Thinking about creating a free course to promote your business or blog? That's a smart idea, and it's really simple to get started. We put together a quick guide for those looking to create and promote a free course using Udemy.

The process can be completed in just 4 steps:<strong> Plan, Create, Publish, </strong>and<strong> Promote</strong>.

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<h2>How to Create and Promote a Free Course Using Udemy</h2>
<h3>1. Plan the Course</h3>
Don't get excited and try to start creating your course before you plan it! The planning stage should include careful consideration of the industry/niche and topics you will cover in the free course. It's likely that you already have an idea in mind, so sculpt that idea into a course that will provide value to anyone who takes it.

Search your keywords and find out if any existing courses already cover your topic. If they do, look for what those courses are missing and add it to your plan. In this stage, it's really helpful to create a (very) rough outline of the course and what you'd like to cover within it.

It's better to have too many ideas than not enough, so brainstorm away!
<h3>2. Create the Course Content</h3>
Once you've planned your course and feel satisfied with the topic and niche you are targeting, it's time to create the course content. This is the fun part! You get to show off your industry-specific knowledge and wow your students with what you know.

If you created a rough outline earlier, now is the time to refine it and decide definitively what will make it into your course and create the actual content. Draft your headings, course description, and divide your content into appropriate sections to break it up for the reader. Use references, examples, and research liberally.

Udemy makes it simple to drag and drop, add text, videos, and "fill in the blanks" for your course to pull it together into a neat package.
<h3>3. Publish the Course</h3>
Now that you have the draft of a complete course, you're ready to show it to the world. Publish the course on Udemy directly instead of uploading the videos to YouTube. Choose whether or not you will offer your course for free. Free courses get more signups, naturally, but paid courses can be a secondary source of income if priced appropriately.

Some advice for paid courses: Don't get greedy. Keep the price low and you'll have more people sign up for the course, increasing what you earn from the course. High prices scare more people off than they bring in.
<h3>4. Promote the Course</h3>
To meet Udemy's student minimum, you'll need to advertise and promote your new course. Social networks are a great place to start, as well as forums, related blogs (try guest posting), other courses, and sale sites like Groupon. You can run paid promotions on social networks like Facebook and Twitter to increase the reach of your course ad and drive more people to sign up.

<strong>Tip: </strong>Normally, Udemy pays 70% of the course reveneue to the instructor (you) and keeps 30%, but Udemy allows instructors to promote courses using an affiliate link that gives you 85% of the earned revenue.