How to create a course online - Everything you need to know

Alok Suman

9 min readJun 28, 2021

The “How to create a course online” question is on every educator’s mind since the pandemic happened.

In-person classes are out of the question. People are perusing the internet for viable alternatives.

Ergo, more demand for course creation strategies and tools.

Look no further! This article will help you with the A-Z of how to create a course online.

What is an online course?

Online courses are the courses delivered via the internet in the form of videos, pdfs, podcasts, tests, etc.

All student-teacher interactions happen on the internet through Zoom, Google Meet, Google Classroom, etc.

IGI Global describes it as “A class taught to students via the Internet or in an online learning environment.

Students access class objectives, lecture notes, instructional materials, and exams via the Internet.

Students and instructors interact online via e-mail, chat rooms, and threaded discussions.

Also known as Web-based classroom, cyber-classrooms, e-learning, virtual education, and distance learning.”

Why create courses online?

Why create courses online, you ask? Because you can. I know what you are thinking: What can I teach? I’ve never done this teaching thing.

Would people want to learn what I have to offer?

You will not fathom when I tell you that there are courses for how to fish and even how to prepare lunchboxes for kids.

Told you you wouldn’t believe me. Now to answer your ‘why’:

Establishes you as an expert

By teaching your niche in the form of a course lets people know that you know what you are talking about and you are an expert in your field.

This creates future collab opportunities with other businesses and people who require your skillset.

It’s impactful

Teaching in a group setting like an online course allows you to work with a multitude of people that you could never do one-on-one.

But what really takes the cake is how wide its reach is at a low price.

As a passive income

Courses can be a passive income source if you are looking for one. It will help you grow your business and make it more profitable.

If your course is well-structured and had a strategic launch, it will consistently get new eyeballs.

7 simple steps to create a course

Let’s talk 7 stupid simple steps that will get you an online course:

Choose your topic

Everything requires planning. To plan your course, you should choose a primary topic of focus.

Do not make it up as you go.

That could be detrimental to your course unless you are certain what you are doing.

Chase explicitly and don’t cover a wide topic.

Cater to your niche initially then expand when you see the audience can comprehend what you’re teaching.

Research your target audience

Researching your demographic is a quintessential part of your course creation.

Gather data on the people who search for the niche that relates to your topic.

Find out statistics like their age, gender, level of education, employment status, etc.

Identifying these is not a child’s play. Use social media to research your target audience.

Cumulate and structure your knowledge

When you have decided what you are teaching, have the instructors to teach, and what you teach will be useful to them, you can start working on the course itself.

Gather your thoughts and knowledge and outline what your lesson delivery strategy will be.

Don’t just chuck facts at them. Start with the basic lessons. Then switch up the difficulty level.

Also, you should know enough to teach newcomers the basics of the topic.

Courses with a proper structure and knowledge make it easier to understand the topic.

Defining your course’s price

Make sure to wrestle with the pricing ideas swirling in your head.

Is my audience employed or not?

If they are, can they afford it or not?

Will it be my primary income source?

It also depends on the topic you’re going to teach.

For example, technical courses like machine learning, javascript, ethical hacking are expensive than the other courses.

Always opt for prices close to what your competitors are offering.

Don’t price it too high or too low for the risk of no lead generation or giving off the wrong idea of it being invaluable.

You’ll naturally get better conversions if your content is superior.

Choose a platform for your course

Where are you going to put your course? Is it your website? Or is it any other platform?

Every choice has its pros and cons. If it’s your website, you have full control over it.

But you’d also have to market it and sell it for yourself. Existing platforms pose a different set of pains.

You’d have to adhere to their strict pricing policies. Also, it is possible to get lost in the arrays of courses that may never get a visit.

Promotion

Establish your promotional method. Build your course brand and also inspire confidence.

Ask yourself, How do I want to be recognized? They don’t know you. Neither your experiences nor what you are trying to teach or sell them.

Take advantage of that. Boast about course. Just make sure to put your word where your mouth is.

You have to be sure that they understand your message, your product, and your services.

Make the learning outcome clear

Don’t undervalue the importance of learning outcomes. Make it as apparent as possible the skills they will learn if they choose your course.

For instance, you have seen ads like “Write python like a professional in 30 days”.

Here, ‘write python like a professional’ is the learning outcome for which people will opt for your course.

6 mistakes to be wary of while creating a course

Incognizant of your audiences’ needs

By far, the biggest error you can potentially make is not creating what your audience needs.

Ask 25 different course creators what’s the one mistake that they could avoid when creating a course.

I’ll bet the change in my pocket, the answer will be ‘not asking your audience what they need first.’

In marketing lingo, it is called product-market fit. It means what you are creating is in demand and when bought, it is satisfactory.

Not asking for feedback

Feedback is your bestie. Ask for feedback on the structure of your course.

Ask about the platform your course is on, whether it suits their modus operandi or not.

There are plenty of ways you can better your course through feedback. Not asking for it may create notions of not caring about the course.

“Why do they never ask for feedback?” “Do they even care?” “I have an issue with a piece of study material but how do I reach them when they don’t have any feedback forum or something”?

Don’t wait for these notions to make a home in their brains. Create a feedback loop.

Don’t stop after the course release. Do it throughout the way.

Pricing your course too low

Pricing your course too low is a thing. Just when I thought I was beginning to understand human behavior.

You might think keeping the prices low would attract the masses. Not always.

They might think if the price is too low, the quality would be low too. Cheap prices create a false illusion of something being an inferior product.

People assume it would not provide value.

Not updating your course

Creating a course is not a one-and-done thing. There are new researches and advancements every day in every field.

You have to keep updating it as you move forward.

That way, it will make sense to the audience who has bought your course recently instead of 3 years back.

For instance, deep fakes, self-driving cars, GPT-3 were non-existent 5 years before now.

These are a part of the machine learning ecosystem.

So talk about these in your course or consider adding them to the existing one if not already there.

When creating the course, take note of what could be updated moving forward.

Not providing a free demo/trial

If your course is not free, always provide 2-3 free videos or a trial period.

Those 2-3 videos should be introductory lessons and what this course will provide.

But why give a free trial, you ask?

Because people won’t think their bucks are down the drain when they buy your course and don’t get the desired value out of it.

They will know what they are paying for.

Free trials and demos attract more eyeballs in any scenario. You see free samples of products being handed out.

You are more willing to try it if it’s free rather than paying for it for the first time.

Not making it mobile-friendly

Mobile devices are the dominating force. Presently, everything digital is optimized for mobile consumption.

Make your course mobile-friendly. Its UI/UX should be as clean and well-oiled as the PC ones.

To no one surprise, 87% of students use mobile devices to search for new online programs.

Make the navigation through the chapters easier than the PC. Because you can’t open multiple pages without cluttering your device.

5 Platforms you can use to create a course

There are a plethora of tools and places for course creation.

And I’m sure those are good but you always look for a better one. I have 5 for you:

Beyond Exams

Beyond Exam is a non-profit initiative made for students, teachers, and parents. It has a sea of educational content and your answer to how to create a course online.

To create a course:

Go to beyondexams.org.

Click on ‘Create your own course’ below the search bar.

It will ask you to go to the dashboard. The dashboard can be accessed by logging in with your Google account.

On the dashboard, click on ‘Create a new course’.