Editors note: A great way way to make money with music is to teach music online. We've explored teaching instruments over Skype in the past but in this post Susan Scot goes deeper.  She is going to show you how to create, promote and conduct and online music class. Take it away Susan…

Very few technologies have had as much impact on our daily lives as the Internet. In less than two decades, World Wide Web has managed to change how we communicate or socialize with our friends and family members, the way we shop or do business, and the way we learn about new stuff.

There’s no limit to what you can teach or learn from internet, from simple cooking recipes to full-fledged professional degree program

Just like any other subject, music has its fair share of courses and classes being offered online. Some of them are offered by reputed universities (e.g. Boston University College of Fine Arts, Ohio University), and some are created by individuals and music experts.

Why to Teach Music Online

Launching an online music class has many advantages, for example:

• You can target students from all around the globe
• You don’t need to rent or purchase a building to conduct classes
• No need to arrange for the furniture or equipment like chairs, printed material, etc.

If you are an expert at music theory, or simply an artist who is proficient at playing an instrument like guitar or piano, you can start, promote, and conduct a music class, and you can do that without leaving the comfort of your home.

Keep on reading to know,how to achieve this feat all by yourself.

How to Create an Online Music Class

Online music classes can be of two types, you can conduct live classes and let the students join in the video conference, and ask questions on the spot. Or you can create some learning material that students can download or access online after paying.

Setting Up Goals

In either case, you need to start from setting up some goals. For example, if you are going to start a music class for violin, you need to decide if it is meant for beginners or advance learners. Doing so will not only help with the course development, but you will have an idea of your target market when you are looking to market or promote your course.

Content Development

Once you’ve decided on the goals and objectives for your course, you need to come up with a course outline, or acourse plan. In our example of violin course, you will have to divide the entire course into different segments, like explaining different parts of violin, violin basics, holding your bow, and the fingers position.

Using Different Methods

You can choose from a variety of methods, starting from text based tutorials to photo illustrations, slides with voice-over, video tutorials, or conducting live classeswith the help of online conferencing tools. Generally, the more methods you can incorporate in your course the better, because each of the aforementioned methods has its own benefits.

How to Promote Your Music Class

If you are worth your salt as a musician, creating the course contents might not be the most difficult part. The real challenge will come when it’s time to promote your music course online. It will take some time and efforts to make a mark amongst hundreds of online music courses coming up in Google search results.

Start and optimize a blog/website

You need to start from launching and optimizing a website, ideally a blog that you can update with relevant posts on regular basis. While the drill of writing regularblog posts (that too without any kind of monetary benefits) might sound like a waste of time at first, but it will be of great help for building some trust and credibility, and it will definitely pay off in the longerrun.

Social Media

Once you’ve created a website for your online course, you should create your Facebook and Twitter profiles to tap the power of social media. Talking of the social media, probably the most effective platform for music teachers is the increasingly popular“YouTube”.

You need to produce some detailed video tutorials while keeping your target market in mind, and you can host and share these videos at YouTube to gain instant recognition. You can easily guide the viewers to your website by adding your link in the description, or as subtitles in the videos.

Getting Experts on Board

If you are selling a music course, and you are not really an expert at online marketing, you can take some help from affiliate marketers by offering good commission rates, or simply hire an SEO or Internet Marketing expert to help you with traffic and sales generation.

Blogosphere

Lastly, you can get some instant exposure by targeting well-read blogs and contributingsome guest postsevery once in a while. Given that you’ve picked the right blog, you will surely be getting healthy response from the readers and subscribers at these blogs.

How to Conduct Online Classes

In case you are looking to conduct online classes, you can take advantage of some freely available web conferencing tools. Big Blue Button is one of the best free tools out there, however, if you are looking for an easy to use platform, you can use the free (but Ad supported) option at Anymeeting.com. Even better, you can go for Google Hangout (which is now available as a standalone App for smartphones).

Regardless of your teaching method, make sure that there is an easy way for students to communicate and pose questions. Last but not the least; you need to go over the course contents after getting the feedback from students on regular basis, because there is always some room for improvement.

Guest post: Susan Scot is a music lover and part time blogger. She writes for Morris Brothers Music Store, where you will find all sorts of music instruments like guitars and Amps, Drums, Pianos, Woodwind and Brass, and General Music Accessories.