Ask HN: Is it still worth selling technical courses?

[skipthemeat]

I want to make money from a product but I don't have a good idea for SaaS or anything physical for that matter.

But I have niche technical knowledge such as blockchain, cryptography, functional programming etc and a knack for explaining it well.

I figure publishing and selling a technical course is a good intermediate step towards making money outside of a job.

Is there still demand for technical video courses out there or is the market flooded?

[amorphous]

You need to establish yourself as an expert and build an audience if you want to make serious money selling your expertise. It doesn't matter how you transfer your knowledge, be it via courses, books, workshops or live training.

This takes time and dedication.

Try starting small. I made so far 1.5k for a course published on udemy that took me around 2 months to develop. It's not bad money (in fact so far moneywise my most successful side project) but in no way comparable to what I would earn as a developer. It was fun and educational for me but I see this as a marketing vehicle to drive consulting business to me rahter than my main source of income.

[smartis2812]

Personally i think the market is flooded with technical videos. I can look up anything on YouTube or dev.tube. I also had a pretty negative experience with a Udemy course.

So for me, i'll not pay for any technical video courses in near future. But I can recommend dev.tube :)