What to Know About Selling Your Notes Online: Tips & Tricks

By Brittany Loeffler on December 15, 2020

What if there was a way for you to make some extra cash without having to put too much extra work into doing it? College students have a fantastic and profitable opportunity to sell their class notes online!

If you are a top-grade student who takes careful, precise, and organized notes, then you can sell your notes online and make some extra money without having to put too much effort into it. This is a great way to use the hard work you’ve already done and monetize it while also helping other students.

How do you get started selling your notes online? By the end of this article, you’ll know everything about how to make money from your notes and why you should do it as soon as possible.

selling your notes

via Pixabay

Why Sell Your Notes?

You may be wondering why you should start selling your notes online. After all the hard work you’ve done sitting in class, paying attention, and taking detailed notes, why does someone else deserve to have them?

The first reason is so you can make some extra money. We all know the typical stereotype of a broke college student and you don’t want to play into it. Selling your notes is an easy way to make some cash during the semester. Rather than spending hours working at a part-time job that doesn’t enhance your education, wouldn’t you want to save time and make money off of something you’ve already done?

The second reason is to help your fellow classmates. Not everyone has the skillset to take amazing notes like you do. Some may have to work a part-time job while in school and don’t have the time to take such fantastic notes. These students still deserve to pass their classes though!

Some universities also don’t have the resources that students may need for extra help. By selling your notes, you can help these students pass their exams and work towards their degree.

Lastly, selling your notes can actually help you do better in school and get higher grades. When you know that you will be selling your notes to other students, you will automatically pay better attention in class and take better notes. Therefore, you absorb more information and will do better on exams.

Are Your Notes Good Enough to Sell?

Before you decide to sell your notes online, you should determine if they are even good enough to sell. If they aren’t good enough right now, you can do things to improve your note-taking skills and make them the high quality they need to be.

In order to sell your notes, they should be organized, easy to read, include key information, and have a precise structure.

Below are some tips for making sure you have good notes that could sell.

Relevant Information

The first thing you should know about taking notes is that they shouldn’t be word-for-word from the lecture of your professor. They should be paraphrased and only include the most important, relevant information. Include definitions, keywords, numbers, and statistics in your notes to keep them short, precise, and relevant.

Note Structures

Your notes should be consistent in the structure that they take. There are three proven note-taking structures that help you organize your thoughts and take better notes while in class.

Outline

Probably the most commonly used and intuitive note-taking structure is the outline. Using bullet points and indentations, you can organize your thoughts and expand on different topics more in-depth.

These are easy to take both by typing or handwriting. They are also easy to review as your eyes will naturally move down the page to read the information.

The Cornell Note-Taking Method

Cornell University created this method to help their students take better notes and digest the information better.

The page in your notebook should be separated into three columns. The column on the left will be used for the main points of the lecture and your thoughts and interpretations. This can be filled out either after class or as you review the information later that evening.

The other two columns are used to take notes while listening to the lecture. So, your thoughts and interpretations remain separate from the information provided during the class.

Lastly, there will be a horizontal line about two inches above the bottom of the page. Below this line, you’ll write a summary of what was covered in the lecture.

Diagram

For those learners who are more visual, the diagram method of note-taking may serve you better. This can be in the form of a word web or simply a page divided into different sections. This method can be difficult to do while sitting in class trying to jot down all of the information. So, it’s best to review your notes from class and then recreate them into a diagram.

Organization

The most important feature other than containing relevant information your notes should have is that they are organized. This doesn’t just mean that they have a comprehensive structure. It also means that the information is organized in a systematic order that is easy to understand.

There is no right way to organize notes for every subject, so this is best left up to your discretion. However, it’s a good idea to start with the big picture and break it down.

selling your notes

Infographic by Brittany Loeffler

Where to Sell Your Notes

Now that you’ve determined that your notes are good enough to sell (or you’re going to make them better) it’s time to figure out where exactly you should sell them. There are quite a few websites now where you can sell your notes. They’re all unique with different qualifications, processes, and commission structures. Explore each one to see which best suits you.

OneClass

OneClass is the most popular website for students to sell their notes. With a large audience base and recognizable brand, you’ll have a good chance of making money from this website. However, this website doesn’t pay you directly in cash like others do. Instead, you’ll earn credits for the notes that you sell, which can then be redeemed for gift cards, prizes, and more.

Stuvia

If you choose to sell your notes on Stuvia, you’ll have to spend time to build a reputation on the website. A good idea is to offer sample notes or study guides to students for free so they can get a taste of your style before purchasing. Each time your notes are downloaded, the website will send payment right into your bank account.

The commission fee varies depending on the price of your notes.

NexusNotes

NexusNotes is a reputable website that sells only the highest quality notes. So, you’ll want to make sure yours stand up to their tests. Before selling your notes, the website has a team that reviews them to ensure they meet their standards. Your notes will also have a set price of $35, which you will earn 50% when they are sold to other students.

NotesGen

NotesGen offers students who wish to sell their notes even more options to make some extra cash. This website is not limited to simply selling typed notes. Instead, you can sell study guides and presentations. What is great about this site is that you can set your own price.

So, if you spend an entire day writing a full study guide, organized and designed, you can set it at a higher price than if you were to simply type up your notes. With this model, you’re paid fairly for your hard work.

From your set price, you will make 60% of the commission when your notes are sold.

OxBridge Notes

Oxbridge Notes opens plenty of doors for you when selling your notes. The website is available to students all over the world, which means you have a bigger audience and a higher chance of selling your notes. There’s a great variety of topics and subjects that you can sell your notes for too.

The commission structure is also very appealing. This site offers you 72% of each sale, one of the highest rates amongst note selling websites.

OmegaNotes

OmegaNotes is a great platform if you prefer to handwrite your notes. Rather than making you type your notes, you can simply take a photo using your smartphone and upload it to the website. However, it is recommended that you take the time and type your notes so they are easy to read and organized.

One recommended tip to successfully sell your notes is to write a captivating title and informative description to entice students to purchase them.

This website offers you a 70% commission on each set of notes sold.

Become a Best Seller

It would be ideal if making money from selling your notes was as easy as uploading them online and waiting for someone to buy them. Unfortunately, there is a little more work to do in order to be a best seller and make good money. Below you’ll find some tips for how to become a top seller.

Offer a Trial Set

Everyone loves getting something for free. This also applies when selling your notes. Before a student decides to purchase your notes, you can offer them a free set or preview. This can help them make their decision and know that they are spending their money on high-quality notes.  This takes away the risk of being disappointed with the quality and feeling like they wasted their money.

Be Creative 

Selling your notes can be fun and creative! Studying isn’t usually viewed as something that is fun or entertaining. By selling your notes, you can make it a little more fun, though!

Spend some extra time designing your notes to be fun to read. This could mean adding little designs or making them easier to read by adding graphics and creating an intuitive layout.

You can also create different types of media to share the information from your notes. This could be in the form of an ebook, video, presentation, or whatever your creativity allows you to make!

Stay Affordable

It’s easy to get caught up in making money. However, you have to remember who your customers are. They’re broke college students just like you. So, if you want to be successful and sell a lot of notes, then you’ll have to keep your prices affordable for college students. Sometimes selling your notes at a lower price can actually make you more money rather than selling them at a higher price because you’ll have more customers.

It’s a good idea to check out what other people are selling their notes about the same subject for so you can price your notes competitively.

selling your notes

via Pixabay

The Gray Area

Some students may see selling your notes as cheating. While there is some gray area, it technically is not cheating. Would you feel strange about giving your notes to a friend who missed class one day because they were sick? Probably not!

It’s the same thing, except you’re helping other students around the world pass their exams. Some of these students may have missed some classes, others may not have the resources for extra help, while others need to see the information in another light to fully understand.

So, no, selling your notes is not cheating. The only thing you have to consider is if you are comfortable doing it.

Selling Your Notes for Extra Cash

You sit in lectures for hours each week jotting down notes for yourself, so why not make some money off of it? By selling your notes online, you can make some extra money without having to sacrifice your time working a part-time job.

The important thing you have to consider is to make your notes easy to read and organized. Next, you’ll have to decide which platform you want to sell your notes on and which one is best for you. Lastly, to be a top seller, you will need to put in some extra effort.

If you follow these steps, you’ll be amazed at just how many people you can help and how much extra money you can earn.

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