A New Path for Instructional Designers to Consider

Once upon a time instructional designers needed to be hired by a large organization that required its own proprietary training programs or by a training company that created a specialized curriculum for sale. But with the explosive growth and accessibility of the internet, there is a new path for course designers.

Instructional design consulting firms point to the possibility of finding a niche market and creating programs that you can sell under your own banner.

There are all kinds of self-published training programs now available on the web. You can learn anything from cooking to higher math. Find a subject that you know and love…photography for example. Decide what level of expertise you feel comfortable addressing, create an outline of the topics you need to cover, gather the content, and, write the course using advanced design methodology.

Be aware, however, that this is just the beginning. It is like writing a book. Authorship is just the start of the process. No one will buy unless you find your target audience and do an effective job of marketing. A tip: the narrower the audience, the easier they are to find and sell to.