Step-by-step guide: Selling courses on Square
Selling online courses is becoming increasingly popular, because it offers a flexible, scalable, and cost-effective way to share knowledge and skills with a global audience. The demand for convenient, accessible education continues to rise, driven by advancements in technology and the need for continuous learning. For creators, it's a good idea, because it provides a sustainable income stream with low overhead costs and the potential for high profit margins. The ability to reach learners worldwide without the constraints of a physical location further enhances its appeal, making it an attractive venture for educators and entrepreneurs alike.
In this step-by-step guide, we’re going to teach you how to start creating your own online courses — and selling them with Square!
What are online courses?
An online course is an educational program delivered digitally, allowing learners to access a wide range of subjects from anywhere in the world. These courses often include video lectures, interactive assignments, and discussion forums, providing a comprehensive learning experience. They cater to diverse learning preferences, offering both self-paced and scheduled formats to accommodate different lifestyles. Online courses are great, because they provide flexibility, enabling individuals to balance their education with work, family, and other commitments. They’re also often lower in cost than traditional in-person education. This democratization of knowledge empowers people to upskill and pursue personal and professional growth conveniently and efficiently.
Benefits of selling courses online — high profit margins and no storage or classroom space
Selling courses online offers significant benefits, particularly high profit margins and the absence of costs for production and storage of physical products (like textbooks, DVDs, etc.) or classroom space. Once a course is created, the primary expenses are initial production and marketing, with minimal ongoing costs. So you don’t need to repeatedly spend time and energy teaching a course in person multiple times.
As a result, the income from each online sale (once initial investments have been covered) are basically pure profit. The scalability of online courses also means that an unlimited number of students can enroll without the need for additional resources, maximizing revenue potential. This business model allows educators and entrepreneurs to achieve substantial financial returns while providing valuable educational content to a global audience.
Setting up your Square Online store
To get started selling online courses on Square, you'll first need to set up your Square Online store and integrate it with SendOwl, a platform that specializes in digital product delivery.
Creating a Square account
Creating a Square Online account is a straightforward process that involves signing up on the Square website and following the prompts to set up your store. It’s a good idea to dedicate a special email address to this new account, to help you keep track of Square-specific messages. And make sure you download the Square app to keep up to date on your notifications.
Integrating SendOwl with your Square account
SendOwl seamlessly integrates with Square, providing a robust solution for selling various types of digital items. Everything starts on your Square online dashboard, so head there and get started with the following steps:
Connecting Square and SendOwl accounts
Head to the “settings” page in your SendOwl account, and click the "Square settings'' link. Next, hit the “connect” button. Make sure to read the permissions that SendOwl requires to sync with your Square orders and securely deliver your digital content.
Linking SendOwl products to Square products
Once your accounts are connected, you can easily link your SendOwl products to their corresponding listings in your Square Online store. Head to your SendOwl dashboard, and hit the “sell” button on one of your products — you’ll then see a list of ways to sell your item. Click on “Square,” and select the product you want to link. Now, when someone purchases the linked product from your Square checkout, SendOwl will safely deliver the digital file to your buyer. You’ll also receive all your notifications via the Square app, so you won’t miss anything!
Tools for creating online courses
Because an online course is a digital product, all you need to create one is a computer, an internet connection, and some determination. Here are a few tips and resources to help you launch your very own online course business:
Use high-quality content creation tools
Invest in reliable software for video recording and editing, such as Camtasia or Adobe Premiere Pro, to produce professional-looking lectures and tutorials. Additionally, use graphic design tools like Canva for creating engaging visuals and slides.
Use a high-quality microphone and camera if you’re recording material
Ensure clear audio and video quality by using a good microphone (e.g., Blue Yeti) and camera (e.g., Logitech HD Pro Webcam). High production values enhance the professionalism of your course and keep students engaged.
Make it look nice
When it comes to selling online, how your course looks is almost as important as what it contains. Among design tools, Canva is probably the most beginner friendly! Canva is a user-friendly design tool that offers a vast array of templates, graphics, and design elements to create professional and engaging slides, infographics, and course-creation tools. Its drag-and-drop functionality allows even those with minimal design experience to produce visually appealing content, enhancing the overall look of your course.
Uploading and listing your online courses
Uploading files to SendOwl
Upload your course files to SendOwl in your item library, ensuring they’re correctly formatted and ready to be sent to customers as a digital download.
Creating product listings on Square
In your online Square dashboard, create product listings for each of your courses, providing detailed descriptions and engaging images to entice potential buyers. Make sure they’re connected to the products in SendOwl. Follow the instructions found under the “Linking SendOwl products to Square products” section above, so that your courses can be delivered to your buyers! Download the Square app so that you never miss a notification.
Setting prices and descriptions
Once your items are in your Square item library, set appropriate prices for your courses — based on factors such as production costs, market demand, and perceived value. Craft compelling descriptions of the unique aspects and values of the courses you’re offering. Do a little research on similar products and their price points, so you can list the most competitive prices in your store.
Marketing your courses
Now that your courses are live on your Square store, it's time to drive traffic and generate sales through effective marketing tools and strategies.
Optimizing listings with relevant keywords and SEO
Research keywords related to your courses, and incorporate them into your product titles, descriptions, and tags, to improve visibility in search results.
Promoting on social media platforms
Utilize social media platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook to showcase your courses, engage with your audience, and drive traffic to your Square Online store. Check out these resources on how to promote and sell digital products on TikTok and Instagram to get some tips and ideas on content creation.
Before you launch your course, release snippets or reviews from beta learners, to get potential customers excited — you might do this via blog posts. You can also create a pre-order list to help build excitement.
Reach out to influencers or bloggers in your niche for potential collaborations. Offer them a free copy of your course in exchange for an honest review, or consider a discount code that they can offer their audience when they purchase your course.
You could even offer a few free items — such as shorter courses or other digital products — to potential buyers, to give them a taste of your educational or training content. They’ll be more likely to pay for a course if they have trust in the content they’ll be receiving.
Utilizing SendOwl data for informed marketing decisions
Monitor sales data and customer behavior within SendOwl to identify trends, track the performance of your marketing efforts, and make data-driven decisions to optimize your strategy. Your Square online dashboard also provides you with valuable user metrics that will help you make data-informed decisions.
Delivering your online courses securely
Ensuring the security of your digital downloads is crucial for protecting your products and customers' information. Here's how SendOwl helps you deliver courses securely:
Unique, secure download links for each purchase
SendOwl generates unique download links for each customer, preventing unauthorized access and sharing of your digital files.
Customizable link expiration and usage limits
You can set expiration dates and usage limits on download links to encourage timely downloads of purchases and prevent abuse of your products.
PDF stamping to prevent unauthorized sharing
SendOwl offers PDF-stamping functionality, which adds a watermark or personalized information to each downloaded file, discouraging piracy and unauthorized sharing.
Conclusion
Selling courses on Square can be a great way to generate passive income by using your expertise to create high-value digital products. By following this step-by-step guide, you can set up your store, create unique courses that people want to take, and market those courses effectively to reach your target audience. Here’s a quick rundown, so you can get started:
Set up your Square account, integrate SendOwl, and download the Square app.
Design attractive, high quality courses using your own expertise and editing tools.
Upload your courses to SendOwl, and create corresponding product listings on your online Square dashboard.
Implement marketing strategies to drive traffic and generate sales.
Deliver your courses securely using SendOwl's customizable features, and receive updates on your orders via the Square app.
With the right tools, resources, and mindset, you have everything you need to succeed in selling courses on Square. Get started today, and turn your expertise into a thriving online business that gets that passive income stream flowing!
Sarah is a product and operations specialist with a passion for platforms that improve lives and provide flexibility to the modern worker. As a graduate student at Harvard, Sarah worked closely with the Graduate School of Education to launch arts and teaching initiatives while discovering a love for software, computer science, and entrepreneurship.
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