Whether you are attempting to sell online courses, offer elearning consulting, or provide development services, you will experience more growth if you specialize.

To be honest, this is something I’ve written about before. Actually, a number of times.

The reason I keep revisiting the topic is because I think that the message is easily lost today.

ELearning professionals are often told that they should hone their craft. While important, I think it’s just as critical for you to perfect your specialization.

Sure, instructional designers can create courses on just about any subject.

Sure, if you’re selling elearning you can create a giant library spanning multiple disciplines.

But how will you differentiate? What makes you different than “the next guy”? The answer is easy: differentiate through specialization.

There are many benefits to this approach. First, you don’t need to worry about trying to stand-out with a lower price. Specialists always command higher fees. So that’s one less thing to worry about.

But in addition, your marketing efforts can suddenly become laser-focused.  You don’t have to worry about competing on multiple fronts, instead you can think about owning just one.

While the benefits of specialization are clear, it’s important to remember that specialization cannot be faked. You can’t just tell people that you’re a specialist – you have to prove it.

Again, there isn’t a formula for how to do this either. Depending on your elearning niche, proving your specialty may look different. You can write articles for popular publications, give presentations at industry events, administer live webinars on your topic of expertise, share incredible case studies on projects you have been involved with, and so on.

Being a specialist takes work, but if you choose a specialization in something you’re passionate about then it will never feel like it.

If you’re looking for a potential sector in the elearning industry to specialize in, then maybe one of these will spark your interest.