How to Create an Online Course Step by Step

There's never been a better time to create a course to sell online.

Does the idea of online course creation seem overwhelming? If so, we're here to help. This step-by-step guide teaches you how to become a successful course creator. You'll discover how to brainstorm and research ideas, identify a target audience, film and edit, market and sell your course, and much more.

People are eager to learn new skills to start a new career, a side hustle, or a hobby, and they're looking for quality content. Creating an online course can generate extra income, generate leads and attract new clients. You can build a loyal following and position yourself as an authority within your business industry.

Often, entrepreneurs have great ideas for an online course topic, but aren't sure how to get started. This practical guide for course creation will help you work through a simple, easy-to-follow process so you can create a great online course to sell. In addition, once you've built your first online course, you'll find it easier to make the next one and continue your ecommerce journey.

How much money can you make from selling courses online? 

That depends on several factors. For instance, if you don't have a large following, you may wish to sell your first course at a lower price to get feedback. If you have sales and marketing experience, those skills can impact the number of sales.

Moreover, do you have active social media accounts, an email list, or a YouTube channel? It's much easier to have a successfulonline course if you already have an engaged network. In addition, if your subject matter is more comprehensive, you can price it higher.

Suppose you have 1,000 followers, and you price your course at $20.00 Twenty-five people buy during the first week, generating $500.00 in sales in passive income. As you gain more followers and learn from buyer feedback, you create another course priced at $50.00. This time, forty-five people made a purchase, generating  $2,250. At the same time, ten people also purchased the first course, adding an extra $200.00 to your sales. Now, you have a profitable online course and cann call yourself an online business owner.

How to Create an Online Course

Read on to learn everything you need to know about creating an online course.

1. Choose a Subject for your Course 

A subject that interests you and you want to teach

There are potentially hundreds of different ideas for creating an online course. Still, choosing a topic that interests you and something you can confidently talk about on camera is essential.

Write a list of subjects you're passionate about and fine-tune it to your favorites. After that, consider which is the best course idea that most closely aligns with your goals. Do you want extra income, more clients or leads, or increase your following?

A subject with demand - conduct proper research

Another crucial element to consider is whether there's an audience for your chosen topic. Here are a few ideas:

• If you have a following, create a poll to get opinions on what people want to learn, giving them options if possible.

• Conduct online research on social platforms like Quora and Reddit. Another option is the Answer the Public website, an excellent platform for focused searches on trending topics.

• Create a short tutorial and share it with your audience for feedback.

• Research online course platforms and look at trending topics. If you find a course you like, study the reviews to see what students liked and disliked and tailor your content accordingly.

Brainstorm and Research Ideas and Topics for the Course Material 

Brainstorming and researching your idea could mean the difference between success and failure. Never assume there's a waiting audience. You could discover your course concept has a saturated market.

Visit multiple course platforms and search for similar courses to yours. Are they all the same? What are the levels of course sales and reviews?

Do a google keyword research. Are there many YouTube videos on the subject, and if so, are they popular with viewers?

Suppose you're a marketing expert. Search for marketing courses, and you will find thousands online. However, don't feel defeated. Instead, brainstorm subcategories of marketing so you can create a niche course. For instance:

• Marketing for exhausted small businesses owners with no free time

• How to market your business in 5 simple steps

• Marketing for your dog walking business

Keep brainstorming and researching until you find a gap in the market that you are happy about pursuing.

2. Choose a Platform - Where are you going to offer the course? 

1. Self-hosting 

If you wish to self-host your course, there are many options available. Still, many course creators choose WordPress as an easily accessible and affordable platform. If you have limited website creation skills, you can hire an expert to do the job for you. For example, Fiverr.com has many highly reviewed and verified professionals that provide various WordPress services.

2. Courses marketplace 

You can sell your course on marketplaces, such as Teachable, Udemy, Skillshare, Thinkific, and Kajabi. Each learning management system (LMS) provides unique services, and it's essential to consider the following when looking for an all-in-one platform:

• Is there a monthly cost, and if so, how much?

• Does the platform take a percentage fee when your course sells?

• Can you create student interaction?

• Can you add course quizzes and other functionality?

• Student payment options

• Customizable integrations or plugins

• Are courses downloadable or web-based?

• Can you create discounts, special offers, etc.?

• Does the platform have a good reputation?

• Is there an option to set up a student membership?

Decide what's most important to you. If you're uploading your first course, an expensive platform could be prohibitive if you don't get sales for a while.

3. Create a Brand for Yourself

Why is branding important? Because even though you're at the beginning of your course creation journey, establishing brand image and intent helps your followers recognize your brand. If you're choosing a self-hosting platform, at the very least, you need a professional logo, marketing tools, a website, and a social media presence.

Fiverr provides a professional logo maker service with hundreds of design options created by top-tier designers. It's fast, simple, affordable, and fully customizable.

4. Define your Course Goals

Once you've decided upon a niche, the next step is to list the learning goals for the course. Staying with the "marketing for your dog walking business" idea, here are a few suggestions for learning objectives:

• It will help you grow your dog walking business

• The course teaches you how to structure a marketing plan, find clients and price your dog walking services

• You will improve communication with your clients

• Become more confident about marketing your business

• Increase your prices from effective marketing practices

Research the typical problems that dog walkers face with marketing their business. Run a poll, go to Answer the Public website, and note the issues. After that, tailor the defining goals of the course to overcome those problems.

5. Plan your Course Outline 

Write a list of course modules (topics) and the lessons within the topic. Students' biggest complaints are about courses that have poor structure and don't have a good "flow." Know how you’re going to structure your course, what assessments you’ll have, and anticipate any FAQs.

Below is an example of two modules and lessons:

Always start your course with a friendly introduction, outlining course objectives and student outcomes. Conclude the entire course by summarizing student learning outcomes. You can add bonus material, links to other courses or resources, etc.

6. Plan the Selling Method

There are multiple ways to sell your course. You may have personal preferences, but consider the best options for your students. If you are unsure which selling method to choose, you could start a poll, look at reviews of other high-quality courses and gather as much feedback as possible. Consider pre-selling your course to gauge interest.

Here are the options:

• Subscription: Students pay a monthly subscription fee to access your course. This option benefits students if you have multiple courses. If you only have one course, it may not be the best option as the student may cancel their subscription once they've completed the course.

• Individual purchases: Students pay a one-off price. Most platforms provide instant payment and download options. The potential downside is that there's no ongoing relationship with the student unless the platform is interactive. To overcome this, create a member's only social community. Add the link to the thank you email and also within the course itself.

• Paid plans: In today's economically challenging times, offering a paid plan, such as three or six months for pricier courses, can help increase sales.

• Consider previews, trailers, and free trials: If your course is new, with no reviews, potential students may be wary of purchasing. To overcome this situation, you can create a preview or trailer, perhaps showing one or two sections of the course. That way, students decide if they like it before buying it. It may seem counterintuitive to offer free trials, but it's a great marketing tactic. You can add a time limitation for free trials in return for student reviews. Social proof is essential and can make a difference in sales numbers.

• Run a free webinar: Successful course providers understand the power of creating interest in their courses by providing a free webinar with a "special course discount" if watchers stay until the end.

7. Pricing: How to Price Your Course

How do you price your course? We appreciate the pricing challenge if you have limited experience and no existing audience. If this is your first new course, your pricing might differ from someone who is very experienced in online education. Here are four tips for how to price your course:

• Research competitor prices: Calculate the average cost of course prices by comparing instructor expertise, their following, and average prices on the hosted platform.

• How long it took to create: Hopefully, you will have many sales but factor in production time when making your sales page.

• Course value: For instance, if the course is accredited, you can price it higher, especially if the accreditation could lead to a job or starting a business. Equally, students expect a twelve-hour course to be more expensive than a one-hour course.

• Pricing psychology: You may think a low-priced course is more attractive to students. However, behavioral science shows that students assume a higher price equals more value and more in-depth. Also, if the course is low-cost, students are less invested in completing it than if they paid a high price.

8. Create Course Content

After all the planning and brainstorming are done, it's time to start creating some content.

Filming 

You don't need to purchase expensive camera equipment. Indeed, many course providers film with their mobile phones. Check out what popular podcasts use to get inspiration. 

• Purchase a ring light: If using a mobile phone for filming, a ring light creates a more professional look.

• Use a microphone: Research a decent microphone. It may seem unnecessary, but students are quick to leave negative reviews for poor sound quality.

• Have a "clean" background: Work in an uncluttered area, and remove anything potentially distracting.

• Avoid filming if the environment is noisy: If you're filming at home, check for environmental noise, such as a lawn mower or dog barking.

Editing 

Be brutal when editing. Cut out "fluff" and keep the videos on point. For instance:

• Remove the "ums" and "ers"

• Add lesson titles

• Add background music if appropriate

• Add subtitles

You can find free video editing software online, such as Filmora and iMovie, and use video editing services by more professional editors.

Need a hand? Check out Fiverr's eLearning video production services by professional video editors.

Create Whitepapers and Resources

Create a whitepaper for your course. It needn't be complex, just a few pages about you, your background, your expertise, and the course details.

Students have different learning styles, and although watching video content is universally popular, it's helpful to transcribe each lesson into text and save it as a PDF so students can download and print it if they wish.

Create bonus material in resources, and add relevant documents, spreadsheets, and helpful links. Consider everything from the student's point of view.

9. Promote your Course

Next, it's time to promote your course.

Digital Assets

Adopting a multi-faceted approach to marketing your course is the most effective way of promoting it, getting sales, and building a community of loyal followers. The first step is to create a website, blog, or landing page that is SEO optimized to drive sales. If you don't have the technical skills, hire a freelancer to do it for you.

Digital Marketing

Email marketing: Create an email marketing campaign and add a subscribe button or pop-up to your website or landing page. You can get started with a free email marketing service. For instance, MailerLite provides a free service for up to 1,000 subscribers.

Affiliate programs: Launch an affiliate program so others can promote your course and receive a predetermined sales commission. It's an excellent way of promoting your course passively.

YouTube: Growing a subscriber list on YouTube can significantly impact your course sales. Start a new channel, and provide good value for your subscribers. For instance, you could create bite-sized sections from your course. Share any testimonials related to your own online course. It can be challenging to grow a new YouTube channel so if you'd like to give it a boost, try Fiverr's YouTube promotion services. Here's a video preview to see how it works.

SEO: You have a website, blog, or landing page that looks great, but nobody can find it. SEO can be tricky for beginners, so it makes sense to hire an SEO expert. Fiverr provides affordable SEO services for all levels of requirements.

Paid Ads: If it's within your budget, try paid advertising campaigns such as Facebook or Google search ads.

Content marketing: If you have writing skills, you can promote your course by writing regular blog posts tailored to your target audience.

Influencers: Partnering with an influencer relevant to your industry can significantly increase your reach for your target audience. Find an influencer who can work to your budget and is happy to do a "shout-out" to their followers about your course.

Social media: Find which channel your target audience spends the most time. For instance, if your course teaches workplace skills, LinkedIn could be an excellent place to promote. If your target audience is women, the demographics of Pinterest are female-driven. Create templates of your content and share engaging material like infographics and screen recordings of the online learning experience.

Managing social media content can be overwhelming. You may be unsure of what or when to post content. If you need help, consider Fiverr's social media management services.

Webinars: Host a free webinar. Some platforms enable prerecording, or you may prefer to host a live webinar. Set a date and time and promote the webinar on relevant platforms.

Create a lively and interactive webinar, so people feel engaged with the content. Offer webinar incentives to encourage sales of your course.

Offer coupons and discounts: Students love to get a bargain. Offer coupons or discounts, which is something you can factor in during a webinar, for instance. You could also offer a discount as an incentive to complete a feedback form or offer coupons for friend recommendations.

Gather feedback from students with forms: You want to provide the best experience for your students, so their feedback is vital for ongoing improvements. It's fantastic to get rave reviews but listen to the students who have issues with some aspects of your course.

Create a community for your students: Students can lose motivation if they feel alone in their learning experience. Being part of a member community encourages students to share their struggles and successes with others. It's also a good move for you because you can address concerns quickly, share details of upcoming courses or events and build community momentum.

• Social media group: Create a members-only Facebook group.

• Members area: Add a members area to your website so that students can access premium content and engage with you and other students.

• An online forum: Add a forum to your website. Research user-friendly forums that are easy to manage.

Online community platform: Discord server is a popular choice for managing large numbers of people. Some course providers also use Slack.

Conclusion

Hopefully, you realize that creating and selling an online course is not as difficult as you thought. From your idea to making and selling the finished product is a process of working through this step-by-step guide. Creating a course could take a few days or weeks, depending on your skills and whether you hire experts to work on the things you cannot do. If you have limited time, it's best not to rush. The most important thing is that you've done the research, identified your target audience, and the finished course is professional and ready to sell.