You might have been considering creating an online course for a while but you’re unsure – how to choose a profitable course idea? Let’s explore what you can do to make sure you’re creating the right course.
Creating an online course is a great way how to monetize your experience and reach a bigger audience. Online courses have been a highly popular way how to diversify online income if you’ve been offering 1-on-1 services so far and want to make more money or spend less time on 1-on-1 offers.
But how to choose a profitable course idea?
My clients often have had years of experience and it’s hard to spotlight the exact topic to talk about. So through this article, I want to help you to find the best fit idea for you.
If you seek more personalized support, explore done-for-you course creation!
What makes a profitable course idea?
What is the difference between courses that make thousands of dollars versus ones that barely scrape by?
The truth is, it’s rarely about the topic or the content of the course.
In most cases, the reason why some courses are successful and others are not is the MARKETING and messaging, not the course itself.
However, having a solid course idea definitely can help you to later sell it to the right audience and, therefore, make it a more sought-after offer in the online space.
So here will be a few things that most profitable courses have in common:
- They focus on a clear goal. You don’t want to create a course with a vague goal or a generic promise. Having a clear goal and a clear purpose definitely can help your audience to see the value in your offer more easily. Most highly successful online courses have a very specific goal and promise of the course.
- They target a specific audience. Another important aspect of a profitable course is that it has a clear audience in mind. This means that the content will be more relatable to this specific group of people and you will be able to create a product they TRULY need. Don’t avoid niching down and talking with a specific audience.
- They provide various learning materials. Having diversified learning materials can help your audience to learn more easily and reach their goals faster. You want for them not only to learn but also to implement the learnings and having supportive materials can help them to do that.
If you’re ready to start working on your course idea, join us in Your Course Creation Membership and learn how to plan, create and scale your offer.
How to choose a profitable course idea?
There are many potential steps you can take when choosing what your course will be all about but I will review some of the most important ones here.
STEP 1: Focus on your specific experience
Let’s say you’re a nutrition expert. After years of being in business, you surely have had plenty of different clients and you’ve helped with many different issues and cases.
But what are the key experiences you have had that bring you the most joy to work with? What type of clients do you enjoy helping the most? What specific issues do you enjoy working with?
You will want to create an online course that focuses on the topic you ENJOY yourself. Tap into experiences you’ve had and explore what resonates with you the most. Don’t dismiss unusual cases or those few clients that have been the most fun to work with. Focus on that instead!
This will also help you to create a more unique approach and stand out with your idea.
STEP 2: Brainstorm
Take a piece of paper, a notebook or open a document and write down ALL of your related ideas.
Not all of them will be your ideal course topic but many might turn into other good materials so don’t hold back. Explore the topics you want to talk about, situations you want to solve, the questions you want to answer.
Having it all written down in front of you will help you to start seeing some connections and how the different topics and ideas could be combined into a profitable course curriculum.
Choose the topic that resonates with you the most. Remember that you might need to go through this exploration process more than once! So don’t get too hung up on it. We’ll test one idea and then see where it takes you.
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STEP 3: Niche down
Once you have your idea in mind, see if you can narrow it down and make it more specific.
One of the key elements in how to choose a profitable course idea is to HAVE A SPECIFIC GOAL and have a clear audience in mind. So see if you can zoom in on a more specific issue, a more specific promise or a more specific audience.
There’s a common fear in the online world that niching down will mean losing potential audience. But the truth is, the more clear is your audience, the easier it is to create a truly profitable product.
By serving everyone, you’re doing a disservice to those who could really benefit from your specific expertise.
STEP 4: Ask what your audience needs
Test your ideas. This is the key to choosing the best course idea.
You have to make sure your audience actually needs it!
One of my favorite ways to test it is by creating a relevant freebie and seeing how your audience resonates with it. Plus by creating this freebie you also have the chance to expand your mailing list.
Another thing to consider is doing a relevant paid Masterclass. You can explore more about the Paid Masterclass Method in Savvy Offer Hub.
For starting out, you can also evaluate your audience’s interest by connecting with your ideal students and asking them about their current experiences.
The best way to have honest conversations is by inviting them to chat with you and being completely transparent of your reasons. Make sure they know you’re not about to sell them anything, you’re just exploring!
You can also do so by creating polls on Instagram or in relevant Facebook groups or reaching out to your mailing list with a questionnaire. Just keep in mind that the latest option might not give you as many results as reaching out to your audience 1:1.
STEP 5: Evaluate if it makes sense for the long run
Once you’ve clarified your potential course idea, you want to make sure that it actually fits into your overall business vision.
You want for your online offers to be coherent and work well together so don’t pick a topic that sticks out like a sore thumb.
In this case, consider your customer journey and how what you do serves them along the way. Do you have (or potentially will have later on) any smaller or free offers they can get started with? Do you offer follow-up support with the topic covered in the course? Would you consider later scaling the offer to solve people with the next steps as well?
Considering all of this will help you to choose a profitable course idea that will work for the long run and will make sense in your overall offer suite.
Related read: Explore the most profitable online course ideas
After you choose a profitable course idea… What’s next?
Once you have clarified your idea and you’re ready to start working on your course, you want to focus on circling back to clarifying your audience and creating a course curriculum that will suite their specific needs.
By having a clear audience, you will be able to
- speak the language they understand
- give samples that are releatable
- provide guidance knowing their exact starting point and experience level
Don’t overestimate the power of a clear audience!
Learning how to choose a profitable course idea is just a part of the journey to creating a money-making online course.
I hope these ideas inspired you to start working on your online course.
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