How to Earn Money Teaching Online (2024)

If you are passionate about a topic, then you can teach it!

Teaching online is a great way to start your own business, get the freedom you need and earn money online with a relatively small investment.

So, let's see how to earn money teaching online, the benefits of teaching online and how you can get started today.

Benefits of Online Teaching

If you like the idea of choosing your working hours and building a business around your own ideas and judgment, then being an entrepreneur might suit you well, and teaching online is a relatively easy way to start a business compared to other types of ventures.

When you learn how to teach online and make money, you're becoming an entrepreneur.

Freedom is one of the benefits of online teaching: you decide how much to charge for your courses, what to teach, and when to share your lessons.

Also, teaching online allows you to be really creative. Lots of online learners want fresh, new information. You get to tap into your own personality, background, and style in everything you create for your course.

Another very important benefit is that when you teach online, you give lots of value to your customers. As an entrepreneur, you're making something that helps other people solve a problem, improve their situation, learn something new, and potentially change their lives!

Plus, there is the potential to create leveraged income. You might spend a lot of time creating your online course, but once it is ready, you can sell it over and over again without doing any more work (except helping your customers). This is what leveraged income means when you stop trading your time for money.

Compared to other business models, teaching online requires a relatively small investment and very little cost. Check out all the benefits of creating online courses compared to other online

business models: The Benefits of Selling Online Courses vs Other Ways to Make Money Online

3 Different Ways to Teach Online

It's important to mention that the world of online teaching is a very large one, and there are many different business models and ways to teach online that you can try.

Here we will discuss the three main ways that people use to strat teaching online, and you will learn how they work as well as their pros and cons.

#1: Sell Online Courses (Build Your Own Online Course Business)

Creating your own online course means developing and offering educational content on a topic of your expertise through a dedicated website or platform.

This approach grants you full control over content, branding, pricing, and business model.

As an online course creator, you create educational programs around a specific topic and niche, and sell them to your audience. An online course is a collection of lessons, videos and resources that aims to bring a student from point A to B, help them solve a critical problem, learn a new skill or reach a transformation.

To create your own online courses, you'll need online course creation software, like Heights Platform that empowers you to craft a tailored learning experience and build all the aspects of your online knowledge business.

In this way of teaching online, you are the owner of your business. So it is up to you to build all the resources you need to succeed, handle marketing, and finance, manage your customers and more.

By creating your entire online course business, you maintain ownership of your content and revenue, allowing you to build your brand and engage directly with students. With this model, you keep 100% of earnings, avoiding marketplace commissions.

Learn more about this: How to Sell Online Courses From Your Own Website

You get the freedom to tailor your business model as you see fit, offering single courses, memberships, or bundles. While marketing requires more effort initially, there is a higher potential for business growth and scalability in the future!

Pro of Selling Online Courses on Your Own Website

• No limit on how much money you can earn
• Everything you earn is yours to keep (if you use a platform like Heights Platform)
• Freedom to structure your course the way you like
• No certification or degree is required
• You build a business that is scalable in the future
• You provide value to your customers

Cons of Selling Online Courses on Your Own Website

• You need to handle the marketing and promotion
• You need to put in work upfront to create the course

#2: Sell Online Courses Through a Marketplace

Selling courses through a marketplace means using platforms like Udemy or Skillshare.

These sites have pre-existing customer bases and handle marketing, potentially providing quick access to a broader audience.

However, marketplaces generally charge high commissions on sales, limit your pricing flexibility, and don't allow for personalized branding. Plus, you are not in control of your customers and you lack detailed insights into student interactions and lose control over business decisions.

Marketplaces streamline initial marketing but restrict your control over branding, pricing, and revenue.

Learn more about this: Online Course Software vs Marketplace: Which is Better for Your Business?

Pros of Selling Online Courses Through a Marketplace

• Marketing is done for you
• You do not have to actively look for students

Cons of Selling Online Courses Through a Marketplace

• You cannot control how much to price your online course
• The marketplace takes a big part of your earnings (as high as 75%, and at some times even more...)
• You may no longer own your content, and cannot get in touch with your customers
• You cannot use your own branding and have your own site

#3: Become an Online Tutor

Another way to teach online and make money is through tutoring. This is very different from the two models described above of creating courses and selling them on your website or through a marketplace.

When you become an online tutor, you do not start your own business. Instead, you are a teacher for a bigger organization, and you provide your expertise to their clients through live online classes (for example, you could teach English online). It is like a job; you still trade your time for money.

Most online tutors teach online classes on more traditional educational topics, or they help kids in school with their homework or assist people with their language skills. Preply is an example of a platform where you can apply to teach online.

Pros of Online Tutoring

• Easy to get started
• You are not in charge of marketing, pricing, finding students etc...
• Flexible work hours

Cons of Online Tutoring

• You are trading your time for money
• It is not your own business, so you have no freedom or control over your pricing or earnings
• Very competitive industry
• Relatively low pay and less potential for future growth
• University or college degree, or other certifications may be required
• Hard to find consistent work

How Much Can You Earn Teaching Online?

Becoming an online teacher is a way to earn money online, but how much you earn depends on different things. These include how many people want to learn from your course, how much you charge for it, how you tell people about it, how many students sign up, and more.

As we have seen before, there are many different types of online teachers and different business models you can choose from.

The one that offers the most earning potential is to create and sell online courses from your own website.

Some online course creators do really well and earn a substantial amount, even in the tens of thousands of dollars every month. Others who are just starting might only make a few hundred dollars a month, or nothing at all for the first couple of months.

How much money you earn selling courses also depends on how the course fits into your overall business.

For example, if making courses is something you do on the side, you might make around $5,000 to $25,000 a year.

If it's part of your business but not the main thing, you could make between $40,000 and $120,000.

And if your main focus is making and selling courses, and you become one of the top in the field, you could make anywhere from $40,000 to millions of dollars each year.

But remember, there's no guarantee how much you'll earn. It completely depends on what you're teaching, who wants to learn it, and how you let them know about it. While the burden of this responsibility is on you, if you dream of starting a business, the beauty is the potential you have is not limited by an hourly rate.

Because a business like this allows you to leverage your expertise as you become more established, it can also allow you to achieve greater freedom in how you spend your time day to day.

We believe that the money you make is all about how much value you give to your customers.

So, if you focus on making your course super helpful and valuable, you're more likely to do well and earn more over time.

Oh, and keep in mind that making an online course takes time and work. It's not right for everyone, so before you start, think about what you want to achieve and what you have to work with.

While we believe there is so much potential in online course businesses, we want to be absolutely clear that we aren't guaranteeing you'll earn a specific amount, or anything at all simply by starting an online course business (and no one else should be guaranteeing you that either). Starting a business is a big decision, but if you do it and what you accomplish with it depends on many factors.

How to Make Money Teaching Online (Step By Step)

So, are you interested in the world of online learning? That is great. Let's see what are the steps to start teaching online through online courses.

Remember when we outlined all the different ways of online teaching? Below, we will focus on the first one: creating courses through your own website.

Step 1: Choose Your Course Topic

Selecting a topic for your online course is a critical first step. Consider what you're passionate about and knowledgeable about.

This niche will be the foundation for your entire teaching journey.

It's essential to focus on a subject that not only resonates with you but also has demand in the market.

Whether it's photography techniques, cooking skills, programming languages, or personal development, make sure your chosen topic aligns with your expertise and interests.

Step 2: Build Your Audience

Your course's success depends on having a strong audience base. You can start building an audience even before you even start creating your course. This way, by the time it is finished, you won't have a hard time selling it!

Marketing your course is essential to attract potential students. Blogging about your subject can establish you as an authority and attract organic traffic. Building an email list allows you to directly reach interested individuals and keep them updated about your courses.

Active participation on social media platforms can help you connect with potential students and showcase your expertise.

Step 3: Create Your Heights Platform Account

To create an awesome course, you need an awesome course platform.

Heights Platform has everything online teachers need to develop highly engaging learning programs, sell them and make money teaching online.

Create your Heights Platform free trial and see it for yourself!

Step 4: Create the Course Material

Creating a great course involves careful planning and organization.

First, outline your lessons and create resources in advance to provide a clear roadmap for your students.

You can use various teaching mediums such as text, video lectures, live webinars, podcasts, and interactive assignments to cater to different learning styles.

This diversity keeps the course engaging and dynamic, helping students grasp the material more effectively.

Step 5: Market and Sell

Promoting and selling your course requires an ongoing effort. Engaging with your audience online through social media interaction, blog posts, and responding to queries is critical.

Consider hosting webinars or collaborating with industry professionals to expand your reach.

Encourage your students to leave reviews and testimonials to build credibility and attract more students.

Remember that effective marketing doesn't mean you have to be a professional marketer; consistency and genuine interaction go a long way.

For more inspiration on marketing ideas, check out this article from our blog: A Complete Guide on How to Promote Your Online Course and Boost Sales

Start Teaching Online Today

If you're passionate about a subject, teaching it online offers a path to entrepreneurial success.

Online teaching provides the freedom to set your own schedule, create valuable content, and earn money with a small investment.

Its many benefits include flexibility, creative expression, and the potential for leveraged income.

While there are various ways to teach online, the three main approaches—selling courses on your own website, using marketplaces, and becoming an online tutor—offer different advantages and challenges.

Our favorite way of online teaching is by starting your own business selling courses.

Ready to take the next step towards building your successful online teaching business?

Start your free Heights Platform trial today!

Our all-in-one platform empowers you to create engaging courses, connect with your audience, and generate income online.

Whether you're an expert in your field or eager to share your knowledge, Heights Platform provides the tools and support you need to turn your passion into profit!