Beginner’s Guide to Creating and Selling Online Courses
Creating an online course is one of the best ways to turn your skills into income. In this guide, I’ll walk you through how to choose a topic, validate demand, outline lessons, record content, and launch your first course.
When I first heard that people were making full-time incomes from online courses, I was skeptical. Why would anyone pay for a course when so much information is free on YouTube or blogs? Then I realized the difference: courses package knowledge into a structured, step-by-step system that saves people time and gets them results faster. That’s what makes them valuable.
If you have a skill, experience, or even just a process you’ve figured out, you can turn it into a course. And the best part is that once it’s created, you can sell it over and over again without worrying about inventory or shipping.
In this guide, I’ll walk you through the basics of creating and selling your first online course, even if you’re starting as a beginner.
Step 1: Choose Your Topic
Your course topic doesn’t need to be the most advanced or unique thing in the world. The best courses solve a clear problem for a specific group of people.
Ask yourself:
- What do people ask me for help with?
- What problems have I solved for myself that others might struggle with?
- Is there a skill I can teach that saves others time or money?
Examples of beginner-friendly topics:
- How to edit videos in CapCut.
- Beginner’s guide to using Canva for business.
- How to set up a WordPress website.
- Productivity systems for busy parents.
The narrower the problem, the easier it is to attract the right audience.
Step 2: Validate Your Idea
Before you spend weeks creating content, make sure people actually want it. This step saved me from building a course no one would buy.
Ways to validate:
- Search on Udemy or Skillshare. Are there similar courses with lots of students? That’s a good sign.
- Ask your audience (if you have one) through a simple poll or email.
- Create a free lead magnet (like a PDF or mini-training) and see how many people download it.
Validation is about finding proof that your course idea has demand.
Step 3: Outline Your Course
Think of your course as a roadmap. Students start at point A (their current struggle) and finish at point B (the result you promise). Your job is to break the journey into clear steps.
A simple structure could be:
- Introduction and setting expectations.
- Foundations (basic concepts).
- Step-by-step lessons.
- Common mistakes and troubleshooting.
- Final project, case study, or next steps.
Step 4: Create the Content
You don’t need a studio to record a course. When I created my first mini-course, I used a basic USB microphone and free screen-recording software. It was enough to get started.
Tools to record your course:
- Screen recording: Loom, OBS Studio, Camtasia.
- Presentation slides: Google Slides, Canva.
- Audio: Blue Yeti or ATR2100x microphone.
- Video editing: CapCut or DaVinci Resolve (both free).
Keep your videos short (5–10 minutes per lesson) and focused on one key point. Students prefer bite-sized lessons they can complete quickly.
Step 5: Pick a Course Platform
There are two main ways to host and sell your course:
1. Course Marketplaces
Examples: Udemy, Skillshare.
- Pros: Built-in audience, easy setup.
- Cons: Lower prices, less control.
2. Dedicated Course Platforms
Examples: Teachable, Thinkific, Podia, Kajabi.
- Pros: Full control over pricing, branding, and student experience.
- Cons: You have to do the marketing yourself.
Step 6: Price Your Course
Pricing feels tricky at first. Should you charge $20 or $200? Here’s a simple framework:
- Mini-course (1–2 hours of content): $20–50.
- Standard course (3–6 hours, full walkthrough): $100–300.
- Premium course (comprehensive, extras like coaching): $500+.
The value comes not from the number of hours but from the transformation you’re offering. If your course saves someone 10 hours of trial and error, they’ll happily pay for it.
Step 7: Launch Your Course
Here’s where most people overcomplicate things. Your first launch doesn’t need a big funnel or paid ads. Keep it simple:
- Share it with your email list.
- Post about it on social media.
- Offer a launch discount for early students.
Even a handful of sales at the start is a win. You can improve the course and scale from there.
Step 8: Market and Grow
Once your course is live, your focus shifts to marketing. Consistency is what fills your student pipeline.
Ways to market your course:
- Blog posts that rank in Google and link to your course.
- YouTube videos that drive traffic back to your course.
- Guest posts or podcast interviews.
- Collaborations with other creators.
- Building an email sequence that nurtures subscribers toward your course.
Step 9: Improve Based on Feedback
One of the best parts of online courses is that they’re flexible. If students are confused about a lesson, you can re-record it. If people keep asking the same question, you can add a bonus module.
Think of your first course as a version 1.0. It doesn’t need to be perfect, it just needs to exist. You can polish it over time.
Final Thoughts
Creating and selling online courses is one of the most rewarding business models out there. You take what you already know, package it into a system, and help others achieve results – all while building a scalable income stream.
The steps are simple: pick a topic, validate it, outline, record, host, launch, and improve. Don’t overthink it or wait until you feel “ready.” Start small with a mini-course, learn from the process, and build from there.
Your first course might not make you rich, but it will teach you how to turn knowledge into an asset you can sell over and over again. And that’s the first step toward building a sustainable online business.
