• /
Jen Nikolaeva

Revenue growth & marketing · 8 MIN · 17.12.2024

How to start an online school in 2025: a step-by-step guide

Ever thought about starting your own online school but didn’t know where to begin? In 2025, it’s easier than ever to get started and reach students all over the world. With online learning booming and expected to hit $645 billion by 2030, this could be your big chance. But how do online schools work? And how do you make one that’s awesome? Let’s dive in and figure it out together.

Why start an online school?

Online learning is blooming right now, and here are a few pros for starting your own:
  • Big demand

    Lots of people love learning online because it’s flexible and convenient. Students love being able to learn anytime, anywhere. Whether it’s early morning or late at night, online schools fit into busy schedules.
  • Low costs

    You don’t need to rent a building or buy desks – everything’s digital! Thanks to digital platforms such as LMSs (Learning Management System), running an online school is way cheaper than managing a traditional one.
  • Global outreach

    With just an internet connection, you can teach people from different countries and backgrounds. Your school can be global right from day one.

How do online schools work?

Online schools are virtual campuses where all the magic happens digitally. They’re made up of several key parts and follow a structured flow to make learning effective and easy to access.
Source: unsplash.com | Thomas Park

Key parts of an online school

  • 📚

    Learning content
    Videos, e-books, podcasts, interactive quizzes, live sessions, and other activities are the backbone of any online school. They should be well-structured and easy to follow. Here’s a helpful guide on creating online courses.
  • 💻

    Delivery platform (LMS)
    This is where students log in to access the content. Seturon LMS, for example, provides customisable white-label LMS and tools to track and interact with learners.
  • 📈

    Analytics
    Tools to monitor student progress and identify what’s working and what’s not. There are lots of metrics you can monitor through online tools that will give you helpful information on where to go with your online courses and approaches to online education.
  • ❤️

    Support system
    This is your team of professionals (LMS admins, learning experience designers, designers, marketing, etc.), FAQs, instructions or email communication to address student concerns quickly.

What you need to launch an online school

Planning and setup

First, you decide what your school is about. Will it be for learning coding or playing a musical instrument?

Know your target audience and what they want to learn. Tailor your school’s structure and style accordingly. In order for your online school to make revenue, there are certain steps you need to follow before moving further. Once you have your focus, it’s time to plan your content and structure.

A reliable platform

Choosing an LMS platform to host your online school is vital, because it will have an effect on how your students perceive your content and how you measure metrics. Make sure your platform suits your goals and leaves room for scalability in the future.

Marketing strategy

Use social media, SEO, and collaborations to promote your school and attract students.

Commitment to quality

Over time, you’ll need to refresh your content, add new materials, and even ensure everything runs smoothly on your platform. Regularly check and update your materials and ensure your teaching methods stay effective and engaging. By gathering feedback straight from your learners you have a great opportunity to tailor your courses to your customers’ wants and needs.

How to launch your online school

Find your niche and target audience

Start by deciding what your school will focus on. Will you teach coding, baking, fitness, or art? The more specific your niche, the better you can connect with your target audience. For example, platforms like Codecademy have thrived by specialising in coding for beginners, while The Butter Book focuses exclusively on baking and pastry arts.

Conduct research

Dive into platforms like Reddit, LinkedIn, and social media to understand what people want to learn. Look for questions, problems, or gaps that your online school can address. Competitor research also helps you see what’s already out there and how you can do it better.

Make a plan

Lay out your roadmap for the school. This includes:


Example:
You plan to launch an online school “Baking for beginners”.

Goal

Teach people with zero baking experience how to make tasty treats from scratch.

Target audience
  • Teens who want a cool hobby.
  • Parents and kids baking together.
  • People looking for easy recipes.

Courses structure

The school will contain 3 levels of courses depending on students’ skills. Each course will be divided into modules with theory, video instructions, and interactive tests to check knowledge. Additional materials will have downloadable recipe cards.


Courses examples:


Beginner-level courses

  • Baking Basics 101
  • Easy Cookies & Bars
  • Cupcakes & Muffins Made Simple

Intermediate level

  • Mastering Doughs: Pizza, Pastries, and More
  • Simple Cake Decorating 101
  • Easy Baking Without Eggs or Dairy

Speciality courses

  • Holiday Baking
  • Baking on a Budget
  • Baking for Kids: Parent-Child Activities

Tools needed

  • For filming: camera (your iPhone will do here), tripod, microphone.
  • Software: CapCut for editing.
  • LMS: Seturon LMS platform for hosting the school.
  • Marketing: MailChimp subscription to send updates, tips and offers.

Pricing model

The school will charge €200 for lifetime access to all lessons and materials.

Costs and profits

Since you’re on your own here, and you know how to do everything yourself, here are our calculations:


Initial investment: €13,800 (tripod, microphone, LMS, marketing)

Course price: €200

Marketing Budget: €4,200 (for ads targeting 8,000 people with a 2% conversion rate)


Estimated Revenue:

2% conversion of 8,000 views = 160 sales

160 x €200 = €32,000


Profit:

Revenue (€32,000) – Total Costs (€13,800) = €18,200

Marketing strategy

  1. Social Media Marketing – TikTok and Instagram Reels with quick fun recipes.
  2. Influencer Partnerships – partner with small baking influencers or food bloggers to showcase your course.
  3. Free content for promotion – share a free baking tutorial to interest people in buying the whole access to your school.
  4. Email Campaigns – build an email list by offering free tips and recipes, send updates, discounts, and success stories to encourage sign-ups.
  5. Launch offers – run a pre-launch discount: “Sign up before February and get 20% off!”
  6. Social media community – start a Facebook group or Discord for students to share their baking wins, ask questions, and foster your community of potential buyers and promoters.

Gather a team

Even if you’re starting by yourself, it’s important to understand the roles needed to make your online school successful. Here are the key competencies your team (or you!) must have, with examples to help you visualise the roles in action:
  • 📝

    Content Creation: SME, LXD, designer, video editor

    Your team may vary depending on the format of the content you’re creating. But here are the most common members:

    SME (stands for Subject Matter Expert) – someone who has all the topic knowledge and experience. Can conduct online lessons (live or pre-recorded) and create learning materials with LXD’s help.

    LXD (stands for Learning Experience Designer) – an expert’s helping hand and an assistant who structures all the expert’s thoughts into interactive and engaging learning. Plans the curriculum and designs the learning experience in a way that students and business reach their goals. Can upload content online in LMS.

    Designer helps with lesson presentations and different visuals for LMS and course materials.

    Video editor edits videos and audio that go into your courses.

    QA tester helps you find gaps, bugs or any other issues you might have in the final course.

    For instance, if you’re launching a coding school, you might need a coding expert and LXD to create and shoot tutorials, a designer to craft engaging slides, a video editor to edit the final videos, and a QA tester to check if everything is ready to be launched.
  • ⚙️

    Tech support

    LMS admin is someone who handles the setup and maintenance of the LMS, manages groups and roles, and troubleshoots technical issues.
  • 📢

    Marketing team

    Your marketing team needs to have skills to promote your school, attract students, and build a strong online presence:

    • Social media managers – to run campaigns on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn.
    • SEO specialists – to optimise your website and content for search engines.
    • Content marketers – to write blogs or create promotional videos.
  • ❤️

    Student support

    Customer support, Student success manager, Community manager.

    These roles’ responsibilities might intersect according to each school’s structure, but usually you’ll need only one. These roles provide assistance to students with questions or issues and help them stay engaged and motivated. They can also track and analyse student progress, course performance, and other metrics and help you improve the students’ learning and schools’ goals.
  • 📌

    Project management

    Project manager is someone who coordinates tasks, timelines, and deliverables across all team members to keep the project on track.
  • 💼

    Finance and administrative team

    These competencies are needed to manage the financial and legal aspects of the school. For example, you might need accountants to track revenues and expenses, and legal advisors to ensure compliance with data privacy laws.
What if you’re doing it solo?

No team at all? No problem. If you’re starting on your own, you can wear many hats and use Seturon’s help.

Create content

This is the part where you create the courses for your online school. Remember to keep it engaging and gamified to keep your students motivated.

Upload everything in LMS

All the content you’ve created needs to be transferred into your LMS. Don’t forget to test it before the launch!

Launch and market your school

With every learning material in place, you are only left with pushing that red button that says “launch” and start your marketing campaigns.
Starting your own online school in 2025 isn’t just possible – it’s exciting! With the right niche, team, tools, and some creativity, you can create and launch a school that helps people from all over the world learn while earning you some cash.
  • Jen Nikolaeva
    Learning Experience Designer and EdTech Producer
    10+ years in education, helping build and improve student success

    All articles by this author
Did you like this article?

Blog updates