how to make money with an online course

by Ericka Bode 5 min read

  1. Choose a popular course topic. The first step to making money selling online courses is to determine what topic you want to cover. ...
  2. Validate your idea. It is important to validate any course idea before fully committing to it. ...
  3. Pick your course creation platform. After you validate your course idea, the next step is to choose your course creation platform. ...
  4. Create your course. With a course platform in place, you can begin building your online course. The bulk of your work will involve planning and writing the course content.
  5. Decide your course pricing structure. Choosing how to price your course is a key step if you want to make money selling online courses. ...
  6. Build your course sales page. After you choose your course pricing structure, you will need to create your course sales page. ...
  7. Optimize your course sales funnels. Once you create an optimized sales page, you will need to design a digital marketing sales funnel. ...
  8. Promote your course using digital marketing. Simply creating a sales page for your course won’t make you profitable. ...
  9. Make money selling your courses on popular e-learning platforms. In addition to selling digital courses through your own website, you can also consider selling them through popular e-learning platforms.
  10. Make money upselling other courses or services. Another way to make money with online courses is to sell courses for a low price (or free) and then upsell customers ...

7 Ways to Make Money Selling Online Courses
  1. Charge up front. ...
  2. Offer the course for free, then charge for certification. ...
  3. Charge a subscription. ...
  4. Use a tiered payment system. ...
  5. Pre-sell your course. ...
  6. Sell your online course for free—then funnel it into a product or service. ...
  7. Sell course licenses.
Apr 16, 2018

Full Answer

What are the best courses on making money online?

  • Enchanted Marketing’s 16-Part Snackable Writing Course
  • Introduction to Computer Science and Programming Using Python
  • A Crash Course in Data Science by John Hopkins University from Coursera
  • HubSpot’s Email Marketing Certification course
  • Crash Course in Infographics with Easelly
  • Seth Godin’s “Freelancer Course”
  • General Transcription: Theory & Practice

How to make money with an awesome online course?

  • Easy-to-use platforms have simplified online course creation
  • You can offer courses that complement your existing business
  • Create passive income by re-selling the same online course continually
  • Use an online course to lead customers to your other product offerings
  • Online availability brings in clients from all over the globe

How to make money by creating and selling online courses?

Course creators have the chance to make money selling courses to create additional sources of passive income or even make a living teaching online from your own website. Monetize your existing content of training workshops, YouTube videos, podcasts, coaching sessions, and empower people to improve their skills.

How can I learn to make money online?

  • Become a Virtual Assistant and help other bloggers charging $25-$100 per hour
  • SEO Auditor – I figured out how to get my articles to show up on Google for free, which is HUGE and I can charge up to $300 per hour ...
  • Pinterest Manager – I get traffic to my website from Pinterest as well and can help others charging $300+ per client per month.

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Can you really make money with online courses?

Are Online Courses Profitable? Yes, they are. Online courses offer one of the best business models to digital entrepreneurs. The demand is rising and people are more than willing to pay for them, and they are one of the top ways to make money online.

What is the best course to make money online?

8 Best Courses to Learn How to Make Money Online:Enchanted Marketing's 16-Park Snackable Writing Course.Introduction to Computer Science and Programming Using Python.A Crash Course in Data Science by Johns Hopkins University via Coursera.Hubspot's Email Marketing Course.Crash Course In Infographics with Easelly.More items...•

How do you monetize online courses?

7 Ways To Monetize Your Online CourseMulti-vendor platforms. Multi-vendor e-learning platforms such as Skillshare and Udemy allow you to sell and market your online course. ... Courses as products. ... Selling course certificates. ... Subscriptions. ... Membership Sites. ... Payment Installations. ... Are you ready to sell your online course?

How much does it cost to create an online course?

It can cost anywhere from $200 to $10,000 to create an online course. The main source of expenses is the labor involved, followed by the equipment and software. If you are creating the online course yourself and not paying someone else to do it, this means that other than your time there are very few expenses involved.

What certifications can I get in 3 months?

Top careers with three-month certificate programsMedical billing and coding specialist.Web designer.HVAC technician.Truck driver.Licensed real estate agent.IT support.Brick mason.Personal trainer.More items...

How do free courses make money?

5 Free Courses You Can Use To Make Money Almost ImmediatelyTyler's YouTube WordPress Course. Everything I know about WordPress came from Tyler Moore. ... Hubspot Academy's Content Marketing Course. ... Selling Used Items On eBay and Amazon. ... 4. Facebook Advertising Basics. ... Teachable Course Bundle.

Can selling online courses make you rich?

How much can you make selling online courses? It varies widely. Your online course could earn anywhere from a $0 – $50k+ per month. Many course creators will earn $1 – 5k/month and there are numerous examples of online course teachers earning $10k – $50k per month..

How can a beginner make money?

Read on for a comprehensive look at making money online for beginners.Perform Your Current Role Remotely. ... Become a Freelancer. ... Become a Consultant. ... Become a Virtual Assistant. ... Tutoring Online. ... Create and Sell Online Courses. ... Write and Sell E-Books. ... Start a Blog.More items...•

How can I make a living online?

11 Ways to Make Money OnlineSell Courses Online. ... Become a Freelance Designer. ... Sell Products Online. ... Be a Freelance Writer. ... Brand Ambassador/Influencer. ... Virtual Assistant. ... Host a Podcast. ... Sell Website Domains.More items...

How long does it take to create 1 hour of eLearning?

The research gives a mid-point for medium interactivity courses of approximately 180 hours development for every 1 hour of eLearning. Therefore, by their estimates, a 20 minute course would take 60 hours of development. If you work a 40 hour week, that's about a solid week and a half of your hard labor.

How long does it take to build an online course?

It can take anywhere between 3 days to 2 months to create an online course, assuming that you are working on it full time. A mini-course covering a very narrow topic can be produced in only 3 days or less, while a complete in-depth 20h masterclass covering all levels can take several months to produce.

How much should I charge to build a course?

At an estimated 80 to 280 hours required to develop a 1-hour course, you can expect to pay roughly $5,850 USD to over $15,000 USD to get a fully polished course, in addition to the cost of your Instructional Designer (ID) and SME.

Step 1: Commit to Creating A Course

Do you want to create an online course?You already know the answer.Otherwise, you wouldn’t be reading this, right?Right.So, commit to it – today.Lo...

Step 2: Choose A Profitable Idea

Let’s get specific:You can create a course about something you already know. Or you can create a course about something you’re just learning.But ho...

Step 3: Test Your Idea

To test whether your course idea has potential, it’s important you don’t just ask your friends and family…The good news is this:If you use the stra...

Step 4: Create A Course Outline

It’s tough to create a multi-week course when you’re doing this for the first time. There’s a lot of content to create… And you want your content t...

Step 5: Create Your Course Content

Most online courses are delivered in a VIDEO format. Plus, I always include WORKSHEETS, that help students implement what they learned.So how do yo...

Step 6: Get Your Course Online

Idea? Check!Content? Check!Time to get your course online, so you can start selling it!The good news is:It USED to be a real pain to get a course u...

Step 7: Set A Price For Your Course

For many new course creators, this is a tough decision. But when it comes to pricing, you must realize:People like buying courses – even when they...

Step 8: Get Students For Your Course

Remember, you don’t want to build a course and then go looking for students…You should know who your students are – and have an idea where you’ll f...

Step 9: Launch Your Course

You’ve got a course. You’re building your audience. Time to sell it!Now…Maybe “sales” sounds like a dirty word to you. Or you just might not have a...

How Much Money Can You Make Selling Online Courses?

Do online courses make money? Yes, they can. How much you can make depends on a few factors.

10 Steps to Make Money From Online Courses

The first step to making money selling online courses is to determine what topic you want to cover.

Key Learnings

If you have expertise in a popular topic area, selling online courses is a great way to make money.

2. Introduction to Computer Science and Programming Using Python

This comprehensive course from EdX is ideal for you if you’re planning to learn computer science and use Python 3.5 to solve real-world analytical problems (that is for the company you want to work for or the system that you want to build for your next big idea).

3. A Crash Course in Data Science by Johns Hopkins University via Coursera

If technical work is more up your alley, we haven’t forgotten about you! If you want a course that exercises your more computer-like mindset, learning about interesting subjects like data science can easily be your ticket to earning a living starting in the high five figures or more online.

5. Crash Course In Infographics with Easelly

Some of the most in-demand skills in the workplace in the 21st century include cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and data visualization. With the extra time you’ve got on your hands now, you can aim for a future-proof career by learning the ins and outs of infographic design through Easelly’s Crash Course in Infographics.

8. General Transcription: Theory & Practice

Did you know that transcription can earn you up to $75,000 a year? Not too bad for a flexible career that lets you not only work from home but live your life on your terms. Transcription builds around your life, not the other way around. You can set your own hours and work as much or as little as you want. You can completely build your life.

How much is online learning worth in 2023?

Research firm GM Insights valued online learning at $165 billion in 2015. By 2023 it could exceed $240 billion. This is my complete guide to creating and selling an online course… even if you don’t have an idea for one yet. It’s long.

How long should a lesson be?

For a short course, lessons should be 5-10 minutes long. Definitely don’t create lessons that are longer than 20 minutes. Otherwise students will often tune out, even if your delivery is great. What’s great is, now that you know the purpose of each lesson, creating the actual content becomes very straightforward.

Why are launches good?

For courses that address big, lingering problems – things that people have been thinking about for months or years – launches are great because you can build anticipation. Something like “How to Become a Morning Person” falls into this category.

How much does Joseph Michael Nicoletti make a month?

Joseph Michael Nicoletti teaches Scrivener. Joseph helps novelists write their novel with Scrivener. And he makes about $20,000 to $30,000 a month doing it. Let me rephrase that. He makes almost $1,000 a day by showing novelists how to use an app for writing.

How much did Coursera make in its first year?

This model was used successfully by Coursera to earn over $1 million in their first year. It seems counterintuitive, because you’re giving the “valuable” part of the course (the learning) way for free. But this can work to your advantage for several reasons:

Why are up front fees so important?

Up-front fees also make it easier to sell more courses later on. When your learners are already paying a monthly subscription, they may hesitate to pay more because they feel they’ve already paid their dues.

Can you create content and sell licenses?

Finally, some you can create content and sell licenses to companies that don’t want to create the course themselves. They handle the technical details, the marketing, and the customer service management. All you have to do is create the course and collect the annual licensing fee.

Step 1: Choose a Course Idea

For your first online course, choose a topic that you know well and that you enjoy talking about!

Step 2: Validate Your Course Idea

Before you move full steam ahead into building out your course idea, you want to make sure you validate it. The point of validating your idea is to make sure that there is enough interest and enough of a demand for someone to purchase your course.

Step 3: Create a Course Outline

Once you’ve validated your idea, you can (and should) create an outline for your course.

Step 5: Publish Your Course

After you’ve created your course content, it’s time to get your lessons uploaded to an online course platform.

Step 6: Promote Your Course

After you’ve worked your way through all the steps of course creation, make sure you let others know your course exists!

Wrapping Up

I hope the information above has encouraged you to consider online courses as an income stream for your business.

This Post Has One Comment

Hi Ginny! Thanks so much for allowing me to chime in about online courses. The content you share on Modern WAHM is so super helpful for us work at home moms just trying to keep it all together! I’m grateful to have connected with you!

How long is the coding course?

It lasts nine weeks, and you’re expected to clock in 14 to 16 hours per week . You don’t need to have a prior programming background to finish this course, but you may have to put more effort than those with a reasonable aptitude for mathematics and algebra.

What is EDX course?

The course is the first of a two-part sequence: Introduction to Computer Science and Programming Using Python, and Introduction to Computational Thinking and Data Science.

What is Hubspot email marketing course?

Hubspot is one of the best platforms out there to learn the ins and outs of digital marketing.

Is Google Ads Academy good?

Google Academy for Ads. With the rise of content comes more demand from creators who want to promote their content. Aside from social media, Google Adwords is an excellent online platform that can generate more leads and engagement through referral traffic.

Why are online courses so common?

Because online courses are becoming so common, and there are so many choices, it’s getting harder and harder to get potential buyers to notice any course, much less your specific course. … there’s continuing downward pressure on prices. Basic economic principles dictate that as supply goes up, prices will come down.

Is it possible to make big money?

Yes, big money is still possible – just as it is in most businesses – but to make it, you will have to work hard, create a high quality offering, provide excellent customer service, and above all, differentiate yourself from the competition. In addition, you should:

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