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Building an online course can be a game-changer if you want to share what you know, grow your brand, or create a new income stream. But to make a course that people love and actually want to pay for, it helps to know the essentials—like finding the right topic and getting your structure spot-on. In this guide, we’ll cover five core steps on how to create online courses that genuinely resonate with your audience.
Checklist for Recording and Editing High-Quality Course Content
Think about the intersection between your expertise and what people want to learn. This sweet spot is where you’re most likely to create a profitable course that also feels rewarding to lead.
Your course should lay somewhere in the areas where you have expertise, unique insights, or simply a lot of passion. Teaching a course requires a strong connection to the subject—you’ll be creating content, answering questions, and engaging students on this topic. Whether it’s a specialized field like sustainable home gardening or a more general topic like effective communication, it’s best to pick something you genuinely enjoy and understand well.
Just because you love a topic doesn’t mean there’s an audience for it. Tools like Google Trends and Reddit are great places to start. Look up your topic and see if there’s active interest or if people are asking questions you can answer. Keyword platforms like Ahrefs or AnswerThePublic can show you the search volume for keywords related to your course topic.
Check for gaps in other courses available online; finding a unique angle can make your course stand out in a crowded space. Once you confirm interest, Deadline Funnel’s Case Studies provide examples of course creators who increased conversions by understanding their audience.
Going niche can mean less competition and a better chance to stand out as an expert. For example, instead of a general course on “plant care,” try “caring for tropical houseplants in cold climates.” It may attract a smaller audience, but they’ll be highly interested in exactly what you’re offering. On the flip side, broad topics like “fitness training” reach a larger audience but often have stiff competition.
To zero in on the best course idea, make a quick Venn diagram. Label the circles “What I Love,” “What I’m Good At,” and “What People Need.” Fill them in with potential topics and see where they overlap. This sweet spot is where your course can thrive, combining your passion, skills, and real demand.
Alt: A Venn diagram on how to create an online course.
Knowing your audience inside and out is the difference between a course that sells and one that struggles. Here’s how to identify your ideal students and make sure your course speaks directly to their needs:
Start by asking yourself, Who am I creating this course for? Get specific. Think about their experience level (beginner, intermediate, or advanced?), their age group, their career stage, and even lifestyle details if they’re relevant. Are they busy professionals looking to learn a skill quickly, or are they hobbyists looking for in-depth insights?
To make a course that students find valuable, you need to understand their frustrations and goals. What keeps them from progressing in your topic area? Maybe they’re overwhelmed by too much information, lack a clear learning path, or can’t find practical guidance. Addressing these barriers head-on in your course can make it exactly what they’re looking for.
Go where your audience hangs out online. Browse forums like Reddit, social media groups, or even product reviews related to your topic. Pay attention to the specific words and phrases they use to describe their challenges. If people are saying things like, “I just can’t figure out where to start with coding,” then a clear, beginner-focused course outline could be exactly what they need.
Sometimes, nothing beats getting information straight from the source. Reach out to a few potential students and ask about their goals and challenges. You can even offer early access or a discount for their feedback. Keep your questions simple, like:
Your audience isn’t just looking for information—they’re looking for a change. Identify what “transformation” your course will bring. Will students gain confidence in their coding skills, start speaking a new language, or finally feel in control of their fitness? Defining this transformation will guide your content and make your course feel like a solution, not just information.
Check out this quick comparison of popular course categories, showing average income and pricing per niche. This helps you get a realistic view of what’s working in the online course world and where your topic might fit.
Course category
Potential income
Typical course pricing
Description
Business & Entrepreneurship
$5,000 – $50,000+
$100 – $1,000
High-demand topics like startups, marketing, and management. Profitable but competitive.
Personal development
$3,000 – $25,000
$50 – $500
Covers productivity, mental health, and lifestyle. Broad audience, with modest pricing.
Technology & Programming
$10,000 – $70,000+
$200 – $1,500
Skills like coding, data science, and AI. High demand with potential for premium pricing.
Health & Fitness
$4,000 – $20,000
$50 – $300
Topics in wellness, nutrition, and fitness. Consistent demand and growth, but prices vary widely.
Creative arts (e.g., photography, writing)
$3,000 – $30,000
$50 – $400
Topics in art and creative fields. Broad appeal, but lots of competition.
Finance & Investing
$7,000 – $60,000+
$100 – $1,000+
Courses on budgeting, investing, and personal finance. Higher income potential with specific expertise.
Note: These figures are estimates and can vary based on factors such as course quality, marketing efforts, and audience size.
The key to a successful course is a clear, well-organized structure that guides students from one idea to the next. When your content flows logically and builds on each step, students can follow along easily and feel a sense of progress. Here’s how to set up an online course layout that makes learning smooth and engaging.
Think of each module as a “chapter” that covers a specific theme or skill within your course. Organizing your course this way helps students grasp the “big picture” while tackling each concept one at a time.
For example, if you’re teaching a course on digital illustration, your modules might look like this:
Within each module, you can break things down further into lessons that explore each concept in detail. Here’s how a few of those modules could be structured:
Module 2: Drawing Fundamentals
Module 3: Adding Color and Texture
This breakdown makes the course digestible and helps students move through each lesson confidently without feeling overwhelmed.
Once you have your modules and lessons, create an outline to guide your course development. Start with a list of all the topics you want to cover and then group them under each module. Make sure each lesson has a specific goal or objective—this helps students know what they’ll gain from each part.
For instance, if you’re teaching a lesson on “Drawing from Reference,” your objective might be: “By the end of this lesson, you’ll be able to use reference images effectively to improve your drawings.”
Using the right format for each lesson keeps things interesting and caters to different learning styles:
For more comprehensive courses, a mix of formats can keep students engaged. Keep video lessons short and focused (around 5–10 minutes), and break down longer concepts into smaller lessons to keep everything clear and manageable.
Once your outline is set, review it from a student’s perspective. Does each lesson build on the last? Are there any steps that seem out of place or need more detail? This final “walkthrough” will help you spot areas to improve, making sure your course is easy to follow and complete.
The right tools can save you time and keep everything organized:
Organize your ideas, outline lessons, and track your progress with tools like Notion and Trello. Notion is great for creating detailed course outlines and collecting research, while Trello’s simple card-based layout is perfect for organizing tasks. These tools let you map out each module and lesson, keeping everything in one place so you can easily refer back as you build.
Templates can make content creation much easier. Look for course planning templates within Notion or Trello specifically designed for educational content. These templates often come with ready-to-use structures for lessons, modules, and even task lists, so you can jump in without starting from scratch.
High-quality scripts and visuals are key to a professional course. For scriptwriting, tools like Google Docs or Scrivener help organize your thoughts and create a polished script that flows. If you’re preparing slides, Canva and PowerPoint are user-friendly options for designing professional-looking presentations. Canva offers a wide range of slide templates and visual assets that make creating an attractive course easier, even without design experience.
Ready to take your course strategies further? Read how successful online course creators are leveraging tools like Deadline Funnel to scale their courses.
Deadline Funnel gives each of your leads a unique and authentic deadline for your offer.
Sign UpIf you want a successful online course, you need to create content that resonates with learners and keeps them engaged.
To make students interested, it helps to mix up content formats. Try combining video lectures with interactive quizzes, downloadable resources, or real-world assignments. Varying your content offers multiple ways to understand and apply the material.
Great content is clear and easy to follow. Outline each lesson carefully, focusing on one concept at a time. This approach helps learners feel they’re progressing and mastering each piece before moving to the next.
High-quality audio and visuals are a must-have for maintaining student interest. Here’s what you’ll need to create a polished learning experience without spending a fortune on the necessary gear.
The editing phase polishes your raw footage into lessons that flow seamlessly.
Alt: An infographic on how to record and edit high-quality video lessons for online courses.
Checklist for Recording and Editing High-Quality Course Content
Setting the right price is a balance between making your course accessible and reflecting its true value.
Courses priced between $100 and $500 often achieve the best enrollment rates, as this range is affordable to a wide audience yet high enough to communicate quality.
Pricing should reflect the value you’re offering. Courses with in-depth content, high-demand topics, or unique expertise can command higher prices. Keep these factors in mind:
Adding extra resources or certifications can increase the perceived value of your course and justify a higher price.
Certifications, in particular, can boost enrollments by up to 20% because students gain a tangible credential.
Limited-time discounts and early bird offers are also great tools—research shows that these promotions can increase sign-ups by as much as 40%, especially around course launches.
To help drive enrollments during your course launch, tools like Deadline Funnel are great for setting up limited-time offers that increase urgency and encourage sign-ups
Consider a successful case of a tiered pricing structure: an online marketing course launched with three options—basic at $200, advanced at $400 (including extra Q&A sessions), and pro at $600 with personalized coaching. Although only 15% of students chose the pro option, it accounted for 40% of the course’s revenue. This model allowed students to pick the level that suited them while maximizing revenue through a higher-end option for those willing to invest more.
The platform you pick to host your course can make a big difference in how students experience your content. From how your course looks to how easy it is to navigate, a good platform keeps things smooth for both you and your students.
Think about what matters most for your course. Are you looking for something that’s super customizable? Or maybe a platform that helps with marketing and includes built-in tools for handling payments?
Some popular platform options to get you started when creating an online course:
Each platform has its strengths, so it’s really about finding the one that lines up with how you want to deliver your course and what kind of experience you want your students to have.
Deadline Funnel’s Integrations can link with popular teaching platforms making it easy to incorporate urgency tactics directly into your course launch.
We’ve covered the main steps to creating an online course, but we know you might still have a few questions! Here are answers to some additional questions we get about building, promoting, and selling online courses.
1. How can I make sure people actually want my course?
Before going all-in, test your idea with your audience. Try a quick survey or a social media poll to gauge interest, or create a mini version of the course for free and see if people sign up. Early feedback from potential students can help you fine-tune your content and confirm there’s demand for your topic.
2. How long should my online course be?
Course length really depends on your topic and goals. Shorter courses (1–2 hours) are great for focused skills, while more comprehensive courses might span 6+ hours or several modules. The goal is to give enough content to be valuable without overwhelming students—quality over quantity!
3. Do I need to use video, or can I stick with text?
Video is engaging and helps students connect with you, but it’s not essential for every course. You can mix formats like written lessons, PDFs, and quizzes. Many successful courses use a blend of videos, text, and interactive elements to keep things interesting and cater to different learning styles.
4. What’s the best way to keep my course interactive?
To keep learners engaged, try including quizzes, exercises, or downloadable resources. Platforms like Thinkific and Teachable support interactive features, so students can test their knowledge as they go. Real-world assignments or case studies are also great for applying what they’re learning.
5. Should I use social media to promote my course?
Absolutely! Social media is one of the best ways to reach potential students. Share previews, testimonials, or valuable tips related to your course on platforms like Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook. Being active in niche groups also builds credibility and keeps you connected with your audience.
While promoting, Deadline Funnel’s Features like dynamic countdowns and customized deadlines can add an extra layer of engagement to signing up for your course.
6. How often should I update my course content?
Updating content every 6–12 months keeps your course fresh and relevant. As trends and information change, adding new sections or sending updates to enrolled students can keep them engaged and help you stay competitive in your niche.
7. Do I need a business license to sell my course?
Not usually. For most individual creators, you can start selling without a business license. However, check local regulations to be sure, especially if you’re earning significant income. As your course grows, setting up a business structure can offer benefits like tax deductions and legal protection.
8. How can I protect my course from being copied?
While you can’t eliminate the risk, there are ways to protect your content. Platforms like Teachable and Thinkific help secure materials and prevent unauthorized downloads. Adding a copyright notice on your site or in your course materials can also discourage misuse.
9. How do I get testimonials and reviews for my course?
One way to get reviews is by offering early access at a discount or for free in exchange for honest feedback. Positive testimonials make new students feel confident in signing up. You can also ask students for feedback at the end of the course with a simple survey.
10. What should I include in a refund policy?
A clear refund policy sets expectations and builds trust. Many course creators offer a 7- or 30-day money-back guarantee if students aren’t satisfied. Make sure your terms are easy to find and include any conditions, like a completion requirement or time limit for eligibility.
For more strategies on creating effective deadlines and optimizing your sales funnels, check out the Deadline Funnel Blog, which covers topics from urgency in email marketing to using countdown timers in course launches.
