expect to pay at least 10% to 20% of the fees you charge your students to the websites that host and promote your course, and process your payments.
Do I need to pay tax on income from online courses?
You are allowed to make up to £1,000 per year from occasional self-employment without declaring the money to HM Revenue and Customs. If your turnover from self-employment is more than £1,000, you need to register as a freelancer and fill out a tax return.
However, on your tax return, you can then choose to benefit from a tax-free trading allowance of £1,000. This enables you to earn your first £1,000 in sales from your tax-free self-employment, rather than deducting other expenses or allowances.
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