How to Use AI to Create & Sell Online Courses
Introduction: AI Course Creation
Vivid curiosity sparked within me as I stumbled upon a dazzling statistic: a single course on Udemy boasting over 1.3 million sales, with another soaring past 1.8 million, all crafted using AI to create online courses. Assuming each sold at a modest $19, the numbers swirl into a staggering $34 million in revenue, sliced by a 50% commission to Udemy, leaving the creator with roughly $17 million from just one digital product. My mind races at the sheer brilliance of this: a creation made once, sold infinitely, weaving a tapestry of passive income stretching across years. Unlike physical goods—tangled in the chaos of suppliers, manufacturing, and shipping—digital courses glide effortlessly through automation, a sleek machine humming with potential. The allure of this world gripped me, and I realized anyone could claim a slice of this lucrative pie using AI tools, no matter their starting point. Doubt might whisper that such earnings are rare, an outlier in a sea of mediocrity, but even a fraction of that success promises a constellation of stars worth reaching for. With the online course industry exploding and AI evolving to shoulder the heavy lifting, I’m here to guide you through this golden opportunity as an observer who’s seen it unfold firsthand. What follows are two potent methods—one manual, one AI-driven—to craft and sell courses that could transform your financial horizon.
We strongly recommend that you check out our guide on how to take advantage of AI in today’s passive income economy.
Table of Contents
AI Course Creation: The Manual Method
Stepping into the bustling marketplace of online education, I observed the first method unfold with a meticulous rhythm, rooted in research as its cornerstone. The journey begins on platforms like Udemy, a sprawling digital bazaar brimming with courses across every imaginable niche, akin to an Amazon for learning. Navigating its homepage reveals a treasure trove: broad course sections and top categories, each pulsating with the platform’s best-sellers, handpicked by an algorithm favoring high performers. I watched as the process demanded a deep dive—scrolling through trending topics, clicking into popular courses to unearth their secrets. Feedback, reviews, and course outlines spilled forth like clues, painting a vivid picture of what captivates learners and what leaves them wanting more. The comments section became a goldmine, revealing gaps and flaws ripe for improvement, a chance to sculpt a course that shines brighter than its predecessors.
This manual path then shifts to crafting a content outline, a blueprint weaving together the strengths of top courses with the missing pieces learners crave. I saw how one could streamline this by purchasing a competitor’s course, transcribing its videos with tools like Descript, and feeding the text into ChatGPT to birth original scripts—each sentence carefully reshaped to avoid imitation. These scripts, polished and fact-checked, morph into audio through AI text-to-speech wonders like ElevenLabs, conjuring voices so human they could fool a crowd. The visuals followed, assembled with tools like Canva for classic slides or Pictory for dynamic video blends, tailored to the niche’s pulse. I marveled at the flexibility: some choose the old-school charm of recording themselves, lending a human touch deemed more valuable, while others lean fully into AI’s faceless efficiency.
Delivering this creation requires a platform, and I observed two roads diverge. Uploading to Udemy offers automation and a vast audience, but at a steep cost—50% of earnings vanish, and your course jostles against the very giants you’ve studied, risking obscurity if reviews falter. Alternatively, self-hosting on a tool like LearnWorlds grants full profits and control, especially potent if you wield a traffic source like a YouTube channel. I saw how this manual method, though time-intensive, lays a foundation of understanding, a sturdy scaffold for anyone eager to harness AI to create online courses with precision.
Online Education AI: The Automated Approach
Transitioning to the second method, I witnessed AI take the reins with breathtaking finesse, amplifying every step with tools like Eureka—an innovation that feels like a personal research assistant on steroids. This marvel scours course platforms, unearthing niches and topics en masse, then calculates their potential with surgical precision. Entering a keyword like “weight loss” unleashes a cascade of data: hundreds of courses ranked by sales, average price, and an opportunity score blending enrollments and profit likelihood. I stood in awe as Eureka’s interface revealed best-sellers and high-rated gems through filter tabs, each course a window into length, earnings, and learner feedback.
Clicking deeper, I saw Eureka’s AI Gap Analysis illuminate what’s missing—hypnosis, fasting, mini habits—sub-niches I’d never have conjured alone, sparking ideas for a hybrid course poised to dominate. The tool’s Lesson Architect then unfurls, a ChatGPT-powered maestro organizing scripts and lesson plans with elegance, far surpassing standalone AI writing tools in structure and clarity. I observed how this slashes months of toil into mere hours, leaving only the creation of faceless videos—crafted with AI or outsourced—and the upload to Udemy or LearnWorlds. The brilliance of online education AI lies in its speed, turning daunting research and planning into a swift, guided dance.
Yet, a whisper of wisdom lingered from my observations: effort amplifies reward. While AI can churn out courses with ease, I noticed that the most enduring successes—those with low refunds and lasting income—stem from creators who polish their work beyond the bare minimum. Eureka may accelerate the process, but the human touch in refining its output ensures a course that truly delivers, a lesson in balancing automation with care.
AI-Powered Teaching: Tools and Techniques
Peering into the toolbox of AI-powered teaching, I saw a symphony of innovation harmonizing to bring courses to life. ChatGPT stands as a scribe, rewriting transcripts into fresh scripts, though I noted its limits—six-minute chunks demand segmentation for longer lessons, a quirk improving with time. ElevenLabs then breathes humanity into these words, its voices so lifelike they rival a seasoned narrator, a stark contrast to the robotic tones of alternatives like HeyGen, which I found less convincing for learners wary of AI instructors.
Visuals emerge as the next frontier, and I observed Canva’s simplicity crafting slide decks—clean, professional, timeless—while Pictory weaves videos and images into captivating narratives, all guided by ChatGPT’s slide suggestions. Descript ties it together, editing and syncing with ease, a testament to how AI to create online courses melds creativity and technology. I saw creators weigh their options: some embrace these tools for faceless efficiency, others step before the camera, their presence a premium signal of value. Each choice shapes the course’s soul, a reflection of brand and audience.
AI E-Learning Tools: Choosing the Right Platform
The final act—delivery—unfolds with a critical choice, and I watched as platforms dictate destiny. Udemy’s allure lies in its reach, a bustling marketplace handling marketing and sales, yet its 50% cut and fierce competition cast shadows. I saw how a standout course, blending two niches or filling gaps, could thrive here, but a few sour reviews might bury it in the algorithm’s depths. LearnWorlds, conversely, offers autonomy—100% profits, multiple courses under one roof, a haven for those with established traffic like a YouTube following. I marveled at its simplicity, a canvas for building schools tailored to diverse niches.
The decision hinges on strategy, and I observed that AI e-learning tools empower both paths. Udemy suits the hands-off creator betting on volume, while LearnWorlds rewards the hands-on visionary crafting a legacy. Each platform, paired with AI to create online courses, unlocks a world where automation meets ambition, a balance of effort and reward.
Course Monetization: Maximizing Your Earnings
Reflecting on the journey, I saw course monetization emerge as the ultimate prize, a realm where AI’s efficiency meets human ingenuity. The Udemy creator netting $17 million exemplifies the pinnacle—millions of sales from a single course, a passive empire built on digital soil. Yet, I noted smaller victories: thousands monthly from well-targeted courses, proof that niche precision trumps sheer volume. Self-hosting amplifies this, retaining every dollar, a model I observed thriving with tools like LearnWorlds and a loyal audience.
AI to create online courses slashes the investment—time and money—that once loomed large, as I saw with courses taking months reduced to weeks or days. The key, I learned, lies in execution: a course blending AI’s speed with human refinement outlasts quick cash grabs, earning trust and longevity. Whether aiming for the moon or the stars, this fusion of technology and strategy promises a future where anyone can teach, sell, and prosper.
Conclusion: Your Path Forward
Standing at this crossroads, I see a landscape transformed by AI to create online courses—a revolution democratizing education and wealth. The manual method offers control, a hands-on mastery of the craft, while the AI-driven path with tools like Eureka accelerates success with uncanny insight. Both, I’ve observed, wield the power to reshape lives, turning ideas into income with tools like ChatGPT, ElevenLabs, and LearnWorlds. The choice is yours, but the opportunity gleams undeniable: a world where teaching meets technology, and passive income flows from a single, brilliant creation.
We strongly recommend that you check out our guide on how to take advantage of AI in today’s passive income economy.
