How to Build a Course Machine on Substack

Last week's article made me $281 . . .

The first key to making this work is that your courses should match your articles.

Or maybe the other way around - but it’s the same difference - your article matches your course.

But the secret is that when I launch a course for the first time, I actually run it as a live class.

So yesterday’s article recommended readers to attend my live class.

And when readers enroll to attend my live class, sometimes they buy related trainings.

It’s really that simple.

This means I am literally not “creating courses”

These are the steps:

• I have a newsletter that reflects what I teach

• I write several newsletters per week

• I grow the newsletter through engagement in Notes

• I write articles that are informative

• I design live training that augments what I teach in the articles

• At the end of the article, I offer the course as an opportunity to learn more.

  
  
  Here’s How I Create The Course Itself:
  

• I’m simply holding a live training, I teach the live training in segments, I record each segment as a standalone, so I don’t have to do any editing.

• I have zoom set up to automatically send all my recordings to Vimeo.

• So I simply put the Vimeo links in a members area and . . . voila!

• I have a course on the exact topic of the article, so it converts well!

• I change the language on the order form to reflect that it’s recorded and not live (and I haven’t even done that for yesterday’s article yet!)

• Then I rinse and repeat . . .

Today’s article is an example.

Teaching

How to do it.

A class or course offered as the CTA.

The article itself should stand on it’s own and be useful.

The CTA is an offer for additional help.

And you’ll notice I’m giving the outline of the process here.

But at the end of the article, my CTA will be a special live class I’m teaching on Tuesday morning where I will teach this entire process in depth, on screen.

And then that becomes another course.

On another note . . . the last 1/2 of last year I recorded about 20 new courses this same way!

And I was able to go from working 8 hour day with a much heavier coaching and sales load, to a current 2-3 hours a day, to accommodate stuff in my life.

This is the freedom that Substack affords me.

I simply:

Use Substack notes to attract people who are my audience

I write articles like this that are (hopefully!) helpful and informative

I hold one-time live classes which I then convert into evergreen courses

I sell them with a single order form link at the end of the Substack article

Rinse and Repeat

Be sure to offer strong value in the articles themselves.

Then allow your easy course creation to literally become a “machine” with multiple products over time!

In just reading this article, you are experiencing the full system I am using to lead someone to a “next step” with me.

And if you happen to attend the class, you’ll get the full recording experience so you can see how I do it.

Then after the live event, you’ll login to the members area and see the lessons loaded in from Vimeo . . .

Just going through the process will allow you to experience how easy it is . .

(I taught this live on Tuesday and then converted the replays to a course so you can see exactly!)

So you can do it yourself!

so . . .

here it is:

If you want to get a step by step play and SEE this in action, I invite you to check out the order form and possibly enroll for the full experience:

To your success at Substack in 2025!

— Sean Mize