Check out what instructors are doing to remain motivated during the course creation process!   @GregReverdiau: It can be difficult from time to time to stay motivated but think about all the future students you will help with your course. It might seem like a gigantic task to create an entire course so create a little checklist of all the things you have to do and tackle one after the other. I also like to mix it up by just doing different tasks throughout the process. Like creating slides, then recording, then editing, then creating slides again and starting the process. It helps with the daunting task like editing which can take a long time.  Best of luck to you.    @Laurence-Svekis: This is one of the hardest parts I find to building the courses. I break apart the process in manageble chunks then set my weekly schedule to accomplish them.   I have courses that have taken sometimes 6 months or longer to build and the task tracking has kept me one track.   @GianniBruno011: Hi,   My key tips are: careful planning breaking down tasks into sizeable chunks scheduling As they say, 90% of the work is preperation. If you've planned your course well, then, like a jigsaw, it will all form together nicely.    I spend most of my time planning the course sections and lectures within those sections. I gain an idea of what I want to cover and then I bullet point key points. I then (since my courses are technical) plan the code that's to be used during the lectures.    Once happy with the planning, I start creating content by recording videos. I then place these draft videos into a depository before editing them to a finalised version.   If I take a step back and look at all the tasks ahead, it would be like looking at a moutain of work. To avoid this, I schedule by outstanding tasks and then schedule time each day week-by-week to clearly state what I want to achieve and devote time doing it.   Bit by bit you will complete lectures and sections. By the end of the schedule you'll have next to a perfect course that has been well formed and designed.   As they say, each journey starts with a single step. The motivation for me is finding out if my course is going to be successful. People I'm sure will say it's mostly about helping people (for which it plays a big part) but money is also a motivator. Some courses (if done right) could make considerable amounts each month.  For me it's 50/50. 50% helping people and 50% to provide a new source of income (yes, I'm being very honest - but hey, we've got to live, right? 😉)   Finally, I would say that hard work pays off. Many people spend time after work watching tv, playing games etc. Some of us (especially on this instructors board) make use of our spare time and from that everyone's a winner. It takes devotion and effort but remember the pain of it all is only temporary.   Keep motivated!   Gianni       @McCleish868: What helps me to stay motivated is knowing that I will be added value to at least one person. Also, in the building process, I usually like to try something new that I have never done before so it makes it to be fun as well. Lastly, just talking with friends and family where I am at with the building journey and they adding value to me with their thoughts on the course.   Continue to keep building! Author: @MalayaBiswal 

Hi guys, I thought it could be interesting to have one post with a list of all the usefull sources for instructors, like music, graphics and software.... I started with what I usually use and with what is free. I hope you can add some more sources to the list so it can become very usefull for everyone in the comunity. If you want me to add something write it in an answer to this post and I'll gladly add it to the list.   THE LIST: Free Pictures and Videos: - PIXABAY: https://pixabay.com - PEXELS: https://pexels.com - FREEPIk: https://www.freepik.com - FLATICON: https://www.flaticon.com - UNSPLASH: https://unsplash.com - NEWOLDSTOCK: https://nos.twnsnd.co - VIDEEZY: https://www.videezy.com/ - VECTEEZY: https://www.vecteezy.com/ (Vectors) - THENOUNPROJECT: https://thenounproject.com/ (Icons)   Free Music and Audio Fx: - INCOMPETECH: https://incompetech.com - YOUTUBE AUDIOLIBRARY: https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/music - FREESOUND: https://freesound.org/   Free Video Capture and Video Editor Softwares: - IMOVIE (Mac only): https://www.apple.com/imovie/ - QUICKTIME (Mac only): https://support.apple.com/it_IT/downloads/quicktime - OBS STUDIO: https://obsproject.com/ - LIGHTWORKS: https://www.lwks.com/ - OPENSHOT: https://www.openshot.org/ - SHOTCUT: https://shotcut.org/ - HITFILM EXPRESS: https://fxhome.com/hitfilm-express - VSDC (Windows only): http://www.videosoftdev.com/ - DAVINCI RESOLVE: https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/ - SCREENCASTOMATIC: https://screencast-o-matic.com/   Free Photo Manipulation / Editing Softwares: - GIMP: https://www.gimp.org/ - CANVA: https://www.canva.com/ - INKSCAPE: https://inkscape.org/   Free Power Point Templates: -SLIDESCARNIVAL: https://www.slidescarnival.com   Udemy Specific Resources: - Official Udemy courses on how to create Udemy courses: https://www.udemy.com/user/udemymanager - Instructor revenue share: https://support.udemy.com/hc/en-us/articles/229605008-Instructor-Revenue-Share - Verification process: https://support.udemy.com/hc/en-us/articles/229234067-Instructor-Identity-Verification-Process - Educational Announcements guidelines_ https://support.udemy.com/hc/en-us/articles/229605828-Educational-Announcements-Rules-and-Guidelines - Promotional Emails guidelines: https://support.udemy.com/hc/en-us/articles/229605908-Promotional-Emails-Rules-and-Guidelines - Bonus Lecture guidelines: https://support.udemy.com/hc/en-us/articles/229232847-Bonus-Lecture-Rules-and-Guidelines   Author: @MassimilianoAlf 

When you first start out, you are going to make a ton of mistakes when filming your course. Before filming the entire course, film a few lectures and go back to watch them. There is nothing worse than filming an entire course to find out the audio was muffled, or the video was blurry!   When you first are getting started, remember that audio is much more important than video. After all, if a student can’t hear you or understand you, they will quickly stop watching. Video is much more forgiving than audio, so it is important to invest in a good microphone. There are numerous good quality microphones you can get for under $100 USD, like the ATR2100, the Blue Yeti, or the SmartLav+. When I started on Udemy, I used the SmartLav+ for about 18 months. It records very good audio, and I never got complaints from students for my audio quality.   Next, you need to figure out how to record your video. If you are doing a talking head style format (which I highly recommend), you need a smartphone or webcam to get started. The Logitech c930 is less than $70 USD and films in 1080p HD. This is the camera I used for my first 18 months on Udemy, as well. It provides a great picture for talking heads.   To record your screen, you need some form of screen capture software. For Mac, you can always use the built-in QuickTime software. For Windows, OBS is a good free option, but a little complicated to configure.   You will not be perfect and make Hollywood quality blockbusters when filming your first course. Remember, your first course is always going to be your worst course. Just try to improve each and every course.   Also, when filming your first course, pick a topic that is reasonable for you to complete in a relatively short period of time. Don’t try to make a 20-hour Python programming course on your first attempt. Instead, pick something in the 90-minute range. Make it a project-based course. Something that you can finish in 1-2 months.   For most people, it will take 15-30 hours of writing, filming, and editing to create a 90-minute course. It is a lot of work, but it is worth it if you can do it right.   Now, will the equipment above be all that you use forever? Well, I certainly hope not. This will get you started. Hopefully, you then start earning some money and can reinvest back into your new business of online teaching. My current setup includes a set of LED lights ($800), a prosumer model HD video camera ($1200), a really nice lavelier mic ($400), a teleprompter system for my camera ($500), and a really nice desktop computer to do all our editing on ($4200). Did I need all that to get started?   No! But over time we added a piece here and there, and now our quality of our new courses i son par with the professional production companies here on Udemy and beyond. That makes it easier for students to decide to buy our courses when compared against the "pros".   I hope this helps you get started out there, Jason Dion   Author: @JasonDion