Digital Products

Building Online Courses

Turn what you know into an online course people can buy, without spending a fortune on equipment or waiting until everything feels perfect.

I'll walk you through the process I've used to create hundreds of courses, from finding a topic with real potential to recording, editing, publishing, and getting your course ready to sell.

See What You'll Learn

Purchase this course for $49, or get it with every current and future course in the Elder Academy Total Membership.

Building Online Courses course
Choose A Course That Can Sell Evaluate your ideas, research real demand, and choose a subject worth building around.
Create On A Sensible Budget Know what equipment matters, what can wait, and how to begin with tools you may already own.
Record With Confidence Plan focused lessons, get comfortable on camera, and keep moving when a take isn't perfect.
Publish Your Course Edit your lessons, compare hosting options, and get your finished course online and ready to sell.

From Knowledge To Product

You don't need a television studio. You need a useful idea and a process that gets it finished.

Creating an online course can turn your experience, skill, or interest into a product you can sell again and again. The hard part is knowing what to teach, how much to invest, and how to move from an idea to something real.

This course gives you a practical path through those decisions. You'll learn how I research topics, structure lessons, choose equipment, record and edit efficiently, and select a platform for publishing and selling.

Need help choosing your setup? The Elder Academy course creation gear guide organizes my equipment recommendations by budget.

  • Find course ideas in your existing knowledge, interests, and market demand.
  • Research whether people are already watching and paying for the subject.
  • Prioritize audio, lighting, and camera upgrades in the right order.
  • Record and edit with capable software that doesn't require a large upfront investment.
  • Structure clear, focused lessons that are easier to create and easier to learn from.
  • Compare course platforms and prepare your course to be published and sold.

Inside The Course

Build your course one practical decision at a time

Go from choosing the right subject to recording useful lessons and putting the finished course online.

01

Choose And Validate Your Topic

Start with what you know or begin with market demand, then research whether people are watching, buying, and looking for a better course.

02

Build A Setup That Fits Your Budget

Understand what matters most in microphones, lighting, cameras, backgrounds, and recording software so you can start without overspending.

03

Plan Lessons People Can Follow

Organize your material into focused videos with a repeatable teaching structure that keeps both you and your students on track.

04

Record, Edit, And Keep Moving

Get comfortable speaking on camera, work through imperfect takes, and edit your lessons without letting perfection stall the entire course.

05

Host And Publish Your Course

Review popular hosting options, understand the tradeoffs, and choose a practical home where students can buy and access your course.

This Is For You

You have something worth teaching, but you're not sure how to turn it into a finished product.

You want a clear way to choose the topic, set up the equipment, record the lessons, and publish the course without wasting months or buying everything at once.

The Outcome

A realistic plan for creating and publishing a course of your own.

You will leave knowing how to validate your idea, build a sensible setup, create focused lessons, work through the awkward first recordings, and get the course out into the world.

Your Instructor

Learn from someone who's created hundreds of online courses.

I'm John Elder. I've spent more than 15 years creating online courses, built more than 70 coding courses for Codemy.com, published nearly 100 courses on Udemy, and taught more than 20 million people around the world.

I've also produced more than 1,000 teaching videos for YouTube and made millions of dollars selling online education. This course is the practical advice I wish someone had given me when I started: use what you have, focus on what matters, and get your first course published.

John Elder, founder of Elder Academy

Choose this course.
Or get everything.

Purchase Building Online Courses for $49, or get every current and future Elder Academy course with the Total Membership.