A question I frequently get from Learning Revolution subscribers is where can I find help creating online courses?
It’s a really important question because one of the main reasons course entrepreneurs get bogged down and don’t achieve the success the could is because they just don’t have the time or desire themselves to create courses.
And, even if they have staff or contract help, these often aren’t people who have the skills necessary for developing online courses.
So, what to do?
You can, of course, try posting contract jobs on big sites like LinkedIn. Or on more niche sites like the Learning Guild, but my experience is that you are likely to get flooded with resumes from either over-qualified or under-qualified people, many of whom come from a corporate training or academic background and really want a permanent position.
While there is no magic button for finding the right help – finding good contractors or employees is always a challenge – here are some other possibilities that will increase your chances of finding the right fit at a reasonable price.
Fiverr
Maybe like me you’ve tended to associate Fiverr with cheap $5 gigs for things like logos and image editing. Truth is, the site has come a very long way since those days. It’s now a home for true professionals who can provide just about any service you need to support your business across a wide rang of budgets.
And, yes, that definitely includes online course services. In fact, Fiverr has whole categories devoted to online course creation and eLearning content development.
There’s a lot more I could say about Fiverr, but we actually like it – and use it – enough here at Learning Revolution that we have written an entire post on what Fiverr is and how to use it to grow your business.
So, check out that post, and be sure to …
Finally, Fiverr happens to be my favorite source for finding freelancers, but it is certainly not the only game in town. You may also want to look at:
- Upwork (which I also use extensively)
- Freelancer
eLearning Heroes
This is the community part of Articulate (makers of widely-used course development tools like Storyline). You’ll need to create a free account to access the discussion boards there. While there is not an official job board, it is very common for people to post about needing development help. People in the community can often recommend someone based on your needs or a good contractor may respond to your post. Also – eLearning Heroes aside – if you aren’t already taking advantage of the wealth of resources on the Articulate site, you need to get over there today!
Local ATD chapters
In case you aren’t familiar with them, the Association for Talent Development, or ATD, is the big association for people in the training industry. You can post jobs on the national organization’s Web site, but what I think is probably more effective for your average course entrepreneur is to find out if you have a local chapter near you. You may be able to post a job on the chapter Web site, call them to ask for potential contractor names, or simply show up at a meeting and ask around.
ATD does have some international chapters and partners, so if you live outside of the U.S., you may want to check those out to see if they have any potential.
Local colleges and universities
If you have a college, university, or technical school anywhere near you, check to see if they have programs in education, information technology, media production, library science, or similar areas. Then figure out of there is a student employment office or some similar department that connects students with part-time and contract opportunities. In most cases, you don’t need someone who has completed a degree in instructional design or some similar education specialty, you just need someone with a good head on their shoulders and who is comfortable with Web technologies and multimedia.
Girl Develop It
I’ll admit I know the least about this one. It’s a bit of a wildcard until I find out more, but I think it has potential – and, besides, it looks well worth spreading the word about. Girl Develop It is a nonprofit organization that exists to provide affordable and judgment-free opportunities for women interested in learning web and software development. The organization now has chapters in 56 cities across the U.S. and while the program does not focus on course development, it seems logical that this is a group of women who could likely wrap their heads around online course creation.
Thinkific Expert Market Place
A while back, course platform maker Thinkific started an expert market place to connect course entrepreneurs with people who could help them with all aspects of their course business. While the initiative is obviously aimed mainly at Thinkific customers, most of the experts listed there who can provide course development help (using any tools – not just Thinkific). There are also a number of people who can help you with effectively marketing and selling your courses.
So, those are half a dozen options. I’ll note, too, that many of these apply as well for classroom-based courses and seminars as for online.
Now, I’d love to hear from you: have you had success (or not!) with any of the options above? Where have you been able to find help with creating online courses? Are you a course developer who can offer help creating online courses? Please comment and share.
Table of Contents
