{"id":2010,"date":"2021-10-22T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-10-22T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/profitmeetspassion.com\/?p=2010"},"modified":"2021-10-21T20:03:35","modified_gmt":"2021-10-21T20:03:35","slug":"course-software","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/profitmeetspassion.com\/course-software\/","title":{"rendered":"Software You Need to Create & Sell a Course"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The online course industry is expected to grow 32% every year until 2026.<\/strong> This means you have the opportunity to increase your annual salary 32% minimum every single year for the next 4 years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To really see the potential of that increase in your salary, I should also tell you that by 2026, the online course market should be worth $375 billion. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now of course this is for the industry as a whole, but you can have a piece of that 375 billion dollar pie by creating your own online course.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Last week I compared the pros and cons of 3 types of digital products (you can read that here<\/a>); an online course being one of them. This week I'm sharing the 18 tools you need to create your own online course.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are the tools and software I personally use in my course-business, so I promise they're all tested and trusted. I'll keep this blog post up to date as my software needs change, and will link to all these tools below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This content was<\/strong> also shared on my podcast<\/strong>.<\/p>You can listen to the episode by pressing the play button above, or click the button below to subscribe to the Profit Meets Passion podcast, and listen on your podcast player of choice.<\/strong><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Click here to subscribe to the podcast!<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

This blog post includes a list of the software you'll need to create, promote, and sell your online course. For a full description of what you'll use each software for throughout the creation and marketing of your course, click here to listen to the podcast episode that accompanies this blog post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Email<\/strong>:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Gmail<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

My email address @profitmeetspassion.com is actually hosted through Gmail which makes it really easy to log in, keep my Google Drive files organized, and my to respond to potential customer inquiries<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sales tip: be sure to invite your potential customers to respond to your emails! I like to have conversations with my potential customers who are on the fence about purchasing a course so I can help them determine if it\u2019s a wise investment for them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a process I teach in the Insta Sales Accelerator course, which you'll get as a free bonus when you join Wellness Course Academy<\/strong><\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Website:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

GoDaddy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You'll use this to purchase your domain name, or the URL, for your course. This isn't necessary if you already have a website that you'd like to host your course sales page on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That said, I like to have each of my signature courses on their own sales page for ease of communication. For example, it's easier to say “Go to WellnessCourseAcademy.com<\/strong><\/a> if you're ready to create and market your own online course!” than it is to say “Go to ProfitMeetsPassion.com\/wellness-course-academy<\/strong><\/a>.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cloudways<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you choose to have your own website for your course sales page, thank you pages, and opt in\/funnel pages, you'll need to have a hosting software to enable your URL to be live on the internet. I use Cloudways for this. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

WordPress.org<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One cool thing about using Cloudways to host your website is that you're able to very easily and quickly set up your website on WordPress.org (not to be confused with WordPress.com – they're different!). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

WordPress is where you'll create (not design-I'll get to the design) your sales page, opt in pages, funnel pages, thank you pages, and even a blog if you choose to incorporate one to market your course. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I highly suggest using WordPress.org to host your website compared to another builder like Squarespace for multiple reasons. The primary reason is the limitations Squarespace has on email list building opt ins. With WordPress, you're able to add plug-ins to link specialized software that was designed for 1 main function. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I've seen my own email opt in rates increase from .5% conversion to over 7% conversion by switching from a generic opt in form (using Squarespace functionality), to a specialized plug-in that can be integrated with WordPress. The plug-in I use for list building is Thrive Leads<\/strong><\/a> (included with the Thrive Themes plug-in<\/strong> suite<\/strong><\/a>), and I cannot recommend it more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sales Page:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Kartra<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

To design your actual sales page, I personally suggest using Kartra. Kartra is an all-in-one software that you can use for sending emails (email marketing), designing sales pages, creating sales funnels (to passively sell your course), and more. I'll talk more about Kartra in the “Course Marketing Hub” section below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One huge bonus for me using Kartra personally in my business and<\/em> recommending my students use it, is it allows me to share my exact templates with them. This means, as a Wellness Course Academy<\/a> <\/strong>student, you're able to import my sales page template directly into your Kartra account with the click of a button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I realize not Kartra is not for everyone, so I have a few additional suggestions below if you want to design a long-form sales page using a different software.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(or) Thrive Architect<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Thrive Architect is another plug-in that comes with the Thrive Themes product suite. Since I whole-heartedly recommend using Thrive Leads, I do think Thrive Architect would be a good option to try for designing your sales and opt in pages. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a bonus, using Thrive Architect will save you money if you're already using Thrive Leads since it'll come with the product suite from Thrive Themes<\/strong>.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(or) Elementor<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Finally, I've used and truly love Elementor for building custom pages. I actually designed the home page for Profit Meets Passion using this software! My sales page template has also been creating for Elementor, so W<\/a>ellness Course Academy<\/a> <\/strong>students who aren't using Kartra can still import a template to save time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Course Marketing Hub:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to creating<\/em> your course, you really don't need much software. You'd need:<\/p>\n\n\n\n