Introduction

So lately, I’ve been really into the idea of making passive income from udemy. If you’re not exactly sure what that is, that’s pretty much the opposite of our nine-to-fives, where we trade time for money. Passive income is about putting a lot of time and effort into something upfront but then making a lot of money from the same thing passively in the future. This means you can make money while traveling, hanging out with loved ones, or even when you’re sleeping.

Researching Passive Income Methods

I have been doing a lot of research about things like Amazon FBA, selling on Etsy, investing in real estate rentals—things like that. One of the popular passive income topics I keep coming across is selling courses on Udemy.

What is Udemy?

If you’re not familiar with what Udemy is, it’s one of the world’s largest online marketplaces for online courses. On Udemy, you can find courses on everything—from design, coding, and writing all the way to time management, personal development, and career advice.

The Appeal of Udemy

The most attractive part about Udemy, and why it’s so widely popular, is that Udemy often runs sales events or promotions. A lot of courses that would normally cost between 50 to 200 dollars can be purchased for just anywhere between 10 to 20 dollars. This can be really cool if you’re trying to learn on a budget. As a course creator, you need to understand that sometimes your course would be sold for like nine dollars, but because Udemy has such a high volume of customers, they tend to make up for that low price.

Udemy Revenue Breakdown

In this blog, I wanted to share how much money I made in my first month selling my first course on Udemy. But before we jump into the actual numbers, I wanted to go over the Udemy revenue breakdown—just so it makes sense why the numbers can vary so much. If you’re already an experienced Udemy instructor and know enough about it, you can skip ahead. If you’re still trying to learn more about how Udemy works, feel free to continue watching.

Revenue Sharing on Udemy

Here’s how revenue sharing works on Udemy:

• The first revenue channel is your promotion—when you are promoting your own course and referring students using your link. If a student purchases the course through your link, you will get 97% of what they pay.
• The second revenue channel is Udemy Organic—where existing Udemy students find your course by browsing. You’ll get 25% of what the student pays.
• The third channel is Udemy Ad Program—where Udemy sends targeted ads to potential students. You’ll also get 25% of what the student pays through this program.
• The fourth revenue channel is Udemy Affiliates—where others promote your course. Again, you’ll get 25% of what the student pays through their affiliate link.

The Impact of Pricing and Promotion

I launched my course in early April, and by May, I made 42.83 dollars. Obviously, that’s not enough to cover my full-time income, but it’s almost enough to cover my Wi-Fi bill, so you know, it’s a little something to put things in perspective. Most Udemy instructors making four or five-figure incomes have multiple courses and have been on the platform for more than one month.

Analyzing Analytics and Sales

Most of my sales came from my own promotion—meaning students found my course through my website or LinkedIn profile. I made one sale from an ad program and another from an affiliate program. This shows how your income can vary depending on where your students come from. Ideally, you want to promote your own course as much as possible, but Udemy also does a good job at promoting for you.

Choosing a Niche

The amount of money you make also heavily depends on your niche and course topic. More technical courses like design or coding typically have a higher earning potential. My course, which is about interview tips, has a relatively lower earning potential, but it still offers a good return on investment if done well.

Conclusion

So that’s my journey so far with Udemy. I only currently have one course, and it’s been only one month. But there are a ton of people who make full-time income creating courses on Udemy, so I think it’s definitely something to consider if you’re interested in the online course space.