So, you have created an online course. You have put in the hard yards and you think the hardest part is over. But, now it’s time to market your course and get customers to buy and use it. This is where the real hard work begins.
Content creation requires a number of steps from research, to the actual creation of content, and the eventual marketing campaign to find customers.
Fortunately, there are numerous methods to try and draw in customers to buy and use your courses. But, it depends slightly on where and how your courses are hosted.
Some use certain platforms, such as Udemy, whereas others only want to sell courses from their websites. Although these are great avenues for selling courses online, using Amazon is another great opportunity.
Amazon is ranked as the number one marketplace in the world, meaning it is the perfect platform to sell online courses from.
The only issue is that very few course creators have sold their courses on Amazon – until now. Why? Because getting your courses on Amazon to sell is very challenging. But, we’re here to help you cross that hurdle.
If you want to increase your potential audience and reach a possible audience of millions, then stick around as we guide you and you will know how to sell courses on Amazon.
This is an amazing opportunity that could change your life!
Is it Possible to Sell Courses on Amazon?
The good news is, yes, you can sell courses on Amazon, but it is quite challenging.
There are numerous approaches that you can take to do so, such as using Amazon Video Direct and 3rd Party services, such as Zapier. You can also transform digital courses into material goods.
Content creators can upload videos via Amazon Video Direct.
These will then be available for Amazon Prime Video subscribers and customers. Because many of these users have already purchased similar products on the site, it is an ideal place to sell your online courses.
You can connect Amazon to various 3rd Party integrations, such as Zapier. These applications also include numerous management applications like Zenler, Teachable, and Thinkific.
To ensure good sales, the quality of your content is crucial. You can also read this article for more information.
This is because Amazon performs its own technical review before making the content available to the public. Moreover, the money you make from Amazon may differ from other video marketplaces, for better or for worse.
That leads us to our next question.
Can you Make Money From Selling Courses on Amazon?
More good news! It is possible to monetize your online courses on Amazon but monetization strategies rely heavily on the content delivery that you choose.
If you use Amazon Video Direct, monetization is typically via the sales or rental of seasons (series), single episodes, royalties from the number of hours streamed, or free courses that have advertisement revenue.
Done right, though, you can make good sums of money by selling online courses on Amazon, but it is tricky.
Selling Courses on Amazon – How to Guide
There are various ways to sell online courses on Amazon. With a number of options available to content creators, Amazon is one of the best platforms to use to reach a larger target audience.
Below are the various options available to you.
Amazon Kindle
It is possible to sell your courses via Amazon Kindle. You can convert your courses into a book and leverage Kindle Direct Publishing to sell them for you.
One bonus of using Amazon Kindle is that you can sell both ebooks and hard copies. However, formatting courses in this way can be quite tedious and time-consuming, and some courses are better experienced in video formats.
Sell DVDs, CDs, and Flash Drives
Another popular method is perhaps the most obvious. You simply put your courses on a DVD, CD, or Flash Drive and sell them on Amazon Marketplace.
By doing this, you can easily pack your entire course onto one physical entity that can be used over and over again.
Selling physical CDs, DVDs, and Flash Drives on Amazon opens up an audience of over 300 million consumers. This access is unheard of elsewhere.
Although this is the most obvious method and sounds the easiest, there are some hurdles to face.
The main one is to keep on top of inventory, as you will have to continuously maintain the creation and uploading of your courses. For many content creators, this is a deterrent and something that is just too time-consuming.
Nevertheless, this traditional approach still works in the hi-tech world of today. Just keep in mind that Amazon will take a cut of your overall fee and the shipment costs may rise over time.
Audio Courses
You can convert your courses into audio files and sell these on Amazon. By using platforms, such as Audible, you can easily transform a physical book and video into an audiobook.
Audiobooks are one of the best selling products on Amazon. By selling your course in audio form, customers can listen and learn on the go, wherever they are.
If your courses provide information without the requirement of visuals, audiobooks are ideal. On the other hand, if pictures and illustrations are needed for your course, such as “how-to” guides, an audiobook format may not be as convenient.
Zapier Integrations
One of the best ways to sell courses on Amazon is through Zapier integrations.
What is Zapier? Zapier is basically a third-party application that allows users to connect an app to another, such as integrating Teachable, Thinkific, and many, many more to Amazon.
Currently, it is not possible to connect Udemy to Amazon via Zapier. To ensure your chosen learning management system can be integrated with Amazon, you can check whether Zapier has Amazon Seller Central integration
Zapier’s Amazon Seller Central integration will connect platforms such as Zenler, Thinkific, and Teachable.
By using this service, you can send information to and from these apps and Amazon quickly and easily. For example, a purchase of your course on Amazon will immediately alert an order on our Teachable or Thinkific account.
You just need to create your course listing and set up the integration, rather than upload the course to Amazon. In this instance, quality checks will not be necessary, and all courses uploaded to these platforms will be sold to Amazon.
After a course is purchased, a customer will be provided with their purchase information and will then be directed to log in to their respective accounts on either Teachable. Thinkific, or Zenler.
To attract customers to your course, you must ensure the image is professional and stands out. You can find designers on Fiverr or make an image yourself for free.
This process can sometimes require a few additional steps but, once you’re set up, Zapier integrations are a great way of selling courses on Amazon.
Amazon Video Direct
The final method we will be looking at today is using Amazon Video Direct. This is an excellent way to reach a wider audience but be prepared for a challenge to get approval.
When you submit a video through Amazon Video Direct, Amazon will complete a technical review. This is to make sure it meets all the site’s quality checks and requirements.
Unfortunately, these quality steps are where most content creators fall short, meaning their courses will not become available to the 10 million plug Amazon Prime Video customers.
If you decide to submit a video through this method, you can combine various videos to make one long one, or make a series of videos.
By merging the videos together, customers can simply purchase the one video or rent it, without having to come back and purchase the next one when required.
This gives content creators a better chance of selling their whole course as some customers may not come back to buy or rent every episode in the future.
The course can also be provided to customers for free, as long as they are happy with advertisements in the videos. You, as the content creator, will make revenue from the advertisements.
If you decide to create a series, you can present your lessons in the format of a season.
It could be like your very own TV show! If you opt for this method, customers can pay per episode, or pay for a full season. And, once again, they can watch them for free with advertisements included.
It is also possible to earn royalties that are based on how many hours your course has been streamed. This monetization strategy is a favorite of many, but a lot of content creators prefer to see their courses being purchased.
Research Amazon Brand And/Or Partnered Digital Products
When using a 3rd Party Seller, content creators can not list their online course onto Amazon’s platform directly.
However, Amazon sells its own digital products and big brands have partnered with the site to produce digital products that are available to buy on the site.
To gauge interest in your courses, you should take a look at what Amazon and their partners are selling.
This research is quite simple. You just need to search for online courses or course videos on Amazon that are linked with the topic of your courses. Check out what is selling well and what has been listed by Amazon.
With this information at your disposal, you can find out if you already have an ocean of competition. If the exact topic is already being sold by Amazon, the competition will probably be rife, meaning it will be harder to sell your new course.
It’s important to remember that Amazon is a global company. It will not waste any time creating and selling products that will not sell.
Of course, just because Amazon is selling your specific course topic, it doesn’t mean you should not.
It just gives you a better idea of how fierce your competition may be. And, if there is nothing on the site, it may be because Amazon doesn’t believe it will sell well. On the flip side, you will have less competition.
The goal is to try and make your course unique. Try to highlight why your course is different and what it offers that other similar courses don’t.
There’s no need to name competitors, though. Just ensure that you’re showing potential customers why you stand out from the rest.
Selling Courses on Amazon – Pros and Cons
Amazon is one of, if not, the best platforms to sell products on, from kitchen utensils to bikes and books to courses. But, it’s not for everyone as there are a few disadvantages.
Here are the main pros and cons of selling courses on Amazon:
Pros
- You have access to a global audience of over 300 million people
- There are additional subtitles available for most language, so your course is available for any language
- You have access to over 100 million Amazon Video Direct Customers
- Once your course is uploaded, you can just sit back and earn revenue (although marketing is required)
Cons
- There is a high barrier to enter your courses on the site
- Once you upload your course, you still need to do a marketing campaign as you are not guaranteed customers just because it’s on Amazon
- You have competition from many other content creators
In Summary
If you have courses ready to sell to an audience, you can make it a reality with Amazon. After all, it is the largest marketplace in the world, with a potential customer reach of over 300 million.
As you can see above, there are various methods you can follow to upload your courses on Amazon or sell them via 3rd Party Services.
Yes, it can be a challenging process but if you pass Amazon’s quality checks, you’re on the right path to selling your courses online.
