An online course creation software list cannot be complete without a webinar software.

Webinars are a great way to sell your online courses.

 They help you gain trust with your students. Conducting a value adding webinar is a great way to sell your main online course.

Zoom is a very reliable software that literally became the go-to software for online webinars and meetings during the COVID pandemic. 

It even has a free version that limits your webinar duration to 40 minutes. I use the paid version because currently my webinars are 3 hours long.

When it comes to online course creation software, having a tool that can automate things for you should always be preferred.

While Zoom is great for conducting LIVE webinars, a software like EasyWebinar allows you to run your webinars on autopilot.

Simply put, automated webinars are recorded videos that look and feel like LIVE webinars but can run without your presence. 

They are also referred to as Evergreen webinars.

They are great for scaling your business and lead generation.

A screen recording software allows you to record your screen and create instructional videos, which is perhaps the most popular way of creating videos for online courses.

A good screen recording software will also give you the ability to add a webcam overlay on top of the screen recording so you can be seen in a small window as you teach.

Even though OBS is a free screencasting software, I prefer to use Bandicam. It's cheap and easier to use as compared to OBS.

The Logitech C920 HD Pro webcam is perhaps the most popular webcam to be ever manufactured. Currently it has over 22,000 reviews on Amazon.

I knew I could not go wrong with this choice and the webcam did not disappoint at all.

Tack sharp, great contrast, perfect field of view angle (width) and the best part is that you can change any settings using the Logitech Capture software.

I use it for my webinars and creating videos via screen recording.

But it can be a bit expensive. If you are looking for a budget option and don't mind HD resolution, the Logitech C270 is also a good choice. I used this one for a very long time before I switched to the C920.

The most important thing to focus on when you are creating videos for your online courses is actually the audio quality. 

Your students can still forgive you for slightly substandard video quality but no one will tolerate poor audio. This is why it's very important to get your hands on a good microphone.

For screencasting or any kind of voice-over, I use the popular Blue Yeti USB mic. It produces an amazing output and just like any other USB mic, it's literally plug and play. 

USB mics like the Blue Yeti are great for times when you are sitting in front of the laptop and recording. But there will also be times in your video when you are outdoors or moving around and you will still need to record good audio.

For these situations, a lavalier mic (collar mic) is the best solution.

I've been using the Rode SmartLavPlus for a very long time and I think it's the best lavalier microphone out there. You can connect it to your smartphone and use any recording app.

If you are on a budget, then you can go for a cheaper alternative like the Boya Lavalier Mic.

I'm not a big fan of mounting the webcam on the laptop screen itself because it never gives me a good angle and it'snot very flexible when it comes to composing the frame.

I used to use a tripod for a long time but that's difficult to manage especially if you travel.

So this webcam stand is something that solved the issue for me. It is actually a mic stand but you can use it to hold your webcam. It just clamps on the table itself therefore it takes less space also. You can move it in any direction and get the perfect framing and it is light-weight also.

In case your webcam doesn't have a screw thread at the bottom, you will have to buy a phone bracket clip also which will actually attach to this stand and then on that you will mount your webcam.

I use this 12" LED Ring Light by Digitek for my webinars.

It lights up my face well and fills in the shadows. Like me, if you are slightly conscious of how you look while conducting a webinar, this will definitely boost your confidence as it hides those little annoying things like dark circles, rashes, etc.

It's very convenient to use since it's powered by a USB adapter. It also comes with a stand and even a phone holder.

It offers three types of colour temperatures - cool (like a tube light) , warm (slightly yellowish) and very warm (extremely yellowish).

This is one of tools that is quite rare and underrated when it comes to online course creation software.

When you are creating your training videos, a lot of times you will want to draw things, like how we are used to drawing on a whiteboard in a real class. This usually happens a lot when it comes to explaining things with a diagram.

In these cases I've found the Wacom tab to be a great tool. You can use a free software like Sketchbook along with it.

I have tried a lot of different video editing software, both free and paid ones, throughout my online entrepreneurial journey. And I can tell you straight away Adobe Premiere Pro is a cut above the rest. 

The reason for that is that it's really smooth. In video editing, lags are quite common and can get quite frustrating. With Premiere Pro, the lags are way lesser and everything just seems to work so well.

I did have to upgrade my Dell Gaming laptop from 8 GB RAM to 16 GB RAM in order to get the best out of it.

It comes at a price though. Currently I'm paying Rs.1675/month.

When it comes to creating videos where you can't use a webcam, you'll have to either use your phone or a proper camera like  DSLR or a Mirrorless camera. 

A DSLR or a Mirrorless camera is preferable than using a phone especially if you are willing to dig deeper and learn about how to shoot videos using the manual settings as that can improve the look of your videos.

I currently use the Nikon D5500 and Nikon D750 for shooting my videos and photos related to my Online Course Business.

An e-mail marketing software is perhaps the most essential tools when it comes to online course creation software.

Having an e-mail list allows you to constantly expose your brand to your prospects by emailing them, thereby increasing your chances of developing a great relationship with your customers. As an instructor, you need to constantly communicate with your students.

Currently I'm using ConvertKit and I'm in love with it because of the ease with which you can use this software. 

Fun fact: ConvertKit's founder, Nathan Barry, was himself an online course creator. So you know you're getting a software that is specifically designed for online entrepreneurs who sell digital products like online courses.

A page building software enables you to quickly create professional looking sales pages for your online courses on your website.

Remember, one of the most crucial aspects of being able to sell your online course is how professional your sales page looks because that leaves a lasting impression in your prospective students mind. 

For a long time, I used to manually create these sales pages and not only was it frustrating and time consuming, the pages never looked good too since designing was never my one of my strengths.

Using Thrive Architect means I get ready made professional templates which I can install with one click and then just tinker around with the text and images as per my liking. 

When you run an online course business, it's a must that you create your own website. For this you need two things - a hosting service and a domain name (we'll be talking about domains next). 

The hosting company that you choose has to be of good quality otherwise you'll have issues with your website.

I've been using Hostgator for almost 8 years now and I've almost never had any issues with them. One of the best part about Hostgator is the amazing support they offer. The moment you have any issues, just head over to their Live chat and a representative will solve your issue right at that moment.

A domain name basically means name/address of your website.

You have to buy domain names from a domain name provider and then connect this domain name to your hosting service provider (some hosting service providers also allow you to buy domain names from them when you are purchasing hosting.)

Namecheap is again a company that I started using when I purchased hosting from Hostgator in 2012. It's a reliable company and probably the most popular when it comes to buying domains. 

Facebook ads are simply the easiest, most effective, economical and fastest way to get traffic to your business.....if you do things correctly.

I have been using Facebook ads since 2012 and I'm not exaggerating when I say that none of the online businesses that I have currently would have existed if it wasn't for Facebook advertising.

Zapier is a different type of online course creation software in the sense that it is not directly responsible for creating your online course.

But it facilitates the process of integrating apps that help you create your online course.

One of the biggest issues that you will face as an online entrepreneur is that a lot of times, two different software that you are using will have to be integrated and made to work together.

Unless a built-in integration exists between those two software, you'll need to use a service like Zapier, whose primary purpose is to connect two different software.

For instance, when I conduct my webinars, I need to connect Instamojo (my payment portal) with my email marketing software so when a student registers for my webinar and makes a payment using Instamojo, they are automatically added as a subscriber in my email marketing software. That is done using Zapier by making a "Zap" between Instamojo and ConvertKit in this case. If I were to do things manually, I would have had to manually add the subscriber each time on my own.

This is just one example. With Zapier, sky is the limit as long as the different software that you want to integrate have a tie-up with Zapier.

When it comes to online course creation software, a LMS is actually what comes to the mind first. But what is a LMS?

A LMS (Learning Management System) is a used to host and deliver your online course in a secure manner.

When a student purchases your course, the LMS software will provide them with a unique Login ID and password which they can use to access the course which is hosted on the LMS platform.

I am currently using Spayee to host and deliver my main course called Online Course Launchpad.

Spayee is an Indian company so the monthly fee is low which works very well for me and the best part is that it directly integrates with Instamojo.

If you are outside India, popular LMS platforms like Teachable and Thinkific are usually the ones to opt for.

Earlier on you read about a Learning Management System, which is the platform where you will host your online course.

Now all LMS platforms allow you to upload your online course videos directly but some of them charge you on the basis of bandwidth usage by your students. The more data that your students consume (the more videos they watch in your course), the more you'll have to pay. This is usually not a problem when you are starting out but when your student base grows, it can become an issue to think about.

Like mentioned before, I use Spayee as my LMS and Spayee has bandwidth restrictions if you directly upload the videos on their platform. So I use Vimeo, a third part service to upload my videos and then I embed these videos using the built-in integration that Spayee has with Vimeo.

You can also use YouTube for this by using the Unlisted setting to make the videos private but the issue is that embedded YouTube videos are very easy to share as the link is openly available. Vimeo makes it more secure but you'll have to use a paid plan of Vimeo.

Undoubtedly the best payment portal in India. I've tried others like CCAvenue, Razorpay, etc, but nothing comes close to Instamojo, especially for Online entrepreneurs.

They just provide so many features which completely make them different from all their competitors. 

They also have a lot of built-in apps and integrations that make life very easy for an online course creator.

One of the biggest challenges beginner online entrepreneurs face is that of creating professional looking designs for different things like social media posts, website images, online ads, etc.

Canva is a great tool which offers countless free templates where all you need to do is edit the template according to your liking but the design is all ready for you.

They do have some paid templates too but for the most part, the free ones will do the job for you.

A lot of people ignore designing tools when it comes to online course creation software. Don't make this mistake as good looking designs are very important too.

Just like Canva, I use Photoshop for designing related stuff too. Usually, it's to do something custom and advanced which won't be possible in Canva. 

I also use to to give some finishing touches to the images I use on Click Trainers (make myself look better than I do :P) and also for creating social media images like YouTube video thumbnails, profile  pictures for different platforms, working on logos etc.

If you are running an online business of any kind, you will require images all the time. Free stock photo websites like Pixabay and Pexels make it very easy to get high quality photos for free, which can be legally used commercially.

Fiverr is a great website to outsource tasks that you are not good at. You can hire cheap freelancers and get the job done very quickly. 

They offer all types of freelance services like graphic design, digital marketing, solving website issues, creating and editing videos, etc.

The name Fiverr initially referred to the $5 rate at which you could get any service from a freelancer. But as the company has grown, so have the rates. You'll usually be spending around $5 - $30, depending on the extent of the service.

I usually use Fiverr for services related to graphic design, content creation and removing malware from websites when my site gets hacked.