How to Create an Online Course in 2026

Quick Verdict

Honestly, if you’re not using AI to write your course content in 2026, you’re wasting time. But which one? ChatGPT is a jack-of-all-trades – good for outlines, brainstorming, and answering student questions. Claude writes better prose, less likely to sound like a robot that just discovered empathy. Use both. You’ll thank me later.

ChatGPT **** (4/5) – best generalist, but gets generic when you push it
Claude ****½ (4.5/5) – best for writing, actually has a personality

So you want to create an online course in 2026. Maybe you’ve got a skill people keep asking about. Maybe you’re tired of your day job and think "five figures in passive income" sounds nice. It does. Until you realize you have to record yourself talking into a microphone for 40 minutes without saying "um" seventeen times.

I’ve done this twice. First course was about… something I’d rather not mention (let’s just say it involved spreadsheets and emotional pain). Second one actually made money. Here’s what I learned the hard way.

Step 1: Decide what you’re teaching – and who cares

You think you know your topic. Cool. But nobody cares about your knowledge. They care about their own problem.

So pick a problem people actually have. Something they’ll pay $50 to fix. Not "how to use Excel" – "how to stop losing your mind over pivot tables."

Here’s what nobody tells you: your first idea probably sucks. I wasted two months on a course about "time management for freelancers." Turns out freelancers don’t want to manage time – they want to fire bad clients. I should’ve asked before building.

What can go wrong: You pick a topic you love but nobody will pay for. Check search volume. Search "your topic + course" on Reddit. If it’s crickets, move on.

Shortcut: Use ChatGPT to generate 10 pain points for your niche. Pick the one that makes you wince – that’s the real pain.

Step 2: Outline like you’re lazy (because you are)

Don’t start writing modules. Please. I did that once and ended up with a 12-hour monstrosity that nobody finished.

Instead, open Claude. Type: "Write an outline for a course on [topic]. Assume students know nothing and want to finish in 2 hours max. Use plain English. No jargon."

Claude will spit out something decent. Then delete half of it. Really. Cut the fluff. If you can teach it in 45 minutes, do it. Longer courses have higher drop-off rates than my New Year’s resolutions.

What can go wrong: You’ll want to add everything you know. Resist. The best courses are bulletproof vests – lean and protective, not a full medieval armor set.

Here’s the thing nobody tells you: The outline is your sanity check. If you can’t explain it in 5 bullet points, you don’t know it well enough yet.

Step 3: Write the dang content

Here’s where the AI magic happens. I write my first draft in ChatGPT – just dump everything, no filter. Then I copy-paste into Claude with a prompt like: "Make this sound like a real person talking to a friend. Cut the buzzwords. Add humor. Keep it under 1000 words per module."

Claude does a better job of not sounding like a marketing brochure. But I still have to edit it. AI writes like a first date – eager to please, a little too formal. I add my own stories, swear words (sparingly), and jokes that might flop.

What can go wrong: Rely on AI too much and your course will feel soulless. Students can smell GPT-generated nonsense like a dog smells fear. Edit. Edit. Edit.

Shortcut: Record yourself explaining the topic to a friend. Transcribe it with Otter.ai. Then paste into Claude and ask it to clean up your rambling. That’s your script. Saves hours.

Step 4: Record or create slides (don’t overthink)

You don’t need a $2,000 microphone. I used a Blue Yeti from 2018 and a closet full of clothes for soundproofing. Works fine.

If you hate being on camera – use slides with voiceover. Tools like Canva for slides, Descript for editing (it edits video like a word doc – magical). Or just do talking-head and use Screen Studio for easy recording.

What can go wrong: You’ll watch your own recording and cringe. Everyone does. Get over it. Your students want information, not a TED Talk performance.

Shortcut: Use ElevenLabs to clone your voice and generate audio from text. Slightly questionable? Yes. But if you’re a terrible speaker like me, it’ll save your course from sounding like a hostage video.

Step 5: Choose a platform (don’t screw this up)

Podia, Teachable, Thinkific – all the same. Pick one that doesn’t charge transaction fees. Podia is good. Teachable is fine but their new pricing annoys me.

Avoid Udemy unless you want to compete with $10 courses created by bots. I’m not kidding – I’ve seen entire courses generated by AI on Udemy. You’ll never get traction there.

What can go wrong: You’ll spend weeks building a fancy website nobody visits. Just use a simple landing page and a payment link. Gumroad works. So does Stripe + a Notion page (dead simple).

Here’s the thing nobody tells you: Your platform doesn’t matter. Your audience does. Launch to an email list, not the general public. Build that list first. I learned that after my first course sold 3 copies (to my mom and two ex-coworkers).

Step 6: Launch and brace yourself

Pricing? For a short course, $47-$97. For a longer one, $197-$297. Don’t go cheap – people value what they pay for. I priced my second course at $147 and sold more than my first at $27. Go figure.

Use AI to write your sales page. But dump it in Claude and ask for a "blunt, honest, no-hype version." That works way better than the typical "transform your life" crap.

What can go wrong: No one buys. That’s normal. Email your list again. Ask for feedback. Offer a discount. If you have zero email subscribers, start building that list before you even record the course. I made that mistake.

Shortcut: Launch as a "beta" version for half price. Get testimonials. Then raise the price. Works every time.

Pros & Cons

ChatGPT

• Free tier is actually usable for basic outlines
• Great memory – remembers your project across sessions
• Plugins (like web search) help research

• Sometimes generates generic, soulless text
• UI changes like a nervous chihuahua – one day it’s clean, next day it’s got a sidebar you never asked for

Claude

• Writes more naturally, less robotic
• Better at following long, complex instructions
• Actually has a consistent personality

• Free tier is limited (you’ll need Pro for serious work)
• Can be overly polite – like a Canadian who apologizes for giving you the right answer

Pricing at a Glance

| Tool | Starting Price | What You Actually Get | |——|—————|———————-| | ChatGPT | Free / $20 | GPT-4 access, rate-limited when busy,