So you want to sell your first online course but you’re stuck in that frustrating catch-22?
You’ve heard you need an email list to sell courses. But you also need a course to build your list.
Which comes first?
Here’s what nobody tells you: You’re asking the wrong question.
The Short Answer: Yes, But You’re Missing the Point
Let me be blunt.
Email lists and courses aren’t sequential steps you do one after another.
They’re two sides of the same coin.
The real question isn’t “which comes first?” It’s “how do you build both at the same time?”
Because here’s the thing – having a course actually helps you grow your list faster.
Through sponsorships.
Through affiliate partnerships.
Through having something valuable to point people toward.
And having a backend offer means you can monetize from day one instead of bleeding money on ads or waiting years to “build an audience first.”
You don’t have to choose between building a list or creating a course.
You need both. And you can have both.
Why the “Audience First” Advice Isn’t Wrong (But It’s Incomplete)
Look, I get it.
The conventional wisdom makes sense on paper. Build an audience first. Nurture them. THEN create something to sell.
It’s like starting a fire. You can’t light a flame without kindling to catch it.
I’ve seen this firsthand. I launched a note-taking course to zero audience. Made basically nothing. Then I launched another course to an engaged audience of a few thousand people. Five figures in sales.
The difference? Trust.
Course buyers don’t buy from strangers with the “best” product. They buy from people they know, like, and trust.
That’s why Instagram influencers can sell overpriced Chinese garbage while experts with better products starve. Trust beats quality every single time.
But here’s where the conventional advice falls apart.
The Problem With Waiting
Creating a quality course takes months if you don’t have a system.
Meanwhile, your audience grows cold. Or worse – you never start building one because you’re stuck in the overthinking loop.
“I can’t create a course without an audience.”
“I can’t build an audience without something to sell.”
Round and round you go. Getting nowhere.
Plus, if you spend years building a list while giving everything away for free, you’re training your audience that you’re the “freebie person.” When you finally launch something, crickets.
That’s why you need a different approach.
3 Ways to Sell Courses WITHOUT a Large Email List
Here’s the good news: You don’t need a massive audience to make your first sales.
You just need to be smart about it.
Method 1: Use Affiliates and Joint Ventures
This is how I bootstrapped my business.
Partner with creators who already have audiences in your niche. Offer them 50% commission to promote your course.
They get money. You get sales AND new subscribers.
Win-win.
I’ve added hundreds of subscribers and generated thousands in revenue using this exact strategy. At profit. From day one.
No waiting. No hoping. Just results.
The key is making it worth their while. Don’t be stingy with commissions. 50% of something beats 100% of nothing.
Method 2: Strategic Sponsorships (Ads, But Better)
Forget Meta ads. They’re expensive and complicated.
Instead, pay other creators directly to promote your course or lead magnet.
I spent $40 on a sponsorship once. Generated $3,194 in sales. That’s a 7,885% ROI.
You’re building your list at profit instead of bleeding cash on ads that might not work.
Method 3: Start With Coaching (The Unscalable Path)
If you have a tiny audience or you’re just getting started, sell your time first.
Charge $50-97 for a 30-minute coaching call. If people won’t pay that, they won’t buy your $197 course either.
Use those coaching sessions to validate demand. To understand your audience’s real problems. To test your messaging.
Then build your course AFTER you’ve proven people will pay.
This is the “do things that don’t scale” approach. It won’t make you rich overnight. But it beats spending months creating a course nobody wants.
What Doesn’t Work (And Why Most People Fail)
Now, before you rush off to try these strategies, let me save you some pain.
Here’s what DOESN’T work.
Pre-selling without validation is torture. You’re confused. Stressed. Watching your inbox for sales that might never come. And if they don’t? Devastating.
Spending months perfecting a course first is the “build it and they will come” lie. They won’t come. You’ll just have a beautiful course nobody knows about.
Building a massive list before monetizing trains people you don’t sell anything. When you finally launch, they’re shocked and offended. You’ve positioned yourself as the “freebie person” and now you’re trying to charge? Good luck.
Trying to compete on price is a race to the bottom. You’ll attract cheap customers who complain about everything and never buy again.
Don’t do any of these.
The Validation Secret Nobody Talks About
Here’s the thing most courses won’t tell you about validation.
Forget surveys. Forget asking people what they want.
Humans lie. Not intentionally. They just don’t know what they’ll actually pay for until a credit card is involved.
The only validation that matters is an order form.
Put people in front of a buy button. See what happens. That’s real data.
And here’s something that might surprise you: If you have 3,000 qualified subscribers, that’s enough to make serious money.
The math: $100k/year = $8,333/month = $274/day = 40 sales of a $197 course monthly.
You don’t need a massive audience. You need the RIGHT audience.
The Hybrid Approach: How to Build Your List AND Course Together
So how do you actually combine these strategies?
Here’s the hybrid approach that lets you build both simultaneously – and profit while you do it.
Week 1: Create Your First Simple Product
Don’t overthink this.
Create a $197 course solving ONE painful problem. Not a 25-hour masterclass. Not the “complete system for everything.”
One problem. One solution.
You can create this in 10 hours max. Yes, it’ll have mumbling. Hesitations. Rough slides.
Nobody cares. People buy solutions, not production quality.
Remember that validation secret? If you’re not sure people will buy, start with coaching first. Charge $50-97 for 30-minute calls. Use those insights to build your course.
Week 2: Set Up Your List-Building System
Now you have something to sell. Time to build the infrastructure.
Create a lead magnet. Email courses work best – they convert 5x better than “sign up for my newsletter.”
Set up a welcome sequence that positions you as the leader, not another random person sending emails.
Make sure every piece of content points back to your email signup.
This is your foundation. Don’t skip it.
Week 3-4: Drive Traffic Using Your Course
Here’s where it gets interesting.
Launch affiliate partnerships. Reach out to 10-20 creators in your niche. Offer them 50% commission to promote your course.
Run strategic sponsorships. Pay other creators $40-100 to promote your lead magnet to their audience.
Your course pays for your list-building efforts. You’re not hoping to monetize “someday.” You’re making money NOW while growing your audience.
Ongoing: Email Weekly (Minimum)
Don’t be the person who emails once a month with another freebie.
Email at least weekly. Daily works even better for small audiences.
Keep testing offers until one hits. Then scale what works.
The key is consistency. Your audience needs to hear from you regularly to remember you exist.
Your 4-Week Action Plan (Step-by-Step)
Stop overthinking. Start doing.
Week 1: Create or Validate Your Offer
If you’re starting from zero: Launch a coaching offer at $50-97 to test demand. Book 5-10 calls. Listen to what people struggle with. Use those insights.
If you have an idea: Create a rapid course version in 10 hours max. Focus on ONE specific problem for a specific audience. That’s it.
Don’t wait for perfect. Done beats perfect every time.
Week 2: Build Your Email Infrastructure
Set up your email platform (I recommend Kit or ConvertKit for beginners).
Create your lead magnet. Make it specific and actionable.
Write your welcome sequence:
- Email 1: Deliver the lead magnet + introduce yourself
- Email 2: Share your story + why you’re qualified to help
- Email 3: Provide quick win + tease your paid offer
- Email 4: Make your first soft pitch
- Email 5: Share case study or testimonial
Add email signup forms to everywhere you have a presence online.
Week 3: Launch Traffic Partnerships
Make a list of 10-20 creators in your niche with audiences between 1,000-10,000 subscribers.
Reach out with a simple pitch:
- I have a course on [topic]
- I’ll give you 50% commission on every sale
- Here’s my affiliate link
- Interested?
For sponsorships, offer $50-100 to promote your lead magnet in their newsletter.
Track everything. See what works.
Week 4: Launch and Learn
Send your launch emails. Minimum 7 emails over 7-10 days.
Track your metrics:
- Open rates
- Click rates
- Conversion rates
- Revenue
Use the feedback to improve your next offer.
Then do it again next month.
The Bottom Line
You don’t need a massive audience to sell courses.
You need qualified buyers who trust you.
Building a course and list simultaneously is smarter than doing either alone. Use other people’s audiences through affiliates and sponsorships to bootstrap both.
Start with validation through coaching or rapid course creation. Focus on solving one painful problem people will actually pay to fix.
Stop waiting for the “perfect time” or the “perfect audience size.”
The best time to start was yesterday. The second best time is right now.
Create something simple. Get it in front of people. Make your first sale.
Everything else is just overthinking.