Job Discussion Forums

[Teacher in Rome]

How many of us are active in writing and selling courses online - either for a niche or for a wider ESL audience?

I developed an online business writing course a few years ago, but although I think the idea and contents were good, I had no idea about marketing and selling it - so it didn't do as well as it could have.

But now, with dedicated online course platforms and a huge amount of information available regarding marketing and selling, I was wondering how many other teachers are actively pursuing this as a potential income stream.

This forum could also be a good place to exchange ideas and best practice, so depending on the results of the poll, perhaps we could support each other!

[nomad soul]

[Teacher in Rome]

I don't think anyone would ever want to design their own online course if they felt they had to go through so many layers and processes as you outline. I was thinking about much smaller and shorter courses in scope, where you address a particular need or problem and put up lessons (in various formats - text / audio / video, etc) for students - not for other teachers to teach.

Quite a few teachers have their own YT channels, so know at least the basics of editing. Many record using their own phones, too.

The course I developed a few years ago was before the advent of MOOCs, by the way. I got some nice feedback from my students, but in terms of development time, it was definitely not profitable. From what I've seen of other course platforms (Udemy / Teachable, etc) it's a lot easier and quicker to put learning materials online nowadays.