Start An Online School

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Step 1: Find Your Niche and Audience

Before you dive into the technical details of building your school, you need to decide what you’re going to teach and who you’ll teach it to. This is one of the most important decisions you’ll make.

Think about your area of expertise and the type of learners you want to serve. Do you want to create courses for high school students, working professionals, or hobbyists? Are you teaching something traditional like math or history, or are you focusing on a more niche subject like coding, photography, or mindfulness?

Why does this matter?

Finding your niche helps you stand out in a crowded market and ensures you’re targeting the right audience. The more specific you are, the easier it will be to attract the right students who are passionate about what you offer. Plus, a defined niche will make marketing and course creation much more manageable.

More people than ever are looking for online courses to help them:

  • Learn new skills.
  • Reinvent themselves.
  • Escape the daily grind.
  • Educate themselves in a safe, online environment.

You create content which is:

  • Evergreen content: once they’ve created a video they can keep earning from it, and serving their audience, for years to come
  • Easy to scale: they can automate marketing and sales processes (or hire people to do them) and focuses on the creation
  • Affordable prices: the compound effect of subscriptions allows them to keep initial prices low, without compromising on their earnings
  • Passive income: they receive a payment every month someone is subscribed for no extra work
  • Easy to manage: they can update modules and lessons with minimal disruption
  • Longevity: users want to stick around for upcoming videos
  • Community: they can cultivate a community that interacts with each other and influences their future content decisions

Step 2. Craft a Solid Business Plan

Just like any business, running an online school requires a business plan. This doesn’t need to be complicated, but you’ll need to think about the basics:

  • Executive Summary
    Purpose: The Executive Summary provides an overview of your entire business plan. It should be concise but compelling, summarizing your school’s mission, vision, and business goals.
    Steps to Create:
    School Name & Description: Include your school’s name, what it will offer (courses, certifications, etc.), and the unique value proposition that makes it stand out.
    Mission Statement: Write a clear statement that encapsulates the core purpose of your online school. For example: “Our mission is to provide high-quality, accessible education in coding for professionals looking to transition into tech.”
    Vision Statement: Share the broader goal or impact your school aims to achieve in the future. For example: “To become the leading platform for career changers in tech, providing an accessible, flexible learning experience.”
    Business Objectives: Outline key short-term and long-term goals (e.g., “Achieve 1,000 students within the first year,” or “Launch three new courses in the next 18 months”).

    Business Description
    Purpose: This section provides a deeper dive into the specifics of your online school, explaining what it is, who it serves, and how it operates.
    Steps to Create:
    Business Structure: Define the legal structure of your business (e.g., sole proprietorship, LLC, partnership).
    Services Offered: Describe the courses, programs, or services you’ll offer. Include details like course content, delivery methods (e.g., video, live classes, assignments), and any certifications or credentials students will earn.
    Target Market: Identify your primary target audience. Is it high school students? Working professionals looking to upskill? Lifelong learners? Be as specific as possible.
    Market Needs: Explain why there’s a demand for your online school. Discuss trends in online education, your niche’s growth potential, and any market gaps you’re addressing.

    Market Research & Analysis
    Purpose: This section helps you understand the competitive landscape, market demand, and potential challenges. A good market analysis will also help you define your marketing and sales strategies.
    Steps to Create:
    Industry Overview: Discuss the current state of online education in your niche. How big is the industry? What are the trends (e.g., demand for remote learning, increasing interest in coding boot camps)?
    Target Market Research: Dive deeper into the specific audience you’re targeting. Provide data on their demographics, behaviors, preferences, and pain points.Example: “80% of professionals in tech prefer flexible, online learning options that they can complete on their own schedule.”
    Competitive Analysis: Identify your main competitors (other online schools or platforms) and analyze their strengths, weaknesses, pricing models, and student engagement strategies. This will help you understand where you can differentiate your school.
    Market Opportunity: Based on your analysis, identify key opportunities your school can take advantage of. For example, offering a personalized learning experience, or focusing on a niche skill that competitors aren’t addressing.

    Marketing & Sales Strategy
    Purpose: This section outlines how you will attract and retain students, as well as how you plan to grow and scale your business.
    Steps to Create:
    Branding: Define your school’s brand identity, including the name, logo, tagline, and brand voice. What emotions or messages do you want to convey to students?
    Marketing Channels: Identify the marketing strategies and channels you’ll use to reach your audience. This might include:Content Marketing (e.g., blogs, videos, and podcasts)
    Social Media Marketing (e.g., Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook)
    Email Marketing (e.g., newsletters, drip campaigns)
    SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to drive organic traffic to your website.
    Paid Advertising (e.g., Google Ads, Facebook Ads)
    Sales Funnel: Outline the steps of your sales process, from attracting leads to converting them into paying customers. For example:Step 1: Free lead magnet (e.g., free course preview or eBook)
    Step 2: Nurture sequence via email or social media
    Step 3: Offer a special discount or bonus for first-time students
    Customer Retention Strategies: Discuss how you’ll keep students engaged long-term, including:Creating a community (e.g., forums, alumni groups)
    Offering discounts for course bundles or returning students
    Sending out certificates of completion, highlighting student achievements.

    Organizational Structure & Management
    Purpose: This section explains how your online school will be run, including who will manage operations and how the team will function.
    Steps to Create:
    Ownership: Clarify who owns and runs the business. If you have co-founders or partners, mention them and their roles.
    Team Roles: Identify the key roles necessary for your school’s operation (e.g., course creators, marketing team, customer support). Outline who will perform each task and whether you’ll outsource or hire full-time staff.
    Management Team: If you have a leadership team, provide brief bios highlighting their experience and qualifications.
    Advisors: If you have industry experts or mentors advising you, mention them here.

    Course Development & Delivery Plan
    Purpose: This section focuses on how you’ll create and deliver your courses to students, from content development to course launch and updates.
    Steps to Create:
    Course Creation: Explain your process for designing, developing, and launching courses. Will you create the content yourself, or will you hire instructors? How often will you update your courses to keep them relevant?
    Course Delivery Platforms: Describe how you’ll deliver your courses to students. Will you use a Learning Management System (LMS) like Teachable or Thinkific? Will you host live sessions on platforms like Zoom?
    Course Pricing: Outline how much you’ll charge for your courses and why. Consider your audience’s ability to pay, competitor pricing, and the value you provide. You can also mention any discounts, payment plans, or subscription models you’ll offer.
    Technology Needs: Highlight the tools and technologies required for course development and delivery, such as:Video recording/editing software (Camtasia, Adobe Premiere)
    Audio recording tools (Audacity, GarageBand)
    LMS platforms (Teachable, LearnDash)
    Payment gateways (PayPal, Stripe)

    Financial Plan
    Purpose: This section outlines your financial projections, including costs, revenue, and profit forecasts. It helps potential investors or lenders assess the financial viability of your business.
    Steps to Create:
    Start-up Costs: List the costs associated with launching your online school, such as website development, LMS subscription fees, marketing campaigns, course creation tools, and any legal fees.Example: “Website development: $2,500; LMS subscription: $500/month; Marketing: $1,000 for the first 3 months.”
    Revenue Projections: Estimate how much money you expect to make over the first few years. Include:Projected number of students
    Course pricing
    Any additional revenue streams (e.g., partnerships, sponsorships, or consulting)
    Break-even Analysis: Determine when you expect to break even (i.e., when your revenue will cover your expenses). This will help you understand the financial timeline of your business.
    Ongoing Costs: List ongoing expenses such as monthly software subscriptions, staff salaries (if applicable), and marketing budgets.
    Profit and Loss Forecast: Include a 3-5 year projection of your income, costs, and profits.

    Risk Analysis & Mitigation
    Purpose: Identify potential risks and challenges your online school may face, and describe strategies for managing them.
    Steps to Create:
    Market Risks: What if there’s a change in demand for your courses or a new competitor enters the market? How will you stay competitive?
    Operational Risks: What happens if your website crashes or if you face tech issues? Have a plan for customer support and tech troubleshooting.
    Financial Risks: What if your revenue doesn’t meet expectations? Outline cost-cutting strategies or ways to secure additional funding if needed.

There are also 3 different business models you can use to monetize your online school:

  • The “night school” model: where students pay a one-time fee to access a specific course
  • The “academy” model: where students pay a subscription fee for access to a wide range of courses
  • The “combined” model: where students pay a subscription fee for access to your online school and have the option to pay for additional “premium” courses on top

The most profitable online schools use the “academy” or “combined” models. Why? Because they’re both rooted in the subscription business model, which provides a somewhat reliable monthly revenue and allows you to focus on retaining customers, instead of constantly chasing new ones. Having some sort of established online audience around the skills you want to teach before you start your own virtual school. This will make earning money and creating solid elearning content much easier in the long run!

Legal Stuff:

Don’t forget about legal and regulatory requirements. Depending on your location, you may need to register your business, get licenses, or even ensure compliance with certain educational standards.

Step 3. Select the Right Technology

Now comes the fun part—figuring out what tools and platforms you’ll need to create and deliver your courses. Here are the main categories to consider:

  • Learning Management System (LMS): This is the backbone of your online school. An LMS allows you to upload courses, manage student data, track progress, and communicate with students. Some popular options include Teachable, Thinkific, and Kajabi. If you want more customization, you can look into platforms like Moodle or LearnDash.
  • Website & Hosting: Your website will be the face of your school, so make sure it looks professional. You can create your site with WordPress, Wix, or use an all-in-one platform like Podia that also hosts your courses.
  • Payment Gateways: Integrate payment systems like Stripe or PayPal so students can easily enroll and pay for your courses.
  • Video Conferencing Tools: If you plan to offer live classes or tutoring sessions, tools like Zoom or Google Meet are essential.

Step 4. Create High-Quality Course Content

Now, let’s talk about the heart of your online school: the content. After all, you’re here to provide value to your students!

Steps for Creating Your Course:

  • Develop a Curriculum: Outline your course in a logical, structured way. Think of learning objectives, course modules, and assessments. Break things down into smaller lessons to avoid overwhelming students.
  • Record and Edit Videos: Video is a great way to engage students. Invest in a good microphone and camera for clear audio and visuals. Use tools like Camtasia or ScreenFlow for easy video editing.
  • Make Your Content Interactive: Create quizzes, worksheets, and assignments that students can download and complete. Tools like Google Forms or Quizlet can help you create interactive assessments.

Create an Online Course Outline

  1. Identify the primary learning outcome
  2. List the skills necessary for achieving the primary learning outcome
  3. Use the skill checklist to create course modules
  4. Set learning goals for your course modules

Identify the Primary Learning Outcome
Ask yourself this: “After my students complete this course, what will they have learned?” What can they demonstrate after having completed your course? What skills can they now apply? This dovetails with the above two; having chosen your topic and gauged your audience, you then have to ask, what sort of value can they derive from your course?
This helps both you and your students. For you, it’ll help with organizing your material, since you should be asking yourself at every step: Will this serve the outcome I want? Is it relevant to what they’re supposed to be learning? This is key to designing an online course, as direction and a definite endpoint are key.
For students, it’ll give them a concrete goal to work to, instead of just flailing around with new information in their heads and no purpose to put it toward. Plus, if they know how your course is going to help, they’re going to be more motivated to complete it.

Create a Skill Checklist
In order to create an effective online course outline, you need to start by determining which skills are the most crucial for your students. Here’s where the previously determined learning outcome comes in handy. If you haven’t decided on a learning outcome yet, then take a moment to think – what is the main skill you want your students to take away from your course?
Once you have set the learning outcome for your online course, continue by asking yourself the following question:
What skills are necessary for achieving the learning outcome?
Answer this question by creating a checklist. A checklist which covers ALL of the skills, knowledge and competences which the student needs to have by the end of the course.

Use the Skill Checklist to Create Course Modules
After you have created a checklist of the skills necessary for achieving your desired learning outcome, you can start making online class modules.
Continue by grouping closely related skills in the checklist together, as this will enable you to create more effective modules within your course. Also, try to avoid bloating your course with more content than is necessary. When compiling the checklist, keep asking yourself which skills are truly necessary for achieving the desired learning outcome. Then, rearrange this checklist according to the complexity of the skills. Keep the basic skills in the very beginning, and leave the advanced skills towards the end. Keep grouping closely related skills together, and what you should end up with is groups of skills which act as steps towards an end goal – the final learning outcome. Once you have done all this, you will have created a basic modular outline for your online course. Great job!

Set Learning Goals for Your Course Modules
One of the most important components of creating an online course is setting a learning goal for the course. However, there’s more to it. Every online course consists of various sections, and each individual section also needs to have a clear learning goal. Try to view sections and lessons for an online course in a similar way as you would look at modules inside a university degree. For example, a degree in Medicine might contain modules on Biology, Chemistry, Nursing – all of which have specific learning goals. Online courses should be structured in a similar way, with each section having an individual learning outcome for the student. Each course section in your online course should transform the student in some way. Some transformations will inevitably be smaller than others, but even small transformations can make or break a student’s desire to continue through with your course. Make the sections of your course progress in a natural way, with each section building on top of the previously learned materials.

Brainstorming Ideas
When struggling with creating an online course outline, try to answer the following questions:

  • What underpins your subject?
  • What’s an introductory lesson that shapes the rest of the course?
  • How do you follow up from there?
  • Where does your course end?

Think about these questions, and see how they shape each of your lesson plans. Remember to keep your end goal in mind. You need to put in just the right amount of lessons to impart the outcome you’re aiming for. Too few lessons and you end up with students who haven’t learned enough; too many, and you risk putting irrelevant info, or worse, fatiguing your students.

Online Course Outline Templates
Below is a list of some excellent online course outline templates which are available for free.

Online course outline templates:

University course outline templates: (while these outlines were not designed specifically for online courses, they can still serve as an excellent foundation to build on)

University of North Carolina at Charlotte Course Outline Template

University of New South Wales Course Outline Template​

Algonquin College Course Outline Template​

Lethbridge College Course Outline Template​

Step 5. Set Up Payment and Enrollment Systems

The easier you make it for students to enroll, the more likely you are to convert visitors into paying customers.

  • Automate the Process: Make your registration and payment process as seamless as possible. Most LMS platforms will handle this for you, automating course enrollment, payment, and confirmation emails.
  • Flexible Pricing: Consider offering tiered pricing or payment plans to make your courses more accessible. For example, you could offer a one-time payment option, a subscription, or a monthly installment plan.

6. Handle Legal and Compliance Issues

While it may seem boring, making sure your online school complies with laws and regulations is critical.

  • Privacy Policies: If you’re collecting personal information from your students (like emails, names, etc.), you need to comply with laws like GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) or CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act).
  • Terms and Conditions: Clearly outline the rules of your courses—what students can expect, what happens if they need to cancel, and how you protect your intellectual property.
  • Accreditation: Depending on your niche, you might want to get your courses accredited. While this isn’t necessary for all types of online schools, some students might want accredited certifications for career advancement.

7. Market Your School and Build Your Audience

Even the best courses will struggle without an audience. Here’s how you can start getting the word out:

  • Create a Brand: Develop a memorable name, logo, and mission for your school. This will help you stand out in a crowded online space.
  • SEO (Search Engine Optimization): Optimize your website so it shows up in search results when potential students are looking for courses in your niche. This means using relevant keywords and creating valuable blog content.
  • Social Media: Use platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn to reach potential students. Share behind-the-scenes content, sneak peeks of your courses, and success stories to build excitement.
  • Email Marketing: Collect email addresses through free resources (like eBooks, worksheets, or free mini-courses) and nurture those leads with valuable content and course promotions.

8. Launch Your Online School

Once everything is in place, it’s time for the big launch!

  • Soft Launch: Before going public, consider running a soft launch with a select group of students. This gives you the opportunity to fix any last-minute issues before the full launch.
  • Official Launch: When you’re ready to open the doors, go all in! Use email, social media, and even paid ads to spread the word about your school. Consider offering discounts or bonuses to entice people to sign up.

9. Optimize and Scale Your School

After your school is up and running, the work doesn’t stop. To ensure long-term success, it’s important to constantly optimize and scale your business.

  • Track Analytics: Monitor student progress, engagement rates, and your revenue so you can make data-driven decisions to improve.
  • Expand Your Offerings: As your school grows, consider offering new courses, hiring instructors, or even partnering with other educators or institutions to expand your reach.

Conclusion: Ready to Start Your Online School?

Starting an online school takes time, effort, and careful planning, but it’s an incredibly rewarding journey. By following the steps outlined above, you can create an educational business that helps others while providing you with a sustainable income stream.

So, what are you waiting for? Start planning your online school today, and take the first step toward building a future where you can teach, inspire, and make a real impact in people’s lives.

Example:

Free Online College Courses – 1,699+
Archaeology Courses

Architecture Courses

Art & Art History Courses

Classics Courses

Communication Courses

Demography Courses

Design Courses

Economics & Finance Courses

Education Courses

Film Courses

Food Courses

Geography Courses

Health Courses

History Courses

Writing & Journalism Courses
Note: This section lists Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). If you want to enroll in the free version of a MOOC, you will have to select the option “Full Course, No Certificate” (edX) or “Audit” (Coursera). If you want to earn credits or a certificate, you will be charged.

Language Lessons

Law Courses

Literature Courses

Linguistics Courses

Media Studies Courses

Music & Performing Arts Courses

Personal Development Courses

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Political Science, International Relations and Law Courses

Religion Courses

Sociology Courses

Urban Studies Courses

Sciences
Aeronautics Courses

Anthropology Courses

Astronomy Courses

Biology Courses

Business Courses
Note: This section lists Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). If you want to enroll in the free version of a MOOC, you will have to select the option “Full Course, No Certificate” (edX) or “Audit” (Coursera). If you want to earn credits or a certificate, you will be charged.

Chemistry Courses

Computer Science Courses

Data Science Courses
Note: This section lists Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). If you want to enroll in the free version of a MOOC, you will have to select the option “Full Course, No Certificate” (edX) or “Audit” (Coursera). If you want to earn credits or a certificate, you will be charged.

Engineering (Mechanical, Civil and Electrical) Courses

Environment & Natural Resources Courses

Math Courses

Physics Courses

Psychology & Neuroscience Courses

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