The popularity of the internet has made many peoples’ daily lives easier. In addition, the internet provides a wide range of work styles and employment arrangements. One example is offering and selling online courses. Course providers can deliver services remotely, while learners can study their preferred subjects regardless of location. These factors have made this approach increasingly popular in Japan.

In this article, we explain online courses, how to create them, their advantages, and important considerations.

What’s in this article?

• What is an online course?
  
• How to create an online course
  
• Useful tools to help create an online course
  
• Advantages of creating an online course
  
• Key points when creating an online course
  
• How Stripe Checkout can help
  

What is an online course?

As the name suggests, online courses are lessons or learning content accessed over the internet. Online courses offer the advantage of flexibility, allowing learners to study in a way that suits their lifestyles. With an internet connection, online students can take classes anywhere with computers, tablets, or smartphones.

A wide range of subjects and fields are available as online courses, and options are customized for everyone from children to seniors. Online courses can also be practical for busy individuals who want to acquire knowledge and skills in their spare time.

Examples of online courses include the following:

• Language learning: Conversational English, business English, Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) certification, high school or university entrance exams
  
• Fitness: Strength training, yoga, Zumba, ballet, Pilates
  
• Music and instruments: Piano, guitar, traditional Japanese instruments, vocal training
  
• Information technology (IT): Programming, web design, video editing
  
• Beauty and wellness: Makeup, aromatherapy, skincare, nutrition
  
• Certifications: Bookkeeping, medical administration, administrative clerk
  
• Private school or tutoring: Subjects covered in entrance exams, math, essay writing
  

Examples of online courses in Japan

As mentioned earlier, online courses cover a wide range of topics, from business to hobbies. Here are a few examples:

• Professional Education Information Organization (KJK)
  KJK primarily supports the development of professionals in the wellness and healthcare fields. The company provides training for care workers and preparatory courses for national examinations. The goal is to help students obtain nationally recognized qualifications. In response to Japan’s aging population, there has been an increase in care needs. The association offers practical training for certified care workers using an online learning system. This enables students to consistently receive high-quality education from anywhere in the country.
  
• Japan University of Economics
  Japan University of Economics is a private university specializing in economics and business administration. They offer online classes using information and communication technology (ICT). This allows students enrolled at the Kobe or Fukuoka campuses to easily take classes offered at the Tokyo campus online.
  

How to create an online course

Creating an online course is a multistep process. Before starting, it is important to understand what you need to do at each step and what decisions and preparations you must make.

Choose the course topic

When deciding what to teach, select a topic or theme that uses teachers’ specialized knowledge and experience. Also, consider what will benefit learners.

Select a target audience

Next, decide who you will teach. This includes the age ranges and experience levels you are aiming to reach.

Determine the course format

Decide whether the course will be livestreamed or provided on demand. Because livestreaming happens in real time, you can immediately respond to questions and engage in discussion. However, depending on when you stream, you could lose potential students due to scheduling conflicts. On the other hand, on-demand courses allow participants to study at their preferred times, making it a relatively accessible format for people who are busy with work or childcare. However, receiving and answering questions and other interactions aren’t immediate, as they are with livestreams.

Confirm market demand

The primary objective of your business is to generate revenue by selling and providing an online course. Therefore, it is necessary to research the market and determine demand. For example, you might consider offering a simple free course on YouTube or similar platforms to gauge the response.

Sell the course in advance

By selling a course before creating it, you can avoid creating a course on a topic that is not in demand. Use advance sales to gauge the level of interest and demand. Include a comment section during the sign-up period to help you incorporate prospective participants’ interests and opinions and prepare more substantial course content.

Design the curriculum

Consider the learner’s perspective when organizing lessons and chapters. This includes determining the most logical sequence for understanding to ensure learning that achieves desired goals. Often, it is best to work backward from the goal to build the plan.

Set course pricing and sales targets

Pricing depends on the topic, market price for similar offerings, course format, duration, and other factors. Generally, introductory courses for beginners or the first session of a multisession set are often free or low-priced. Prices tend to increase as the level of specialization rises. In addition to the above factors, you also need to consider production costs, advertising expenses, and target sales figures when setting your pricing to fully evaluate cost effectiveness.

Create teaching materials

Teaching materials vary depending on format, such as livestreaming or on-demand delivery. In both cases, you’ll primarily need to prepare slides, videos, and explanatory materials (one set for the instructor and one set for students). When creating content, focus on learner accessibility instead of trying to make it perfect.

Select the distribution platform

Options for distributing an online course include web conferencing tools, video streaming services, dedicated learning platforms (e.g., e-learning systems), and proprietary websites. Choose the option that best suits the course content and format. Additionally, if recording during the livestream is possible, you can edit the recording as needed after the stream and provide on-demand access to paid members who were unable to attend.

Film, record, and edit

Prepare cameras, smartphones, computers, microphones, lighting equipment, and any other necessary gear, and then start filming. For both livestreaming and on-demand content, good lighting and clear audio are important.

Advertise and promote

Promotional activities to raise awareness of your online course are important for sales. You can use a variety of methods as part of your promotions, such as free webinars, post-webinar email marketing, and social media announcements. Trying paid advertising—such as Google Ads or Facebook Ads—could also help you reach people with a higher likelihood of interest in your course. Make sure to create an advertising budget and stick to it.

Follow up with students

After the course begins, respond thoughtfully to questions and feedback from each participant. Strive to improve the content and create and provide additional materials. Responding to learners can enhance participant satisfaction and convey the value of the course to new participants. Additionally, surveying outcomes after the course—such as asking how students’ income or quality of life improved—can also be a useful metric for evaluation.

Useful tools to help create an online course

Here are some tools and systems that can be useful when creating or conducting online courses.

Web conferencing tools

Using web conferencing tools—such as Zoom or Google Meet—helps you conduct lectures regardless of location or number of participants. Additionally, the breakout room feature allows you to divide large groups of participants into smaller teams for discussions and group work. However, these tools are primarily for meetings, so you cannot manage teaching materials within them.

Website builders

When building your own website to offer online courses, one option is using a specialized system such as WordPress or Wix. With a website builder, you can customize your site using the features provided within the system. This can help you achieve a personalized design that reflects your company’s brand and service offerings. In addition, by integrating services from payment agents—such as Stripe—you can also implement payment functionality on WordPress or payment functionality on Wix. It’s important to keep in mind that features such as learning material management must be implemented in-house. This can make it a challenge to develop and create your own site because it requires a certain level of knowledge and experience.

E-learning systems

These platforms are specialized for learning and are sometimes called “learning management systems” (LMS). E-learning systems include features that facilitate student recruitment, material management, progress tracking, and instructional video and test distribution. An LMS is particularly recommended for a business that operates courses on a medium-term or long-term basis. Because these platforms often have a robust support system for creating courses, first-time users can get started with confidence.

Advantages of creating an online course

High business scalability

Creating an online course takes time and effort. However, once you create the teaching materials and digital content, you can sell or provide them without expending extra effort. There is no limit on how frequently you offer them. In other words, with an online course, you can use a single piece of content to reach learners in Japan and around the world. This allows you to expand your business across multiple platforms.

Easy cost management

Online courses involve remote learning, which eliminates various expenses, such as venue fees and travel costs. While the specific requirements can vary slightly depending on course format, you can start the course and your business with only a delivery platform, payment method, and communication tools for interacting with participants.

High profit margins

Operating online courses involves initial costs for course creation and advertising. Everything else is profit. If you rent an in-person venue to hold a course, you will incur costs for the venue, transportation, and materials. However, for online courses that are strictly remote and deal with digital content, the overhead costs don’t increase, regardless of the number of students. Therefore, as enrollment grows, you can experience higher profit margins. In addition, offering regular online courses in a subscription allows you to count on ongoing and recurring revenue.

Potential for passive income

Online courses offer the potential for passive income, which involves earning revenue without the need for direct labor. Creating an online course requires significant up-front effort, but once you complete that, the course can generate revenue without additional effort each time it’s offered.

In particular, on-demand formats eliminate the need for instructors and students to schedule courses. Therefore, completed content can be repeatedly reused and sold. This can provide stable income without incurring additional expenses or time commitments.

Key points when creating online courses

Here are some key points to remember when creating an online course.

Clearly define the subject

Clearly define and specify what your students will gain from the course and the course’s goals. This establishes a clear direction, allowing you to create a curriculum that makes it easier for students to develop their learning plans.

Focus on key points

To prevent confusion among students, avoid putting too much content into one session or letting the discussion stray off topic. Instead, narrow down the key points so they are easy to understand. To achieve this, it is important to keep each session as short as possible. This can also help participants attend during their spare time.

Avoid one-way courses

It is important to incorporate interactive elements and other strategies. This can prevent participants from becoming bored or dropping out. For example, you might include multiple choice quizzes or time for discussion. For the on-demand format, you can add a Q&A section or assignments that students need to complete before the next session.

Create content that is easy to watch

Even if students are interested in your course, poor video quality or hard-to-hear audio can make it difficult to concentrate on the content and have a proper learning experience. This could lower the course’s ratings. Make sure to thoroughly test your microphone and camera. However, it is important to keep in mind that providing the highest video quality can cause excessively large video files.

Listen to feedback from students

Feedback from learners who have taken the course is extremely valuable. You can gather feedback from participants through regular surveys and other means. This can help you improve course content.

Continue to promote the course

Even with excellent course content, continuing to offer the course can be difficult with low enrollment. Therefore, develop a marketing strategy that allows you to reach a large number of people who need the information you teach. Ensure that you have effective promotional activities on social media and other platforms.

Manage content creation

Creating course content requires a considerable amount of time and effort. Establish a reasonable and feasible schedule for curriculum design and content creation. Then, move forward with the work required to launch your online course.

Implement multiple convenient payment methods

Offer multiple widely available online payment methods, such as credit card and Konbini payments. This way, more people can easily purchase your online courses. Lower barriers to participation by ensuring that courses are immediately accessible after purchase and limiting how much time students spend enrolling.

How Stripe Checkout can help

Stripe Checkout is a fully customizable prebuilt payment form that makes it easy for you to accept payments on your website or application.

Checkout can help you:

• Increase conversion: Checkout’s mobile-optimized design and one-click checkout flow make it simple for customers to input and reuse their payment information.

• Reduce development time: Embed Checkout directly into your site, or direct customers to a Stripe-hosted page, with just a few lines of code.

• Improve security: Checkout handles sensitive card data, simplifying PCI compliance.

• Expand globally: Localize pricing in 100+ currencies with Adaptive Pricing, which supports 30+ languages and dynamically displays the payment methods most likely to improve conversion.

• Use advanced features: Integrate Checkout with other Stripe products, such as Billing for subscriptions, Radar for fraud prevention, and more.

• Maintain control: Fully customize the checkout experience, including saving payment methods and setting up post-purchase actions.

Learn more about how Checkout can optimize your payment flow, or get started today.