No matter what type of business you run, eventually you’ll reach a point when you need to scale your revenue so you can continue to stay in business. But, scaling a business is not always easy. Not to mention, it requires a financial investment.
The good news is that there is a way to increase your bottom line without making a noticeable dent in your budget and profit margins. We’re talking about knowledge commerce.
Knowledge commerce is simply the practice of charging users for access to our knowledge – or in other words, selling customers courses, ebooks, webinars, membership sites, or any other digital product that is meant to share your knowledge about a certain topic.
According to a report put together by Accuray Research LLP, knowledge commerce is expected to grow at around 7.0% over the next decade and is predicted to reach approximately $331 billion by 2025. Here are five ways your business can benefit from knowledge commerce and how to get started with it.
Top Five Benefits of Knowledge Commerce For Your Business
Knowledge commerce has many benefits for end users; from allowing them to learn new skills without amassing student loans to being able to learn at their own pace in the comfort of their homes. But it also has several benefits for business owners:
1. Create it once, sell it multiple times
With knowledge commerce, regardless of what structure you choose, you can create the product once and sell it multiple times without the need to re-create it or manufacture it again and again like traditional physical products.
2. Requires little upfront capital
You don’t need special equipment or materials to create an e-course, a membership site, or ebook. All you need is an idea, a few hours of your time, and a platform to deliver your product. In fact, you can build an online course with nothing more than an iPhone and a platform like Kajabi.
3. Passive income stream
Given the fact that you only need to create a knowledge commerce product like an e-course once, there is very little upkeep that needs to be done. This means you can add a passive income stream to your business because your course or ebook can continue to sell for years to come.
4. Establishes you as the expert
When you share knowledge, you are positioning yourself as an authority in your industry. This helps establish you as the expert in your field which builds trust and credibility with potential clients and customers.
5. Easier to scale
Lastly, knowledge products are easier to scale than physical products and services. With physical products, you’ll have to increase the production cost to produce and sell more units. With services, you’ll hit a stagnant point even faster, considering there is only one of you and a finite amount of hours in a day. But with digital knowledge products, you can continually see an increase in sales and serve a larger audience.
How to Get Started With Knowledge Commerce
As we’ve mentioned before, you don’t need much to get started with knowledge commerce.
1. Come up with an idea
Naturally, the first thing you’ll need is an idea for your digital product. Your idea can come from a question that keeps coming up with your clients and customers. It can also be a way for you to solve a common problem that your target audience faces or it can serve as a companion to your physical product or an existing service.
2. Choose a medium
Once you have an idea, you need to choose how you will deliver the product. Some ideas include an e-course, an e-book, a virtual workshop, a webinar or a membership site. You also need to decide whether you want to use video, audio, text, or a combination of all three.
3. Select your platform
You’ll also need a place to host your program. A platform like Kajabi makes it possible to create and deliver an interactive experience to your students but also to market and promote your course with email marketing and complete marketing funnels. You’ll want to look for a platform that’s easy to use, allows you to manage payments easily, and is mobile-friendly so students can learn from anywhere and on any device.
4. Start promoting the course
The last thing on the list is the promotion of your course. Marketing your program is no different than promoting any other product. Using your social media platforms and your email list are good places to start.
Final Thoughts
Knowledge commerce opens up endless possibilities for any business owner and allows you to share your knowledge in many different ways. Use the tips in this article to get started with knowledge commerce and improve your bottom line.
