So, you have an idea of a digital product to sell, you already know what you want to teach and the audience you want to sell it to. But, the big question remains — which one will work better and be more profitable, An ebook or an Online Course?

They are both good products to invest your time in and they are both profitable options.

In this post, We have highlighted the pros and cons of each of the two products i.e Online Course And Ebook.

This will help you to make a better and more informed decision on which you should go, for your next digital product.

Before we delve into the pros and cons, let’s take a look at what each of these digital products is.

What is an online course?

Online courses can come in a mixture of these forms; Videos, Audio, Pdfs, Worksheets, Quizzes Assignments, etc.

The curriculum of an online course is broken down into modules and lessons to aid faster assimilation for the students.

Online courses can be disseminated as a “self-paced” course – where students can access it whenever they want.

It can also be disseminated as a “Live Class” – where students access the course together on a set date and time.

However, some courses can be disseminated as both “self-paced” and “Live” – where students access the class whenever they want but they join a live discussion at a specified time.

Online Courses can be launched on platforms like Selar.

What’s an Ebook? 

An ebook is a book that can be read on a digital device. 

Ebooks mostly come in PDF formats.

Many digital creators sell ebooks on their own sites or they host them on platforms like Selar which are simply downloadable PDFs. These can be read on the purchaser’s computer, tablet, smartphone or directly from the ebook hosting platform. Alternatively, they can be printed off or reformatted to work on an e-reader device, like a Kindle.

Pros of Online Course

You can charge more for an online course.

One of the biggest advantages of online courses over ebooks is that you can charge more. 

A course is perceived as a premium product over an ebook so customers tend to pay more for a course as compared to an ebook.

More positive results

Online courses bring in more positive and bigger results fit your students because you are working with them directly for over a long period of time.

Having more positive results will bring in more students for you as people love to share what works for them. 

This will allow you to be able to get more students to enroll in your online course.

More Customers Interaction

There’s more community interaction around a course as compared to ebooks because they will be interacting with you as they access the course. It gives you the access to pop into your customer’s lives over a longer period of time. 

Unlike ebooks that they just read once or twice, with online courses you are working together with your customers for a week or two and this will further cement the trust they have in you and they will be your first customer whenever you have a new digital product.

Cons of Online Courses

More time was invested after the launch.

After launching the course, you are still expected to do some coaching or teaching especially if it’s a live class.

You will have to be present for the duration of the course.

More tech set-up

Because most online courses are either disseminated via course hosting platforms like Selar or via emails or via Social Media messaging platforms like telegram or Whatsapp, you will have more to set up.

Instead of just uploading one product on a platform as in the case of Ebook, you tend to have more products to upload for online courses.

However, with the inception, of course, hosting platforms like Selar, course creation has been a whole LOT easier!.

Even with little or no tech skills, you can successfully host an online course with no stress.

Click here to know how to launch your online course on Selar.

Take more time to create

An online course takes way more time to create as compared to an ebook because it’s an add-up of videos, pdfs, worksheets etc.

The time is spent on shooting videos for all your lessons, if you’re creating tutorials, recording bonus audio/video interviews, or designing a million and a half worksheets. 

Though adding in more valuable stuff means you can increase the price!

Pros of Ebook

Great product to start with

Ebooks are a great way to introduce your brand to people. It’s a very good and recommended product if you are about to launch your first digital product.

Quick and Easy to Create

The biggest advantage of an ebook is that it’s very easy, quick, and cheap to create.

You can create any type of PDF format ebook in a couple of days.

You can either write it as text in Microsoft Word, Google Docs or by using a design tool like Canva and then download it in a PDF format.

All these tools are free to use hence, you have a very low cost of production.

Lower price point

Ebooks generally have a more accessible price point. This means you’ll likely make more sales and build your audience more quickly than with an online course that costs more.

More passive

Ebooks give a more passive income than Online courses because you only create it once and just continue selling it for as long as you wish without getting involved in the after-sales issues.

Cons of Ebook

You’ll earn less

Since the price point on an ebook will likely be lower, your monthly earnings will be lower, as well, even if you sell a lot more. For example: I might sell 100 ebooks in a month, but at $20 that’s less revenue than 30 spots in a $200 e-course. ($2000 vs $6000)

Need some design skills

While you don’t need a ton of tech skills to create an ebook, you will need some design skills. This means designing an ebook cover, creating a page template for the interior, and learning Photoshop, InDesign, Pages, or Canva.

Must hire an editor

If you write that 40k word ebook, you MUST hire an editor. There is no possible way that your friend, mom, boyfriend, or just you is going to get through your entire book without missing a typo. Hiring someone ensures they will take the time and meticulously go through your copy not only for misspelled words but also grammar mistakes and content that just doesn’t make sense.

High Risk Of Plagiarism

Ebooks are very easy to plagiarise, you would have heard a lot of cases where people download someone else’s ebook, add their name to it, probably give it another name and sell it out as their own.

There’s a higher risk of plagiarism for ebooks as opposed to online courses.

However, that can be reduced to the barest minimum, especially if you launch your ebook on Selar.

Click here to read our post on HOW TO PREVENT YOUR EBOOK FROM BEING STOLEN/PLAGIARIZED.

So which is the best for you?

After reading through the pros and cons of both online course and Ebook we are sure you might still be in the dilemma of what to choose. Here are some points that will help you make the best decision for your next digital product.

• If the information you are trying to sell is easy to digest and does not really need a practical approach, then Ebook is recommended for you.
•  If you need something simple and quick to create, then Ebook is the perfect option.
• If you love to teach using video style and you feel that’s the best way to disseminate your course then Online course is the best route to go through
• If you want to earn more from your course then go for an Online Course.
• If you are starting out your first digital product, then Ebook is the best option for you.
• Consider your potential students, how do you think you would love the information to be passed across to them?
• Check your resources to know which of these digital products formats would be best for you.
• Pick whatever product type feels like a match for your content.

In conclusion,

We will love to hear your opinions on this topic and your experiences with online courses vs ebooks. Which do you prefer and why? Let us know in the comments below!

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