Would you like to find a real way to earn passive income online? Are you an expert in a certain subject or topic and would like to share your knowledge with others in an online course? If so, Udemy will help you to accomplish this goal and make it a reality. I started using Udemy less than a year ago and I wanted to share with you my experiences, tips, and earnings with this site and hopefully encourage you to give it a try too.
My first Udemy course became live back in Nov. 2015. I earned $144.95 the first month. As of September 17, 2016, I have earned exactly $1,000 on Udemy so far. You can check out my revenue report for proof below.
In Jan. 2016 I created and published my second Udemy course entitled, “How to Start a Blog.” Both courses are still available for students to enroll in on Udemy.
How long did it take me to create my courses?
It took me approximately 6-8 hours to record, edit and create my first course. I started with an outline of subjects that I wanted to cover and develop incorporating my own experiences as well as my voice in presentation videos.
These are not the same as the videos that you see me in on YouTube, they are highly engaging and interactive to keep each student interested. I added some text with the presentation similar to what you may see in a classroom. I used presentation software for a free trial to record the videos. Altogether, it took me 16 hours to create both courses.
Did it cost me any money?
No. I only invested my time. I could have paid for the presentation software but I opted not to so that I could try different presentation software companies to experiment with each one. I was able to sign up to be an instructor and create my course for free.
How much do I earn each month on Udemy?
With $1,000 so far to date for an 11-month time period, I earn $90 and some change each month with my online courses. That may not seem like a lot of money but remember that this is passive income. I earn this amount without doing anything with the exception of investing the time to create the course in the beginning. If I choose to promote the course myself, I could definitely earn more money but I don’t do this on a regular basis.
How much do I earn per hour on Udemy?
If you calculate the fact that I have 2 courses on Udemy in which I invested 16 hours of my time divided by $1,000, the hourly earnings I earn is $62.50 per hour from my online courses!
How do I get paid?
Udemy sends my earnings for the previous month to my PayPal account on a month-to-month basis.
Tips for new instructors on Udemy?
If you are seriously considering creating your own course on Udemy, here are some tips that may help you to be successful in doing so.
- Offer your first course for free. Why would anyone do this? Because you will get hundreds of students that will become familiar with you as a teacher and even share your course with their friends. Once they have enjoyed taking your course, they will be more likely to take a paid course from you because they have gotten to know you and your teaching style. It is a great way to build up an audience for those who may not know you or your work.
- Take the time to create a quality course that you yourself would want to enroll in.
- Connect with your students. Make sure that you thank them for taking your course, and ask them if they have any questions or if there was anything that was unclear to them so that you can establish a relationship with them and even improve your course.
- Encourage your students to leave a review. Most students who take your course will not leave a review so you could ask your students if they would leave an honest review so that others can read them and be more likely to take your course. I would recommend you do this if you have more than 10 students who have taken your course but failed to leave a review and you are brand new on Udemy.
- Be patient. You may not get any students to take your course for the first week or two but does that mean your course is not a success? Absolutely not. It just means that they have not stumbled upon your course yet, give it some time and you will get your very first student.
- Keep your expectations realistic. Don’t expect to earn millions on Udemy. If you earn around $50-$100 a month on Udemy, that is still good because it is passive income or extra/side income that required you to do nothing but have your course available on Udemy so anything is a blessing.
- Promote your own course. This is one of the most important tips I can share with you that can’t be stressed enough. If you create coupons for your course, you will retain 90-95% of the revenue but if Udemy does so, you will only earn a small percentage sometimes not even half of the price that you set your course for.
- Share your course. Don’t keep your course a secret. Let others know that you have created a course and explain what it is all about without giving away too many details, how it will benefit them, and why they should take it. Make sure that you promote it on social media, as a signature line in any forums that you have joined, and write an article about your course and anywhere else online.
I share even more tips in this new YouTube video that I published about my Udemy review. You can watch it below.
Looking back on my experience with Udemy has been not only a learning experience but rewarding as well. I know that you will feel the same way too. Why not give it a try? I am a true believer in trying as many avenues as you can to find out what can work for you, especially if it’s free.
If you are ready to start your own course on Udemy, please click here to get started. You can also check out my online courses and read my reviews below
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Please feel free to leave your comments if you have created your own Udemy course, thinking about doing so, or have enjoyed this article.
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2 Comments
Lisa Murrell · at
Thanks Alicia my niece told me about Udemy over a year ago and I follow them on Facebook and I read some of the commentary from others who are experiencing difficulties getting their videos approved by Udemy. Since you’ve had some success I will go ahead and try it.
Thanks
Lisa
aw1219 · at
Hi Lisa, I am so excited for you! If you experience any problems with your videos or course, Udemy will provide you with assistance to tell you exactly what you need to do to make your course live. Once it is live, they will give you additional tips and updates to improve your course or even to help with any other courses you may decide to publish there. Let me know when your course goes live so I can check it out!