If you know something valuable and can explain it clearly congratulations you have everything you need to make money with online courses. Whether you’re an expert in a niche topic or just one step ahead of someone else there are people out there willing to pay for your knowledge. The best part is you don’t need a huge audience or a fancy studio to get started. You just need a plan a few tools and a bit of patience
Creating and selling online courses is one of the most profitable and flexible ways to earn money online in 2025. It works while you sleep it scales without limits and it turns your knowledge into income again and again
Here’s how to get started and what to focus on
Step 1: Choose a Course Topic That Sells
Start with what you already know. This could be from your job your hobby or your personal experiences. The key is finding a topic that solves a problem or teaches a useful skill. People don’t pay for information—they pay for transformation
Ask yourself
What have people asked me to explain
What do I do naturally that others struggle with
What would I be excited to teach over and over
Use tools like
Google Trends – See what people are searching for
AnswerThePublic – Discover questions related to your topic
ChatGPT – Prompt: “Give me 20 course topic ideas for someone with experience in [insert skill]”
Hot course niches in 2025
AI tools and automation
Personal finance and budgeting
Health and wellness
Freelancing and remote work
Creative skills like writing music or design
Parenting productivity and mindset
Step 2: Outline Your Course Like a Roadmap
Once you’ve picked a topic break it into clear steps or modules. This keeps your course organized and helps learners stay motivated
Prompt ChatGPT:
“Create a beginner-friendly online course outline for [topic] with 5–7 lessons”
Each lesson should have
A goal or skill to learn
A short explanation or demonstration
An optional worksheet quiz or resource
Tools to organize your outline
Notion – Great for content planning
Trello – Visualize your course as a step-by-step journey
Airtable – Track progress and materials
Step 3: Choose a Platform to Host and Sell Your Course
You don’t need to build a site from scratch. These platforms make it easy to upload content collect payments and deliver lessons
Top choices
Teachable – Beginner-friendly with marketing features
Thinkific – Flexible with good free plan
Gumroad – Simple and fast for digital product sales
Podia – Great for courses memberships and email
Kajabi – Premium all-in-one option
Prompt ChatGPT:
“Compare Teachable and Gumroad for selling a beginner-level art course”
Step 4: Create the Course Content
Don’t overcomplicate this part. You can record with your phone use slides with voiceover or combine short videos with downloadable guides
What you need
Good audio (even more important than video)
Simple slides or screen recordings
Clear step-by-step lessons
Tools to help
Loom – Record screen and camera at once
Canva – Make beautiful course slides
Audacity – Free audio editor
Descript – Edit video and audio like a document
Tip: Keep videos short and focused. 5–10 minutes per lesson is a sweet spot
Step 5: Price It Right
Don’t undervalue your knowledge. People are more likely to complete and benefit from a course they’ve paid for. You can offer
Mini-course: $19–$49
Full course: $99–$299
High-ticket course with coaching: $499+
Use ChatGPT:
“Suggest pricing tiers for a photography course with three modules and bonus content”
Step 6: Market Your Course with AI Help
Marketing doesn’t have to be scary. AI tools can help you write emails design posts and come up with content ideas fast
AI marketing tools
ChatGPT – Write email sequences blog posts and social captions
Canva – Design social graphics and promo banners
MailerLite – Build email lists and send newsletters
Beehiiv – Grow a course-focused newsletter
Pictory – Turn course tips into video reels
Use ChatGPT for
“Write a 5-email welcome series for a free lead magnet that leads into my paid course”
“Write 10 Instagram captions promoting a beginner productivity course”
Step 7: Offer a Freebie to Attract Signups
One of the best ways to build trust and grow your list is to give away something valuable for free—a PDF checklist quick video or mini-lesson
Examples
Free guide: “5 Ways to Start Freelancing Without Experience”
Free email course: “Intro to Canva for Small Business Owners”
Free checklist: “10 Things You Need Before You Launch Your First Course”
Tools to deliver freebies
Gumroad (free price = $0)
MailerLite
ConvertKit
Step 8: Automate and Scale
Once your course is live keep the momentum going. Set up automated emails use a course funnel and keep updating your content based on feedback
Prompt ChatGPT:
“Create an evergreen sales funnel for my course on time management for students”
Bonus idea: Use testimonials and success stories from your students to build trust and increase conversions
Useful Tools and Links
Teachable – https://teachable.com
Thinkific – https://www.thinkific.com
Gumroad – https://gumroad.com
Podia – https://www.podia.com
Canva – https://www.canva.com
ChatGPT – https://chat.openai.com
Loom – https://www.loom.com
Descript – https://www.descript.com
MailerLite – https://www.mailerlite.com
Beehiiv – https://www.beehiiv.com
Final Thoughts
Creating and selling online courses is one of the most powerful ways to turn your skills into income. Whether you’re teaching something simple or diving deep into a niche there’s an audience out there ready to learn from you. Start small make it real keep it helpful and let AI do the heavy lifting when it comes to writing designing and marketing. You don’t need to be perfect. You just need to start.
