The Best Online Course Platforms for 2024

How Do I Create and Sell Online Courses?

1. Pick the perfect topic for your course

It's important to pick a topic that you're passionate about, as this will help you create a compelling course. You'll also want to make sure there is high demand for your course topic, so do some research on what people are searching for and what information is currently available before choosing your topic.

You want to make sure that you're offering a course on something that people want to learn. It's easy to think that because it's an area that you're passionate about, everyone else will be too. That isn't always true, though. You need to do some research and find out what people are searching for in your niche.

Use Google Trends or other keyword tools to see what terms are trending in your industry, then think about how you can provide a solution or answer their questions with your course. Also, make sure that there isn't already another course available on the topic—that would be pointless. If there is an existing course, look at what they cover and try to offer something unique.

2. Ensure your online course idea has high market demand

Once you've decided on your course topic, start looking at competitor sites to see if they offer similar courses or are selling products related to yours. If no one else offers what you're creating, then you'll have less competition and more room for growth.

You want to make sure that there is demand for what you're offering before you start creating content for it. Look at search volume for your proposed topic using Google Trends or other keyword tools and make sure that enough searches are happening every month by potential students (or clients) who might be interested in taking a course like yours. 

3. Create compelling learning outcomes

Learning objectives are what students need to know after completing your course; they should be clear and measurable so students know exactly what they're getting out of it. For example, by taking this course, students will be able to identify the best time management strategies for their business based on the type of work they do.

4. Select and Gather Your Course Content

When selecting content for your courses, make sure it's a high-quality material that will benefit students throughout their lives—not just when they're taking the course.

The first step in creating your course is to select the topics that you want to cover. You can choose one module or several modules, depending on how much content you need to cover. The next step is to gather all of the information that you will need to create the module. This may include reading materials, videos, audio files, images, or other forms of media.

5. Structure your modules and course plan

Once you have selected your topics and gathered all of the necessary information for each topic, it's time to start structuring your modules and course plan.

This involves deciding what order you want each topic covered as well as how much time should be allocated for each topic within each module (if applicable). It also means deciding what type of delivery methods are most appropriate for each lesson (e.g., self-paced video training vs live webinar).

6. Decide on the most engaging delivery methods for each lesson

Determine the most engaging and effective delivery methods for each lesson. For example, if you're teaching someone how to play guitar, it might be helpful to show them how in person first so they can see how your hands move and how the instrument works overall. Then go through the steps again with video recording so they can see what they need to do at home without having someone standing over them the whole time.

Here are some examples

• Video: Video lectures are engaging and easy to consume, but they require a lot of time to create. If you're not an expert in your field, consider hiring someone who is.
• Audio: Audio lectures are a good alternative to video if you have little or no experience with creating videos or if you're concerned about the quality of the visual content. They can also be recorded on location or edited later to add visuals.
• Interactive Exercises: Interactive exercises give students hands-on practice with concepts taught in lectures by asking them to complete tasks like entering data into spreadsheets or writing code in the browser window.

Interactive exercises are best suited for technical subjects such as programming languages or computer science topics like algorithms and data structures. For non-technical subjects such as history or literature, consider using quizzes instead of interactive exercises because they're more engaging.

7. Film and record your online course

If possible, try filming in front of a green screen so that when editing time rolls around later on down the road (like maybe six months from now), you won't have any trouble adding backgrounds or other elements into your videos. If this isn't possible where you live then just make sure there aren't too many distractions in the background of each shot; otherwise it will not engage well with your students.

8. Set up your online school

If you're looking to create and sell online courses, the first thing to do is set up an online school. You can either do this yourself or hire someone else to do it for you. There are many different ways to create a website, but it's important that your site be easy to navigate, clean and professional-looking, and optimized for mobile devices. Your course should also be accessible via the internet.

9. Price your course

The next step is figuring out how much you want to charge for your course or courses. It's best if you can come up with a price point that will allow you to make some money off of each sale while still being affordable for customers—particularly if this is your first time selling online courses.

The more money people pay for something, the more likely they are to buy it again in the future and maybe even recommend it to others.

10. Launch and market your online course

Once you've figured out what price point works best for both you and your customers, make sure that all of your marketing materials reflect this pricing structure so there are no surprises when people try purchasing from your website or through other channels such as social media.

The first step in launching your online course is to create a landing page that provides information about the course and encourages people to sign up for it. Your landing page should include:

• A description of what the course covers. In particular, you should mention any extra materials that will be provided to students (such as PDFs) or any special bonuses they can expect from enrolling.
• A description of how you'll help students succeed with this course. It's important to know what kind of experience you want to provide so that you can communicate it clearly to prospective students.
• Your own story and why you're qualified to teach this topic. This isn't a place for self-promotion, but rather an opportunity for you to share your knowledge in a way that makes sense for potential students. You might also mention any relevant experience or credentials you have that make you qualified to teach this subject matter.
• An outline of what the course will cover and its structure. For example, whether it's going to be a sequence of videos or a set of eBooks.

Marketing your online Course

Now that your course is live, it's time to start promoting it. Here are some tips for creating successful marketing campaigns:

• Connect with other influencers in your niche by sharing their content on social media as well as connecting with them through email or direct messaging.
• Make sure that you're posting engaging content on social media at least once every few days so people will want to keep coming back for more.
• Create videos about different topics related to what's covered in your course. This way people can get a better understanding of what they'll learn when taking it. Also, use these videos as part of your sales funnel by having them lead people back onto your website. This is where they can sign up for the course.