How to Choose Your Course Topic
Have you been thinking about making a course for a while now - but not sure where to start or even which topic to pick? This is one of the main things that my course creators get stuck on.
That and their business name (whose been there amiright?!)
It can feel pretty paralysing. There are a million things that you want to share with the world and at the same time - sometimes it feels like you’ve got nothing to say that’s not been said before.
I’ve been there. believe me. In fact I was there just this week when deciding what to make my free mini-course on. Tossing around ideas and going back and forth between throwing the kitchen sink at ya’ll or trying to pick just one piece of the course creation puzzle that’s going to make the biggest difference.
In the end I managed to land on 1 core topic (The 3 Key Decisions to Make Before Starting Your Course) and 3 sub topics for my mini-course - with the help of a solid brainstorm with @mindfulcreativeco and a number of screwed up paper balls. We’ve landed on a course concept for my mini course: **Drum roll please**
The Course Accelerator
The Three Key Decisions to Make Before Starting Your Course
What is the Course About (Topic)
Who is the Course For? (Avatar)
Whats in the Course (Signature Explanation Style)
PHEW - that decision only took me 30 minutes compared with the 3 months it’s taken the past. But how TF did I actually make that decision?!
So glad you asked - Here's a wee breakdown of how you can pick a killer course topic and save yourself the deliberation time 👇
Disclaimer: There are absolutely no rules in course creation - you can make a course on whatever TF you want. Seriously people do.
𝗛𝗼𝘄𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿, if you want people to actually sign up for it there are a few things you should consider in order to find the Topic Sweet Spot between what you’re good at, what people are looking for and what they’re going to pay for.
What are you Pretty Darn Good at?
Shockingly, it's a lot easier to create a course on on something you know well and are pretty darn good at. What’s your zone of genius the thing you do better than anything else.
What Do People Actually Need Help With?
This one's important - what do people need help with. What are people coming to you asking for help with. Really focus on the words they use to describe it - what’s the outcome?
A Problem with a Real Tangible Solution
Look - we all know the real issue is a mindset gap or a skills gap. But often people just don't want to buy a slightly evolved version of themselves - they want COLD HARD SOLUTIONS.
Let’s Break it Down.
☝️ What are you good at?
Shockingly, it's a lot easier to create a course on on something you know well and are pretty darn good at.
Take it one step further - is there anything that is unique to you, a niche you serve, or a signature method you're pretty sure NOBODY HAS EVER THOUGHT OF BEFORE. Or at least you've never read it anywhere before.
Jot down the first few things that pop into your head on the following prompts;
What's the subject all your friends come to you for help on?
What do you love doing so much you’d do it for free
What do you have a unique perspective on
Is there anything you feel like comes really naturally to you?
What role do you often play in a team?
✌️What do people need help with?
This one's important - what do people need help with. Circle back to point numero uno - what are people coming to you asking for help with? Really focus on the words they use to describe it - the outcome they are wanting to achieve.
If you're feeling tech savvy validate these assumptions by doing the following;
Plugging your potential topics into google trends and see if it’s trending up
Visit relevant Facebook groups and seeing if it's a question being asked
Pop over to answerthepublic.com and plug in your topic to see what questions people are asking about it
☝️✌️ Is it a problem with a tangible solution?
Look - we all know the real issue is a mindset gap or a skills gap. But often people just don't want to buy a slightly evolved version of themselves - they want COLD HARD SOLUTIONS.
"Sell them what they want, give them what they need"
The ideal course topic is a bunch of mindset or skill development wrapped up in a beautifully packaged TANGIBLE THING. The thing being the solution to the desire or the pain point that keeps your ideal avatar (more on this guy in the next blog) up at night wishing for an answer.
The Hell do you Mean Megs?!
It’s super easy once we’ve learnt something, to forget what it was like before we learnt that thing. We undergo these transformations and we get the lessons and then we forget what life was like before, the words we used and what we **thought** we needed to solve the problem. Mindset coaches can be particularly good for this (ever come in hot to a brunch with limiting beliefs chat only to be met with crickets?!) but we’re all a little guilty of getting to expert level and forgetting what it was like to have our learners license.
This shows up a lot in the course creation exercise but it’s particularly important to keep top of mind when you’re selecting your course topic and writing your landing pages. Speak to the desire or the pain of your avatar to create a really compelling case for them to buy - then give them what they really need to transform inside that beautiful course of yours.
Give me an example?!
So say for example - you're a career coach. You know what people really need is to overcome imposter syndrome - but what they're looking for is a KILLER RESUME because they think that’s what it’s going to take to land that dream job. After all confidence is as simple as looking good on paper right?! Not Quite. BUT…
Sell them what they want, give them what they need.
Sell them the course that helps them "Create the Resume Nobody Says No To" and sprinkle that mindset goodness in throughout the course so not only do they have a killer resume - but they land the dream job because in the process of creating that resume they’ve also undergone an identity shift through your mindset bumps to become the kind of person who lands their dream job regardless of their resume.
Here Comes the Recap.
Make a course on whatever you damn well please but if that doesn’t work out for you choose a topic that…
You know like the back of your hand and you find interesting
People are searching for answers on, asking you questions about and actively seeking for help with
Make sure that topic is framed as a tangible solution that your ideal client recognises as they outcome they are trying to achieve
BOOM
Drop that epic topic in the comments below - or announce it to the world and be sure to tag me @cocollaborate so I can stay tuned with the magic you’re creating for the world.
Love your work.
Megs.xx
P.s. if you want to go deep on this and the other Key Decisions You need to make before starting your course. Drop your name in the sign up form below and you’ll be the first to know when the free course is ready!