3 Platforms Teachers Can Use to Make Money with Online Courses
With so many individuals (educators or not) able to make a side hustle out of something education-based, it may bother some teachers to realize these individuals can make more money than they can in the classroom!
One great way to create a side-hustle is to make money with online courses. As a teacher myself, I highly value education. With that in mind, I also fully support a teacher’s right to develop a way to earn an income outside of education.
It’s a great way to use skills that you already have, such as teaching others, designing a curriculum, and using technology. My top recommendations for online education platforms that you can use to make money with online courses are below:
*this post contains affiliate links, please read my disclosure for more information
Teachable
Teachable is my favorite platform that allows you to create complete courses for your students. They provide users with an absolutely amazing experience. Behind the scenes, the design of Teachable is easy to understand and very user-friendly. The company is very focused on the end user’s experience and most courses are nothing like sitting in during a cheesy webinar.
The paid version of Teachable costs around $39 a month. That’s not cheap when you are just starting out. The good news is, you can host your school for free as long as you wish. Upgrading provides a few bonuses like affiliate programs and faster payouts. If you are willing to do your own marketing and wait for the money each month, the free plan works great!
Note: There are other platforms similar to Teachable that you can use to make money with online courses. These platforms are similar in cost but might have different features that you may like better. One other platform that is widely used is Thinkific.
Skillshare:
Anyone can create a course and sell it on Skillshare. You don’t have to have any special teaching skills and abilities, although that will certainly show in your delivery method. It’s always a great idea to look at courses and classes you really admire and then break them down to see what makes you like them.
The lighting? The way they video the course? The design of their slideshow?
In addition to teaching your students a unit you’re passionate about, students will constantly be working toward obtaining a skill or creating a project, ready to display at the end of the course.
If this sounds fantastic but you’re worried about taking on yet another project, you’ll be happy to know that you can work on that at your own pace. Perhaps over the summer when school’s out, you’ll find that you have more time to organizes a class in Skillshare.
There are a number of teachers who make a decent amount of money on Skillshare, but it doesn’t happen quickly. Skillshare pays a certain amount for people who visit the site through your recommendation link and then a percentage of students who sign up for your course. Driving traffic to your classes is a must with this online course structure.
Udemy:
Udemy is another online learning platform. As with Skillshare, you – the instructor – create your very own course materials. You will have to do some research and figure out how to price your courses. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) strive to offer college students free open access to learning anything their hearts desire. Udemy, however, is a platform for working individuals. The demographics of the platform you wish to use will be your bottom line, ultimately.
Through Udemy, you (as an instructor) are free to build coursework on anything you can possibly imagine. Instructors are able to upload websites, files, PowerPoints, PDFs, and so much more. Interaction on Udemy is encouraged, course users can interact with instructors through the online discussion forums, bookmark key points in videos as they learn, and contact instructors through the platform with questions.
As educators, it’s not surprising that our side hustle would involve, well, teaching. While teaching adults (and those who choose to pay for your course) is miles away from teaching children, the result will still be the same: YOU will come away from both experiences having formed new relationships that didn’t exist before.
Put your education degree and experience in the classroom to good use by marketing yourself as a certified teacher and start teaching an online course! Having a side hustle is great and using one of these platforms to make money with online courses will help you achieve your side hustle goals 🙂
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