Online course creation guide checklist

On this page, you can track your progress on the online course guide.

You can navigate to the list of tasks of different chapters by using the following navigation bar.

Choose a chapter
Chapter 1 checklist
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Copy and complete the Ideal Student Persona template that we created for you.
Done
On a piece of paper or in your notes app of choice, answer the following questions:

1. What does your ISP struggle with the most?
2. What do they fail to motivate themselves to do?
3. In what would an external opinion (yours) bring the most value?
4. What tangible outcomes can you help your target students to get to?
5. What things would you have loved someone to have taught you when you were starting out?

(This will help you find great course ideas easily)
Done
Write down the list of problems you think you can solve and rank them using our "Choosing what problem to solve" template (columns A to G)
Done
On a piece of paper or in your notes app of choice, make a list of:
The 5 most popular content that you’ve made
The 5 most popular content of at least 5 content creators or websites that create content around your topic

(This means that you should have at least 30 pieces of content listed in total)
Done
Complete column H of the “Choosing what problem to solve” template by comparing your problem ideas in column A to the content you just listed.

The closer a problem is to the your list of popular content around your topic, their higher its score will be on column H.
Done
‍Create the survey you are going to send to your community with the Google Forms template that we created for you.

Feel free to personalize it!
(You can copy it by right clicking on the file called "Market Research Survey" and then "create a copy")
Done
Share the survey you created with your audience on your own marketing channels.

(The goal is to get at least 50 answers)
Done
On a piece of paper or in your notes app of choice, write down a list of places where you can find potential students online (groups on Slack, Discord or Facebook, which forums, Quora Spaces, websites, communities...).

(The more you write the better, but try to find at least 5)
Done
Try to contact get to at least 50 responses to your survey by reaching out to people you found out in these places online.

You can use this template for inspiration!
Done
Complete column I of the “Choosing what problem to solve” template.

The better score a problem got on your surveys, the higher their score on column I.

You can give 5 points to the first, 4 to the second, 3 to the third, etc.
Done
Choose a course name and a USP for the problem you chose to solve with your course.
Done
Find the right price for your course by using these 3 strategies.
Done
Chapter 2 checklist
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Before you start looking for beta students, write a quick outline of what you think your course curriculum will look like on a piece of paper or in your notes app of choice.

Also, prepare your sessions with beta students by using the strategies in part 4.
Done
By using the strategies above, get on a call with at least 12 beta students and take notes or record your sessions with them. (ask for permission if you want to record your sessions)
Done
As you start having your first conversations, you can start listing what you think the most impactful and useful things to teach in your course.

For example, which examples created "aha" moments for your students, or which questions were really common?
Done
Chapter 3 checklist
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Identify 20 to 30 gaps (knowledge, skill, environment, habit, motivation) your students will have to overcome by using the feedback you got during your beta tests and the first section of this chapter.
Done
Arrange the gaps that your students have to overcome in the order in which they will have to face them. This will be your student’s learning journey.

(Make it progressively harder to keep your students in the Challenge Zone as they improve)
Done
Write a quick story that mirrors your student’s learning journey in 500 to 1000 words.

(The story could be yours, someone you know, a beta student, or a fictional person’s. You can mention small parts of this story throughout your course to mirror your student’s experience)
Done
Write down around 3 examples for each learning gap your students will have to overcome.
Done
Find or create visuals to illustrate the 10 most important concepts you will teach in your course.
Done
Write down an exercise to help your students overcome each skill gap you wrote down.
Done
Complete the quiz, and think of where you could add quizzes in your own course to check that your students remember what you taught them
Done
Chapter 4 checklist
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Improve your physical space to make it easier to sit down and write quickly.
Done
Organize your notes and resources so they’re easily accessible when writing.
Done
Setup Dynalist (The free version is enough) or the writing tool of your choice.
Done
Install the News Feed Eradicator extension or a similar one to block distractions.
Done
Schedule at least 2 hours of writing time every day to make progress on your course material.

(Writing an entire course section should take a bit less than a week)
Done
Write down the sections that will be in your course.
Done
Write the individual lessons that will be inside of each section.
Done
Write your first section’s lessons and what actions you want your students to take at the end of each lesson.
Done
Create the additional resources your students will need for the first section like PDFs, mind maps, or checklists.
Done
Chapter 5 checklist
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Take a break of at least a day to be able to look at your course section with a pair of fresh eyes.
Done
Go through your first section with fresh eyes and refine it by using the tips above.
Done
Get on a few calls with beta students whose problems can be solved by your current section, and use what you wrote so far to help them, and get feedback on your course so far.

(To do this fast, you can get your previous beta students and a few new ones on a group call on a regular basis (weekly, or bi-weekly), as you write the contents of a new section)
Done
Make changes to your course material based on the feedback you got.
Done
Create the final slides for your section  (you can use our Google Slide template).
Done
Create additional visuals if needed.
Done
Write your intro video in your note-taking tool of choice.
Done
Create slides for your introduction video (you can use our Google Slide template).
Done
Chapter 6 checklist
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Make sure you have all the required equipment and software to create an online course.
Done
Set up everything so you are ready to film (microphone, lighting if used, webcam or camera, tripod if used, recording software, slides...).
Done
Record your introduction video and get your audio & video files ready for editing.
Done
Edit your introduction video, we recommend using the editing process we provide if you don’t have a lot of experience with video editing.
Done
Film and edit your first course section.
Done
Chapter 7 checklist
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Configure your online school.
Done
Create a space for your course and configure it.
Done
Create your course and configure it.
Done
Create your first section and configure it.
Done
Add your lessons to your section and create steps for each lesson.
Done
Create an offer for your course.
Done
Chapter 8 checklist
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Copy the Google Doc Template of the sales page structure and complete it.
Done
Write a first draft of your sales page using the template you just completed. You can do it on a new Google Docs or in your note taking app of choice.
Done
Apply the 5 tips to write a sales page that converts to your first draft.
Done
Re-read your page with the goal of anticipating the readers’ objections and make edits if needed.
Done
Re-read your page with the goal of eliminating repetitive or useless elements and make edits if needed.
Done
Check your sales page for grammatical or spelling mistakes.
Done
Implement your sales page on Carrd or the page builder of your choice.
Done
Buy a domain name for hosting your sales page or use a subdomain of one you already own.
Done
Publish it and make sure that there are no errors, and that the page works on desktop and mobile.
Done
Make sure that your CTA buttons are linked to your payment page correctly.
Done
Chapter 9 checklist
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Copy the Google Doc Template of the 3 email campaign structure and complete the first email.
Done
Complete the second email in the "Email prelaunch campaign" template.
Done
Complete the third email in the "Email prelaunch campaign" template.
Done
Edit your emails with the goal of anticipating the readers’ objections.
Done
Edit your emails with the goal of cutting about 15% of the useless words.
Done
Edit your emails to correct grammatical or spelling mistakes.
Done
Add your emails to your ESP (without scheduling them yet!)
Done
Copy and complete the course pre-launch checklist before sending your emails.
Done
Schedule your 3-day email campaign.
(For example, you can do your campaign over the span of a week by sending emails on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday)
Done
Announce the pre-launch on social media to bring more traffic to your sales page.
Done
Send an email to your customers to collect their feedback.
Done
Copy the survey prepared for you, completed it, and send it to people who didn’t buy your course.

You can copy this survey right here! Just right click on “(To Copy) Course Launch Feedback Survey”, and copy it to your Google Drive.
Done
Answer the "What did you think of the course creation guide?" survey.
Done
Chapter 10 checklist
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Finish your other course sections using chapters 4, 5 and 6.

Tip: You can use the drip feature in SchoolMaker to release new sections each week.
Done
Launch your finished course with a longer email campaign.
Done
Material & software checklist
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🎤
Good microphones allow you to record better sound with less background noise. Make sure they are compatible with your smartphone or camera before buying.
Bought
Here are our recommendations
Rode VideoMic Pro Plus
1 / RØDE VideoMic Pro+
A very solid camera microphone
Type
: Camera Microphone
Price: $299
Rode VideoMicro
2 / RØDE VideoMicro
Bang for you buck camera mic
Type
: Camera Microphone
Price: $70
Rode NT-USB
3 / RØDE Rode NT-USB
A solid USB microphone
Type
: Camera Microphone
Price: $169
Audio-Technica ATR2100x-USB
4 / Audio-Technica ATR2100x
Bang for you buck USB mic
Type
: USB Microphone
Price: $79
💡
Good lighting is even more important that a high quality camera to get footage that is enjoyable to watch.
Bought
Here are the brands we recommend
neewer logo
1 / Neweer
Options for all budgets
elgato logo
2 / Elgato
Quality options
📷
Good cameras can elevate the level of quality of your course. If are starting out and you have a smartphone that can record a video and you transfer it for editing, you already have all the filming gear you'll need.
Bought
Here are our recommendations
Smartphone
1 / Your Smartphone
Great option if it films in 1080p+
Type
: Smartphone
Price: Free
Elgato Facecam
2 / Elgato Facecam
A solid facecam for your course
Type
: Facecam
Price: ≈ $170
Logitech C920
3 / Logitech C920
Great value facecam
Type
: Facecam
Price: ≈ $70
Sony Alpha 6400
4 / Sony Alpha 6400
Great professional camera
Type
: Camera
Price: ≈ $1 200
Canon EOS 250D
5 / Canon EOS 250D
Great value camera
Type
: Camera
Price: ≈ $700
🎞
When it comes to your choice of tripod we don’t recommend expensive options if you are only going to have still shots because they are overkill.
Bought
Here are our recommendations
Fugetek 51
1 / Fugetek 51
Budget tripod for small spaces
Type: Smartphone tripod
Price: $20
Tecelks Tripod
2 / TECELKS Tripod
Simple budget tripod
Type
: Smartphone / Camera
Price: ≈ $23
Amazon Basics Tripod
3 / Amazon basics Tripod
Solid option from Amazon
Type: Smartphone / Camera
Price: $90
K and F Concept 68
4 / K&F Concept 68
A fancy option (a bit overkill)
Type
: Smartphone / Camera
Price: ≈ $150
🧰
It might be worth spending a bit of money on a tool that will help you record your screen easier with your face on the screen directly, as this will make your video editing process easier later.
Bought
Here are our recommendations
OBS Logo
1 / OBS
Great free option
Compatibility
: Win, Mac, Linux
Price: Free
Snagit Logo
2 / Snagit
A bit old, but works well
Compatibility: Win, Mac
Price: ≈ $65
Cleanshot x Logo
3 / Cleanshot X
My personal favourite!
Compatibility
: Mac OS only
Price: $29
Loom Logo
4 / Loom
A great and affordable option
Compatibility
: Win, Mac
Price: $8 per month
💻
There are many video editing softwares, here are the ones that I think are the most powerful, and for which you can find the most resources online if you want to learn how to use them or if you need assets and video templates.
Bought
Here are our recommendations
Davinci Resolve Logo
1 / DaVinci Resolve
Great free option (my favourite)
Compatibility
: Win, Mac, Linux
Price: Free
Premiere Pro Logo
2 / Premiere Pro
Works well, less stable though
Compatibility: Win, Mac
Price: ≈ $20 per month
Final Cut Pro Logo
3 / Final Cut Pro
Great if you use an apple device
Compatibility
: Mac OS only
Price: $299