How to Create an Online Course in 2024

When creating an online course, you first have to identify who your ideal students are and what they are looking for in an online course. Consider factors such as age, interests, education level, and learning style. 

Rather than diving into your course and wondering who your target audience of learners might be, find out what people want to learn from someone with your specific skills before you dive in. By building your offering around the confirmed needs of potential students, you’ll have a ready-made target audience for online courses.

An effective way to find out what audiences want to learn is to see what they’re searching for online. If you’ve ever typed a question into a search engine, such as “how to create an online course,” and clicked on the result that seems to offer the best answer, you’ve been on the other end of this process.

Those questions and other search terms are known as keywords. You can develop course materials based on them and use them word-for-word in your course content. This will boost your course website’s search engine optimization (SEO).

There are many free keyword tools that will help you to find the terms and questions people are searching around your topic of expertise.

The market for online courses is growing everyday and that means there are plenty of options for you to choose from when it comes to deciding a platform to host your online course on. 

How you choose a platform depends entirely on what you’re looking for. Are you looking for an all-in-one platform where you can do everything from one place or something that is more niche that only hosts your course? 

Steppit is a free step-by-step platform that saves you time and money, while helping you build your online community. For a fraction of the cost, our easy step-by-step course builder and intuitive AI available with Pro, can have you up and running in no time. Try out 7-day free trial to see what you can do with your online platform.

While every platform will market themselves as the best online course builder, it is entirely up to you to determine what suits your needs.

Create engaging and informative content that is broken down into small steps so your customers can easily digest the content. It’s worth considering what are some of the pain points to your course topic and how you will best address them. 

Using Steppit AI Course Planner, you can easily plan your entire course in just a few minutes. Type in your topic, target audience and what your goal is and we’ll help you develop the entire course including who to best sell the course to, key course topics, sub-topics and a recommended marketing strategy.

Setting a course price can be incredibly difficult, especially if you’re not sure where to start. Here are a handful of tips we recommend you look at when developing the price for your course. 

1. Research the market: Look at what other courses in your industry are charging for similar content. This will give you a good sense of what the market is willing to pay and help you set a competitive price.
2. Determine your course value: Consider the value your course provides and what sets it apart from other courses. If you offer unique content, a high level of interaction, or special features, you may be able to charge more.
3. Set a price that aligns with your target audience: Consider your target audience's ability and willingness to pay. If your audience is mainly college students, for example, you may want to set a lower price point. If your audience is executives or business owners, you may be able to charge a higher price.
4. Consider your costs: Factor in the time and resources it took to create the course, as well as any ongoing costs associated with hosting, marketing, and maintaining it. Make sure your price covers these expenses and allows you to make a profit.
5. Offer discounts and promotions: Consider offering limited-time discounts or promotions to incentivize people to buy your course. This can also help you gather feedback from your audience about your course and pricing.
6. Monitor and adjust: Keep an eye on your course's sales and adjust the price as necessary. If you're not seeing the sales you want, you may need to lower the price or adjust your marketing strategy.

We've written a full blog on how you can decide the value of your course. Read more here.

Choose a launch date that gives you enough time to prepare your course content and market your course effectively. Decide on a class size that is manageable and allows you to give personalised feedback to each student. We recommend aiming with a class of ten students first and then building from there.

When you’re ready to launch your course, making sure you have a dedicated landing page and channel is important. A landing page is something you can have on your own website, which might provide a brief outline to what the course content is about. 

A channel is a dedicated profile page on your Steppit account. This is where customers will see your course content, the classes you have and the upcoming dates available. 

Your online course landing page is the first impression that potential students will have of your course, so it's important to make it informative and engaging. Here are some elements that you should include on your landing page:

1. Course Title and Description: Make sure your course title and description are clear and concise, and provide a summary of what students can expect to learn.
2. Benefits and Outcomes: Highlight the key benefits and outcomes of your course, and explain how it can help your students solve a specific problem or achieve their goals.
3. Course Curriculum: Provide an overview of the course curriculum, including the topics and modules covered. This will give potential students a sense of what they'll be learning and help them decide if the course is right for them.
4. Instructor Information: Include a brief bio of yourself as the course instructor, highlighting your credentials and experience in the topic area. This will help build trust with potential students and show that you're qualified to teach the course.
5. Testimonials and Reviews: Include testimonials or reviews from previous students, as this can provide social proof and build credibility for your course.
6. Pricing and Payment Options: Clearly state the price of the course and any payment options available. Make sure to also include any discounts or promotions that you're currently offering.
7. Call-to-Action (CTA): Your landing page should include a clear and prominent call-to-action (CTA) button that directs potential students to enroll in the course. Make sure the button is eye-catching and stands out from the rest of the page.
8. FAQ Section: Include a frequently asked questions (FAQ) section to address any common questions or concerns that potential students may have about the course.

Remember, your landing page is a crucial part of your marketing strategy, so it's important to optimise it for conversions. Make sure your landing page is visually appealing, easy to navigate, and provides all the information that potential students need to make an

As with creating any digital product, you need to have a strong online course marketing strategy. This can make all the difference when it comes to sales. Use a combination of email marketing, social media marketing, content marketing, and paid advertising to reach your target audience. 

Your marketing strategy for your online course could include the following.  

• A pre-launch email - This might be a teaser email which shares that you’re launching a course and what it is about. If you’ve got a strong mailing list, perhaps set up a waiting list which can give you an idea of how many people are interested in your course. 
• A series of launch day emails - On launch day, send emails early to capture people’s attention. Be sure to include plenty of detail about what the course is about, who is the ideal customer, how long it will take to complete and most importantly, the price. We share more about this below. 
• Social media - Another element to your online course marketing strategy should be social media. Think about Facebook groups, your own Facebook page, making announcements on Twitter and Instagram, and if you have a website, be sure to have a direct link to your new landing page. 

To gain even more exposure, if you have a large enough following, you can reach out to influencers, bloggers and other course creators with details about the topic and outcome students should expect as well as commission they’ll receive for promoting it. To motivate them provide clear reasons why they should do this – let them know when they’ll get their commission and terms of agreement. With social media promotion done right you’re sure to reach many potential customers.

During the course launch window, you can offer an “early-bird” discount to entice customers to purchase your course. This can encourage sales and also create a hype around your new course.

When sending emails during the launch window, it’s best to send them early on in order to capture the most attention. The emails should include information about the course, the limited time discount, and the steps a customer should take after landing on your course page. How many emails you send depends entirely on what your scheduling with your email list is. If you typically send one every week, perhaps upping it to two or three to ensure you’re in their inbox all week can help encourage sales and act as reminders.

Provide support and engage with your students throughout the course. Use Steppit’s features to encourage collaboration, feedback, and discussion. Respond to queries and concerns promptly to build a loyal following and attract more students to future courses.

Engaging with students is also key – create a private Facebook group where you can answer questions, give email support, and personally respond to emails. This will build community among your learners while giving them the support they need as they work through the course.

Collecting feedback from students is an essential part of the course creation process. It can provide invaluable insight into the student experience and help to pinpoint areas for improvement. 

You can create a survey with google which can then be shared with your students after they’ve completed the course. By doing this, you ensure you’re providing the best possible experience for students and make necessary adjustments before launching again. 

Launching a successful online course on Steppit requires careful planning, engaging content, and effective marketing. With the right strategy and execution, you can create a course that provides value to your target audience and generates a steady stream of income for your business.