How to Create and Sell an Online Course for Free: A Step-by-Step Guide

Creating and selling an online course can be an excellent way to share your knowledge, make money, and help others achieve their goals. 

However, it can be overwhelming to know where to start, especially if you’re low on funds. 

In this article, I’ll walk you through the process of creating and selling an online course for free, using a three-step framework.

Let’s dive in!

Step 1: Find Your Course Idea

The first step in creating and selling an online course is to find your course idea. 

This doesn’t need to be complicated, all you need to do is identify where your audience is and where they want to be. 

To do this, have conversations with your audience, and get clear on where they are, where they want to be, and what’s getting in the way of them achieving that.

Write everything down in a Google doc and keep an eye out for any trends. 

The goal is to find the ONE specific problem and outcome that the majority of people are facing and want. Once you've found your course idea, you can move on to step two.

Step 2: Creating Your Online Course

The second step is to create your online course content. 

Start by outlining a simple 5-step roadmap to get your audience from point A to point B in a Google Doc, Apple Notes, or a Word document. These steps will become your video course lessons.

It helps to write out the name of your course, what your audience's Point A and Point B are, then your course content. Your outline should look something like this:

When it comes to filming your course content, you can shoot your lessons on your phone! Just remember to look at the camera and hold your phone horizontally so it fits a landscape video format. 

If you have a tripod to hold your phone, you can use that as well. Use what you have and make it the best quality you can.

Next, publish your course to YouTube under “Unlisted”. This way, people can't see your video unless they have a link. 

Create a new Google Doc with an intro, a way to contact you, and a link to your unlisted YouTube video. This is how you’ll deliver your course to the people that buy, completely free.

It should look something like this:

Step 3: Selling & Delivering Your Online Course

The final step is to sell and deliver your online course. 

Start by opening up a new Google doc and create your sales copy and link to your checkout page. 

Use my 5-Step Sales Copy Formula to effortlessly sell your digital courses & coaching online. Then use JotForm and a free Stripe account to create your checkout page. 

JotForm makes it easy to create and customize your checkout page, and Stripe allows you to accept payments from your customers.

This is a great video from JotForm's YouTube channel that walks you through how to set it up in under 5 minutes. Click here to check it out.

Final Thoughts

Creating and selling an online course is an excellent way to share your knowledge, make money, and help others achieve their goals. 

By following this three-step framework, you can create and sell your course for free, but honestly, this isn’t my first choice. 

This is great for getting started but, once you see some sales coming in, I highly recommend upgrading your business to a software like Kajabi.

Remember, it's about user experience and solving your customer's problems. Upgrading your tools will help people have a better user experience and it will also make your life a lot easier as a business owner!

So, focus on delivering value and helping your customers achieve their desired outcome. 

Good luck!