Start with what you already know
Distinction is built for people who already know their subject. You do not need a film studio or a long instructional-design project to begin — you need an idea, a syllabus, or a set of notes you already teach from. From that starting point, Distinction drafts a full course outline: modules, lessons, and a sensible order that you can shape before any learner sees it.
The role of AI here is to get you to a real, teachable course quickly, not to fill pages with generic text. It handles the structure and the first draft so that publishing takes days rather than months, while you remain the expert throughout. Where a heading is not quite right, you refine it; where a topic belongs earlier, you move it. Treat the draft as a strong first version to shape, not a finished product to publish untouched.
It also helps to be clear about what you are creating. A Distinction course is a structured learning product — lessons, assessments, and progress that a learner moves through. If what you have is a single workbook or PDF, it may be better sold as a digital product; if you have a full curriculum, Create and sell online courses is the right home for it. Matching the format to what you actually have keeps the experience clear for your buyer.
Generate the outline first
Open the creators flow and give Distinction the material you already trust: a week-by-week syllabus, a list of exam topics, a workshop agenda, or even a single sentence naming the outcome. The generator returns a set of modules and lessons — a first map of the course.
Read that map the way a new student would. Does each lesson build on the one before it? Does the final module deliver the outcome the title promised? Would a parent or a hiring manager understand what the learner can now do? Where the answer is no, refine the headings before you generate the lesson content, because a clear structure produces far better lessons than a rushed one.
Once the outline is honest, let Distinction draft the lesson bodies. Aim for each lesson to teach a single idea well: a short explanation, a concrete example, and a way to check understanding — a quiz, a short task, or a practical you already use in class. Keep the teaching approach you trust, and let the draft fill in the connective tissue between your sessions.
Add video where it helps
Many creators publish a strong text-and-quiz course first, then add video to the lessons that need it. If you would like video from the start, Video Studio turns a lesson objective into a script, narration, and a finished clip you can drop straight into the lesson — no camera required. The full method is in How to turn a course idea into an explainer video with AI.
Video is an ingredient, not a checkout. You can create explainers before a price exists, and you can replace any generated clip with your own footage later. The first version simply needs to be clear.
Price the course and choose who can see it
Accounts start free, and course creators keep up to 97% of each course sale, with card processing handled separately. Set a price you can stand behind, in the currency your buyer uses — Distinction supports multi-currency pricing. A free introductory lesson can draw people in, while your paid modules deliver the outcome your title promises.
You also decide who can see the course. Public courses can appear on the learners hub, where new students discover them; invite-only courses stay off that list, which is ideal while you are still refining assessments or running a private cohort. Publish publicly when the outline is genuinely ready and you want to be found.
From idea to first enrolment
- Write the outcome in one sentence a buyer would pay for.
- Paste your syllabus, topic list, or that sentence into the course generator.
- Refine the module and lesson titles until the path is clear to a newcomer.
- Generate lesson bodies for the first modules, read them through, and correct any details.
- Add an assessment where students most often need support.
- Optionally, generate an explainer for the lesson that is hardest to grasp.
- Set a price on the course, and choose invite-only or public access.
- Complete identity verification and connect a bank account before you promise a withdrawal date — earnings sit in your wallet after a sale. See How payouts work.
- Share the public course page or the invite link, and watch completion, not just sign-ups.
After the first sale
Once money starts to move, the most useful thing to study is where learners pause. Add assessments where they stall, and improve the explainer for any lesson with a noticeable drop-off. In time, the same course can live inside a branded academy on your own domain — a natural next step once you have proven the first cohort, not a requirement for your first sale.
A course and an academy are different things worth keeping distinct. A course is one curriculum with a checkout; an academy is the school around it, with your brand, your domain, many courses, and learner management. Growing from one into the other is a deliberate step you take when the school is ready to stand on its own.
If you are comparing platforms before you commit, Teachable vs Distinction and Distinction, Kajabi, and LearnWorlds lay out the differences, with fee tables on the compare pages. And if you are still deciding between a course, a file, and notes, How Distinction pricing works explains which model fits.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a camera to create a Distinction course?
No. Distinction can generate lessons and explainer video from your outline. You can still upload your own footage later.
How much do course creators keep?
Course creators keep up to 97% of each course sale. Processing is separate. This is not the store fee for files.