6 Secret Ingredients to Perfectly Choosing Your Online Course Topic

So, you’ve decided to create an online course—awesome! But now comes the big question: What should your course be about? Choosing the right topic can be the difference between a course that sells like hotcakes and one that gathers dust in the corner of the internet.

Finding the sweet spot for your course topic is an art. It needs to be something that excites you, solves a problem for your target audience, and has enough demand to justify your time and effort. 

Sounds like a tall order, right? Don’t worry! In this guide, we’ll walk through the secret ingredients that’ll help you pick the perfect online course topic.

Let’s break it down step by step, so you can create a course that people will actually want to buy (and love!).

1. Start With What You’re Passionate About

The best online courses come from a place of passion. Why? Creating an online course requires a lot of time, effort, and energy. If you don’t genuinely care about the topic, it’ll be hard to stay motivated during the process. 

Plus, your enthusiasm will shine through in the content, making it more engaging for your students.

Why Passion Matters

• Energy and Enthusiasm: Your excitement will be contagious! When you’re passionate about the subject, it’ll come across in your course content, your teaching style, and your marketing efforts. Students are more likely to buy from someone who is truly invested in the topic.
• Longevity: Online courses often require updates, tweaks, and customer support. If you’re not passionate about the topic, you may burn out after a few months. Passion is what will keep you going when things get tough.

How to Identify Your Passion

Think about the following:

• What do you love talking about with friends or colleagues?
• What would you spend your time researching for fun?
• What do you do for fun or as a hobby that others might benefit from learning?

These questions can help you pinpoint your true passions and ensure that you choose a course topic you’ll enjoy working on.

2. Solve a Real Problem

Great online courses don’t just teach—they solve problems. If your course can help people overcome a challenge or achieve a specific goal, it will be far more appealing than one that simply covers general knowledge.

Why Solving a Problem Matters

• Demand: People are more likely to pay for a course if they feel it will help them solve a pressing problem or reach a personal goal. Whether it’s landing a new job, improving their fitness, or learning a new skill, solving a problem adds clear value to your course.
• Perceived Value: Courses that are problem-focused are often viewed as more valuable because they provide a tangible outcome. When you help someone reach a specific result, you’re offering them a transformation, not just information.

How to Identify a Problem to Solve

Start by looking at these areas:

• Common pain points: What frustrations do people frequently express in your area of expertise? If you’re a photographer, for example, people might struggle with camera settings or lighting techniques. If you’re a fitness expert, maybe people find it hard to stay motivated.
• Market Research: Look at online forums, social media groups, and existing courses in your niche. What questions are people asking? What gaps in information do you see? Answering these questions can help you uncover real problems to solve.
• Personal Experience: Think about the challenges you’ve faced and how you overcame them. If you’ve gone through a personal journey of learning or transformation, you can likely create a course to guide others through the same process.

3. Do Your Research: Find Market Demand

It’s important to choose a topic that has demand. After all, no matter how great your course is, if people aren’t searching for that kind of content, it will be tough to attract students. This is where market research comes into play.

Why Market Demand Matters

• Ensures People Are Looking for Your Course: If there’s no demand for your topic, your course might not get the traction you’re hoping for. But if people are actively looking for solutions related to your topic, you’ll have an eager audience.
• Helps You Price Your Course: If there’s significant demand for your topic, it’s easier to price your course higher, knowing that people will see the value and be willing to pay for it.

How to Research Market Demand

• Use Keyword Tools: Tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ubersuggest, or Answer the Public can show you what people are searching for in your niche. If people are actively searching for solutions to a problem, there’s a good chance they’ll buy a course on the subject.
• Check Out Competitors: Take a look at what other online courses are being offered in your niche. What topics are they covering? Are they successful? This can give you insight into what’s in demand and where there may be room for you to add your unique twist.
• Social Media & Forums: Social platforms like Reddit, Quora, Facebook groups, and LinkedIn are great for seeing what questions people are asking and what pain points they have. These conversations can give you clues about what potential customers are struggling with.

4. Ensure Your Topic Is Profitable

Just because a topic has demand doesn’t always mean it will be profitable. It’s important to consider the financial aspects before choosing your online course topic. Will people be willing to spend money on it? Is there room for you to price your course competitively while still making a profit?

Why Profitability Matters

• Cover Your Time and Effort: Creating a high-quality course takes time and effort. You want to make sure that your course is priced at a point that allows you to recoup those costs and still make a decent profit.
• Sustainable Business Model: By selecting a profitable topic, you set yourself up for sustainable income. Whether you’re selling one-off courses, offering subscriptions, or running membership programs, profitability is key to building a long-term business.

How to Ensure Profitability

• Assess Willingness to Pay: Think about how much someone might be willing to pay for a course on your topic. Is it a premium offering? Is it more of an introductory level course? Do some research into how much other similar courses are priced.
  
• Consider Your Costs: Creating a course can involve expenses like software tools, marketing, and potentially hiring help. Ensure your topic has enough demand to justify the investment.
• Look for Gaps: A niche that’s underserved but still has demand could be highly profitable. Offering a course in an emerging trend or sub-niche can help you capture an untapped market with less competition.

5. Consider Your Expertise and Teaching Ability

While it’s important to choose a topic that resonates with your audience, it’s equally important to choose something that aligns with your expertise. If you don’t have enough experience or knowledge in the topic, you’ll have a hard time creating valuable content.

Why Expertise Matters

• Credibility: Students are more likely to trust a course from someone who is an expert in the field. If you have proven success or a strong background in your chosen topic, you’ll be able to create high-quality, trustworthy content.
• Teaching Skills: Being an expert doesn’t automatically make you a good teacher. Consider your ability to explain complex concepts in a way that’s clear, engaging, and helpful.

How to Align Expertise with Your Topic

• Leverage Your Strengths: Think about the skills and knowledge you already have. What have you mastered, and what can you teach others about it? Your expertise should be something you can comfortably and confidently teach.
• Fill the Gaps: If you feel that your expertise isn’t quite there yet, consider taking the time to level up in that area. You don’t have to be the world’s #1 expert, but you should have a solid grasp of the subject matter.

6. Ensure Scalability and Flexibility

Finally, think about the scalability and flexibility of your course topic. A great course topic should allow you to create multiple offerings over time, whether that’s additional courses, mini-courses, or membership content.

Why Scalability Matters

• Sustained Growth: A scalable topic will allow you to keep growing your business as demand increases. You can add new modules, create advanced levels of your course, or even build a community of students around your course content.
• Flexibility for Different Audiences: Your topic should have room to expand to different levels—beginner, intermediate, and advanced—so you can serve students at various stages of learning.

How to Choose a Scalable Topic

• Look for Expansion Opportunities: Think about how your course topic can evolve. Could you create spin-off courses or dive deeper into subtopics? Could you offer one-on-one coaching or group programs alongside the course?
• Adapt to Trends: Be prepared to update your course as trends evolve. By staying flexible and keeping an eye on industry developments, you’ll be able to keep your content relevant and continue to provide value.

Conclusion: Picking the Perfect Course Topic

Choosing the right online course topic doesn’t have to be overwhelming. By focusing on what you’re passionate about, solving real problems, researching market demand, ensuring profitability, and aligning with your expertise, you can confidently choose a topic that will lead to a successful course.

Remember, the key to a successful online course is providing value and truly helping people. With the right topic, a dash of passion, and a little research, you’ll be well on your way to creating a course that not only helps others but also helps you build a thriving business.

Happy course creating! You’ve got this.

Once you’ve picked a topic, here are 6 insider secrets to nail your online course pricing.