As a content creator, I've created over a dozen online courses, which have earned me over a million dollars. However, I'm not the only one earning from online courses.
In 2021, online courses brought in around $214.26 billion. The market is projected to grow to over a trillion dollars by 2030.
With the rise of YouTubers, influencers, and creators, combined with the changing consumer behavior habits and the shift to e-learning, creating online courses has become a sustainable income option.
Plus, scaling is a no-brainer since overhead costs are low, and creating a course takes less than a few days or weeks.
So, if you want to try creating your own course and gain authority while reaching a global audience, check out which is the right course idea for you.
The 20 Most Successful Online Course Ideas
You can use countless ideas to start an online course, but are there ones that can generate more income for you?
Yes, there are, but you need to know that while 80% of people enjoy video e-learning courses, there's still a market for text-based courses or courses that also include a workbook, planner, or ebook.
Knowing this information can help you decide what deliverables to create.
So, based on your niche or industry, here are the most successful online course ideas.
1. Finance Online Course
Finance has many sub-niche topics, such as personal finance, business finance, investing, taxation, insurance, wealth management, and financial technology (FinTech), that all make great course ideas.
If you're in finance as a junior accountant, in sales and trading, act as an insurance agent, are good at budgeting for your large family, or have accomplished a feat like living off of credit cards for a specified time, you can create an online finance course.
For example, The Budget Mama created her signature Building Blocks of Budging online course with video lessons and templates.
2. Money Making Course
Some of the best online courses teach others how you – the creator – succeeded.
You can create a course if you find a way to generate income quickly or with a specific method. Many entrepreneurs, SEO marketers, influencers, and bloggers make these types of courses.
For example, Michelle of Making Sense of Cents has generated millions of dollars by selling her popular affiliate marketing eCourse.
3. Language Online Course
Over 1.5 billion people are wanting to learn a new foreign language. If you speak more than one language or are a teacher, you can create an online course for your audience.
To capitalize on your expertise, think about splitting up your online course into several course ideas:
- Beginner level
- Intermediate level
- Advanced level
- Culture immersion based
- Language for teens vs adults
Sandra is a German teacher who has created successful courses in teaching German.
4. Tech Online Course
I'm sure you've heard about the countless stories of big tech gurus like Microsoft or Google laying off thousands of employees.
You would think that tech wouldn't make a great online course idea, but it does.
If you have a specialized skill, such as web development, graphic design, or cybersecurity, you can teach others to use it.
Vasco Cavalheiro of Angular University successfully transitioned from his stressful corporate software development job to teaching online courses on software development.
He noticed the potential demand for advanced courses in new technologies like Angular.
Over the years, his online course made approximately $1.764 million.
5. Travel Online Course
Are you an expat traveler? Maybe you've traveled with your family and are knowledgeable about different cultures and countries.
Or, maybe you want to expand your travel blog with different income streams.
You can create many different types of travel courses, such as travel tips with kids, travel photography, van life, packing tips, or even travel planning.
For example, Lisa Michele Burns is the editor and photographer for the Wandering Lens publication. They have an online course to help freelance travel photographers learn the photography industry.
6. Art Online Course
Do you have a knack for painting, drawing, embroidery, or sculpting? Whether you want to sell your art or want side income with your passion, there are a plethora of art online courses you can create.
Ideas include:
- Watercolor
- Paper flowers
- Sketching
- Digital art
- Calligraphy
- Modern and contemporary
Since teaching art can be exhaustive, an easier way to structure your art online course is to divide it into online classes.
This is what Bel Mills of Scrap Paper Circus does with her art lessons. Each class sells for around $29.
7. Video Editing Online Course
Over 90% of businesses use video as a marketing tool. As a creator, if you excel at editing shorts, reels, or long-form videos, you can help these businesses and other creators learn how to edit their own videos.
Catara Lane recently started a YouTube channel sharing editing tips, and based on her engagement, she created a course to help her audience edit YouTube videos.
8. Real Estate Online Course
Particular online courses usually mean you can offer them at a higher price point. So, courses that teach a business, like real estate, can sell for thousands.
If you're a realtor, have worked in real estate, or have published a book about real estate, you can create an online course. Candy Miles-Crocker is an author, TV personality, and active realtor.
She created a suite of online courses centering around real estate.
While an A-Z blueprint is a popular type of online course, you can also create smaller topical courses like Candy does for a more sustainable course business:
- Real estate marketing
- Business planning for realtors
- Ratification and settlement agreements
- How to communicate with real estate clients
9. Cake Decorating Online Course
With the US unemployment rate at an all-time low, many individuals want to pivot and start a new business. If you successfully launched a cake decorating business or cake bakery, you can share your tips and advice in an online course.
Yolanda Gampp is a master cake artist who has appeared on Netflix's popular cake show Nailed It.
With her familiarity with the camera, she created an online course for beginners with a step-by-step video tutorial.
10. Knitting or Sewing Online Course
Like with art, knitting, and sewing are popular hobbies with many options for an online course idea.
If you enjoy knitting or sewing or have a design background like structural engineering and want to teach others, a great way to help many people is to create an online beginner knitting or beginner sewing course.
Carl Feller is a seasoned author and trainer, having traveled the world teaching others to knit at various yarn shops and fiber festivals. She bundled her experience into several knitting courses.
You can even create courses to teach one item, like a scarf or baby cardigan.
11. Yoga Online Course
$5.61 trillion is invested annually in the health and wellness industry, and its growth isn't slowing down.
The online yoga market is worth $10.89 billion, making it a highly profitable online course idea.
Some yoga course ideas you can create are:
- Beginner basics
- Mindfulness and meditation
- Chakra balancing yoga
- Yoga Nidra
- Yoga for kids
- Morning energizing yoga
If you're a certified yoga instructor, you can create an online course. Mandy Lawson (E-RYT 500, RYCT, YACEP) created Costa Yoga School to share her yoga training. She extends her training to include self-paced online yoga courses.
12. Newborn or Baby Parenting Course
There is no parenting manual, which means many new moms are anxious, worried, or unsure about how to help their newborn baby.
If you found ways to organize and plan everything as a new mom, or if you're a dietician or certified in certain skills, like baby-led weaning, you can create a baby parenting course.
Cinthia Scott is a baby dietician and IBCLC for 0-5-year-olds. She created a starting solids online course after many of her audience struggled with this step.
Other newborn and baby parenting course ideas you can start are:
- Sleep training techniques
- Colic and reflux management
- Traveling with a newborn
- Premature baby care
- Twin or multiples baby care
- Baby massage
13. Homesteading Online Course
Many individuals are leaving big city life for the quaint homesteading life.
A quarter of the Homesteaders of America Survey respondents said they were homesteading for less than three years. The results also indicated that half of the respondents were Gen Z or Millennials.
If you're a homesteader or know how to raise goats and chickens or grow your own food, you can create an online homesteading course.
Deborah Niemann has been making 100% of her food (including beef) for over twenty years. She's also an author and University instructor.
She's created many online homesteading courses focusing on goat raising and breeding.
14. Healthy Eating Course
One billion adults and children are currently obese. If you're a certified trainer, fitness influencer, chef, or dietician, or if you've found a method that's helped you lose weight, you can create a healthy eating online course.
Course ideas include:
- Plant-based nutrition
- Quick and healthy meals
- Anti-Inflammatory diet
- Managing diabetes through diet
- Muscle building
- Healthy African cuisine
- Mindful eating
Jéromine Navi is a plant-based chef and artisan cheese master. Her online course teaches people how to host the perfect plant-based dinner party.
15. Science-Based Online Course
If you're a lover of science or work in science as a teacher, research scientist, data scientist, lab technician, or a parent who loves to create educational STEM activities for their children, you can create a science-based course.
Dr. Junaid Qazi, PhD., is a data scientist, machine learning researcher, and consultant. His course teaches Python, NumPy, Pandas, Matplotlib, Seaborn, Plotly, Scitkit-Learn, and machine learning.
16. Home Decor Course
If you have a knack for decorating your dorm room, apartment, or home, you'll be amazed by how many people need help in this area.
As a niche for a blog, it's highly popular on Pinterest, indicating people often struggle with finding the right decor items or how to practice minimalism.
Ivanka Siolkowsky is an Elementary school teacher, and she transformed her life after she applied minimalism. Her audience wanted to learn more about this, so she created a closet detox course.
17. Faith-Based Online Course
Fifty million people live in depression or are handling hardships in their lives. If you always find guidance and support with your faith, you can help others do the same.
Here are some popular faith-based course ideas:
- Growing spirituality
- Launching a new ministry
- Grace-based productivity
- Bible reading
- Answering tough questions about your faith
Christine Caine is a faith-centered woman, activist, author, and international speaker. She offers several faith-based courses, but her most popular one is Anchored, which affirms one's faith so one doesn't drift off.
18. Writing, Editing or Proofreading Course
If you find yourself immersed in writing, want to write your first book, or just have a knack for spotting grammatical errors, you can build an audience and sell a course.
Editor and content marketer Erica Schneider and AI educator Rob Lennon created a Writing Hooks course to help content marketers with their social media marketing.
19. Golf Online Course
Over 3 million people play golf every year worldwide, making it a popular sport to try. If you enjoy teaching others how to golf, are an avid golfer, or are a semi-pro, you can create an online golf course.
Professional golfer Sam Jarman created a golfing course to help others not make the same mistakes he did.
20. Chess Online Course
Do you enjoy playing chess? If you're a chess master or have competed in chess tournaments, you can create a course to help others become pro players.
Nelson Lopez has over thirty years of experience playing and teaching chess. His course focuses on time management in chess.
How Do I Know Which Course Idea is Best for Me?
The best course idea depends on your skillset, audience, and competitor research analysis.
Your Skillset
When deciding on your online course idea, consider your skills and what skills you're promoting online to grow your audience and business.
Consider your unique experiences, professional background, and any specialized training you have received.
There are thousands of online writing courses, but my course is different from others because of my experience, knowledge, and success with writing.
This will help you establish credibility and make it easier to create high-quality content that resonates with your target audience.
For example, if you have a background in digital marketing, you might create a course on social media strategy or search engine optimization. If you’re a seasoned graphic designer, you could develop a course on mastering design software or branding principles.
Once you’ve identified your skills and researched your market, outline your course content, break it into manageable modules, and consider the best delivery methods, such as video lectures, interactive quizzes, and downloadable resources.
If you grew your audience on TikTok, then short digestible videos for your course would be the best option since your core audience enjoys short videos.
Your Audience
I'm sorry to say that if you haven't cultivated an online audience, you'll make very few course sales.
You don't have to grow to 10,000 or 20,000 followers to sell your course or digital products; a few thousand is all you need. I have a YouTube channel with less than five thousand subscribers, and I can make thousands of dollars a month selling my ebooks.
The first step to growing an audience is to start a blog or join social media. For example, if you start a TikTok account and create videos using Excel, you may garner a huge audience.
You can leverage this audience to sell a course. Kat Norton did this when she created Miss Excel.
She grew her TikTok audience to over 900k and later created several Excel online courses.
Other creators use LinkedIn, YouTube or X to build their audience for their online course.
When building your audience you also want to solidify your target persona for your online course.
A target persona is an avatar of your ideal customer. Who will buy your course? Gather data about your audience like:
- Gender, age and location
- Job title
- Education level
- Family status (if relevant)
- Household income
- Online behavior (what platform do they hang out on?)
- Pain points
If you don’t have access to all of this information you can create your brand around this fictitious avatar so that you will eventually track your ideal customer, aka target persona.
Research Analysis
It's time to see what your competitors are doing.
Conduct market research to identify gaps in existing courses and see what potential students are actively seeking.
For example, suppose you're a nutrition expert and want to create a course around plant-based nutrition. In that case, you must purchase other courses and evaluate their content, structure, and delivery.
- Course Length: Number of modules and total hours
- Content Depth: Beginner, intermediate, or advanced
- Teaching Style: Video lectures, interactive content, quizzes, assignments
- Course Materials: PDFs, downloadable resources, recipes
- Price: Cost of the course and any payment plans
From there, you can look at the strengths and weaknesses of each course to see what you can bring to the table. Maybe the courses you viewed showed a lack of depth or avoided any meal-prepping suggestions.
With those ideas, you can build your online course to focus on those gaps, ensuring that an audience wants this information and help.
Maximize Your Earning Potential with Whop
One of the best advantages of creating an online course is the potential for passive income. But to make your business sustainable and long-lasting, it's important to diversify your income streams.
You can do this easily with Whop. Whop helps course creators sell content, manage memberships, and handle everything from community access to ebooks and downloads.
What I like about Whop is there are no confusing subscription models and hidden fees—Whop charges a flat 3% per sale, letting you try new products with minimal financial risk.
Create your course with Whop and also create a sustainable business with:
- Paid communities
- ebooks
- Downloadables
- Memberships
- and more
Sell your online course alongside your other products in one place: Whop.
