How to Create, Sell, and Get Profit From an Online Course in 2024

Why should you create and sell courses online?

Because there are people who want your expertise … and there’s money to be made! Online courses and e-learning are a massive opportunity:

• The e-learning market is expected to be worth $325 billion by 2025.
• Digital education and e-learning had more than $46 billion in sales in 2018 (the most recent year we have data for).
• Global e-learning and course consumption has increased dramatically during the pandemic and many experts expect that to continue.

Your online course can serve as a marketing tool and strengthen connections with your clients. Use your online course to show people what your brand is about. Show them what makes you better than the competition. Build strong relationships and watch how loyalty and advocacy for your course grows.

The best news is that anybody can create and sell online courses. All you need is some knowledge and the ability to speak on a subject with passion.

This guide explains in detail how Canadians can profit in 2024

Creating and selling online courses can offer retirees a fulfilling and lucrative way to generate income during their retirement years. With decades of experience and expertise accumulated throughout their careers, retirees possess valuable knowledge that can be shared with others in the form of online courses.

The demand for online education has surged in recent years, driven by the convenience and accessibility it offers. As more people turn to online learning to acquire new skills or advance their careers, retirees have a prime opportunity to capitalize on this trend and monetize their expertise through online courses.

1. Choose a subject that sells

According to a recent study, 42% of entrepreneurs fail because there is no market for their product. To get a better idea of what types of online courses sell, take a look at some of the top reasons why people buy them:

• Wanting to gain knowledge for a career change or when first starting a career
• Getting certified in a subject to boost their career opportunities
• Continuing education
• Academic prep
• Simply wanting to learn a new skill or subject.

It should come as no surprise that the highest-selling courses are often career-related. Here is a shortlist of some of the most profitable online course subjects:

• Computers and technology
• Business and entrepreneurship
• Arts and crafts
• Health and fitness
• Education
• Writing
• Lifestyle/personal development
• Coming of age
• Entertainment
• Social science
• Science and math.

These are broad subjects. You should try to find a more niche topic within these subject matters.

2. Find start-up capital

There are various avenues you can explore to secure the funding needed to turn your course ideas into reality.

• One of the most accessible sources of startup capital for online course creation is personal savings and investments.

Consider setting aside a portion of your income specifically for your course development venture.

• Government grants and programs designed to support small businesses and startups can be valuable sources of capital.

Institutions like the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) offer financing solutions tailored to the needs of entrepreneurs. To access these funding opportunities, start by researching grant and loan programs offered by the Canadian government. Understand the eligibility criteria, application process, and requirements for each program.

• Crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo can be excellent options.

These platforms allow you to pitch your course idea to a broader audience and raise funds from individuals interested in supporting your project.

• Business loans and lines of credit offered by traditional financial institutions or online lenders.

Banks, credit unions, and alternative lending platforms may provide funding options tailored to small business owners and entrepreneurs. Be sure to shop around and compare terms and interest rates to find the best financing solution for your needs.

• Consider seeking out strategic partnerships or collaborations with established businesses or organizations in your niche.

Partnering with complementary brands or industry influencers can not only provide financial support but also offer access to their audience and resources.

3. Create your online course

Hone in on a specific subject

The first step you should take when creating your online course involves figuring out what specific subject you will teach.

Some tips for choosing the right subject include:

• Choosing a focused and niche topic rather than a broad one. Having a broad topic usually means more competition. The more focused your niche, the easier it is to convey expertise.
• Having expert-level knowledge. Keep in mind, being an expert on a topic might mean you have better-than-average knowledge. You don’t have to be a genius or have traditional credentials.
• Know who your audience is, what their problems are, and how you can teach them to solve those problems.

Get the right gear

After choosing a specific subject for your online course, it’s time to start making it. You’ll want to keep production levels pretty high. Remember, people are going to pay good money for your class. Your courses should be better quality than what you’d get with an average YouTube vlog.

To start, you’ll need:

• A good HD camera. The Canon VIXIA or Sony CX405 are both great options.
• Lighting. You don’t want it to look like you are recording in a bunker. Shop around for professional lighting. Lighting rings are a cheap and effective way to light yourself for online course videos. You might also consider a studio lighting kit on Amazon, which will have everything you need and cost around $100.
• Editing software like Wevideo or Renderforest. If you already have a professional level of editing experience you might opt for software like Final Cut Pro. However, if you have minimal editing experience or none at all, Wevideo will allow you to make professional-looking videos with graphics, royalty-free music, background images, and more. It is one of the best video editing software on the market for non-professional editors and is relatively inexpensive at only $15.99 a month.
• A green screen. The green screen allows you to swap out the background for any image you want. It makes it easier to add images, graphics, and b-roll footage.
• A script. If you want to use a full script there are apps like Teleprompter lite that you can use to turn a laptop or tablet into a teleprompter so you can read the script while looking into the camera.

It’s fine if you can’t afford a professional setup. Try with whatever equipment you can get your hands on.

Now that you picked a subject and have all the right gear, it’s time to shoot some video!

Place the green screen on the wall behind you. Make sure you pull the green screen taut so that there are no wrinkles or sagging as that can show up in the videos when you edit the background.

Then set up the camera on a tripod in front of you and place the lights behind the camera. Once you have your little mini-studio set up it’s time to record.

Do a test recording first to make sure that you look and sound good. If you see any sort of shadow on your face or body, adjust the lights accordingly to eliminate it.

4. Choose where you want to host and sell courses online

Your online course needs to live somewhere online. You’ll want a hosting company that makes the course easy to access, lets you customize it with your branding, and looks professional.

There are three options when it comes to hosting and selling your online course:

1. An online course platform designed to meet all the needs of a course creator, from video hosting to marketing.
2. Self-hosting. Set up your own server with a hosting company to host and sell online courses from your own website. While it can be expensive and a bit technical, self-hosting gives you complete freedom and power over your material.
3. An online course marketplace. The final option for hosting is to use a learning marketplace such as Udemy or Masterclass. Marketplace platforms host your course and let you customize your branding. Note that these platforms tend to have restrictive rules and may charge for up to 50% of your revenue.

3 types of online course platforms

An online course platform is a hosting solution specifically designed to help course creators grow their businesses. There are four types of online course platforms.

1. Standalone platforms
   • Provide everything you need to host your course along with support and educational resources.
   • Some stand-alone platforms have marketing functionality, but it is usually very limited.
   • Best for solo entrepreneurs or small business owners who:
   • Want a turnkey way to create online courses.
   • Don’t need a platform to create marketing/sales funnels and automations.
2. WordPress plug-ins/themes
   • WordPress plugins/themes are inexpensive tools that allow you to create and sell an online course with an existing WordPress site.
   • May require better-than-average technical skills.
   • Only buy plugins from reputable companies that have been around for a while and have successful students. Your whole business can be shut down for days or longer if you buy an off-brand plugin from a fly-by-night developer.
   • Best for course creators who already have a WordPress site that gets a lot of traffic.
3. All-In-One platforms
   • Provide everything you need to create and sell courses from your own website.
   • Features may include website builders, marketing automations, course hosting, and community management tools.
   • Some all-in-one platforms (like Kajabi) won’t take a single cent of your revenue, but others will. Do your research!
   • Best for anyone who is looking to create and sell courses online, regardless of experience level.

5. Decide how much to charge for your online course

Online courses can cost anywhere from $5 to $2,000. Your first online course is probably going to fall somewhere within the $50-$200 range. This can vary based on your topic, audience, and expertise.

When determining the price of your online course, consider the following:

• How much you spend to create, host, and market the course
• Competitor pricing
• Your target audience’s income level. How much do you predict they are willing to spend?

There are 3 basic ways you can structure payments when you sell online courses. These include:

1. One lump sum payment for lifetime access to the course
2. Lower, recurring membership fees (e.g. monthly payments)
3. Multiple payments, or a payment plan, where the audience can spread a one-time cost over multiple payments.

Evaluate your target market to determine how you want to structure payment.

6. Increase the value (and price) of your online course

One way to increase the price of your online course it to add value to it. You can do this by:

• Offering bonus materials
• Using upsells

Include bonuses in your digital course

Every good online course offer has bonuses. You can build a solid offering of bonus material by:

• Building relationships with other experts and including their content as a bonus.
• Creating your own supplements like reports, case studies, templates, and extra lessons.
• Offering referral bonuses to students who invite a friend to take your classes.

Make sure that you place a high cash value on these bonuses. This will allow you to promote a high added value to your course.

7. Seed launch your online course

With your online course produced, it’s time to see if it’s ready for the public. Test your course out to help you find any kinks you can resolve before launch.

The seed launch will enable you to:

• Converse with and refine your target market
• Uncover the most significant questions and needs
• Identify what the market really needs, wants, and is willing to pay for

The beautiful thing about a seed launch is that you don’t have to create a whole marketing sequence for it.

You could have a seed launch by sending a free trial offer to a small segment of students from:

• Your email list
• Followers on social media
• Friends and family
• Networking events

You may not sell a lot of courses with the seed launch. That’s okay. Your main goal is to gauge the interest from your audience and test to see if the idea is viable and valuable.

Take what you learn from your seed launch and incorporate it into your overall marketing strategy.

8. Market and sell your online courses

Just because you build it doesn’t mean they’ll come. You’re going to have to market your online course for it to be successful. Marketing is building a relationship with your customers, with the ultimate goal of getting them to purchase or engage with your business.

Here are just a few ways to market and sell courses online:

• Create and optimize your website. Your online course should have its own sales page to inform customers about the course and persuade them to join.
• Create useful marketing content. Start your own blog, create marketing videos, or participate in Facebook Groups.
• Boost your social media presence. There are billions of people on social media every day. Make sure you’re engaging wherever your audience is on social media.
• Build an email list. Email continues to be a powerful marketing tool. You can build an email list by using social media and creating forms on your website.
• Partner with other entrepreneurs.

How to choose the right market for selling online courses

The greatest online course in the world will be a failure without a strong market. If nobody wants your product, it doesn’t matter how good the product is.

You must find who your digital product is for. That means finding the people who are most likely going to buy your online course.

It’s always tempting to have the largest market possible. After all, if your market is 300 million people, you only need less than 1% to be successful, right?

The reality is that large markets are often crowded and competitive. It’s best to start with a core target audience (even if it’s small) and serve it well. You can always create other courses to expand your target market.

9. Create a buyer’s journey for your online course

A buyer’s journey is the series of choices your target audience makes while researching a purchase.

There are three major stages in the buyer’s journey:

1. Awareness: Your market is aware there’s a problem. They’re starting to look for solutions.
2. Consideration: Your market starts looking for solutions to that problem.
3. Decision: People in your market make a purchase.

Your marketing efforts should help guide potential customers through the customer journey. Each step will require a different type of content strategy.

For example, here’s how you might use a video and social media marketing strategy in the buyer’s journey:

1. Awareness: Create an educational video addressing the biggest pain points of your target audience. Publish and promote it to a broad audience on social for the widest reach.
2. Consideration: Create a customer testimonial video where a past student of yours discusses how much your course helped them. Share it with your followers on social.
3. Decision: Create a FAQ video about your online course to make the purchase process a breeze. Answer the questions yourself so viewers can see your expertise and get to know you better as a person.

10. Get people to purchase and recommend your courses in the future

Congratulations! You’ve come up with an online course, marketed it, and sold a bunch. Now what?

Now it’s time to make sure that your students enjoy as much success as possible. When your students feel that they gained something from your online course, they are more likely to purchase other courses from you in the future.

More importantly, a happy student is likely to tell their friends and family about your course. Word-of-mouth marketing is the most effective way to sell online courses and costs you practically nothing.

You can ensure your students’ success and happiness with these tips:

• Focus on customer experience.
• Map out your student journey.
• Foster a community.
• Encourage your students to re-watch your content.
• Get and apply feedback.
• Consistently update your course.
• Add troubleshooting and FAQ content.
• Keep track of your students’ progress.

Follow these suggestions and your students will feel heard, important, and that they spent their money wisely. A happy customer base is the foundation for selling online courses long-term.