How To Sell Online Courses From Your Own Website: A Complete Guide

Launch Your Online Business in Just 7 Days

For as long as we remember, education has been restricted to classrooms and blackboards, desks, and chairs. Boy, how the tables have turned.

By 2026, the global eLearning market is expected to be worth a whopping $457.8 billion.

Naturally, this appears to be the ideal opportunity to bundle your knowledge and be compensated for it.

In this post, we’ll cover everything from why to how you should create and sell your online courses.

Let’s get right to it.

1. Why should you create and sell online courses?

Instead of relying on institutionalized teaching, eLearning uses electronic resources.

The most typical incentive for an entrepreneur to create online courses is to make money.

With that $450+ billion market cap, who wouldn’t want to sell online courses?

Some other reasons to create and sell courses online are:

Online courses are an asset you can sell over and over again
It’ll assist you in growing your business
It establishes you as an expert in your field or niche
It can be used as a marketing tool to improve client relationships

And more.

Best of all, anyone can create and sell an online course.

All you need is a basic understanding of a subject and the ability to speak passionately about it.

You’re now ready to create your own online course.

How do you go about doing it, though?

In the next section, we will briefly lay out the steps to create your online course.

2. Creating your first online course

Source: Freepik.com

This section is by no means comprehensive in terms of everything that needs to be done to create an online course.

However, you’ll get an excellent understanding of how to create it here.

The course creation process is not a short one, but by following these 8 steps, you can successfully create your first online course:

1. Step 1 — Pick a niche

Deciding on your course topic and finding your target audience go hand-in-hand.

You need to know who you’re connecting with and how you can help them solve their problems.

Not only is it important to choose a niche you are interested in, but it should also be profitable.

A piece of advice — only launch a business when there’s a market for your online course idea because if there’s no competition there’s no money to be made.

2. Step 2 — Target your audience

To gather an audience you need to run a survey and analyze the answers.

Here are 4 questions you can ask:

What is the biggest problem you are struggling with?
What will happen if this problem isn’t solved?
What is your goal and how will you reach it?
What are the risks that might prevent you from reaching your goals?

These questions help the customer to become aware of their problem and also visualize how beneficial your solution can be.

3. Step 3 — Locate a gap in the market

The process of identifying a market gap is similar to that described in the previous step, however, the goal is different.

You’ll want to find a lot of questions that need to be answered because those that are addressed could be great topics for your course content.

4. Step 4 — Pre-sell your course

Pre-selling your online course is a great approach to make sure your audience understands what you’re doing before you even start.

5. Step 5 — Determine your teaching style

It’s crucial to know what kind of teaching style you’d like to use for your course content.

There are a variety of options, but the following are the most common:

Text
Powerpoint
Talking head
On camera
Whiteboard

Consider how your audience will gain the most from your online course material.

6. Step 6 — Determine your marketing methods

If you’ve been actively pre-selling your online course, you should already have a customer base.

There are a few things you can do to make your pre-launch course more appealing:

Provide a discount
Offer free course material
Offer limited free training sessions

The advantage of having more offers is that it generates more sales and adds more people to your mailing list.

7. Step 7 — Write high-converting sales pages

Customers will land on your sales page when they decide to commit to seeing what you have on offer.

Leads must be convinced that your online course is worthwhile.

With systeme.io, you can quickly and easily build exceptional sales pages.

8. Step 8 — Finishing touches

Perfectionism is the main difficulty we face when it comes to course creation.

You’ll be dealing with a variety of people, each with their own personalities and opinions, and you won’t be able to make everything perfect for everyone.

Remember this tip: It’s better to get something done than to get it perfect!

Now that you have your online course content sorted, you’re ready to sell it.

But before unraveling the solution to sell online courses from your own site — without coding — let's talk benefits . . .

3. Why you should sell courses from your own website

Source: Freepik.com

You can sell your online course in one of two ways:

1. Using your own website

2. Using online course marketplaces

Here are 4 benefits of selling courses from your own website:

Increase your revenue
Have a direct channel with your prospects and existing customers
No spending money on a separate platform
Everything will be done from the convenience of your own site

Online course marketplaces can empty the pockets you’ve stuffed with your online course sales.

Take Udemy for example — the platform gobbles away 50-75% of your gross margin.

Even if you handle the marketing, Udemy still manages to take 50% of your course creation money.

How do you sell online courses on your website?

Well, first you’ll need an actual website.

With systeme.io’s website builder, you can easily build your website in minutes.

4. Preparing to build your own website

Source: Freepik.com

In the online world, your website is your company’s public face.

So, before you begin building your website, you need to consider what you want to accomplish with it.

Some things to focus on when building your online course website:

Identifying your target audience
Improving your visual brand
Making mobile a priority
Including calls to action
Structuring your site for scalability
Communicating with your customers
Selecting the right management system

And more.

If done effectively, a new website can be a lead-generating machine, converting online traffic into quantifiable conversions.

To create a website, you need to follow 4 basic steps.

Let’s have a look.

4.1. Register your domain name

The first step toward building your website is to create a domain name and register it.

Your domain name should match your product so that customers can quickly locate you on the internet.

You’ll need to choose an authorized registrar and pay a fee to have your domain name registered.

Here are some examples of authorized domain name registrars:

Source: auDA.org.au

4.2. Find a web hosting company

To get your domain name on the internet, you’ll also need a web hosting service.

Web hosting is available from the majority of domain name registrar services, at an extra cost.

Here are some other web hosting services you can use:

Namecheap
Bluehost
Hostgator
iPage
InMotion
Cloudways

The cost of web hosting is determined by the size of your website and the number of visitors it receives.

With systeme.io, there are no additional hosting costs, and you can integrate your domain name using the features that come with your subscription.

4.3. Prepare your content

The next step is to prepare the content or information you want to add to your site.

Consider what you want your visitors to be able to do when they visit your page.

This will assist you in deciding which landing pages you will need.

You’ll also need to consider what transactions your clients will require, and ensure the site is set up in such a way that users can easily access and complete tasks.

4.4. Build your webpage

Once you have your domain name registered and you’ve chosen a website hosting provider, you’re all set to start building your website.

Here you have 2 options:

1. Build your own custom website

2. Have a professional web developer build a website for you

You can use an online website or page-building platform to build your webpage.

These platforms generally have in-built features to make you build professional websites without needing any coding knowledge.

Systeme.io provides the following features to make website building a breeze:

Start with our pre-designed website templates and speed up the building process
Create the website you want with our simple drag-and-drop editor
Integrate your email list, payment system, and online courses
Create and add a blog, and deliver your content to your audience

Example of systeme.io’s landing page editor

Systeme.io’s funnel system builder is used to build incredible websites.

You don’t have to take our word for it — check out our testimonials and see what our users are saying.

5. How to create a sales funnel to sell your online courses

Source: Freepik.com

Many online course creators have difficulty selling their online courses.

One of the requirements for success as an online course creator is to have a quality online course.

Another requirement is that you have a clear, effective process in place to attract and enroll students in your online course.

That process is called a ‘sales funnel’.

You can use sales funnel software to build revenue-generating funnels as well as access other tools to help grow your online business.

Generally, funnel software provide a sales funnel builder that lets you set up the various components of your sales funnels:

A landing page with a sign-up form or pop-ups to encourage visitors to opt into your email list
Automated email sequences and email marketing campaigns
An eye-catching website and online store
Blogging capabilities and webinars to create content to engage your leads
An effective checkout page with a variety of payment options
Marketing automation, so you don’t have to do everything manually

It is possible to build each of these components manually, and then integrate them into an effective sales funnel, but it’ll take a lot of time and money that could be better spent on growing your business.

In our opinion, everyone should use funnel-building software.

Now that we know every successful online business should have a sales funnel, let’s take a look at how to create a sales funnel for your course.

5.1. Identify your audience and capture their attention

Source: Freepik.com

One of the most important aspects of a marketing strategy is determining who your brand’s target audience is.

Therefore, before you start marketing your brand, you must first determine your target demographic.

If you understand your target audience and their pain points, you can better develop content and target adverts with the proper marketing message for each category.

Here are 5 ways to figure out who your brand’s target customers are:

Conduct market research — Create an ideal customer profile
Understand the purchase path and pain points — Think like the customer and answer essential questions
Know your existing customers — Examine your social media and website analytics
Employ multi-segmented marketing — Include digital marketing, social media, and content creation to gain more customers
Don’t cast a net with a broad reach — Focus on finding where your customers are, and engage them in the perfect moment to hook and reel them in, rather than trying to cater to everyone all at once

5.2. Choose a digital marketing platform

Source: Freepik.com

Digital marketing platforms assist you in creating a sales funnel by building professional landing pages for your visitors.

They can also be used to design and host online courses.

The following are some of the benefits of working with a digital marketing platform:

Lower costs and higher flexibility for your marketing efforts
Access to consumers who rely on their mobile phones
The ability to speak with authority on topics related to your product or industry
A chance to engage with influencers, earn their respect and get them to endorse your company
Opportunities to incorporate multiple types of media into your marketing
The ability to track customers’ purchase journeys

5.3. Build professional landing pages

Source: Freepik.com

The first impression your potential customers get of your business comes from the landing page of your website.

Therefore, give it your all to make it look great!

Visitors should be enticed to subscribe to the website’s newsletter or join a mailing list via a decent landing page.

This step gives you important contact information, which will be your initial point of contact.

The following components should be included on your landing page:

A powerful call-to-action (CTA)
Segmented content sections
Straightforward text
Visuals
Attractive color schemes

To capture more leads you can incorporate some of the following lead magnets on your landing page:

A free demo
Audio or videos related to your topic
Quizzes
Worksheets
Templates
Printables

5.4. Create email marketing campaigns

Successful email campaigns are your finest investment, whether you’re promoting new products or looking to increase revenue.

You can send out a variety of emails to different segments of your mailing list.

You can distribute customized material at regular intervals without spamming anyone’s mailbox.

Your email campaign for a new subscriber, for example, might look something like this:

Email 1 — Welcome email with a link to free content
Email 2 — Answering a common pain point or issue
Email 3 — The story of how you overcame a similar issue
Email 4 — One of your customers’ success stories
Email 5 — Offer a discount on your product/service that solves a problem

Don’t let your email campaign go to waste once you’ve created it.

Email campaigns are an excellent way to automate a crucial aspect of your marketing and need to be kept up to date.

You can do this by:

Updating internal links if you update content
Adding accurate pricing and offers
Changing copy so that it matches your brand voice
Updating logos and images you might include

By partnering up with an email marketing platform, like systeme.io, creating and sending automated emails are a no-brainer.

5.5. Thank your customers

The final phase in the sales funnel is to maintain your momentum.

In other words, follow up with all new clients to thank them and ensure they’re satisfied with their product or service.

Offering a membership-based rewards program is an excellent way to accomplish this.

This will also help you to stay in touch with clients and provide you with the perfect opportunity to inform them about new offers or additional bonus content.

6. Selling online courses FAQs

Source: Freepik.com

6.1. How do I sell a course online?

You'll need to generate niche-specific educational content to sell courses online.

Thereafter, build a community of students by hosting your course on an all-in-one platform.

Finally, create and launch your website and sell your online courses.

6.2. How do I market my online courses?

You can use social media, podcasts, and the internet to promote your course.

Building a killer sales page and implementing email marketing are 2 of the best ways to reach your target audience and get them to purchase your online course.

6.3. What online courses are in demand?

The most in-demand online courses right now are on the following topics:

Business
Marketing
Technology
Programming
Blockchain and Crypto
Trading
Video Production
Graphic Design
Photography
Arts & Crafts
Health and Fitness
Personal Development

6.4. Is selling online courses profitable?

They are. For digital entrepreneurs, online courses are one of the most viable business strategies.

People are more than happy to pay for them, and as mentioned earlier, by 2026, the global eLearning market is expected to be worth $457.8 billion.

6.5. Can I sell my courses on multiple platforms at once?

Yes. You can post your courses in many different places, such as course marketplaces or a learning management system.

By posting your courses on multiple course platforms you reach a bigger audience and increase your chances to sell.

7. Systeme.io: The ideal platform to create, launch, and market your online course

systeme.io logo

Systeme.io is an all-in-one online course platform and is the perfect solution to create, launch, and market your online course.

With systeme.io you can:

Build your course site in minutes without technical knowledge
Easily create your website using our proven templates and simple interface
Our funnel builder makes creating a sales funnel super simple and easy to do
Save time and energy by automating your marketing
Create evergreen webinars packed with timeless resources for your online class
Use our affiliate program to promote your courses
Create high-converting content and get more traffic with blogs
Sell your online courses with our email marketing tools

7.1. How to sell online courses with systeme.io

It's never been easier to create your online course setup and pages.

You can develop a profitable course in minutes using systeme.io's simple course builder!

For an in-depth tutorial on how to create courses, click here.

Here, we’ll check out how you can sell your new online course with systeme.io’s sales funnel builder.

7.1.1. Sales funnel builder

First, you’ll need an active systeme.io account.

Thereafter, on your dashboard, you start by clicking on “Funnels”.

systeme.io’s dashboard

The next step is to click on “Create”.

systeme.io’s funnel library

You will then have 4 options to choose from:

systeme.io’s funnel options

1. Build an Audience

This is the simplest funnel structure. It includes only a squeeze page and an opt-in Thank You page.

The purpose of this funnel is primarily to build your email list.

2. Sell

A sales funnel is unique in that it comes preloaded with a customizable offer form and Thank You page.

This funnel is used to generate sales for your business.

3. Custom

The custom funnel is perfect for those who have experience building funnels, as it has a blank template, and you use it to create any kind of page that you want.

4. Run an evergreen webinar

The Webinar funnel is a specially designed, 3-page funnel that is optimized to sell your webinars.

(Webinars are only available on the Webinar and Unlimited subscriptions.)

Select any of the 4 options and move on to our templates.

You can create landing pages from scratch or customize our templates as you wish with our user-friendly drag-and-drop editor.

systeme.io’s templates

Depending on which option you select, you’ll see that some include default pages.

The “Sell” option, for example, includes an Order Form and a Thank You page.

The order form serves as the payment page for customers who are ready to buy, and the Thank You page expresses gratitude for their purchase.

To create a Sales Page, go to your sales funnel and click on "Create a step".

Creating a new step

Choose "Sales page" in the drop-down list.

Finding the sales page option

When your customers click on your call-to-action buttons, they should be taken to your order form.

Go to the Editor (the magic wand button) and configure the button and the page as you want.

Selecting the editor

To configure the button, scroll down to where you see a call-to-action button, click it, and choose “Next Step URL” from the drop-down menu.

Configuring the CTA button

Now that your page is up and running, you’ll want to add your online course to “Resources”.

Resources are all the things the customer will have access to after the purchase.

Adding resources to the order form

First, you choose which resource you would like to add; in this case, you will choose “Course”.

Thereafter, you choose the course and the access type.

There are 2 ways to give access to your courses:

1. Full access — Clients will have access to all the lectures of your different modules instantly.

2. Drip content — Clients will access your lectures progressively according to the time you have defined.

After your student’s payment on the order form has been validated, they will receive an automatic email with instructions on how to set a password to enter their course area.

It’s also a good idea to use a tag in the resources to help you distinguish your students from the rest of your contacts.

Finally, save your setup by clicking the “Save” icon.

7.2. Systeme.io pricing

systeme.io’s pricing options

Systeme.io comes with 4 plans to choose from:

Freemium — $0/month
Startup — $27/month
Webinar — $47/month
Unlimited — $97/month

The Free plan is free forever and requires no credit card details to get started.

Our other plans also scale as your business grows, offering more features like evergreen webinars and access to more of our core features.

8. Conclusion

It takes a lot of work to create and sell your online course, but it’s also a satisfying way to share your knowledge while simultaneously growing your passive income.

It requires a little more time and effort than simply selling your course on an online course marketplace.

However, the power, flexibility, and freedom you gain in promoting and shaping your online course will pay off in the long run.

Are you ready to get started with the ultimate online course platform?

With systeme.io, you can start creating and selling your online course right now!