12 Online Course Ideas To Inspire You In 2025

Do you want to build an online course but aren’t sure what it should be about?

In this article, we will cover what makes a profitable online course and give you some ideas to help inspire you to come up with your own.

Are you a marketer or entrepreneur looking to create an online course but don't know where to start?

Over the past few years, the ability to generate revenue from selling online courses has become increasingly attractive for both entrepreneurs and business owners.

Creating an online course or membership site can be a great way to engage with your audience, share your expertise, make money online, and grow your business - but coming up with profitable online course ideas isn't always easy.

In this article, we'll discuss what makes an online course profitable, and to help you get started we’ve put together 12 online course examples that are sure to give you ideas for how you can create effective and successful courses of your own.

The key to a successful online course boils down to one thing: meeting a need.

Ask yourself, what are people searching for? What questions are they asking? By providing a solution to a problem, you have the potential to make a profit.

Additionally, consider the demand and competition in your chosen industry. Is there an oversaturation of similar courses? Or is there a gap in the market waiting to be filled?

If you can offer something unique, valuable, and actionable, you have a good chance of creating a profitable online course

In addition to meeting a need, there are other factors which when put together helps ensure that your course is successful.

Content Quality: What makes an online course profitable is the quality of content it provides. In the realm of online education, content is king.

Without it, all other elements would crumble, like a castle built on sand. Your course content must be rich, relevant, and act as the magnet that attracts learners.

Content Delivery: Secondly, the delivery method is equally crucial. How you present your content can be the bridge or the barrier to learning.

Do you use engaging videos, interactive quizzes, or practical assignments? The choice of medium can make or break your course.

It's important to understand that success doesn't just spring up overnight and takes patience, persistence, and learning from customer feedback.

Course Updates: A profitable online course requires regular updates, improvements, and a consistent commitment to delivering value.

This is what will ultimately make your course stand out from the competition.

Course Pricing: Finally, let's not forget the power of pricing. Price your course too high and you risk alienating potential learners.

Price it too low and you devalue your offering. Strike the right balance and you'll find the sweet spot that makes your online course profitable.

The ultimate goal for your course should not just be about sharing knowledge, but about transforming the lives of your customers by getting them from where they are to where they would like to be.

Here are 12 examples of online course ideas in different niches that are currently live and making sales:

Kadi Cole is a female leadership coach with a goal to create more empowered female leaders.

Through her coaching and services, she’s able to successfully spread her message and build a strong reputation in her field.

Kadi’s main course is a simple ebook with bonus features, which includes an 8-week video course and a 50-week email series that is delivered to the customer’s inbox.

What makes this product effective is it’s simplicity in production and delivery. If you’re planning your first product and are not sure how it will be received by your customers, creating a simple ebook or report is a great way to test the waters to see whether it’s worth expanding and investing more time in.

This is called a ‘Minimum Viable Product’ and is a powerful way to quickly test what works in your business.

Eben Pagan is an American businessman, author, and speaker, best known for his expertise in online marketing and product development.

Pagan has also developed a number of other successful businesses in various industries, and he frequently shares his knowledge about online marketing, product development, and entrepreneurship through seminars, coaching, and online courses.

Eben Pagan's 'Self-Made Wealth' course focuses on enhancing financial literacy and teaching wealth creation strategies.

It aims to shift the customer's mindset towards financial independence and personal development.

From a marketing perspective, the course targets a specific audience - those interested in financial growth. But because of the course’s broad content, it can also be targeted to many other audience groups.

If you have multiple related businesses, this can be a nice way to maximize sales, save time and remove the need to produce a dedicated course.

Pat Flynn is a well-known entrepreneur, blogger, and podcaster, best known for his work in the field of online business and digital marketing.

He is the founder of Smart Passive Income (SPI), a platform through which he shares strategies for running an online business and generating passive income.

Pat Flynn's affiliate marketing course provides expert, step-by-step instructions on how to monetize product recommendations.

It is designed for complete beginners and includes instructional videos and resources to guide you towards strategic product selection and effective promotional strategies.

The course is cleverly structured to build trust by offering lots of supplemental resources to ensure the customer succeeds.

This approach is proven to build loyal fans and is highly recommended as a marketing strategy when selling your first online course.

Anna Kloth is a digital nomad with a passion for travel and adventure.

Her goal is to help you live life on your own terms by giving you the tools to free up precious time and build the income you deserve.

Anna’s course empowers you to live and work as you wish, pursuing your passions without financial anxiety.

It offers an alternative to the traditional route of expensive graduate school or corporate ladder climbing, allowing you to craft your own high-demand career.

The course's strength lies in its simplicity and practicality. It helps you avoid common entrepreneurial challenges and manage your schedule effectively.

It provides an efficient solution to kickstart your entrepreneurial journey and delivers MBA-level marketing education without the hefty cost and time commitment.

When building your first online course, use your unique strengths and make this a highlight in order to stand out from your competitors.

In 2008, Jon Connolly established Pro Tools Services, offering services related to Pro Tools to clients in the Los Angeles area and throughout the U.S.

He has also taught and certified Avid customers as well as high school, college, university, and vocational school staff and instructors.

Jon has created an online course for budding audio professionals to learn his skills in the comfort of their own homes and at their own pace.

What makes this course valuable is he has taken the lessons and feedback learned from his live classes and packaged them into a course.

If you’re an instructor who teaches live, this is a simple yet powerful way to effortlessly scale your business and allow you to reach more students.

Shari Lyon, a mother of two and a certified Hypnobirthing Australia™️ Practitioner, is deeply committed to promoting positive birthing.

She firmly believes that every woman deserves a joyful birthing experience, regardless of the birth method chosen for the baby's arrival.

Belly 2 Birth is a comprehensive online course that gives new mother’s to be all the tools they require to have a smooth and positive birth.

It is a fresh and unique course in a very niche market and is truly one of kind in it’s content and delivery.

The course is neatly organised into multiple modules, making it easy to consume and digest.

If you’re in a crowded market, look at finding opportunities to niche down to help you stand out and attract more customers.

Andrew St Pierre White is a seasoned broadcasting expert with a career spanning over four decades.

Boasting over 260,000+ YouTube subscribers, Andrew is an ideal mentor, equipped to guide you in recording captivating video and audio content, primed for creating videos that viewers can't stop watching.

This course equips you with the technical skills to create captivating videos.

It helps you create engaging visuals with rich narration, music, and sound effects to retain your audience's attention.

Similar to Kadi's approach, this course's effectiveness lies in its simplicity and accessibility, serving as a 'Minimum Viable Product'.

It's an excellent starting point for those exploring filmmaking, allowing for low-risk experimentation.

The opportunity to try the course for free builds trust and authority, enhancing its market appeal.

If you’re building an online course for the first time, consider giving away a few lessons for free to help you build trust and increase conversions.

John C. Maxwell is an American author, speaker, and pastor who has written many books, primarily focusing on leadership.

For the past four decades, he has motivated and encouraged individuals from various Fortune 500 companies, national trade associations, nonprofits, and educational institutions to evolve, embrace change, and discover their passion.

John’s course provides valuable insights on earning respect, managing challenging personalities, and making others feel valued.

The lessons, taught by industry experts, offer a chance to recover your investment while growing personally and professionally.

It is packaged in convenient, topic-specific bundles, simplifying consumption and enhancing its appeal.

By offering targeted content, you can maximize sales, ensuring a well-rounded and profitable learning experience for your customers.

Mina’s mission is to help you get more done in less time, but providing tips, lessons and resources on how to organise your time.

She currently manages a blog and posts new content resularly to update her readers on her latest productivity discoveries.

The 'Case of Emergency Binder' provides a practical solution for organizing crucial documents, ensuring all vital information is conveniently accessible.

This product is offered physically, which increases its perceived value.

Consider creating physical versions of your courses to allow you to set higher prices and boost business revenues.

This will further contribute to your business's growth and success.

Melanie Vetter is a transformative journaling and joy coach.

She offers a variety of tools such as journaling, storytelling, design thinking, creativity, positive mental fitness coaching, and deep listening to assist her clients in crafting a life they truly enjoy.

This course enables you to design a fulfilling life that aligns with your values, using reflection and journaling for clarity and joy.

The five experiences it offers can be tailored to your schedule, providing a personalized learning path.

The addition of email support enhances customer connection and offers a hands-on learning experience, increasing the course's value and appeal.

This unique blend of self-paced learning and personal support creates an enriching journey towards personal fulfillment.

Jessica Gwynne defines herself as an alchemist who likes to create and transform.

With her combined knowledge and certifications in Human Design and Hypnotherapy, she aims to help customers reach their truest potential.

'Expanding Femininity' guides you to reconnect with your feminine energy, enhancing your personal and dating life with its powerful, creative, and beautiful influences.

This course's simplicity ensures ease of use and effective delivery and provides additional packages at discounted rates, enhancing the value proposition for customers.

This strategy not only increases the attractiveness of the offer but also allows for exploring customer reception, contributing to the overall success and expansion of your business.

Monica Froese is a Marketing Strategist with an MBA in Marketing and Finance.

Using her background in finance and her husband's knack for creating spreadsheets, they have put together an easy-to-use budget system that to help families plan ahead.

Monica Froese is a Marketing Strategist with an MBA in Marketing and Finance.

Using her background in finance and her husband's knack for creating spreadsheets, they have put together an easy-to-use budget system that to help families plan ahead.

As you can see from the examples shown, finding great Online Course Ideas requires a keen understanding of your target audience and a dose of creativity.

Here are a few steps to consider to help you decide on your final idea:

Understanding your audience is a key factor that will help you on your course-creation journey. What are your customer’s interests, challenges, and goals?

The answers to these questions are the keys to unlocking the perfect online course idea for your business.

To gain this insight, you can conduct surveys, interviews, or simply engage in conversations on online platforms where your potential customers hang out.

After gaining a clear picture of your target audience, it's time to put on your detective hat and examine the market.

What courses are currently popular? Where are the gaps that your course could fill?

By conducting a competitive analysis, you can find a unique niche that aligns with your expertise and meets the needs of your audience.

The perfect online course idea often lies at the intersection of your audience's needs and your own expertise.

Your unique knowledge, skills, or experience can provide immense value to your customers.

Finally, before you dive headfirst into course creation, take the time to validate your idea.

You might think you've struck gold, but it's important to ensure there's a market for your course.

This could involve running a pilot course, creating a ‘minimum viable product’, offering a free webinar on the topic, or simply asking for feedback from your potential customers.

This step is like dipping your toes in the water before taking the plunge.

Remember, the perfect online course idea is a blend of customer understanding, market analysis, personal expertise, and validation.

With these steps, you will be well on your way to discovering an online course idea that will resonate with your customers and, in turn, boost your profitability.

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With its drag-and-drop editor, no specialised coding skills are required - just pick a template for your online course and customize with a few clicks.

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