The online world is an exciting and interesting place to be at. While some people fear the constant presence of being online, others find it as an opportunity to learn (if used properly). From content writers to teachers, everyone uses the online platform to make good money from the comfort of their home.
I too started my online business in the same way. I looked for Internet providers in my area, subscribed to the service I thought was best and started operating from home. You too can earn by teaching English online as well.
Defining Your Identity
The list of things you need to define before starting your online teaching business is long. But to begin with, you should focus on highlighting your purpose of teaching apart from identifying your target audience. As a part of introducing yourself to the target audience, you will need to define your brand and style of teaching as well.
You will have to come across as someone who has a unique style or offer some other catch so that people consider you. Because there are around 3.6 million teachers in the States which means that you will have to work hard to break through the clutter. Therefore, focus on identifying yourself as someone different from whatever is available in the market already.
Course Format
When you will introduce yourself to the target audience, you will have to provide them with a course outline. Make sure that you have it planned before you create your website or page. Because that is the first thing apart from your qualifications that people will ask or read about. Following are a couple of things that you need to pay attention to as part of your course format:
Topic
You need to tell the audience if it is going to be a general course or are you going to cover a niche when it comes to topics. This will also include details about whether it is going to be a spoken or a written course. It is better to focus on the niche as it is always easy to teach it. General topics often pose problems while you are teaching them.
Curriculum
Next, you need to add details about the curriculum of your English course. You will have to introduce duration for the course, the modules that you will teach, chapters and the schedule of assignments (if there will be any). As a part of the curriculum, it is also binding upon you to tell the audience if they will be expected to pass an exam to get a certification. Tell them about the forum that you will employ the use of to deliver the lectures.
Model
This is where the finance part comes into play. The applicants will be keen to know the charges for the course and the mode of payment. You can use various models to collect the payment from the students. Whatever mode you decide upon, mention it on your website or page.
Preparation of the Content
Once you are set to go live with your classes, you need to prepare the lectures before delivering them. In case you are having trouble with this, you can follow the given procedure to prepare a well thought of lecture.
-
Research about the topic
-
Prepare an outline for the lecture
-
Create the content based on your research and outline
-
Edit the prepared lecture before delivering it
You can employ the use of tools like Statista, Google Scholar, Buzzsumo and the like to conduct your research regarding a topic.
Publishing the Course Online
You will need a medium to publish your prepared course online as well. Apart from delivering live lectures to students, you can even record lecture videos, lend it to platforms like Udemy, and earn from them. Such platforms allow you to host your course. Some of the popular platforms among course creators to deliver their lectures include:
-
Teachable
-
Upwork
Using the online course marketplaces to deliver your recorded lectures gives to you a ready-made audience. This audience cannot access your course unless they make a payment. Therefore, you do not have to worry about gathering people to attend your lecture. You can follow the steps given online to or read the instructions present on these platforms’ websites to see how to create your account.
However, remember that you will need an uninterrupted Internet service so that you can deliver your online lectures with ease. As an instructor, my Optimum Internet plans have made it very convenient for me to deliver the lectures online. I never had to go through the embarrassment of Internet downtime. Thus, giving me an edge over other instructors who do not pay attention to this very basic detail.
