Teaching the future leaders of your country is indeed a noble career to be proud of. However, with costs spiraling out of control, it has become a real challenge for some teachers to afford the things they love. 

For this reason, many teachers have resorted to second jobs after school hours or starting a side hustle. Below we go over some examples of how teachers earning extra money opens up better opportunities than teaching!

Teachers today can sell online courses, host online classes, and even offer remote consultation services, all from the comfort of their homes. In addition, online courses are accessible to anyone from around the world at any given time. 

So this means no time constraints on making money - Earn while class is out or while you're even asleep!

The best part? Teachers are among the most suited individuals for creating online courses. This is because they already have the expertise to do so.

In this guide, we will show you how teachers can make money online and how to get started quickly and easily. 

But before we do so, let's take a look at the phenomenon of knowledge commerce. 

What Is Knowledge Commerce?

Knowledge commerce: noun - The exchange of online knowledge. 

This is probably how a dictionary would feature “knowledge commerce,” a term coined by professionals in the online learning space. 

Knowledge commerce is:

Gaining access to paid online learning materials or

Charging students to access your online journals (your knowledge)

It is the current shift of our physical education system into online learning channels. The eagerness of prestigious universities to transition to online learning and virtual universities is a testament to the power of knowledge commerce. 

The ability to study at world-renown institutions from any location is an absolute game-changer for both students and teachers. More affordable learning due to less transport and book costs allows more students to empower themselves, and institutions can cater to a larger audience. 

Why Are Teachers Ideal for Knowledge Commerce?

Universities are not the only institutions that take part in knowledge commerce. It is also isn't limited to just teachers. Anyone who is an expert in their field (or wants to share their knowledge with the world) can sell courses online. 

Selling courses online has become so popular lately. Everyone and anyone are trying to build their online course. 

Figuring out what course to create is a common problem most people have. But on the other hand, teachers have years of experience and expertise that will allow them to create a professional online course easily. 

For example, a Mathematics teacher can create individual courses for Trigonometry, Precalculus, etc. Likewise, a Physics teacher can create courses that explore the various subjects within the Physics curriculum. 

These courses can help students that are falling behind in their studies. However, such students require additional tuition or perspective so that these courses can be a massive help on a global scale. 

As a teacher, your knowledge is a valuable asset that can be developed into a product and sold online. 

5 Ways for Teachers To Make Money Online

There are multiple ways for teachers to make extra money online. You can try:

• Online classes
• Selling courses online
• Developing a membership site
• Seeking out sponsorships and/or ads for your content
• Answer Questions

As an entrepreneur, you are not restricted to using just a single method to earn an income. Instead, you can try out different ways to see which one works best. 

Here’s a closer look at the ways that teachers can make money online:

Online Classes

Online consulting and coaching are turning out to be lucrative for the experts that practice them. For example, you can charge people an hourly rate to do a personal video call with them. Or, you can do a group video call session (with an app like Zoom). 

Online classes are ideal if you wish to offer students additional tuition. Some students (or teachers) may not have the means to travel for after-school tuition. Attending (or hosting) an online class after school is convenient for everyone. 

Coaching is an excellent way to offer students the support they are looking for. Instead of providing standard teaching classes, you can give guidance by encouraging students to take on challenges independently.

Live Zoom Classes with Bernadette

Bernadette Plazola is a music teacher that regularly uploads ukelele tutorials on YouTube. Her videos became popular enough to help her build a substantial audience online. 

Bernadette consistently hosts Zoom classes for her students. She even offers one-on-one lessons during these classes.

If you wish to join Bernadette’s Zoom classes, you will have to become a member of her Patreon. (More on membership platforms further down this post),

We had the pleasure of speaking with Bernadette, who shared some crucial advice on turning her passion for teaching into a full-time online career. Full interview below:

Online Courses

Online courses are an excellent resource for students looking for an easy and affordable way to learn. Students can purchase a course and learn at their own pace. 

Online courses are also an exceptional way for teachers to earn a passive income. Most of your expertise and effort will go into creating the course (your product). You can then focus only on marketing once the course is ready. 

If done correctly, your online course will sell even while you sleep!

How Parker Walbeck Built a 7-Figure Film Empire

Parker Walbeck is a professional filmmaker that regularly uploads movie-making tutorials to his YouTube channel. His high-quality content has helped him build an audience of almost 2 million YouTube subscribers. 

Parker is best known for his Full-Time Filmmaker course. This course helps aspiring filmmakers learn basic and advanced techniques in filming and editing. 

He expertly directs his online audience to his paid Filmmaker course. Then, with everything set on autopilot (including the course), Parker can simply sit back and watch his income grow.

Parker Walbeck’s success story has already been documented here on this blog. You can jump straight into the article here - How Parker Walbeck Built a 7-Figure Film Empire 

Or, watch a summary of his career below:

Membership Sites

A membership site is a simple concept. Charge a monthly fee to fans who wish to access content on your membership site. A model that has near-unlimited potential. 

Just take a look at brands like Amazon and Netflix. Millions of users pay a monthly recurring fee to access Amazon's audiobooks and Netflix's video content. Modern-day content creators have adopted this model with great success. 

As a teacher, you can charge students a monthly fee to access exclusive content or be a part of online classes. Teachers can also include access to other paid courses, research journals, and even monthly one-on-one sessions. 

The more you charge your subscribers, the more you will have to give. This is where Tiers come in. Here's an example of what a teacher can charge students monthly for:

• Tier 1: $2 per month to access your online lessons, journals, tools, etc.
• Tier 2: $5 per month for additional perks like exclusive tutorials and early access to your content (includes everything from tier 1)
• Tier 3: $10 per month for all perks and access to physical classes at a designated location. You can even offer tutorial requests. 

Bernadette Plazola (mentioned earlier) does an excellent job creating her membership tiers. Here is an example of how her tiers are structured:

Sponsorships and Ads

If you look at an online teacher as a content creator, you will unlock many opportunities for online income. 

Traditional teaching is about getting paid to teach a class of students. However, a teacher that creates content online can earn money from various channels because of that content. 

Here's how:

Blogger

A teacher can start a blog. Then publish content in the form of blog posts, research articles, case studies, and more. 

When that blog starts generating traffic, the teacher can then insert ads (e.g., Google Adsense) into the blog to earn revenue from the site. It's also possible to get a sponsorship for a blog in exchange for featuring the sponsor's products in blog posts.

YouTuber

Creating educational videos for YouTube is another excellent way to earn ad revenue from Adsense. Once your channel has a significant following on the platform, you can initiate the Adsense program to run ads and make money. 

As you may already know, many YouTube channels feature sponsor segments in their videos. For example, “This video is brought to you by Raid Shadow Legends.”

A teacher with a sizeable YouTube channel can approach brands relevant to students to seek out a sponsorship. A few examples are:

• Laptop brands
• Stationary brands
• Book stores
• Department stores

Dave Farina is the perfect example of how a teacher can build a successful YouTube career. His channel Professor Dave Explains, has almost 2 million subscribers and features videos on Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, and more.

We had the opportunity of talking to Professor Dave who was willing to share his secrets to building his massive following online. 

Watch the full interview below:

Social Media 

People build legitimate careers for themselves on social media all the time. They build a large following on platforms like Instagram and TikTok. Then accept paid promotions from brands. 

Source: Instagram @maths_tricks_and_formulas

A paid promotion can be as simple as creating a post for a brand relevant to your profile. 

Where Can Teachers Earn Extra Money Online?

We covered the different ways that teachers can make money online. Now, let's look at the different platforms and tools that teachers can use to make money online.

Online Learning Platforms

Online learning platforms like Skillshare and Udemy are excellent places for teachers to start their online teaching careers. Simply follow their instructions to become a teacher on their platform and submit your courses. 

These platforms make it easy for people to create and sell online courses, which is ideal for first-timers. However, learning platforms have various ways of paying teachers. 

Some platforms (like Skillshare) will pay teachers based on a "Royalty System." This means teachers earn based on minutes watched by premium students. Other platforms may charge a commission on the number of courses sold. 

To Sum Up: 

Learning platforms are an excellent place for teachers to start their online teaching careers. You can learn a lot about what is required from you to develop a great course. There's also a lot to learn about marketing your courses as well. 

The downside is that your income is regulated by the people who run the platform. So, you can use a platform like Skillshare to learn the ropes before you develop a superb online course that you can sell direct to students. 

Hyax

Hyax is an online service that allows you to build and sell online courses. You can also use Hyax to create a membership site and sell digital products like academic journals (and more). 

The advantage of using Hyax is that it is an all-in-one solution that allows you to build different types of products at one monthly cost. Other platforms will charge a commission on the courses you sell and your revenue from the membership sites you make. 

To Sum Up:

Teachers that already have an online audience (Through social or YouTube) should use a platform like Hyax to sell courses directly to their students. This will allow the teachers to generate more revenue from their courses.

Teachers can also create a membership platform for their students with Hyax. This means that teachers can charge students a monthly fee to access courses, online classes, academic journals, and more. 

Membership Platforms

Membership platforms like Patreon, Podia, and even Only Fans allow users to create membership sites for their online audience. As mentioned earlier, membership sites enable teachers to charge students to access their content. 

To Sum Up:

Membership sites are a great way for teachers to build a monetizable audience and create a steady monthly income stream. However, your audience belongs to the platform (Patreon, Podia, etc.), which makes it difficult to transfer your paying audience elsewhere. 

Hyax is considered more of a tool to help you build your membership site, which is why your audience is your own if using Hyax.

Case Study: Stephane Nguyen - The French Cooking Academy

Stephane Nguyen spent years uploading engaging cooking tutorials on YouTube. His talent and perseverance allowed him to grow his channel to over 700K subscribers!

Stephane also leveraged his interest in cooking to create a thriving full-time cooking academy and business. Users can enroll in classes focused on mastering French sauces and deserts. 

We spoke to Stephane, who shared valuable insights into turning his educational content into a successful income-generating venture and monetizing his cooking skills. 

Full interview below:

TL;DR

Teaching the next generation of leaders is a noble and inspiring job. However, being able to afford the things you love is almost impossible today. More teachers are turning to second jobs and incomes to have a chance of affording their homes. 

Making money online is perfect for teachers looking to earn an income after school hours and from the comfort of their own homes. Teachers use their current skillset to create and sell online courses, host online classes, answer questions, and more. 

Things have become even more straightforward these days with so many platforms allowing teachers to easily sell their courses online. Most platforms keep a percentage of sales, while other platforms charge a standard monthly fee. 

Let us know what you think of our ways for teachers to earn money online. Do you know of other ways that teachers can create online incomes for themselves? Lets us know in the comments. 

Jack Paxton

Jack Paxton is the co-founder of VYPER, a marketing tool that helps brands build email lists, social followings, and revenue using viral giveaways, referral, and reward programs. After millions of dollars spent testing different marketing strategies at his marketing agency. He then also co-founded Hyax a fast, conversion & design-focused course and funnel builder for creators.