Create and Sell an Online Course
A complete workflow for planning, recording, editing, and launching an online course. From outline to first sale in about a week.
Steps
- 1
Validate and Outline Your Course
Survey your audience (or research your niche) to validate demand for your course topic. Create a detailed course outline with 4-6 modules, each containing 3-5 lessons. Define the transformation: what will students be able to do after completing the course that they cannot do now? Write a one-sentence promise for each module.
- 2
Set Up Your Course on Kajabi
Create your course product in Kajabi using one of the Product Blueprint templates. Set up your module and lesson structure according to your outline. Configure drip scheduling if you want to release content gradually. Set your pricing, and consider offering a launch discount and an installment payment option.
Learn more about Kajabi4.6 - 3
Record Your Course Content
Record your lessons in batches, aiming for 3-5 lessons per recording session. Keep individual lessons between 5-15 minutes for optimal student engagement. Use screen recordings for tutorials, talking-head videos for conceptual lessons, and slides for frameworks. Record more than you need, because you can always cut, but re-recording is painful.
- 4
Edit Videos with Descript
Import your recordings into Descript and use text-based editing to clean them up. Remove filler words automatically, cut tangential sections, and tighten your delivery. Use Studio Sound to normalize audio quality across all lessons. Export each lesson as an individual video file, then upload to Kajabi.
Learn more about Descript4.6 - 5
Build Your Sales Page and Email Sequences
Use Kajabi's Pipeline feature to create a complete launch funnel: a sales page, a checkout page, and post-purchase email sequences. Write compelling sales copy that focuses on the transformation, not the features. Include testimonials if you have them, a detailed curriculum breakdown, and a clear money-back guarantee.
Learn more about Kajabi4.6 - 6
Set Up an Affiliate Program for Students
Use SparkLoop to create an affiliate program that turns satisfied students into promoters. Offer a 20-30% commission on referred sales. Provide affiliates with swipe copy, social media assets, and tracking links. Announce the affiliate program in your post-purchase email sequence and inside the course community.
Learn more about SparkLoop4.4
The Course Creator Opportunity
Online courses are one of the highest-leverage products a creator can build. You create the content once and sell it indefinitely. The best part: you do not need a massive audience to generate meaningful revenue. A focused course solving a specific problem can generate six figures with fewer than 5,000 email subscribers.
Planning Before Production
The biggest mistake new course creators make is jumping straight into recording. Spend the first two days on planning: validate your topic, outline your curriculum, and define your transformation. A great course takes someone from Point A (their current problem) to Point B (the outcome they want) through a clear sequence of steps.
The Production Workflow
We use Kajabi for course hosting and sales, and Descript for video editing. This combination gives you a professional course platform with minimal editing friction. You do not need a studio. A quiet room, decent lighting, and a good microphone are enough to produce content that sells.
Launch Strategy
Do not just publish and pray. A successful course launch involves a pre-launch email sequence, a limited-time enrollment window, and follow-up sequences for both buyers and non-buyers. SparkLoop can turn your students into affiliates, creating a word-of-mouth engine for future enrollments.
After the Launch
Your course launch is not a one-time event. Plan for ongoing updates to the content, student Q&A sessions, and iterative improvements based on feedback. The best courses are living products that get better over time.