The world of human connection has been flipped upside down in recent years, with an increasing number of businesses and services going online. This digital revolution has also altered the world of education and learning, with a wide range of courses now available from the convenience of your own screen.

If you are an expert in a specific industry or have a unique ability that you would like to share with the world, teaching online could be the opportunity you’ve been hoping for! Thanks to the digital age, there has never been a better moment to begin teaching online and monetize your skills, allowing you to work from the comfort of your own home with no upper salary limit!

You may have observed that the online learning business has grown rapidly in recent years. But why are so many people deciding to pursue a career in the knowledge economy right now? Here are some of the most significant rewards that artists claim make the work worthwhile.

1. It’s profitable

Did you know the average YouTuber makes only $500 per 100,000 views? Or that one of TikTok’s most popular creators has only made $422.81 from hundreds of millions of views? 

Many creators have flocked to online learning because it is so much easier to monetize than other types of online content. You get to set your own price and have total control over your business and marketing — meaning the sky’s the limit on how much you can earn.

And as for teachers? There’s some irony in the fact that being a classroom teacher in the United States is one of the lowest-paying jobs in the country, while teaching online is more profitable than ever.

2. There’s great flexibility

As we come out of the pandemic, it’s no surprise that many people are re-examining their list of priorities in life. Teaching online gives you much more flexibility than a typical 9-5 job. You can set your own hours, earn passive income, choose what type of work you do, and log in from anywhere in the world.

3. It’s easy to get started

There are no gatekeepers when it comes to online learning. You don’t need to pass any exams or get accredited (unless you’re working in a particular field that requires it). You can decide to become an online teacher over your morning coffee, and start working with students as early as a few days later. (Plus, it’s totally free to set up an account with Thinkific.)

4. You can scale up or down

Not sure how much time you have to devote to your online teaching? You can easily scale your business up or down depending on what else you have going on in your life. Once you create an online course, you can choose how much you spend on marketing in any given month and even set limits on how many students you accept.

5. It’s rewarding

More than anything else, the biggest benefit of being an online teacher is that it is rewarding. There’s just something warm and fuzzy about the idea that you’re helping other people around the world achieve their full potential, and nothing feels better than getting a testimonial from one of your students after they accomplish something with your help.

How To Teach Online Courses & Make Passive Income

According to market research, the digital education industry is expected to reach USD 45 billion by 2026, estimated to be USD 11.5 billion in 2021. The same brings an answer to how to earn money by teaching online. Tutors can create online courses on virtual learning platforms and create an additional source of income.

As a tutor, you can sign up on virtual learning platforms and upload your tutoring sessions. This would allow you to make money by selling online courses whenever learners purchase your courses or videos. 

Such platforms provide you with an LMS or Learning Management System with all the necessary tools for virtual teaching and learning. Examples of features that an LMS-integrated platform brings you are class recording, multiple content formats, certification, exams, course management, etc.

Let’s now find out the different ways in which tutors can earn money

Create An Online Channel 

The first step toward tutoring online is to create an online channel. Various platforms nowadays let content creators create a channel for themselves where they can post regular content. This content is then streamed by the audience, and every time it is streamed, the content creator gets to earn.

Read Also: Earning Passive Income as a Digital Nomad: Remote Job Opportunities

Platforms like Udemy, Coursera, and Skillshare allow teachers to earn by letting them create online tutorials and tutoring online.

By using an online tutoring channel, you can do the following:

• Conduct live sessions and teach students in real time.
• Upload tutorials that students can stream whenever they want.
• Teachers can share notes in different formats and let the students download them.
• Teachers can also enable live sessions to record so the students can watch later as well.

Once you have started uploading the tutorials, you can choose a monetization option.
Monetization is the method via which content creators earn money whenever their audience streams their content.

There are various ways to monetize your content:

• AVOD – Ad-based revenue system which lets you earn by running ads on your videos.
• SVOD – Subscription-based revenue system where users pay the subscription fee and stream the content.
• TVOD – Rental-based revenue system where users pay for a particular piece of content, such as a course, and can access it for a limited time.

Selling Online Courses For Passive Income

Besides creating e-learning tutorials and letting users stream them, tutors can also create separate courses. Using the same channel, you can pick one subject, create many tutorials about it, and pack it into one separate course.

This way, students interested in learning that particular course would purchase it. For courses, you can use the rental-based monetization method as well. Students will be able to rent the course for a particular period or a lifetime; it depends on the revenue model you choose.

Likewise, you can create many courses and provide them to the learners on rent or for a one-time fee.

When students would pay for the subscription as well as the rental, it would aid you in building passive income for teachers. In addition, many platforms allow a hybrid monetization method where you can earn from more than one revenue model.

Sell more by adopting pre-sell. Here is how:

As online tutor who wants maximum success with their courses, they need to learn the concept of pre-selling. This means that you need to sell your course even before you have developed it.

Publish your course online even when it’s not ready, sell it at a huge discount, and see how many students show interest.

However, always be clear about your intention while pre-selling. Let your students know that you will prepare the full course soon, and this is just a pre-sell stage. Offer a huge discount to those who show interest in buying that course; this is how you would know how many people you would attract for the course.

Such kind of practice saves you time and money and tells you about a specific course’s potential.

Additional Ways To Generate Passive Income Online As A Tutor 

Other than creating tutorials and selling courses on different streaming platforms, there are more ways to earn as a tutor. All these methods allow you to earn additional income while being in your space of comfort. 

Let’s explore these additional ways to earn

• Create Online Test Series

There are many websites that let you create online test series. The test software enables you to add questions about a particular subject. You can also arrange these questions in the same format as competitive exams and add a time limit to the test.

This would help students utilize your test series as a demo which would prepare them for their actual competitive exams. Once created, you can then upload this test on your channel and let your followers know about it.

You can set the pricing for such tests where you get paid every time a student purchases it.

• Sell Your Teaching Resources

A teacher creates hundreds of teaching resources in their overall career. These resources can immensely help students who dream of excelling at different subjects.

Many online websites allow teachers to sell their resources and earn money at the same time. These sites value the resources that tutors have to sell, and they pay great prices as well. You can try websites like Teacherpayteachers, Etsy, and Issuu!

• Podcasting

If you are more enthusiastic about recording your audio rather than putting your knowledge into texts, podcasting might be a great way to start. 

Here you need to have some budget-friendly equipment, to begin with. Purchase a basic mic, headphones, recording software, and an audio interface. You can also purchase a mount, pop filter, and lighting; however, these are completely optional things.

• Virtual Assistant

As a teacher, you might want to try your hands on writing, editing, managing podcasts, or some technical support. Since it will be a virtual job, you don’t have to leave your home and can easily fit it in with your existing teaching job. Upwork and Fiverr can be your go-to platform for finding jobs related to virtual assistants.

Creating online courses does not need you to meet any special eligibility requirements. Anyone with expertise in a given area or talent can create an online course. However, the success of your course is determined by the quality of your content, your teaching ability, and how effectively you market yourself.

Furthermore, the depth of a course is determined by your knowledge or level of familiarity with a specific subject. You decide whether you want a beginner-level or advanced course. Furthermore, you can issue certification to your students upon course completion.

When we talk about online learning, we also talk about the ways in which the classes or sessions are delivered. There are two ways in which tutors can deliver their sessions; these are known as synchronous and asynchronous online learning.

Below we will have a brief overview of these two popular online learning mediums:

• Synchronous Online Learning

Synchronous online learning is one in which sessions are delivered in real time. 

Some examples of synchronous online learning are webinars, live events, and Zoom workshops. However, this kind of learning is not very much preferred by the students since it is a one-time opportunity leading to our second type, asynchronous learning.

• Asynchronous Learning

As you can comprehend, asynchronous learning is the opposite idea of synchronous learning. This learning presents you with pre-recorded videos; you can stream them whenever you want.

Students prefer asynchronous more as they can watch the sessions per their own schedule, and there is no time restriction. On-demand videos on VOD platforms, podcasts, and e-learning modules are examples of asynchronous online learning.

How to Make Money Teaching Online

Here is the step-by-step guide on how to make money teaching online:

1. Determine your teaching niche

The first step to making money by teaching online is to determine your teaching niche. This involves identifying your area of expertise and the subject matter that you are knowledgeable about.

Before you dive head first into creating teaching resources or online courses, it’s important to choose a niche that is in demand and has a market that is willing to pay for your services. You can conduct research on online teaching platforms, search for online communities, and analyze the competition to identify gaps in the market and opportunities to differentiate yourself.

You can also use Google Trends to input the keywords for your course topic and gauge the level of interest globally or by certain countries or timeframes.

2. Decide what format you’d like to use

Once you have determined your teaching niche, the next step is to decide on the format you’d like to use for your online teaching. Here are the most digital products that educators use to monetize their knowledge and expertise:

• Online courses
• Ebooks
• Audiobooks
• One-on-one coaching services
• Memberships
• Printable resources e.g. worksheets, spreadsheets, checklists, and more

Each format comes with its own advantages and disadvantages, and requires different levels of preparation and investment, so it’s important to choose the one that best fits your expertise, teaching style, and availability.

You can also consider offering a combination of formats to cater to your students’ various learning preferences and budgets. Ultimately, the key is to choose a format that allows you to deliver quality content while maximizing your earning potential.

3. Create a website

The next step is to create a website or online store where you can showcase your teaching expertise and also sell any products or services that you offer as an online educator. A web credibility research from Stanford shows that 75% of users admit to making judgments about a company’s credibility based on its website’s design. This means your website is a crucial aspect that determines the success of your business.

Your website should be visually appealing, user-friendly, and provide valuable information to your audience. It should also have a secure payment gateway to ensure safe and easy transactions for your customers.

There are various website builders available that allow you to create a professional-looking website without any coding skills. You can use a platform like Payhip to create a custom website (for FREE) and it also comes with robust eCommerce features for selling various digital products.

4. Create and upload your teaching content for sale

In your Payhip account, go to the Products tab then click the ‘Add new product’ button. Next, select whichever product types you would like (e.g. online courses, digital downloads, membership, etc), and you’ll be taken to the screen where you can add your product details.

Uploading your teaching products on Payhip is very intuitive, but if you need a little extra help, there’s a free comprehensive guide on how to upload your product listings here.

5. Promote and grow your customer base

Well, you’ve created and uploaded your teaching content for sale – congrats! Now it’s time to promote your business and attract some customers. Here are some effective ways to promote your online teaching business:

• Social media marketing: Get your teaching groove on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, TikTok and LinkedIn. Share your knowledge, engage with your followers, and build a community of loyal fans. #TeachItLikeYouMeanIt
• Email marketing: Start building your email list so you can use email marketing to promote your business to your subscribers. To sweeten the deal, consider offering a free gift, such as an eBook or a free printable PDF to encourage your website visitors to sign up on your email list. Send regular newsletters, updates, and exclusive offers to keep your tribe engaged and interested in your products.
• Collaborate with influencers: Two heads are better than one, especially when it comes to growing your business. Collaborating with influencers or other educators in your niche can help you expand your reach and gain more visibility. Join forces and create some magic! You can also create an affiliate program within your Payhip dashboard and reward the people who have promoted your products to their audiences with commissions.
• Offer free content: Who doesn’t love free stuff? Teach online and offer valuable free content such as blog posts, e-books, or webinars to attract potential customers and build trust with your audience. Give them a taste of your expertise, and they’ll be begging for more.

Conclusion

Those who enjoy teaching or are currently tutors can generate additional revenue without leaving their current employment. Since the world has gone digital, you now have several options for generating extra money without relying on old methods.

Today, if you want to be a teacher, you don’t have to teach pupils in actual classrooms. There are streaming services that enable teachers to publish educational content and sell it according to their desired business models.

Tutors can create online courses, upload tutorials, work as virtual assistants, and sell teaching supplies.