Many people never create their course because they think it’s too hard or too expensive. And get paralysed due to overcomplicating things. So I’m here to simplify the process by sharing the 7 tools you need to launch your course.
**This post may contain affiliate links. The services I share are the services I personally use and honestly recommend to anyone. No extra costs are incurred for you; the referral commission simply contributes to bringing you valuable content.
If you’re in the process of creating your first course the key is to keep things simple. Instead of trying to go for high production value, focus on creating good quality content. Once you get comfortable with your delivery and have a bigger budget then over time you can go for more advanced course delivery techniques.
But if you’re just starting out no-one expects elaborately edited videos with your face on camera the entire time.
I’ve bought many courses in my time and 90% of them are just delivered with voiceovers on slides. Even the big timers do this so there’s no need to overcomplicate the process when you’re just starting out.
Ok, so in honour of keeping things simple, let’s talk about…
7 Tools You Need to Launch Your Course
Now I’m going to assume you have a computer (or laptop) because that’s the first thing you’ll need.
Ok, now that we’ve got the super obvious one out of the way let’s move into the actual 7 tools you need to launch your course.
1. Slides
Once you’ve finished all your brainstorming and are ready to start putting your course together. The first thing you’ll need is a program to create your slides in.
If you’re on a Mac you could use Keynote and PC you could use Powerpoint.
What you use here comes down to personal preference. They’re all very much the same. I personally prefer to use Google Slides.
I used to have issues with Keynote freezing and losing my work, or running out of storage space. With Google Slides I never have to worry about that stuff because it auto saves and I have a lot of space on my Google drive.
2. Recording
Once you’re happy with all your slides the next thing you’ll need to do is record your content. You’ll need to use a program that allows you to record your screen and your voice at the same time.
The program I have always used for this is Screencastomatic. It allows you to record your screen with your voiceover. If you wish you can also have your face on the screen while recording. I used to do this but I’ve found sometimes the camera ends up covering an important part of the slides or it becomes distracting watching my gestures.
So now I just record my voice without my face showing so it’s less distracting and students can focus on the important content being delivered.
Once you’ve finished recording you can then login to the dashboard and edit your video. So if you need to cut bits, include extra bits, add effects, adjust the audio etc. you can do all of this straight inside the software.
Alternatives you can use are Camtasia or Screenflow. I personally haven’t used these but they are recommended by many course creators.
Side note…
If you want to record some straight to camera portions you can simply do this using your iPhone.
Remember if it’s your first course, the key is to create great quality content that gets people results. Once you’re reaching your income goals and getting lots of high quality testimonials from people who have had great success from working with you. Then you can consider upping your game.
Even Amy Porterfield said her most recent course is the first time doing all face to face recordings. And that’s after 9 successful courses and $15 million in revenue so there’s no need to overcomplicate things when starting out.
3. Graphics
There’s going to be many sections within your course that require graphics. Some examples of where you will need to use graphics within your course include:
- On your slides
- Inside your member area – thumbnails for the videos etc.
- Any PDF workbooks you need to create to accompany your lessons
- Sales pages
- Social media posts (course launch assets)
Canva is my favourite design platform. Using this tool you can easily create your own beautiful, on brand course assets.
4. Hosting
Once you’ve finished recording all your content you’re going to need somewhere to actually host your course. If you’re good with websites there’s WordPress plugins you can get to host your course yourself.
But if you want to keep things simple there are many great platforms out there designed specifically for hosting courses.
Most of the bigger name course creators will swear by Kajabi. Because it’s super user friendly and a one stop shop. However they still won’t use a lot of the features offered by Kajabi so it may not be necessary to go for this platform.
For example, whilst they do have landing pages & emails, if you have email lists for other purposes it makes more sense to keep your course email list in your normal service provider as well. I used Kajabi to create a membership site for my previous boss. Whilst it was great for housing the course content I found the landing pages aren’t as customisable as I would’ve like them to be and the email automations can be tricky to set up.
For my own course I’m currently using Teachable as a lot of the course creators I look up to also use this. And I find this to be just as comparable to Kajabi for a fraction of the cost. Since I already have my own email platform and use another program for my sales funnels I don’t need all the extra bells and whistles. So it made sense to me to use Teachable.
Plus it’s easier to set up an affiliate program with them if you wanted to be able to have your students promote your course as well.
5. Emailing
The next thing you’ll need is an email service provider. First you’ll need it to build your email list and connect with leads and potential clients.
You can start growing your email list by creating some free resources based around the content you are teaching within your course. This way you generate buzz and excitement about the topic.
You’ll also need your email service provider to be able to integrate with your course hosting platform so you can communicate with your students once they sign up.
As I mentioned before, some course platforms will allow you to build your email list within it, but if you’re like me and prefer to maintain your email list separately, then I recommend GetResponse as a great platform.
I have been using this service for my entire time online and have always received great support and been very happy with their features. You can test the platform on a free trial right here.
6. Sales Pages
It’s all well and good to create a great course. But if you want to be able to help people and generate an income, you’re going to need people to buy it.
Which means you need a platform to create your sales pages. ClickFunnels is a simple drag and drop builder for your sales pages. It also allows you to quickly create beautiful branded sales funnels when you’re ready to launch your course.
This is another service I have been using for many years and it is definitely the best I’ve come across. I’ve tried using sales pages within course platforms, or email platforms but none of them ever compare. ClickFunnels is just so much more user friendly and customisable and they have so many ready to go templates making it so easy to use. You can test it out for free right here.
7. Webinars
Finally, one of the best ways to launch a course is by hosting a webinar (or multiple) so people can warm up to your teaching style and then you can close them while you’re live.
Many people think you need to use fancy webinar platforms to do this, but you could actually use a live streaming tool like YouTube or Zoom to broadcast. You just need to pre-schedule the live sessions and then integrate it with your course host so everything communicates and links together.
So there you have it, 7 tools you need to launch your course.
I hope this post has allowed you to realise that it doesn’t have to be that hard. Nor does it have to be too expensive. There’s plenty of ways to effectively build a very successful course even if you are on a budget. Hence it’s a great way to get started if you’re looking to build a sustainable online business.
For more information on why I believe digital courses are the best online business model read my recent post here.
By the way, if you’d like to learn more about courses from the legend herself go ahead and register for Amy Porterfield’s free masterclass right here. She’s going to take you through the 3 Behind the Scenes Secrets to Digital Course Success.
Can’t wait to see what you create.
Jade xo
I hope you got lots of value out of this article. As usual, if you like what you’ve read feel free to like, comment, or share. Your time reading my posts is greatly appreciated.
