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How to sell courses online

Short answer

Host your lessons on a course platform like Teachable or Kajabi, which store the videos and give students a login, and sell from a sales page on your own domain. Gumroad works for a simple course sold as one download. Your audience fills a course more than any marketplace does, so the sales page matters most.

Two ways to sell, and which is yours

A marketplace that brings students

Gumroad and Etsy put your product in front of shoppers who are already browsing, which helps while nobody knows your name. They suit short courses sold as a PDF workbook or a small download, not a full program with student logins and lessons released over weeks.

Best for

Short, low-priced courses and first experiments.

Your own site that keeps students

A sales page on your domain explains the outcome, shows the curriculum and collects emails from people not ready to buy yet. The lessons live on a course host like Teachable or Kajabi, and the enroll button links to its checkout. Replo builds the sales page; it doesn't host video or run student logins.

Best for

Experts with an audience selling a flagship course.

Where to sell courses and what each platform charges

Fees for selling courses
Your own site (Replo checkout)Your Replo plan2.9% + $0.30 card processingReplo checkout runs on Stripe, and Replo's docs list no extra per-sale fee.
Teachable$39 a month, or $29 billed yearly7.5% + 2.9% + $0.30 processingStarter is Teachable's cheapest paid plan, and its 7.5% fee sits on top of card processing.
Kajabi$179 a month, or $143 billed yearly2.9% + $0.30 with Kajabi PaymentsUsing a third-party payment provider on Basic adds a 2% fee.
GumroadFree, no monthly fee10% + $0.50, plus 2.9% + $0.30 processingSales that come through Gumroad's Discover marketplace pay a flat 30% instead.

Read the before-you-sell column next to the per-sale column. A monthly plan pays off once sales are steady, while a per-sale fee costs nothing until someone enrolls.

What you keep on a $99 online course

Each platform's fees on one $99 sale, before shipping, taxes, monthly plans and any ads you choose to buy.

  1. Your own site (Replo checkout)$95.83 kept, $3.17 in fees
  2. Kajabi$95.83 kept, $3.17 in fees
  3. Teachable$88.40 kept, $10.60 in fees
  4. Gumroad$85.43 kept, $13.57 in fees

Product pages brands run ads to

Real product pages that brands are sending Meta ads to right now, captured from Replo's ad library, and one thing on each worth copying.

  • King Arthur Baking page for an on-demand pie class with instructor photo, sale price and a video preview

    King Arthur Baking

    Holiday Pie Workshop with Erin Jeanne McDowell

    6 Meta ads linked here

    Sells the class like a product: a sale price, a Send as Gift button, and a video preview of the instructor.

    See the page
  • Signup page for a free live real estate masterclass with the host's photo, session details and a save-seat button

    The Becoming Room

    How To Step Into Luxury Real Estate (free live masterclass)

    9 Meta ads linked here

    Puts the host's proof in the opening paragraph ($50M sold, #1 agent out of 700) right above the save-seat button.

    See the page

Launch checklist

  • Write the course outcome in one sentence, then outline only the modules a student needs to reach it.
  • Pre-sell the outline to your audience before recording, and refund everyone if too few people buy.
  • Record short lessons with one idea each, and spend on a decent microphone before any camera.
  • Host the videos on a course platform like Teachable or Kajabi, never as shared links or email attachments.
  • Write a sales page with the curriculum, who the course is for, a sample lesson and your refund policy.
  • Plan a welcome message that tells new students where to log in and which lesson to start with.

Build your course sales page

Replo builds the sales page on your domain, with the curriculum, your bio and a waitlist form, linking to your course host's checkout.

The prompt Replo starts from

Build a sales page for my online course, [course name], which teaches [topic] to [audience]. Include a hero with the outcome, a curriculum section by module, a free sample lesson section, an instructor bio, pricing with an enroll button that links to my [Teachable or Kajabi] checkout, an FAQ, and a waitlist signup form.
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Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to create an online course?
It can cost little more than a microphone, free screen-recording software and a course host's plan. The bigger cost is your time: outlining, recording and editing usually take weeks. Spend on audio quality and a reliable host before cameras or studio gear.
Can you sell courses on Etsy?
Only as downloads. Etsy allows original designs offered as a digital download, but an instant download listing holds up to five files of 20MB each. That fits a PDF workbook or slide deck, not a video course, which needs a course host.
Can I sell a course on my own website?
Yes. Put the sales page on your own domain and connect it to a course host that stores the lessons and gives students a login. Replo builds that sales page on your brand, and a host like Teachable or Kajabi delivers the course.
Do I need to be an expert to sell a course?
No. You need to be a few steps ahead of your students and able to show a result. Buyers pay for a clear path to an outcome, so a specific promise backed by your own proof sells better than credentials alone.

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