How to Make Money Online Through Course Selling

Step 1: Choose a Specific Target Audience

Don’t try to teach everyone.

Instead, identify a specific group.

For example:

• Class X students
• College students
• Beginners
• Small business owners
• Freelancers
• Teachers
• Homemakers
• Job seekers
• New bloggers

A specific audience makes it easier to design your course and marketing message.

Step 2: Define the Course Outcome

Before recording anything, complete this sentence:

“After completing this course, students will be able to ______.”

For example:

“After completing this course, students will be able to create and manage their own WordPress website.”

This becomes the foundation of your curriculum.

Step 3: Create a Course Outline

Divide your course into modules and lessons.

For example:

Course: WordPress for Beginners

Module 1: Introduction to WordPress
Module 2: Domain and Hosting
Module 3: Installing WordPress
Module 4: Choosing a Theme
Module 5: Creating Pages
Module 6: Creating Blog Posts
Module 7: Plugins
Module 8: SEO Basics
Module 9: Website Security
Module 10: Launching Your Website

Each module can contain several short lessons.

A structured curriculum makes the course easier to follow.

Step 4: Decide Your Course Format

You don’t necessarily need to make everything video-based.

You can use:

• Video
• Screen recordings
• Slides
• PDFs
• Audio
• Quizzes
• Assignments
• Downloadable templates
• Live sessions

For technical subjects, screen recordings can be extremely useful.

For language courses, a combination of video, audio, exercises, and downloadable material can work well.

Step 5: Create Your Course Content

Write your lesson plans before recording.

For each lesson, determine:

• What will students learn?
• What examples will you provide?
• What should students do?
• What common mistakes should they avoid?
• What should they know before moving to the next lesson?

Avoid unnecessary information.

A course isn’t better simply because it contains 20 hours of video.

Useful and focused content is more important than course length.

Step 6: Record Your Lessons

You don’t need a professional studio to begin.

A basic setup can include:

• Smartphone or camera
• Microphone
• Tripod
• Good lighting
• Quiet room
• Screen-recording software

For many beginner courses, clear audio is more important than having an expensive camera.

Speak clearly and avoid unnecessary background noise.

Step 7: Edit Your Videos

Basic editing can make your course much more professional.

You can:

• Remove mistakes
• Remove long pauses
• Add titles
• Add captions
• Highlight important information
• Add screen demonstrations
• Improve audio
• Divide long lessons into smaller sections

Keep lessons focused and reasonably easy to consume.

Step 8: Create Supporting Materials

Give students resources that help them apply what they learn.

Examples include:

• PDF notes
• Checklists
• Worksheets
• Templates
• Exercises
• Project files
• Cheat sheets
• Reading lists

For example, a digital-marketing course could include a content-planning template.

These resources can increase the practical value of your course.

Step 9: Choose an Online Course Platform

There are several ways to sell an online course.

1. Udemy

Udemy is a large online learning marketplace where instructors can create courses and reach students through the platform.

Udemy currently states that instructors can create an instructor account without an account-opening fee, while paid courses operate under its revenue-share model. It also has course requirements, including a minimum amount of video content and lectures/modules for published courses.

Good for: Beginners who want access to an established course marketplace.

2. Teachable

Teachable allows creators to build and sell online courses and other learning products. Its current platform includes course creation, student engagement, sales, and payment-related tools.

Good for: Creators who want more control over their own course business and branding.

3. Thinkific

Thinkific provides tools for building and selling courses, including support for video, text, images, downloads, audio, presentations, assignments, surveys, quizzes, and analytics.

Good for: Course creators who want a dedicated online learning platform.

4. Graphy

Graphy is another platform aimed at creators and educators. Its current offering includes courses, webinars, memberships, digital products, communities, and tools for building an online teaching business.

Good for: Creators, educators, coaches, and businesses looking for an all-in-one course platform, particularly those targeting the Indian market.

Which Platform Should a Beginner Choose?

There isn’t one universally best platform.

Consider:

• Platform fees
• Revenue sharing
• Payment options
• Marketing tools
• Branding
• Student-management features
• Analytics
• Course ownership
• Your target audience
• Whether you want a marketplace or your own branded course business

Always check the current pricing, fees, policies, and payment availability before making a decision because platform terms can change.

Step 10: Set the Right Course Price

Pricing can be difficult for beginners.

Don’t choose a price randomly.

Consider:

• Course depth
• Your expertise
• Student outcome
• Course quality
• Competition
• Target audience
• Support included
• Bonuses and resources
• Your brand reputation

You can experiment with different pricing models.

Low-Cost Course

A short introductory course designed to attract beginners.

Standard Course

A comprehensive course with lessons, exercises, and resources.

Premium Course

A detailed program that may include:

• Personal feedback
• Live sessions
• Community access
• Assignments
• Mentoring

Don’t assume that the cheapest course will always sell the most.

People often pay more for a course when the outcome and value are clear.