A course production SOP is a written playbook that covers every step from pressing record to sending the launch email. It looks something like this: Phase 1 (Record) tells you which equipment settings to use, how to name your files, and where to save the raw footage. Phase 2 (Edit) walks through trimming, adding intros, and exporting at the right resolution. Phase 3 (Upload) covers your platform settings, thumbnail specs, and drip schedule. Phase 4 (Publish) handles the go-live checklist — preview links, enrollment settings, pricing. Phase 5 (Email) lays out exactly which emails to send, when, and to which segments. Each phase has numbered steps, quality checkpoints, and links to the specific tools involved. When the SOP is good, anyone on your team can produce a module without pinging you for instructions.
What you’ll walk away with:
- A documented production process you can follow every time
- Time estimates for each step so you can plan realistically
- A system that gets faster with each iteration
Why ChatGPT works well for this
Writing an SOP by hand is the kind of task most course creators postpone indefinitely. You know your production workflow — you do it every time you create a new module. But translating that implicit knowledge into explicit, sequential steps is tedious. It requires thinking about things you normally do on autopilot: which export settings you use, where exactly the file goes after editing, what subject line template you follow for launch emails.
ChatGPT is good at this kind of structured documentation. Describe your workflow in rough terms — "I record in Zoom, edit in Descript, upload to Ruzuku, then send an email through Kit" — and it will produce a numbered, phase-by-phase document with reasonable step detail. The output will not be perfect on the first pass. But it gives you a skeleton that is far easier to edit than a blank page. The alternative — sitting down to write a 10-page operations document from scratch — is why most course creators never have one.
Step by step: building your production SOP
List your production workflow
Before you prompt anything, write down the five to seven major phases of your production process in the order you actually do them. For most course creators, this looks something like: plan the lesson, record the video or audio, edit the recording, create supporting materials (slides, worksheets, handouts), upload everything to your platform, configure the module settings, and send an announcement email. Your phases may differ — maybe you do not create worksheets, or maybe you have a separate review step where a colleague watches the draft. Write what you actually do, not what a generic checklist says you should do.
Prompt ChatGPT for a step-by-step SOP for each phase
Take each phase and ask ChatGPT to expand it into detailed, numbered steps. Be specific about your role: are you doing everything yourself, or will a VA handle certain phases? The level of detail should match the person who will follow the SOP. If it is for you, brief reminders are enough. If a contractor will follow it, every step needs to be explicit enough that they do not need to guess. Include the tools you use in each phase so ChatGPT can reference tool-specific actions.
Add tool-specific details
ChatGPT knows general workflows for popular tools, but it does not know your settings. After it generates the initial SOP, go through each step and add the specifics: your Zoom recording resolution (1080p, gallery view off), your Descript export format (MP4, 1080p, no watermark), your Ruzuku drip schedule (weekly on Mondays), your Kit segment name for new module announcements. These details are what separate a usable SOP from a generic checklist. If a step says "export the video," change it to "export from Descript as MP4, 1080p, with the file name format COURSE-Module##-LessonTitle."
Include quality checkpoints
Every phase should end with a short quality check — a list of things to verify before moving to the next phase. After recording: "Audio levels consistent? No background noise? File saved to the correct folder?" After editing: "Intro and outro attached? Captions reviewed? Export matches the resolution spec?" After uploading: "Lesson appears in the correct module? Drip date set? Preview link works?" These checkpoints catch the small mistakes that are obvious in retrospect but easy to miss when you are moving fast. They also make it safe to delegate — your VA can self-verify without sending you every draft for approval.
Format for your team or VA
An SOP is only useful if the person following it can scan it quickly. Ask ChatGPT to format the document with clear phase headings, numbered steps under each phase, bold text for tool names and action verbs, and a checkbox column if your team uses checklists. If you work with a VA, add a "handoff" note at each phase boundary that clarifies who owns the next phase and what the deliverable is. "VA completes editing. Deliverable: exported MP4 in the Edited Videos folder. Notify Abe via Slack for review." That kind of clarity prevents the "I thought you were handling that" conversations.
Store it somewhere you will actually use it
Copy the final SOP into the tool where your production work actually happens. If you manage projects in Notion, create a template database entry for each new module with the SOP phases as checklist groups (see our Notion course project management guide for setup tips). If you use Google Docs, create a template document that you duplicate for each production cycle. The format matters less than the habit. An SOP saved in a ChatGPT conversation thread that you never reopen is not an SOP — it is a conversation. Move it into your real workflow.
Prompts to try
I produce online course modules using this workflow: 1. Record video lessons in [tool, e.g., Zoom] 2. Edit in [tool, e.g., Descript] 3. Create slides/worksheets in [tool, e.g., Canva] 4. Upload to [platform, e.g., Ruzuku] 5. Send announcement email via [tool, e.g., Kit] Create a detailed standard operating procedure with: - Numbered steps for each phase - A quality checkpoint at the end of each phase - File naming conventions - Handoff notes between phases (I work with a VA) Format with clear headings, bold action verbs, and checkboxes.
Including your actual tools and team structure gives ChatGPT enough context to produce a first draft you can edit rather than rewrite.
Here is my current process for editing a course video in Descript: [Paste your rough notes or bullet points] Rewrite this as a step-by-step SOP section with: - Exact sequence of actions - Settings to verify (resolution, audio levels, export format) - Common mistakes to watch for - A 3-item quality checklist at the end Write for someone who knows Descript but has never edited my course videos before.
This prompt works best when you paste in your own rough notes — even messy bullet points. ChatGPT structures what you already know rather than inventing steps from scratch.
Review this SOP and identify: - Steps that are vague enough to cause confusion - Missing steps between phases (gaps where someone might get stuck) - Places where a screenshot or link would help - Any assumptions about tools or access that should be stated explicitly [Paste your SOP draft]
Run this audit prompt after your first draft is complete. ChatGPT is surprisingly good at spotting ambiguity — the places where you know what you mean but a new team member would not.
The human layer
An SOP codifies what you have already learned through trial and error. The recording settings you settled on after testing three configurations. The editing sequence you developed after accidentally publishing a lesson with no intro. The email timing you refined after noticing that Tuesday sends get better open rates than Friday sends. ChatGPT structures that knowledge into a document someone else can follow, but the workflow insights are yours. They come from producing dozens of lessons and paying attention to what works.
The real value of an SOP is not the document itself — it is the thinking it forces. Writing down "export at 1080p, not 4K, because our students mostly watch on phones and the file size difference matters for slow connections" captures a decision and its reasoning. Six months from now, when you or your VA wonders why the export setting is what it is, the answer is right there. As the American Society for Quality notes, SOPs reduce variability and preserve institutional knowledge — which matters just as much for a two-person course business as for a manufacturing floor.
Course creator tips
- Write the SOP while you are producing, not after. The best time to document your workflow is while you are actively doing it. Open a notes app alongside your editing software and jot down each step as you complete it. These raw notes become the input for ChatGPT. Trying to reconstruct your workflow from memory a week later always misses steps.
- Version your SOP with a date, not a version number. When you update the document, add the date at the top: "Last updated: March 2026." Version numbers (v1.3, v2.0) require you to remember what changed between versions. A date tells everyone whether the document is current at a glance.
- Start with one phase, not all five. If the idea of writing a complete production SOP feels overwhelming, start with the phase that causes the most confusion or mistakes — usually editing or uploading. A one-phase SOP that your team actually uses is more valuable than a five-phase SOP that sits in a folder unopened.
What it gets wrong
ChatGPT has predictable blind spots when generating SOPs. Watch for these:
- Over-detailed steps. ChatGPT tends to break simple actions into three or four sub-steps where one line would do. "Click File, then click Export, then select MP4 from the dropdown" is fine for someone who has never used the tool, but excessive for a team member who edits videos weekly. Match the detail level to the reader. If they know the tool, a single step — "Export as MP4 at 1080p" — is enough.
- Missing context-specific shortcuts. You have probably developed shortcuts that ChatGPT cannot know about: a Descript keyboard shortcut that saves you 10 minutes per edit, a Zapier automation that moves files to the right folder automatically, a template email in Kit that you duplicate for each announcement. These shortcuts are often the most valuable parts of an SOP. Add them manually after ChatGPT generates the baseline steps.
- It does not know your tools. ChatGPT knows Descript, Canva, and Kit in general terms, but it does not know your account settings, your folder structure, your workspace layout, or the specific plan you are on. Any step that references a menu path, a setting, or a feature should be verified against your actual setup. The steps might be in the right order but reference a feature you do not have or a menu that has moved since ChatGPT's training data was collected.
A simpler platform means a shorter SOP
Half the steps in most production checklists exist because the tool is complicated — configuring drip settings, troubleshooting embeds, navigating admin screens to publish one lesson. Ruzuku's course builder keeps the "upload and publish" phase short: add your content to a lesson, set the order, and you're live. Fewer platform steps means a shorter SOP and less that can go wrong each time you run it.
Related guides
- How to Manage a Course Project Using Notion — set up the project management system where your SOP lives and runs
- How to Automate Your Course Workflow Using Zapier — automate the handoffs between SOP phases so fewer steps require manual work
- How to Track Course Creation Time Using Toggl — measure how long each SOP phase actually takes
- How to Batch-Write Course Content Using ChatGPT — apply your SOP to a batch content production workflow
- How Ruzuku Works — see how a simpler platform shortens every phase of your SOP
An SOP does not need to be a long document. It needs to be accurate enough that someone can follow it without guessing, current enough that the steps match your actual tools and settings, and accessible enough that your team checks it before starting each production cycle. ChatGPT drafts the structure in minutes. You refine it with the details only you know — which is the part that makes the difference between a generic checklist and a production system you can actually rely on.