How to Make Money Through Online Training, Consultations and Seminars

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.

Once upon a time I thought that I just could write great, useful posts, reply to people’s emails and give free courses and in return people would give me tips and donations. I thought I would make a lot of money online this way.

Only a few, countable people since then have given me a tip or free gift for my work. I was so happy to hear, “Hey, take this cash for the good work you’ve done.” Thank you guys so much.

Apart from the few people who sent me some “thank you” cash, I didn’t earn anything else.

This taught me one thing: For you to actually earn from your training, and remain motivated to keep going on and on, you need to create a paid course!

90% of my training is still free via my blog, email and social media groups.

However I created different trainings and eBooks to help people deeper and also keep putting some food on my table. And I must say that it has helped build many online professionals, as well as helped me earn a good buck!

Note that if we talk of a career trajectory, all freelancers should aim to one day create a course that will help other people to get to where they are. Yes, it can make you rich, but the greatest joy from this is the fulfillment you get when your trainees make it and come back with their success stories.

Here is how you can make money training people.

Create eBooks

It is so easy to create an ebook.

Below is the procedure you can follow.

Be an expert in your field, whether online business or farming or whatever else. It should be something you really understand.
Write on MS Word, Google Docs or any other good word processor.
Get a graphic designer or head over to Fiverr and get someone to create for you a nice 2D and 3D ebook cover.
Put the 2D ebook cover on the first page of your Word document.
Brand your eBook: Put headers and footers with your site link, phone number, offer, or anything else that would brand your asset (the eBook).
Make sure you format and layout your eBook properly, e.g., changing fonts, inserting links, creating a table of contents, adding any necessary graphics, etc.
Let the last chapter/page talk about your other products/courses.
Save as PDF
Price it any amount you’d like. In my experience, eBooks sell more if they are priced at Sh. 1,000 or below.

Start marketing it heavily through guest blogs, other people’s mailing lists, social media, forums, etc.

Note that this post talks about normal PDF eBooks. You’d have to do more research to do Kindle ebooks.

Email Based Courses

In my experience, online courses sell more, way more, than eBooks. And one of the ways of doing them is through automated, pre-set emails that go out automatically at set intervals after a trainee subscribes.

Here is how you can do your email-based training:

Decide on what you are going to train about. You have to practically be an expert in the field or get an expert to run it.
Decide on how many days you want the training to run. For purposes of this blog post, we’ll assume it will run for 7 days, a lesson per day.
Create lessons 1-7 on a normal Word document.
Sign up for email marketing software with an autoresponder feature. An autoresponder allows emails to be sent automatically at specified intervals. I use AWeber for my email marketing and autoresponder needs.
Copy and paste each lesson to an email corresponding to each day, e.g., Lesson 1 to go out on the first day, Lesson 2 on the second, and so forth.
Create a good web form where people can sign up for the training
Choose a price for your course.
Market the course widely online.

Organize seminars

I was initially really afraid of creating this, but eventually, I got out of the closet and tried it out.

It was phenomenal.

All the seminars I organized were smashing successes.

Here is how you can create a seminar.

Decide on the main topic to focus on. You still have to be a pro at it.
Think of one or two more people who are also good at it.
Reach out to the different people you’d like to partner with and agree on the different topics to tackle.
Market the seminar widely online, especially on mailing lists and social media groups. Facebook and LinkedIn event pages work wonders on such events.
Get a graphics guy to do a great event graphic.
Choose a good venue and view it in advance to ensure it’s what you want.
Make noise about the seminar on and offline.
On the seminar date, be 2 hours early to ensure all equipment works fine. Machines have a way of changing their minds last minute hehehe.
Find a way to organize all the event material properly. This can be in the form of PowerPoint Presentations, PDF notes, handouts, video shoots, photos, etc. This way, you can sell the material to those who did not attend.
After the seminar, make good use of the “waru moment”. This is the period after the seminar where those who missed really feel bad. That bad feeling in old sheng used to be called “kuskia waru”. While people are still in the “waru moment”, put a lot of photos, testimonials and even teaser clips of videos to make them really want to buy event materials.
Keep organizing seminars every few months, collaborating with different people in your niche.

Paid Consultations

“Just meet people for free!”

This is often said on social media when someone wants to meet and train people.

This is only until the person has so many people to meet that they can’t do their own work. The bills come knocking, and they decide never to make that mistake again.

Paid consultations are simple. Just decide on a fee that you will charge people when you meet. Charge per hour. This way, when you meet guys, you still get compensated for the time you’d have spent doing paid jobs. For example, you can decide to charge Sh. 5,000 per hour for paid meetings.

Here’s something else you didn’t know:

When you charge someone for a meeting, they take you more seriously and will put some thought before they call you. When they come, they’re more likely to implement what they learn from you.

Online Learning Platforms

This is what the big boys and girls use to train.

I first used to train people via email, till I figured there are better solutions out there. So, I started offering my courses on Thinkific.

This makes it easy for your learners because of:

Accessibility: Learners can access courses anytime, anywhere, from any device.
Organization: All course materials, videos, and resources are neatly organized in one place.
Progress Tracking: Learners can track their progress and pick up where they left off.
Interactive Features: Quizzes, assignments, and community discussions enhance engagement and learning.
Professional Presentation: Courses look polished and professional, providing a better learning experience.
Automated Processes: Automated emails, reminders, and course delivery make the learning process seamless for both instructors and students.

Start Making Money By Sharing Your Skills With People

I have said this many times in this post, and I will say it again: Make sure you are good at what you do and have a heart for helping your trainee.

I have seen people smashed online for offering shoddy training. Yours should be good.

When promoting your courses, eBooks, or consultations, make sure that as much as possible of what you do is free, e.g., blog posts, email, and social media blasts.

However, for really deep, time-consuming stuff, create professional online course that can help people make it. The goal, at the end of the day, should be to see as many people as possible make it, not just for you to get rich.