Creators Are Making Big Money Teaching Online Courses. Here's How One Made $1 Million In Sales.
When Catherine Mela isn't traveling the world, she's in San Francisco for about a month to start an online course.
Mela, a 31-year-old travel blogger, shares travel scenes and content creation tips with approximately 397,000 followers on Instagram and 315,000 on TikTok. Like many influential people, Mello works with brands on paid recommendations, who as a travel influencer often include rewards such as travel expenses, hotel stays and colorful travel destinations.
But while brand associations are often the biggest source of income for influencers, Mella told the insider that more than 80% of her income comes from online courses she sells to become an influencer.
The idea of running the course came after Mela quit her job at Google in 2019 and saw his direct messages an influx of followers wanting to know how they could follow in his footsteps.
"My followers keep asking me how to grow and monetize their Instagram account, how to stop 9 to 5, how to make money as an influencer," says Mela.
He said building the course was "the next natural step."
"I want to control the growth of my business and not just rely on brands that come to me in partnership to make money," says Mela. “I knew from DM that there was a lot of interest. From a business perspective, I knew I had to get a product out.”
Mela first launched its show in July 2020, right in the middle of the first phase of the pandemic, when brand deals and travel were at rock bottom.
Today, the course, which is given out twice a year in the form of a pre-recorded session, generated $1 million in sales. (Experts substantiate these earnings with documents provided by Mello).
"Now that I have another revenue stream to rely on, I can be more selective about brand associations," says Mela. "I can also use that income to go where I want to go instead of going where I'm going or where my clients pay me."
Mela uses Kajabi, an online business and education platform, to design and manage their courses. Each issue is strategically timed as the journey is slow for him.
"The idea of running instead of the always-available green model is that you create a deficit," Mel said. "Only twice a year people can sign up. If there's a shortage, that can create more hype around the launch." and increase the urgency."
Before each start, Mello offers three free workshops called "Influenza Training Weeks". Something like a "free trial," he added.
"After completing this free course, I decided to enroll in a paid course," Mela said.
The last time Mello took a paid course, students were billed $947, which included unlimited reading and content access, as well as access to an exclusive Facebook group and live Q&A with Mello himself.
But marketing and maintaining a course costs money.
Kajabi, for example, charges creators between $149 and $399 per month depending on the payment plan you choose (the platform doesn't accept income deductions). In addition to the platform fee, Mello provides marketing costs. For its most recent launch, it spent more than $60,000 on advertising on Facebook and Google, Mel said.
"When I run an ad, my goal is to promote free shows, not paid courses, because I know it builds trust when people watch a free show," Mela adds.
He also had to pay his team. Mello currently has two full-time employees (COO and video editor) and five part-time employees (including a community manager, an advertising manager and a content writer).
According to Mela, the exchange rate profit margin is around 70%.
Later this year, Mello plans to update its launch strategy by moving to evergreen paid content and adding new products like additional courses and digital offerings as presets.
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