Can You Make a Career Out of Selling Tutorials on the Web?

When you need to learn how to do something, you look it up on the internet. Whether you’re putting together a crib or have to figure out how to write a research paper in MLA format, the answer lies on the web. There are places you can visit that include long and detailed articles, then there are videos that show every step in 3D format. Those studying at the University of Southern California regularly use tutorials to help complete an online GIST program, but there’s quite a difference between using and making tutorials. Even though there are lots of tutorials that can be perused for free, some of them are sold at premium prices. So, if you know Ruby on Rails or have memorized all of Ubuntu’s maintenance commands, should you sell this knowledge as a career? Below are some of the positives and negatives that are associated with being a tutorial seller online.

Somewhere on the Web It’s Free

Search engines like Google try to give web users the best online experiences by matching them up with results that are of the highest quality and that also have the most accurate information. This requires Google to never stop crawling the web, looking at website updates and new additions and then analyzing them for quality. Google also knows that web users want the information that they seek for free, so they’re likely to bump up search results that directly answer a query rather than promoting a website that only has tutorials for sale. In short, you’re going to have to give some of your knowledge away for free if you are going to use search engines to list your web pages.

Keeping Your Tutorials Updated

When an internet user spends money on a digital product, he or she is not going to be happy to learn that the information just purchased is outdated. So, if you’re selling a tutorial on how to use Microsoft 365, you are also going to need to offer product updates. When Microsoft makes a change, you’re going to need to explain to users what to do. If you’re selling a lot of tutorials, you might end up working hard to keep each product updated properly.

Digital Products and Online Security

During the course of completing an online GIST graduate program, you might also learn about software and tools that students need to master to excel in your studies. If you choose to sell tutorials that are appealing to GIST degree students, also realize that you’re going to have to appeal to a niche market. Very few web users are going to be interested in GPS technology, so make sure that you market your tutorials well and keep each download secure.

Yes, web users buy tutorials and you can have a career creating them. On the other hand, you have to be well versed in the kind of information that can’t be easily sourced online. In other words, don’t try to repackage and sell what’s already available online for free.