How to Start in Online Education | Beginner Guide

David Zenler Author

Aug 22, 2026 |

Learn how to start in online education by choosing a teaching topic, validating demand, creating a simple course and building a learner-focused offer.

How to Start Teaching Online

Quick answer: To start in online education, choose a specific student problem, outline a simple course, create your first lessons, publish them on a course platform, then build a small marketing system to attract students.

So you have been teaching or you already have a skill and you want to use this to make revenue online, as well as pass down your experience to new students of the subject.
Your first question is where do I start right?

If you have no experience in creating online schools or online education in general, it can be somewhat overwhelming for you, but you do not have to worry.

Start With a Simple Course Plan

Step 1: Starting the Process
First off you have a subject right, and you probably know the type of person that will take your course correct?
So let's start there, write out a little bit of info on the PERSONA of your students, this will be your key target audience, please note this may change as you do more and more courses, but let's keep things very simple.

Here is a very basic persona below:

• NAME: Julie
• AGE: 20 -40
• GENDER: Female
• INCOME: 15K to 25K per annum
  
• EDUCATION: Degree level or experienced
• HOBBIES: Sporty and loves films and books

This simple persona (and I mean simple, as these can be very complex) can give you a sense of connection to your virtual audience, as online course creators' connection to your audience is so important, even on a subconscious level.

Step 2: Draft out the course
Now we know who we are targeting let's make a plan!

Now of course you do not know what the online system you will be using is capable of at this stage so I suggest keeping it very simple!

Let us say you are doing an "Art Site" let's start by making sure we have a "Beginner Level, course" We will not spend too much time on this, as we want to be working on the next one straight after, and doing a shorter course can stimulate you to do two things.

Create more and motivate you.

EXAMPLE

SALES PAGE
Video introduction on this course

Title: Anyone can Draw and Paint a Beginners Guide
Strap/Subtitle: Open a world of creativity and amaze your friends and family
Description: This beginners course will show you the right tools for drawing and painting and will also show you the foundational skills to draw and paint. It is easy to follow and regardless of your creativity you will be producing amazing art in no time.

SECTION 1
What you are going to need for this course
INTRO VIDEO
Lesson1: Tools for Drawing
Lesson 2: Tools for Painting
Lesson 3: Additional but not essential things

SECTION 2
Let's start drawing!
INTRO VIDEO
Lesson 1 : Looking at the hardness of pencils and preliminary practice exercises
Lesson 2: Freedom to explore out first exercise
Lesson 3: Basic perspective and key techniques
Lesson 4: The Sphere a confidence building exercise
Lesson 5: Still life fruit
Lesson 6: The room
Lesson 7 : LIVE WORKSHOP AND CRITIQUE

SECTION 3
Lets Get painting
INTRO VIDEO
Lesson 1: Looking at colour and colour charts
Lesson 2: Block coloured squares
Lesson 3: Painting the sphere
Lesson 4: Light and shade
Lesson 5: Having fun
Lesson 6 : LIVE WORKSHOP AND CRITIQUE

SECTION 4
Lets now combine drawing and painting
INTRO VIDEO
Lesson 1: Prelim sketch
Lesson 2: Base Colours
Lesson 3: Light and shade blocking
Lesson 4: Refining
Lesson 5 : LIVE WORKSHOP AND CRITIQUE

SECTION 5
Where do you go from here
Lesson 1: Where do your students go from here, A good chance to pre enrol for the next level courses!

The above example gives you clear direction, you know you need to produce videos or text for all of this as it is painting you will need video you also have LIVE SESSIONS.

You might think this is overwhelming but break it down and it becomes a simple matter of following steps, and remember when you have done it once you can just repeat it for other courses/workshops!

So now get the material together, video and text and keep it well organised in a folder.
OK, done it?
Great let's move on...

Step 3: Choosing the right platform for you

So you need a place to host and sell your course, right?

It's the single most important thing you should think of, there are lots out there to choose from and you are going to hear they are all better than the other.

I am going to let you into a big secret the best course creation platform out there is "Zenler" ok I know what you are thinking, yes but you are a Zenler team member of course you will say that!

Well I have also been doing this for decades and have used all of the leading platforms over the years, plus I am a website designer so I know my stuff.

If you want a headache-free platform that delivers all the tools you need under one roof, without needing additional subscriptions Zenler is made for you!

This is the big secret other systems don't want you to learn.

I leave it to you, but if you choose another system and come back to us don't say I did not tell you :)

You can sign up for a FREE account and try it out before upgrading - CLICK HERE TO GRAB A FREE ZENLER ACCOUNT

Once you have an account book for our FREE DEMO showing you around the platform and guiding you to helpful resources, all for FREE

TAKE THE DEMO NOW

So we have done a lot already and wasn't it easy!
As the title of this blog said it's NOT THAT HARD to have your own online school.

But let's not hang around tapping ourselves on the back we have more to do!

So hopefully you have your course and site done, do not worry it does not have to be a perfect design, just make sure you keep the site constant and follow these top tips.

1. Stick to the same FONT style throughout, and keep sizes consistent for Heading, Subtitles and Body text
2. Pick three or four colours and reuse them throughout the site
3. Make sure you have a logo

We specially created a branding course for you, it is for beginners in BRANDING AND DESIGN

Zenler has a ton of training visit tutorials.newzenler.com this should have been mentioned in the FREE DEMO as well

Step 4: Marketing
Now do not believe everything you hear that you will instantly sell your courses online why, because although you have a shiny new site and a course, NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT IT!

This is where Marketing comes in and social channels are a key ingredient, love them or hate them it will be a requirement for your success

Getting people into your site is your number ONE GOAL but not just anyone people who are interested in your niche.

Lucky for you we have a plethora of easy-to-follow tutorials, so I do not have to go into detail here!

For a breakdown of BASIC MARKETING follow this course
For a Break down of YOUTUBE MARKETING and to achieve a number one page ranking on Google take this challenge

We at Zenler are always trying to help you market your courses, we have a lot of help for you, so go to our Facebook group and ask or search our YouTube Channel, if you are stuck

I hope this article has helped you overcome your fears and shown you that it's not that hard.

Stay tuned for more amazing articles by Zenler on our Blog Site.

Related Guides

For next steps, read How to Turn Your Signature Coaching Framework Into a Course and How to Create an Online Course with AI.

FAQ

How do I start in online education?

Start by choosing a topic you can teach clearly, identifying the learner problem, validating demand, creating a focused course and publishing a simple offer.

Do I need teaching experience to start online education?

Teaching experience helps, but the key is being able to guide learners toward a useful outcome with clear explanations, structure and support.

What is the simplest online education offer to begin with?

A short course, workshop, mini course or guided cohort can be a good first offer because it lets you test demand before building a larger programme.

Categories: : Online Course Creation