Curious how to overcome what’s holding you back from teaching online? Read this to find out how to overcome your teaching online worries.

It’s hard to get started and you don’t know what platform to use.

So, you want to start teaching online. Great! But where do you begin? There are so many different platforms and so much information out there about them that it can be overwhelming. How do you choose the right platform for your needs?

Firstly, decide what type of service or products you want to offer. Do you have a course? Do you want to teach one-to-one or in groups? Will your students be able to access your materials anywhere, or do you need something that will only work on certain devices? Once you’ve decided what type of platform is right for you, it’s time to think about how much money and time you’re willing to invest in building your online teaching business.

Consider any payments to these platforms. Will you be able to pay for the service with a monthly subscription, or will you have to buy it outright? Is there an option for one-time payment? How much support is available if things go wrong? Once you’ve got all these questions answered, it’s time to choose your platform.

I like Teachable for course hosting, Heartbeat for community, and Zoom for live calls. But there are plenty of options so it’s best to figure out what suits your needs.

Learn how these platforms connect to other tools you’ll use, like email marketing systems. Some platforms have integrations with other tools, but others don’t. It’s a good idea to make sure that your platform has the features and functions you want before signing up for it. Zapier is great for connecting one tool to another.

Related: Every Tool I Use To Make My Online Language Teaching Business Happen

It’s not easy for you to create course material.

If you are going to be an online educator, it is important that you know the subject well and can explain it in a way that makes sense. You also need to make sure that your course material is engaging and easy to follow.

You may want to start with a shorter course so that you can get more experience teaching before taking on larger projects. The good news is that there are plenty of tools out there to help you create your course material. You can use PowerPoint or Keynote to create slides, which can then be presented via video or converted into an ebook. You could also use a tool like Zoom or Loom to record yourself explaining certain topics in detail and then edit the video to make it more concise.

Although it’s not the be all and end all, the quality of your production does matter to an extent. The more professional your videos look and feel, the better they will be received by your audience.

Figure out what the easiest way is for you to deliver your course material and content. Perhaps it means that the first time you share something, you host it live, and use the recording for the permanent course content. Perhaps it means that you use video, but only for certain sections of your course.

Related: 5 Ways to Use Music in Your Online Language Teaching

You lack the time and energy needed to create and build a successful online school.

What’s the rush? The best online business owners I know have build their businesses steadily. I’ve been doing this over a decade now and seen many businesses come and go because they tried to build and grow too quickly. More often than not, that doesn’t work.

Figure out how much time and energy you can devote to building your business regularly.

The only way to do that is by creating a schedule and sticking to it. Make sure you’re getting enough sleep, eating right and taking care of yourself so that you have the energy necessary to do the work. Your online school needs more than just content. A lot of people think that if they create videos, a podcast or a blog, their audience will magically come flocking in droves. That’s not how it works.

And it’s exactly why content creation is just one unit of 6 in the Online Teaching Starter Kit – not the whole thing. With members of the program, I don’t focus on ‘if you build it, they will come’ advice. We cover the whole spectrum of factors you’ll need to consider to build your successful online business.

Step one is making time to take action on each lesson in the Online Teaching Starter Kit in turn. If you can do that, you have the time and energy needed.

The technology is overwhelming and there are way too many options available.

You’re overwhelmed by the thought of what you could do with your online course or lessons. You see other teachers using video, audio, text chat rooms, live stream video lectures and so much more. You want to make sure that your students are getting the best possible experience for their money so you want to try it all!

But how do you know what is right for you?

The answer is simple: use what works best for YOU! Look at what tools are available to you right now. See which ones would work well with YOUR style of teaching rather than trying to adapt yourself into something new because someone else told you to do it this way (and/or because there’s more money in doing so).

Just because there are many options out there for how to teach, that doesn’t mean you have to do them all.

You’re afraid that nobody will buy your course.

You have to have faith in your skills and knowledge. You need to believe that you are an expert on the subject matter, and you must trust that people will want to learn from you.

When I first started teaching online courses, I didn’t think anyone would want the content I was creating because I had never taught online before (and still haven’t). The thought of sharing what I know with other people was intimidating at first because it was uncharted territory for me — but now? Well now it’s my favourite thing ever!

And besides, nobody will buy your course if it doesn’t exist! So the best thing you can do? Get your idea out into the world and see what happens.

You don’t have enough confidence in your skills or in yourself.

You don’t need all the letters after your name to be ready to teach online. As long as you’re honest with students about your experience and qualifications, the one thing you do need more than anything else is confidence. When you’ve got that then you’re golden.

But that’s not to say that getting it is always easy.

It’s also important to know that sometimes things won’t go according to plan — and that’s okay! When this happens, take a step back and see if there’s any way to improve what went wrong or prevent similar problems in the future. A lot of times this means asking yourself questions like “What do I need help with?” or “How can I fix my mistakes?”

The more you move forward and actively do the work, the more your confidence will grow.

Related: 4 Habits of Highly Successful Online Language Teachers

You’re not sure how or where to find students.

While you can’t control how the universe will bring your perfect student to you, there are some things you can do to attract the right ones for your online teaching business.

Marketing is a crucial part of any business and it’s no different when it comes to teaching online. If no one knows about your courses, then no one will take them, so it’s important that you have a plan in place for marketing yourself and your offerings. The first step is getting yourself a website with an easy-to-navigate layout that showcases what makes this particular course special compared with others out there on the web. Once that’s done, then comes social media if you want it.

Another way would be through email lists or sending out newsletters every month; both of these require subscribers who want information from marketers like yourself! And finally blogging is another excellent way of establishing credibility while staying close enough within reach of potential students looking at blogs similar yours.

Related: How to Find New Students When Teaching Online

Personal privacy concerns are preventing you from teaching online.

Some of you may be worried about revealing your personal information. You’ve seen too many stories about hackers stealing credit card numbers or posting people’s private photos on the internet for everyone to see.

It’s understandable if this is a concern for you. Although there are ways to keep your information safe, I can’t guarantee that this will never be an issue. It could be.

However, remember that when it comes to your online business, you decide what information to share. Want to talk about your family? Do it. Don’t want your kids brought into the online space? Don’t do it.

You get to create the boundaries regarding personal privacy.