How Online Courses Work
Create and sell courses, memberships, and digital content alongside your live events. Everything in one platform — no monthly fees, no extra subscriptions, and you keep 95% of every sale.
Video Hosting
Upload videos directly. We handle streaming, quality, and storage. No Vimeo needed.
Course Builder
Organize content into modules and lessons. Drag to reorder. Set prerequisites.
Flexible Pricing
One-time, payment plans, subscriptions, free trials, and sliding scale options.
Event Integration
Bundle courses with events. Cross-sell at checkout. One unified audience.
Creating Your First Course
Build a complete course in minutes with our intuitive course builder.
Set Up Your Course
Add a title, description, cover image, and set your pricing. Choose who can access it and when it becomes available.
Build Your Curriculum
Create modules to organize your content. Each module contains lessons with videos, text, downloads, and quizzes.
Upload Your Content
Upload videos directly or embed from YouTube/Vimeo. Add text lessons, PDFs, audio files, and any downloadable resources.
Publish & Promote
Preview your course, then publish. Share the link, add it to your link-in-bio, and promote to your email list.
Introduction
3 lessons • 18 min
The Basics
5 lessons • 42 min
Advanced Techniques
8 lessons • 1h 15min
Final Project
2 lessons • 25 min
What You Can Create
Different formats for different teaching styles.
Video Courses
Full curriculum with modules, lessons, progress tracking, and completion certificates.
Memberships
Recurring subscriptions with ongoing access to your content library and community.
Digital Downloads
PDFs, audio files, worksheets, templates, and any downloadable resources.
Community Access
Discussion spaces for students to connect, ask questions, and support each other.
Live Sessions
Scheduled calls, Q&As, and group coaching sessions with your students.
Certificates
Automatic completion certificates that students can download and share.
Pricing Your Courses
Flexible options to match how your students want to pay.
One-Time Payment
Students pay once and get lifetime access. Simple and straightforward.
Payment Plans
Split the cost into 2-12 monthly installments. Lower barrier, same revenue.
Subscriptions
Monthly or annual recurring billing. Perfect for memberships and ongoing access.
Free Trials
Let students try before they buy with 7, 14, or 30-day free trials.
Drip Content Scheduling
Release content on a schedule to pace your students through the material.
Time-Based Unlocking
Set modules to unlock 7, 14, or 30 days after enrollment. Great for pacing students through intensive material.
Date-Based Unlocking
Schedule modules to unlock on specific dates. Perfect for cohort-based courses with fixed start dates.
Prerequisite-Based
Require students to complete previous modules before accessing the next. Ensure they don't skip ahead.
The Event Integration Advantage
This is what makes BrightStar different. Your courses and events live in the same ecosystem, so you can:
- Offer course access as an add-on during event checkout
- Give event attendees exclusive pricing on your courses
- Bundle live retreats with online follow-up courses
- Turn workshop recordings into course content instantly
- Maintain one audience list across events and courses
Analytics & Insights
Understand how students engage with your content.
Enrollment Tracking
See new enrollments, revenue, and trends over time. Compare performance across courses.
Completion Rates
Track how many students finish your course and identify where they drop off.
Lesson Engagement
See which lessons get the most views and how long students spend on each.
Community Activity
Monitor discussion participation and identify your most engaged students.
Troubleshooting
Video won't upload
Check your file format (MP4, MOV, WebM supported) and file size. For very large files, try compressing first or use a stable connection. Uploads can be resumed if interrupted.
Student can't access content
Verify their payment completed successfully in your dashboard. Check if the content is drip-locked or has prerequisites. They may need to log in again.
Payment plan failed
If a student's payment fails, they receive an email to update their card. You can also manually extend access while they resolve billing issues.
Certificate not generating
Certificates generate when all required lessons are marked complete. Check that all lessons have completion tracking enabled and the student has finished each one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Go to your dashboard and click "Create Course." Add a title, description, and cover image. Then use the course builder to add modules and lessons. You can upload videos, add text content, attach downloadable resources, and set completion requirements for each lesson.
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Create your first course in minutes. No monthly fees, keep 95% of every sale.