Tools I Use To Build My Online Course Business
There are so many tools and resources out there—making it IMPOSSIBLE to keep up with what's good and bad, right?
I can tell you what I use and recommend. Then you can skip the research and jump straight to what's good.
This page is frequently updated as I test new things, so make sure to bookmark it or return once in a while.
Create Animation Videos
WHAT I USE NOW
Best online animation maker, period. I've tried many explainer tools over the years, and I still use Vyond to this day. If you want to make animations without the technical skills and time needed for AfterEffects, this is the perfect solution.
[15% off yearly subscriptions + bonuses]
An animation maker similar to Vyond, but at a lower cost and with a simpler interface. What I really like about Animaker upon reviewing it is their aesthetics. Especially their characters look amazing and have smooth and fluent actions programmed for them.
A quite affordable animation maker at only $67 (lifetime deal) for the very basic solution. What's great about Toonly is the steep learning curve and the smooth continuity between character actions. Definitely a good place to start for many new animators. Watch the full review to learn more about strengths and weaknesses.
From the same company as Toonly, you get a pretty great and super affordable whiteboard animation maker at $67 (lifetime deal). I like how quickly you can create a video because of the automated drawing paths for all assets and characters. Precise drawing paths too. Learn more about the tool in my review.
Sell Video Courses
WHAT I USE NOW
RuedRiis.com is built on a Kajabi foundation. Everything from this webpage that you're on right now to the email client, payment providers, video hosting, and blogging interface—it's all Kajabi. What I love is that everything is integrated and built to just work.
Before Kajabi, I bought a lifetime deal for Heights Platform and hosted my courses there for 6 months before I outgrew their functionality. For those who are looking for a course hosting platform at a fraction of the cost, Heights is a good place to start your journey.
To begin with, I hosted my courses at Teachable because of its simple admin interface and all the core features you need as a course business. If you build your website and blog somewhere else, Teachable is probably the most full-fledged course hosting platform out there.
The easiest and cheapest way to get started as a course creator. Because Udemy isn't just a platform but also a marketplace, they have the traffic for your courses. This makes it easier to test out your product and get feedback from your students—then build your own hub later on.
Produce Video Content
My hard-working camera that I shoot all my YouTube videos, course lessons and socials on. It's just such a pleasant, high-quality producing mirrorless camera—PERFECT for the ambitious creator without a crazy budget or the ambition to turn pro videographer.
I finally invested in a good "shotgun" microphone so I can get proper sound on my videos. This Sennheiser MKE 600 is a 'pro-sumer' grade piece of gear, so very crisp sound without being as expensive as the pro microphones. NB: You need an XLR to minijack cable or a sound card with this one.
I recently upgraded to a dynamic LED light. And what a difference! Now, I can control how bright my face is in combination with my camera settings, which is huge. No more overexposed shots—and Amaran 100x is silent, easy to handle and affordable.
I edit all my videos in ScreenFlow. Believe it or not—I use screen-recording software to produce all my content. I don't care about fancy functionality. I just want it to work, be fast and intuitive to use. Oh, and then it produces amazing screen recordings, which I use a lot in my tutorials.
Convert Text to Speech
WHAT I USE NOW
I use this app for many things: to transcribe podcasts, make social media clips from videos, and play around with cool text to speech tools. Descript is my favorite because of the simple interface and the realistic voice-overs it produces.
For online text to speech tools, Murf comes in as number 1. The pronunciation and sound quality is outstanding. And the pricepoint is quite affordable, when you consider the product you get. Murf also allows you to add pauses and change pronunciation, if you need it for your voice-over.
Blazingly fast, online, and FREE. What's not to like? I can't believe such a powerful tool is available to anyone with an Internet connection. Speechify also has a Chrome app that allows you to scan and listen to text on websites.
A powerful text-to-speech engine that also enables you to sync your generated voice-overs to animated human-looking avatars. It's a complete online video platform with PowerPoint-looking functionality, but with the add-on of hyper-realistic TTS and animation functionality. One of the most impressive newer tools out there.
Affiliate Disclaimer
Some of the links on this page (and around the website) are affiliate links. This means I get a small commission, should you decide to click and buy something through them. This has no effect on your price—it just compensates me for spreading the word. AND. That, I'd never do if I'm not currently using or have used the product in the past. I trust and believe in every platform, tool, and piece of gear I recommend. That's why I'm listing them here for you.
If you click any of 'em, thank you!
