Software Developers: Create and Sell Your Own Online Courses

I often receive queries about whether programmers should create an alternative source of income, or perhaps create their own blog or website.

Both are very important questions, and there was a time when I would have advised programmers to create their own blog, not just to learn and improve their understanding of the technology they know, but also to earn money while doing the things they love.

But, times have changed.

21 Websites to Learn Coding/Programming for Free Online

Now I advise programmers to create and sell online courses on Teachable, Udemy, or any other platforms. The reasons are still the same; you learn and earn, but the method has been changed. A blog is still a good way to establish yourself online, but it requires a lot more effort and time to earn something meaningful. 

On the other hand, an online course will create an alternative source of income very quickly. I know many people who are making a decent income by creating and selling an online course, like my dear friend Eugen Paraschiv, whose Spring Courses have helped many of you to learn Spring Framework better in the past.

In short, creating and selling online courses are fantastic ways for a programmer to earn money online, learn something valuable, and make an impact on people's lives. You, of course, need a bit of passion for teaching, but most of the programmers are generally good at that because of the constant mentoring and training they do on the job.

Now, some of you might be thinking about why I have not created an online course yet. Well, I did research a lot about process and equipment, like which USB microphone to buy and which platform to join, but somehow I didn't get enough time to prepare the course I wanted to teach.

(If you guys would love to see me create an online course on Java or any other topic, let me know in the comments and that would probably help me to launch a course soon.)

But this post is not about me; I want all of my readers who are interested in creating an alternative income stream and have a passion for teaching to create their own online courses.

Maybe you’re especially knowledgeable about a topic like Java or Python or algorithms. This is a great place to start. The best part of this strategy is that once you do the initial work of creating the course, you continue to get paid for each new student that enrolls.

Choose a platform for your online course

Teachable and Udemy are two of my favorite platforms because they’re both intuitive and user-friendly. With Teachable, you have more control over your pricing and the look and feel of your course, but you don’t get a built-in audience, which is one of the most important things for the success of your course.

Instead, you have to do all the marketing yourself. Teachable does, however, provide a lot of guidance and tried-and-true email templates, which can help you a lot.

On the other hand, Udemy has a built-in base of students, but you don’t have as much control and they take most of your revenue because they are selling your course. 

I personally recommend Udemy if you are starting fresh and don't have an online presence, but I'd go with Teachable if you have a blog and an online following.

How to create an online course

Well, creating a course couldn't be easier these days. You can create one almost free of cost; all you need is an email address, time, knowledge, and the passion to do the teaching.

Both Udemy and Teachable allows you to create your course and provides a lot of tools to upload your content, like course videos, audio, presentations, images, and text.

Teachable also allows you to customize your school with your brand, colors, logos, etc. They also run Teachable Creator Challenges, where you get to meet successful online course creators and learn from the strategies they have adopted. They also guide you in every step, like creating an outline of your course, filming, editing, launch, and delivery.

Here is a screenshot from the Teachable website, which roughly outlines what you need to do to create a successful online course for free:

This is such an awesome thing that I can't recommend enough. It's a win-win situation for everyone involved: You get money for teaching, but you also improve your programming skills and learn new ones like creating videos and doing online business. Students learn from your real-life experience and set themselves up for success in their careers.