Define your student, structure your curriculum into 4–8 modules, record with decent audio and lighting, then sell through a platform or your own site. First courses routinely earn £500–£5,000.
An online music course converts your teaching expertise into income that works while you sleep. A well-designed course can earn significantly more per hour than 1-to-1 lessons, and unlike lessons, it earns repeatedly without additional time investment.
The first step is defining your audience precisely. 'Beginner guitarists' is too broad. 'Adults over 30 who want to play acoustic guitar without reading sheet music' is specific enough to build a course around and market effectively. The more specific your target student, the easier everything else becomes.
Curriculum structure: map the transformation from where your student starts to where they will be after the course. Break that journey into 4–8 modules, each with 3–6 lessons of 5–15 minutes. Shorter lessons have higher completion rates. Start each module with a clear outcome — 'By the end of this module, you will be able to play a G, C, and D chord cleanly and switch between them in tempo.'
Production quality matters, but not as much as clarity and usefulness. Invest first in audio — a decent USB microphone (£50–£150) makes the biggest difference. Lighting matters second; natural light or a simple ring light is sufficient. Video framing should show your hands and face simultaneously when possible.
Pricing: beginners undercharge. A structured 8-module course from a credentialed teacher is worth £97–£497. Price based on the transformation delivered, not your time. Test multiple price points. £197 is a common starting point that is accessible but signals quality.
Platforms: Virgoul is built for music teachers. Teachable, Thinkific, and Kajabi are general course platforms with more features but higher fees. Udemy gives distribution but takes 50–75% of revenue and commoditises pricing. Your own site gives maximum control.
Virgoul is built specifically for music teachers selling courses and lessons — with an audience that is already looking for music education. List your course on Virgoul to reach students searching for exactly what you teach, without the aggressive discounting that commoditises your pricing on general platforms.
Join VirgoulIncome varies enormously. A first course launched to a small existing audience might generate £500–£2,000. Teachers with established followings of 5,000–20,000 people routinely earn £5,000–£50,000+ from a single course launch. The key variables are audience size, course price, and how well the course matches what the audience wants.
Minimum viable setup: a USB microphone (£50–£150), decent lighting (natural light or a ring light works), and a quiet recording space. You do not need a professional studio. Audio is the most important element — listeners will tolerate average video but will click away from bad audio immediately.
Long enough to deliver the promised transformation, short enough to maintain completion rates. Most successful courses are 4–8 hours of video content split across 4–8 modules. Shorter courses (1–2 hours) with tight, focused content can work well for specific skills. Completion rates drop significantly for courses over 10 hours.
Udemy gives broad distribution and passive discovery, but takes 50–75% of revenue and runs constant 90% discount promotions that anchor student expectations. Your course effectively sells for £9–£14 regardless of your listed price. This works if you want volume and discoverability, but undercuts positioning if you want to build a premium teaching brand.
No — you can validate and sell a first course to a small existing audience. 500 engaged email subscribers or social followers can generate your first £500–£2,000. Many successful course creators launch first to a small beta group at a discount, use their feedback to improve the course, then scale to a wider audience.