Let's say you spend three months and maybe $1,000 developing an online course. You produce the videos, create the worksheets, and build the website. Finally, the day comes when you launch the course. You wait anxiously for the sales to roll in. Then, after a while, you realize that no one is buying your course, and only a handful of people express even the slightest bit of interest.
This is a very common problem, and it's all because the creator made one fatal assumption: that people would want the course they created. The creator made the course without first checking if there would be a market for it. This is called the "Field of Dreams" fallacy, or the assumption that if you build it, they will come. This is not true in the business of education.
The cost of making the wrong course is extremely high because it's not only the financial cost of the software and the hosting; it's also the cost of the time you've invested in the course, which could have been spent on a course that would actually sell. There's also the cost to your emotions because it's really disappointing when you've poured your heart and soul into a course, and it doesn't sell.
However, there is a way to avoid making the wrong course, and it's called validation. Simply put, validation is the process of proving that your course idea is viable before you spend the time and money developing it.
Validation changes the entire focus from "What do I want to teach?" to "What does the student need to learn, and are they willing to pay for it?" This article will guide you through a five-step process to validate your course idea and ensure that when you're done with it, you'll know exactly how to test the waters and ensure that when you build your course, people are waiting to buy it.
Let's begin with the first step: defining exactly what you're offering.
Define Your Course Premise
Before you can begin validating anything, you must understand what "anything" is. It is quite common for creators to begin with something vague, such as "I want to teach people about photography" or "I should make a course on digital marketing." These are much too broad. If you have a broad idea, validating it will be confusing.
To correct this, you must make your broad idea more precise. A premise is a statement that defines who you are helping, what you are helping them do, and why they need it.
A good formula to follow is:
"I will teach [Target Audience] how to accomplish [Specific Outcome] so that they can avoid [Specific Problem]."
Let's break this down to understand the importance of each part.
The Target Audience: Who are they, exactly? "Women over 40" is a target audience. "Freelance graphic designers" is a target audience. "People" is not. You must be precise so you know where to find this audience later.
The Specific Outcome: What is it that you are helping them accomplish? "How to shoot in manual mode" is an outcome. "How to double your freelance rates in 60 days" is an outcome. It must be something that they want.
The Specific Problem: Why do they need this? This is the pain point. “So they can stop feeling embarrassed by blurry photos.” “So they can stop working 80 hours a week for low pay.” This adds the emotional driver that makes people buy.
This is an example of a vague idea turned into a solid premise.
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Vague Idea: A course on plant care.
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Solid Premise: “I will teach apartment dwellers how to keep house plants alive so they can stop feeling guilty about killing them.”
See the difference? This one actually has a specific person (apartment dweller), a specific goal (keeping plants alive), and a specific pain (feeling guilty).
Another one:
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Vague Idea: A course on public speaking.
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Solid Premise: “I will teach new managers how to run effective team meetings so they can stop looking unprepared in front of their bosses.”
Now that you have this premise written down, you have a compass. All the validation steps from here on are focused on this one premise. If you discover that apartment dwellers just don't care about plant guilt, or that new managers have a different concern altogether, you'll know that your premise needs to shift.
Now that you have a good idea of what you're offering, the next step in the process is to look at whether the problem you've identified is really a problem for others.
Verify if the Problem is Real
Now that you have your premise, the next step is to ensure that the problem you want to solve with your course is indeed real. It’s not enough to believe that your problem exists. You have to have proof that others believe the same as you. This step involves research. You want to know if people are indeed having this problem, discussing it, and maybe even trying to solve it. If not, your course idea might just be a solution to a problem in your head.
To do this, there are only two ways to ensure that the problem indeed exists:
Conduct Problem Interviews
Interviewing people seems easy, but there’s a right way and a wrong way to do it. The wrong way to do this is to ask people about your course idea. For instance, asking people whether they’d pay for a course on how to keep houseplants alive isn't the way to do this. People are too polite to turn down your course idea.
Instead, ask them about their experiences. The point is to find out about their struggles.
Some questions you might want to ask during a problem interview:
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"Tell me about the last time you tried to take care of a houseplant. What happened?"
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"What is the hardest part about keeping plants in your apartment?"
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"Have you tried to find solutions to this problem before? What did you try?"
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"If you could wave a magic wand and solve one part of this problem, what would it be?"
Do you hear emotion in their answers? Are they frustrated? Have they given up? Do they want to solve this problem? If they dismiss it as no big deal, then it is not a significant enough problem to warrant a class.
Analyze Online Conversations (Passive Research)
It doesn't require much effort to gather evidence. The internet is flooded with people venting about their problems. The only challenge is knowing where to look.
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Using Forums Like Reddit: Find the relevant subreddits on Reddit. For instance, if your topic is house plants, look at the r/houseplants or r/ApartmentDesign communities. Look at the posts asking for help. What are the common problems people are asking about? Look at posts with the "questions" or "help" flair. The language people use here is the same language you'll use in your marketing campaign.
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Amazon Reviews: This is a treasure trove of information. Look at the top 3 books on your topic. Look at the reviews with 2 or 3 stars. These people have attempted to solve their problem with your product, only to find out that the product doesn't solve their issue. What did they feel was lacking? The complaints people have about the product are the potential features your course could offer. For example, if people are reviewing books about plants, they'll complain about not knowing what to do when their plants turn yellow. That's your potential course.
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YouTube Video Comments: Look at popular videos about your topic. Look at the comments. People comment asking specific questions that the video doesn't answer. The unanswered questions are potential course content. At this stage, you'll have a collection of notes. You'll know the language people are using to describe their problems. If dozens of people are asking the same question, that's proof the problem exists.
Find Your Audience and Their Intent
Now that you understand that this is a real problem, you want to find out whether this is something that people want to solve badly enough to actually pay for. There are a few ways to find out.
Search Engine Analysis
Go to Google or YouTube and start typing. See what Google is suggesting. If you are typing "how to keep plants..." and it suggests "...alive in winter" or "...from dying," then you know that is what is being searched for. There is a free tool called AnswerThePublic that lets you see how many questions are being asked about a topic. If you see "how-to" questions about something, you know it's being searched for.
Competitor Analysis
Look for other courses, books, or popular YouTube videos about something similar to what you want to create. If it has a lot of views, you know it's wanted. Next, find out what is missing. Look at the comments on a competitor's video. See what questions are being asked that weren't answered by that video. If you see that everyone is asking questions about something, then you should create it. If you see everyone saying, "thank God, finally," you know it's wanted.
Social Listening
Go to Facebook or LinkedIn. Look for groups of people who would be interested in something you want to create. Don't post. Just read. See what questions are being asked. If you see that everyone is asking for something, you know it's wanted. If you see that something is being asked repeatedly, like "why are leaves turning yellow," you know it's wanted.
Test the Solution (The “Smoke Test”)
You have indicators that people are searching for answers. But will they actually want your answers? The only way to find out is to perform a smoke test: create a small version of your idea and gauge interest before creating anything.
The goal is not to make money. The goal is to find out if anyone will take a small action to show real interest.
Method 1: The Landing Page
Create a basic one-page website that describes your course idea and the result your course will provide. Include a button that says “Join the Waitlist.” Promote your landing page in Facebook groups or share it with your friends. If 20-30 people opt in over the next week, you have proof of interest.
Method 2: The Lead Magnet
Create a small version of a free resource related to your topic. This could be a checklist, a short report, or a cheat sheet. Ask for their email in exchange for the resource. If they opt in, they clearly want information on this topic. You now have a list of potential customers.
Method 3: The Pre-Sell (Strongest Signal)
Sell your course before creating it. Offer a discount to “beta testers” who understand that the course is not yet built. If they actually buy your course before it’s built, that’s the strongest signal of interest. Now it’s your job to deliver.
Conclusion
Making an online course is a creative process, and it’s not a leap of faith. Hoping that people will buy your course is not a plan; it’s a bet.
It may take a bit longer to validate your course idea at first, as you’ll need to talk to people and research before you start in front of the camera. But this process is the fastest way to a successful launch, as it helps you avoid creating a course nobody wants to buy.