# How to create an online course students actually finish To create an online course, pick a topic people will pay to solve, validate it with real conversations before you film, teach with practice (not just videos), and pre-launch your first module so you don't spend months on a course nobody wanted. This free guide walks that path in ten chapters. Start with the [course creation checklist](/course-creation-guide-checklist), put [practice steps](/features/steps-milestones) inside lessons, and keep students in a [built-in community](/features/community) when week 3 gets quiet. This course creation guide is 100% free. We don’t even ask for your email. [Course creation guide — introduction](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aV5q3GFlOPU) [Click here to skip if you've already seen the video ↓](#begin-journey) You've heard it all before: ### Online courses are the future of education! ![5 reasons why online learning is the future of education](/assets/course_guide/en-evidence-1-f8fb7d7c92901a087336e83123534e3caecc3c7153359824db0520f261c9ef86.png) Source: educations.com ### Online courses are a way to make a lot of money! ![How to Make $2.5MM as a Solo Founder by Teaching What You Love with Adam Wathan](/assets/course_guide/en-evidence-2-b602ae9ce8fc1a669add1cb94e2c844ba070350bc217e9eaa20fd57771c90e74.png) Source: indiehackers.com But also: ### People don’t finish the online courses they take! ![90% of people abandon the online course that they are following without completing it](/assets/course_guide/en-evidence-3-086c62b85998d7f79fd70c790b7ed9c8c4e8c11c0a35618bed62a9f1e061f503.png) Source: thriveglobal.com ### All online courses are scams! ![Seven learning scams to watch out for](/assets/course_guide/en-evidence-4-86778dc0725b1688ffb9a171b81240b66ebb8b3cc2ab0fc96e2f73cd702bc6f8.png) Source: raconteur.net **They’re all true.** Except for the “All online courses are scams” one — even if there are definitely scams out there, and they make it harder for the rest of us when creating courses. So here’s the deal: In this guide, I’ll show you how to make courses _the right way_, so you can: - Make more money - Help your students get awesome results - Not get called a scammer Sounds good ? Let’s go. ## What makes a great course This is what I asked myself when I was writing this guide, I wanted to write the best resource on the internet on online course creation, and give it all for free. To do so, I worked with someone who has a decade of experience in course creation: > Hi, I won’t bore you with my “mindblowing results”, but please allow me just THREE bullet points to brag: > > > 1. I run a 7 figures course business with no ad spend > 2. I’ve helped thousands of people launch their first course and tracked which approach gets the best results > 3. I run a software company that helps course creators make more money > > > All of that matters because it gives us data on what makes a good course. > > > ![image](/assets/course_guide/stan-c6265c560c34f03cbf937efe286e1ff0c649355cf748142045786366ce9fda52.jpg) > > Stan Leloup, founder of SchoolMaker Last year, we helped more than 500 course creators launch their first course, and helped many others build more profitable course businesses. And we realized that the course creators who were generating the most revenue do a few simple things right: - They have a clear **positioning** - They are **engaging** and completing their lessons is **fun** - They give students a sense of **community** - They focus on **action** rather than on vague “knowledge” - They bring **results** to their students through deliberate practice - They have **high converting** sales pages and emails campaigns Obviously, there are already a bunch of resources online on “how to make an online course”, but they basically boil down to “make some videos and upload them”. Maybe that was enough 5 years ago, but it's not the case anymore. That's why we created this guide. (This, and also to promote SchoolMaker - but more on that later: I promise you that 100% of the info is free and we don’t have a paid course to sell you). ## What you will learn In this guide, you’ll learn how to create online courses that: 1. 1### Stand out from your competitors Most courses are information dumps, but you can create courses that actually help your students go from point A to point B and guarantee them tangible progress. 2. 2### Are community-based Communities can change people’s lives and turn them into your best ambassadors, which leads to more sales. 3. 3### Establish your expertise in your field By crafting a course that provides insights and value to people in your field, which can lead to more opportunities. If you’re creating your first course, you’ll learn how to do an awesome job on your first try. Or if you already have some courses, I’ll show you how to take them to the next level. ![image](/assets/course_guide/alex-4f0ed99ad21eb556e8a22f2d7c22cc7d0728c54e5b2a421ccbfa7f80560a4e07.jpg) Created by**Alexandru Golovatenco** ## What’s in each chapter of the course creation guide ### [1. Find your course topic](/course-creation-guide/find-your-course-topic) The starting point in your course creation journey is to understand who will be your target students, and what you can help them with. ### [2. Improve your course before even creating it](/course-creation-guide/improve-your-course-before-even-creating-it) With a tried and tested method, you will learn how to get valuable feedback before even turning on the camera. ### [3. Teaching online effectively](/course-creation-guide/teaching-online-effectively) In this chapter, you will learn how to get your students results with your course, and how to keep them engaged. ### [4. Writing your course content step by step](/course-creation-guide/writing-your-course-content-step-by-step) In this chapter, I will show you what makes a great course structure, and walk you through the writing process of your first section. ### [5. Refining your course content](/course-creation-guide/refining-your-course-content) In this chapter, I will walk you through the refining process of your first module, and show you how to get everything ready for filming. ### [6. Making engaging educational videos](/course-creation-guide/making-engaging-educational-videos) Learn how to give life to what you wrote. By the end of this chapter, you will have created your filming environment, recorded and edited your intro video, and your first section as well. ### [7. Creating your online school with SchoolMaker](/course-creation-guide/create-your-online-school-with-schoolmaker) In this chapter, our team will walk you through the set up process for creating your online School. ### [8. Writing a sales page that converts](/course-creation-guide/how-to-write-online-course-sales-page-that-converts) In this chapter, you will learn how to create a solid sales page from A to Z to test your course quickly, and get your first sales during your pre-launch. ### [9. Pre-launching your online course](/course-creation-guide/how-to-pre-launch-your-online-course) In this chapter, you will learn how to pre-launch your online course, and will be ready to finish the rest of your course modules for your final launch by the end of it. ### [10. What's next](/course-creation-guide/whats-next) This is the last chapter of your course creation journey. I will give you tips to finalize your current course, and show you what you can do next. [Access full checklist](/course-creation-guide-checklist) ## FAQ ### Is this guide really free? Yes, it is entirely free. ### How much time does it take to complete this guide? If you spend a few hours per day on building your course, this guide can be completed entirely in 6 to 8 weeks. I've also written an article on how much time it takes to create a course [here](/blog/how-long-does-it-take-to-create-an-online-course) if you're interested. ### Why focus on a pre-launch? In this guide, you will pre-launch your course a few weeks after starting creating it, this is because it allows you to get market validation by getting your first sales, and increases your chances of building a more successful final product. ### What equipment and software do I need to get started? I added the list of tools and software you will need as you create your course on this [guide's checklist page](/course-creation-guide-checklist#resources) in the "Material & Software" section. But I don’t recommend focusing on gear now, the most important thing to do right now is to choose a course idea and validate it! ### How to know if my course will do well? It’s always hard to know if a project will do well before starting it, so this guide focuses on a method that allows you to validate your course’s viability before you’ve even filmed your first lesson. Through surveys and market research, the guide will help you choose the best angle and get a precise positioning that resonates with your students. Once you nail your positioning, you will focus on finishing your first module as quickly as possible to get your first pre-sales. This approach ensures that you spend your time on the right things, and that you don’t create an online course that no one needed in the first place. ### Why do students quit an online course around week 3? The first-week excitement fades, the next action is unclear, and nobody notices they stopped. This guide treats that as a design problem: give students something to do after each lesson, a place to show the work, and a first module you can pre-launch before you film the rest. ### Do I need an existing audience to launch my course? Yes, we recommend having an audience because market research, surveys, and getting beta-students are easier to do when you have an audience. You don't necessarily need to have a huge audience to make course sales though. Based on the hundreds of creators we helped launch their courses, we recommend having at least 300 people in your email list or 1000 subscribers on social media before pre-launching your course. ## Meet the authors ![Alexandru Golovatenco](/assets/course_guide/alex-4f0ed99ad21eb556e8a22f2d7c22cc7d0728c54e5b2a421ccbfa7f80560a4e07.jpg) Created by ### Alexandru Golovatenco Alex has enrolled in dozens of courses on marketing, development and design. He ended up with varied skills — and also a collection of best practices for teaching online. He wrote the guide you’re reading. [Twitter ↗](https://twitter.com/AlexandruGlv)[YouTube ↗](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCc03ebwuzIktdzqcAXkG1nA)[Website ↗](https://www.alexglv.com) ![Stan Leloup](/assets/course_guide/stan-c6265c560c34f03cbf937efe286e1ff0c649355cf748142045786366ce9fda52.jpg) Produced by ### Stan Leloup Stan has been creating courses for a decade. He built a 7-figure online course business called Marketing Mania. He is also the founder of the website you’re on: SchoolMaker. [Twitter ↗](https://twitter.com/marketingstan)[YouTube ↗](https://www.youtube.com/c/MarketingMania)[Website ↗](https://marketingmania.fr/accueil)