As a mentor and author of a , I often receive queries like , or should developer create their own blog or website? programming blog should programmers and software engineers create an alternative source of income? Both are very common questions and mostly asked by senior developers who are interested in startups and doing a side hustle. There was a time when I advise programmers to create their own , not just to learn and improve their understanding of the technology they know, but also to earn money while doing things you love, but time has changed. blog Now I advise Programmers and Software Developers to create and sell online courses on and other platforms. Teachable , Udemy , Thinkific , Podia , Skillshare The reasons are still the same, you learn and earn, but the method has been changed. A blog is always an excellent way to establish yourself online, but it requires a lot more effort and time to earn something meaningful. On the other hand, an online course will create an alternative course of income very quickly. I know many people who are making a decent income by creating and selling an online course like my dear friend Eugen Paraschiv, whose have helped many of you to learn Spring Framework better in the past. Spring Courses He is not alone, a couple of fellow bloggers like Ranga Karnan is also one of the most popular instructors on Udemy and has hundreds of students on the platform. His are one of the best sellers on Udemy. Spring Boot Microserve courses In short, creating and selling online courses are the best thing a programmer can do to earn money online, earn a side income, learn something valuable, and make an impact on peoples life. Yeah, you need a bit of passion for teaching, but most of the Programmers are generally good at that because of constant mentoring and training they do on the job. Now, some of you might be thinking about why I have not created an online course yet. Well, that's on the card sometimes, and I did research a lot about Process and Equipment like which USB Microphone should I buy ( I bought ) and which platform should I join like Teachable or Udemy but somehow I didn't get enough time to prepare the course I wanted to teach. Blue-Yeti Aztec Copper If you guys would love to see me create an online course on Java or any other topic, let me know in comments, and that would probably help me to launch a course soon. Anyway, today is not about me, but you, I want all of my readers who are interested in creating an alternative income stream and have a passion for teaching to develop online courses. Maybe you're exceptionally knowledgeable about a topic like , , , then you should create a course on that topic and launch it on a platform like or . Java Python Programming Algorithms Udemy Teachable The best part of this strategy is that once you do the initial work of creating the course, you continue to get paid for each new student that enrolls. Which is the best platform to create Online Course? Teachable/Thinkific and Udemy are two of my favorite platforms, they're both intuitive and user-friendly. With and you have more control over your pricing and the look and feel of your course, but you don't get a built-in audience, which is one of the most important things for the success of your course. Teachable Thinkific Instead, you have to do all the marketing yourself. While did provide a lot of guidance and tried and tested email templates, which can help you a lot. Eugen's are built on Teachable, and so is Heinz Kabutz's and both are very successful. Teachable Spring Framework courses Java Concurrency Course On the other hand, has a built-in base of students, but you don't have as much control, and they take most of your revenue because they are selling your course. Ranga has chosen Udemy, and his Spring and Java course is a huge success over there, so Yes, is also another essential platform. Udemy Udemy The good thing is that you are not limited to one of these if you like you can use both of them. Though, I recommend if you are starting afresh and don't have an online presence and Teachable if you have a blog and some sort of online presence, this will make you sale courses at higher price easier. Udemy How to Create an Online Course? Well, creating a course is super easy these days, You can create a course almost free of cost, all you need is an email address, time, knowledge, and passion for doing the teaching. Both and / allows you to create your course and provides a lot of tools upload your content like course videos, audio, presentations, images, and text. Udemy Teachable Thinkific Teachable also allows you to customize your school with your brand, colors, logos, etc. They also run where you get to meet successful online course creators and learn from the strategies they have adopted to create awesome online courses. Teachable Live Conference They also guide you in every step like creating an outline of your course, filming, editing, launch, and delivery. So, you not only create an alternative income stream but also learn a new skill and improve your existing expertise and knowledge by teaching to new students. Here is a screenshot from a , which roughly outlines what you need to do to create a successful online course for free: Teachable website There is no doubt that creating an online course requires a lot of motivation and passion and it's not easy. Being a part of community like help. You constantly get motivation and push like they did a Teachable Creator Challenge last summer. Teachable Now they are doing , a 3-day free event, where you'll get a chance to learn from 20+ speakers who have already created a successful course. If you are serious, I suggest you join that event, you will make a lot of friends and an expert community, which will help you later on course creation and marketing. Teachable Live This is such an awesome thing that I can't recommend it enough. It's a win-win situation for everyone involved, you get money for teaching, but you also improve your programming skill and learn a new skill for creating videos and doing online business. Students learn from your real-life experience and make their careers. All the best, with your learning and course creation. If you create an online course and need any help from me, I am always ready to help, just drop me a note. I will also help you to promote your classes online, after all, you are my reader and community has given so muchlove to me. I just try to do my bit. Other you may like: Technical articles The Web Developer RoadMap A Complete Guide to become a React Developer 10 Things Java Developer should learn This is not just true for Programmers, bloggers, and Software developers, but for anyone who wants to earn some money online. It not only create an alternative source of income for programmers but also makes you happy and brings more energy because you will be doing things which you love and passionate about. Btw, and is not the only platform which is available for hosting online courses and selling them. There are many more options like , , Kajabi, Skillshare, and many others. You can even post your courses to multiple platforms to get the benefit of both world. P.S. - P. P. S. - Teachable Udemy Thinkific Podia All the best with your online course journey and if you need any help feel free to contact me.