How to Create and Sell an Online Course in 2026
The online education market exceeds $2 billion in France alone. Here's how to create your own course, sell it, and reach $5,000/month in semi-passive income.
Choose a topic that sells
The golden rule: your course must solve a painful and urgent problem. The topics that work best in 2026:
- Side income / career change
- AI and automation (selling AI services, building agents)
- SEO and digital marketing for independents
- Real estate and investing
- E-commerce and dropshipping
- Languages and professional skills
Validate your idea before creating the content: talk to 10 people in your target audience, set up a waitlist, sell "early access" before you've even filmed anything.
Structure your course
Proven structure for a results-oriented course:
- Module 0: Welcome + mindset + what we'll accomplish
- Modules 1-3: Foundations (theory + key concepts)
- Modules 4-6: Implementation (concrete steps)
- Modules 7-8: Optimization and scaling
- Module 9: Resources, templates, community
Ideal duration: 4 to 8 hours of video content. Beyond that, completion rates drop significantly.
Choose your platform
- Systeme.io (free up to 2,000 contacts): funnel + email + course all-in-one, ideal for getting started
- Podia ($39/month): simple, clean, good support
- Teachable ($59/month): more comprehensive, advanced analytics
- Kajabi ($149/month): premium all-in-one solution
Recommendation: start with Systeme.io, migrate to Teachable or Kajabi once you've validated your offer.
Pricing: how much to charge?
- Under $100: impulse purchase, little support, thin margins — hard to make profitable
- $297-$497: market sweet spot, good volume/margin ratio
- $997-$1,997: includes coaching, community, guaranteed results
- $3,000+: premium coaching program, direct access, contractual results
Our recommendation: start at $497 with lifetime access + community + templates.
The sales funnel that converts
- Free lead magnet (PDF, mini-course, checklist)
- 5-7 day nurturing email sequence
- Long-form sales page with social proof
- 30-45 minute webinar or VSL
- Time-limited or quantity-limited offer
Our Master Seller Academy course shows you how to build this funnel from A to Z specifically for AI services.
Reaching $5,000/month
Realistic scenario over 90 days:
- Course at $497 + 500 visitors/month on the sales page
- Sales page conversion rate: 2-3% = 10-15 sales/month
- Monthly revenue: $4,970-$7,455
🎓 Want to sell someone else's course?
Rather than creating your own, become a reseller of our training and earn 30-40% commission. Zero content creation required.
See the reseller program →