Quick start: Launch your first course in a day

In this article: Everything you need to go from "I have an idea" to "students are enrolling." Five steps, one day. You can do this.

All Plans

Ruzuku has a built-in checklist that walks you through launching a course. This guide follows that same path, with context at each step so you know why you're doing what you're doing.

You don't need to finish everything in one sitting. Some creators knock this out in an afternoon. Others take a few days. Either way, you'll have a live course at the end.

Here's the path:

1. Create your course content
2. Sell — set up payments and pricing
3. Register — build your sales page
4. Welcome your first students
5. Engage your community

Each step below gives you the essentials. For deeper detail on any step, follow the links to the full guide.

Step 1: Create your course content

Start at Courses in the left sidebar and click Create a new course.

You have two options:

• Pick a template (coaching, mini-course, or 6-week flagship) to get a pre-built structure you can customize
• Start from scratch with a blank course

Name your course and click Create course. Don't overthink the name — you can rename it anytime.

Choose your course format

Ruzuku will ask you how students should access your content:

• Full Access — students see everything immediately. Good for self-paced courses.
• Calendar-Based Release Dates — modules unlock on specific dates. Good for cohort courses where everyone starts together.
• Individual Release Dates — modules unlock based on when each student signs up. Good for evergreen courses.

Not sure? Start with Full Access. You can change this later under Manage Course → Course Settings.

Add your first module and lesson

Courses are organized into modules (sections) and lessons (the actual content).

Click Create a new Module, give it a name, then click Create a new Lesson inside it. In the lesson editor, you can add:

• Text (with formatting, links, and images)
• Video (upload directly — up to 2 GB per file, 4 GB on Pro)
• Audio files
• Downloadable files (PDFs, worksheets, slides)
• Discussion prompts
• Assignments for students to submit work

Full guide: Step 1: Create Your Course Content

Step 2: Set up payments and pricing

Before students can pay you, connect a payment processor.

Go to Manage Course → Price Points. Ruzuku will prompt you to connect Stripe (recommended) or PayPal.

• Stripe supports single payments, payment plans, and subscriptions
• PayPal supports single payments only

Connecting Stripe takes about 2 minutes. You'll need your Stripe account email (or you can create one during setup).

Create a price point

After connecting your payment processor, click Add Price Point and choose:

• Free — no payment required
• Single Payment — one-time charge
• Payment Plan — split into monthly installments (Stripe only)
• Subscription — recurring monthly or annual charge (Stripe only)

Set your price, name the price point (students see this name), and save.

Ruzuku charges zero transaction fees on all plans. You only pay standard Stripe or PayPal processing fees (around 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction).

Full guide: Step 2: Set Up Payments and Pricing

Step 3: Build your sales page

Your sales page is where students learn about your course and enroll. Go to Manage Course → Sales page.

Ruzuku gives you a built-in sales page with:

• Your course title and description
• Price points with enroll buttons
• A clean, mobile-friendly layout

Edit the description to tell prospective students what they'll learn and what outcomes they can expect. Keep it focused on their goals, not a feature list.

To find the link to share, go to Manage Course → Sales page and copy the URL. You can also find links for individual price points under Manage Course → Price Points.

Full guide: Step 3: Set Up Registration and Your Sales Page

Step 4: Welcome your first students

Ruzuku sends an automatic welcome email when students enroll. You can customize it under Manage Course → Messages.

A good welcome email includes:

• A thank you for enrolling
• What to expect (how the course works, when content is available)
• How to get started (a direct link to the first lesson helps)
• How to get help if they need it

You can also add an orientation lesson at the beginning of your course to help students navigate. A quick "How to use this course" lesson with a 2-minute video or a few screenshots goes a long way.

Invite your first students

Ready for your first enrollments? You have a few options:

• Share your sales page link — students enroll and pay through your sales page
• Send free invitations — go to Manage Course → Invitations to invite people by email, free of charge. This is useful for beta testers, colleagues, or scholarship students.

Full guide: Step 4: Welcome Your First Students

Step 5: Engage your community

A course is more than content. The creators who see the best results use Ruzuku's engagement tools to build connection:

• Discussion prompts on individual lessons — ask a question, invite students to share their work
• Course-wide discussion forums — create spaces for Q&A, introductions, or open conversation
• Live meetings — host video sessions directly in Ruzuku (supports up to 60 participants) or connect your Zoom account
• Scheduled messages — send course-wide emails to check in, share encouragement, or remind students about upcoming content

You don't need to use all of these. Pick one or two that fit your teaching style and build from there.

Full guide: Step 5: Engage Your Community

Your course is live. Now what?

You've built your content, set up payments, created a sales page, and welcomed your first students. That's a real accomplishment.

Here are a few things to do next:

• Test the enrollment process yourself. Go to Manage Course → Price Points, copy your price point link, and open it in a private browser window. Walk through what your students will see. (How to test enrollment)
• Tell people about it. Share your sales page link on your website, in your email list, and on social media.
• Check in on your students. Go to Manage Course → Students to see who has enrolled and track their progress.
• Explore the full course checklist. Open your course and look for 🚀 Your quick launch guide at the top. It tracks your progress and suggests next steps.
• Join our weekly Office Hours. Get live help and feedback from the Ruzuku team. Join the community course to see upcoming sessions and drop in anytime. You can also email support@ruzuku.com if you get stuck.

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