How can one create and sell online courses for free without using a payment gateway on Shopify?

If you wanna create and sell online courses for free without messing with a payment gateway on Shopify, you gotta be slick about it. Here’s the lowdown:

Step 1: Get Your Course Game On

Pick a Topic: Choose something you’re passionate about and that folks wanna learn. It could be anything from cooking to coding, just make sure there’s a crowd for it.

Outline Your Course: Break down your content into modules or sections. Like, what are the main points you wanna hit? This keeps things organized, fam!

Step 2: Create Your Content

Video Magic: Grab your phone or webcam and start recording. Make sure you got decent lighting and sound—ain't nobody tryna watch a dark, muffled video.

Use Slides: Tools like Canva or Google Slides can help you whip up some dope presentations to go along with your vids.

PDFs and Extras: Create downloadable PDFs or worksheets for your students. This adds extra value, and they’ll appreciate it!

Step 3: Host Your Content for Free

YouTube or Vimeo: Upload your videos to YouTube (set to unlisted if you don’t want them public) or Vimeo. This way, you can share links without dealing with payment headaches.

Google Drive: Store your PDFs and other resources there. Just share the links with your students.

Step 4: Set Up Your Shopify Store

Create a Store: Even if you’re not using payment gateways, you can still set up a store. Just sign up on Shopify and choose a template that vibes with your style.

Add Courses as Products: List your courses as products. In the description, explain what your course is all about and what’s included. Make it enticing, ya know?

Step 5: Free Access without Payment

Use Discount Codes: Create discount codes that give your students a full discount. When they check out, they just enter the code, and bam! Free access.

Manual Enrollment: You can also just collect emails through a contact form or a free signup link. Once they sign up, send them the course links via email.

Step 6: Promote Like a Boss

Social Media: Get the word out on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, or Facebook. Show snippets of your course, share tips, and engage with your audience.

Email Marketing: If you collected emails, start a newsletter to keep your students in the loop. Share updates, new courses, or exclusive content to keep ‘em interested.

Step 7: Engage and Build a Community

Facebook Groups or Discord: Create a space for your students to interact, ask questions, and share their progress. This keeps ‘em connected and loyal to you.

Live Q&As: Host live sessions to answer questions and connect with your students. This builds trust and encourages them to spread the word.

Wrap It Up

So, that’s the game plan! You don’t need to drop cash on payment gateways or fancy platforms. Just hustle hard, be creative, and keep engaging with your audience. You got this!