How Do I Create and Sell an Online Course?

Creating and selling an online course involves planning your curriculum, producing your content, choosing a platform, and marketing to your target audience. The entire process can take 2-8 weeks depending on the course length and your production quality.

Step 1: Choose your topic. Pick something you know well that others want to learn. Validate demand by checking if similar courses exist (competition means demand), searching forums and Reddit for questions people ask about the topic, and surveying your existing audience.

Step 2: Outline your curriculum. Break your topic into modules and lessons. Each lesson should teach one concept or skill. A typical course has 4-8 modules with 3-7 lessons each, totaling 2-10 hours of content. Start with the outcome your students want and work backward.

Step 3: Produce your content. The simplest format is screen recording with voiceover for tutorial-style courses, or talking-head video for personality-driven courses. You can record with a smartphone, free screen recorder like OBS, and a $50 USB microphone. Higher production quality helps, but clear teaching matters more than production value.

Step 4: Choose a platform. Teachable and Kajabi are best for standalone courses. Udemy provides a built-in marketplace but takes a larger revenue share. Skillshare pays per minute watched. Your own website with WooCommerce gives you the most control.

Step 5: Price and launch. Price based on value delivered, not content length. A course that helps someone land a $70,000 job is worth $297. Launch with an early-bird discount to build initial reviews and social proof.

Step 6: Market consistently. Use content marketing (YouTube, blog, social media), email marketing, affiliate partnerships, and paid ads to drive ongoing enrollments.

Practical takeaway: Validate your course topic, outline your curriculum, record with basic equipment, and launch on Teachable or Udemy. Focus on marketing as much as creation.