eLearning Opportunities: Why Your Expertise Is More Marketable Than You Think
- LMSPortals
- Apr 12
- 6 min read
In the age of remote work, on-demand everything, and content that never stops, eLearning has exploded. The idea that you need to be a certified teacher or a tech-savvy influencer to make money sharing knowledge is outdated. What you know—your professional experience, your unique skills, even your hobbies—might be more valuable than you realize. The eLearning market is booming, and there’s room for voices like yours.
Whether you're a freelancer, a small business owner, or just someone with deep knowledge in a specific area, this article is for you. We're going to break down why your expertise is more marketable than you think, and how to turn what you know into something people will pay for.
The Growth of eLearning: A Window of Opportunity
The global eLearning market was valued at over $315 billion in 2024, and it's still climbing. Platforms like LMS Portals have made it easy to create, host, and sell digital courses or coaching programs. And it’s not just academic subjects. People are paying to learn everything from sourdough baking to Excel tricks to dog training.
More importantly, the shift in mindset is clear: People don’t just want credentials, they want results. They’re looking for skills they can use now. If you can help someone get a result—save time, earn money, fix a problem, learn a skill—they’ll pay attention.
You Don’t Need to Be a “Guru”
Here’s the big misconception that holds people back: “I’m not an expert.” But in reality, you don’t need to be the best in the world at something. You just need to know more than the person you’re teaching.
Think about it this way: if you’ve solved a problem for yourself, there’s a high chance someone else is struggling with the same thing. Your experience—how you approached it, what worked, what didn’t—is valuable.
Examples:
A small business owner who figured out how to manage cash flow during a slow season.
A social media manager who found a repeatable system for growing local business accounts.
A stay-at-home parent who cracked the code on organizing a busy household.
These aren’t “celebrity experts.” They’re everyday people with knowledge others would gladly pay to learn.
What Counts as “Marketable Expertise”?
It’s easy to overlook what you know because it feels normal to you. But if people regularly ask you how to do something—or if you’ve built a process, framework, or system that others could benefit from—that’s your signal.
Here are some categories of expertise that sell well in eLearning:
1. Professional Skills
If you’ve worked in a specific field for years, you’ve probably developed methods, insights, or shortcuts that newcomers would love to learn. Think HR, project management, sales, IT, healthcare, or real estate. Industry experience is gold.
2. Creative Skills
Can you write, draw, design, photograph, or edit video? Creative people often undervalue their knowledge because they’re surrounded by other creatives. But to the outside world, these skills are valuable—and rare.
3. Technical Know-How
Coding, web development, spreadsheets, CRM tools, automation workflows—if you’ve figured out how to make software work for you, you can teach others and save them hours of frustration.
4. Life Skills
Time management, productivity, parenting, meal prep, budgeting—these are high-demand areas. People want to simplify their lives and are willing to pay for systems that work.
5. Hobbies and Side Hustles
Yes, people pay to learn knitting, gaming, tarot, gardening, woodworking, you name it. Don’t dismiss your personal passions—they may be your most engaging and authentic teaching topics.
Where and How to Sell What You Know
If you’ve got knowledge to share, here are the main paths to monetizing it:
1. Create a Course
This is the most common format. Platforms like LMS Portals let you record lessons, upload materials, and sell access. You set your own pricing and keep a large percentage of the sales.
Pro tip: Courses that focus on a specific outcome tend to sell better than broad, general ones. For example, “How to Book Your First Freelance Client in 30 Days” is better than “Freelancing 101.”
2. Offer Coaching or Consulting
If you prefer working directly with people, coaching or consulting might be a better fit. You can charge per hour, per package, or offer group coaching programs. Use your expertise to guide others through a process, step-by-step.
3. Build a Membership
If you’ve got ongoing insights to share, or if your topic involves regular updates (like marketing or tech), you can set up a membership community. Subscribers get access to content, calls, resources, or Q&A sessions.
4. Sell Templates, Checklists, or Resources
Not everything has to be a full-blown course. You can create and sell digital products like Notion templates, Canva designs, budgeting sheets, client onboarding docs—whatever you use that others might need.
5. License Your Content
If you’ve developed a high-quality course or resource, you can license it to companies, schools, or other professionals. This is a less hands-on approach and can bring in recurring revenue.
“But I Don’t Know How to Make a Course”
Good news: You don’t need to be a tech wizard. If you can make a slide deck or talk to a camera, you can create an online course.
Here’s a simple breakdown:
Outline your topic – Start with what people need to know to get from A to B.
Break it into steps or modules – Each lesson should focus on one key idea or task.
Record simple videos – Use your phone or a webcam. Keep it casual, not perfect.
Upload and publish – Use a platform that handles the hosting and delivery.
Promote it – Use social media, email lists, or content marketing to reach your audience.
You can always improve and polish later. The most important thing is to start.
The Psychology of Selling What You Know
Imposter syndrome is real, and it kills momentum. But here’s the truth: people don’t want perfection, they want clarity. They want someone relatable who understands their situation and can help them move forward.
Your story, your mistakes, and your real-world experience make your teaching more powerful, not less. It humanizes you. It builds trust.
Plus, we’re living in an era where trust is currency. Big brands and universities are no longer the only authority. Audiences are hungry for real people who’ve “been there” and can offer real-world solutions.
A Quick Reality Check on Income Potential
Some people make six or seven figures from their courses, yes. But you don’t have to go that big to make it worth your time.
If you sell a $100 course to 50 people, that’s $5,000. Do that three times a year, and you’ve added $15,000 to your income.
If you coach five clients at $200/month, that’s $1,000/month. Or, a $10 ebook downloaded 300 times = $3,000.
The key is consistency, not virality. Build something useful. Put it in front of the right people. Keep improving. That’s the model.
Final Thoughts: You Know More Than You Think
You don’t need a degree in education. You don’t need a big following. You don’t need permission.
You just need to be a few steps ahead of the people you want to help—and a willingness to share what you know.
Your experiences have value. Your knowledge is marketable. And eLearning gives you the tools to package it and profit from it. So if you’ve been sitting on skills, frameworks, or lessons that could help someone else—this is your sign.
Start small. Start simple. But start. Someone out there is already searching for what you know. Give them something worth finding.
About LMS Portals
At LMS Portals, we provide our clients and partners with a mobile-responsive, SaaS-based, multi-tenant learning management system that allows you to launch a dedicated training environment (a portal) for each of your unique audiences.
The system includes built-in, SCORM-compliant rapid course development software that provides a drag and drop engine to enable most anyone to build engaging courses quickly and easily.
We also offer a complete library of ready-made courses, covering most every aspect of corporate training and employee development.
If you choose to, you can create Learning Paths to deliver courses in a logical progression and add structure to your training program. The system also supports Virtual Instructor-Led Training (VILT) and provides tools for social learning.
Together, these features make LMS Portals the ideal SaaS-based eLearning platform for our clients and our Reseller partners.
Contact us today to get started or visit our Partner Program pages
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