The Crucial Step Most Course Creators Skip: How to Validate Your Course Idea

Ever wondered why some online courses fail to sell as well as their creators hoped?

Because of their excitement, many course creators forget to check if their audience actually wants what they’re offering.

Skipping this crucial step of validating your course idea can be the difference between a course that sells and one that falls flat.

So, what does it mean to validate your course idea?

Simply put, it’s making sure your audience wants what you’re planning to offer before you invest time and money in creating it.

Imagine spending countless days or even months developing a course you believe your audience needs, only to discover that nobody actually wants it.

Validation helps you avoid that by checking in with your potential students first.

Why Do So Many Course Creators Skip Validation?

There are a few reasons why course creators skip validation.

One key reason is the belief that if they’re excited about their idea, others will be too.

However, excitement alone doesn’t guarantee success. Just because you find your idea great doesn’t mean it will sell.

For a course to succeed, it must address the real needs and problems of your target audience and be something they’re willing to pay for.

Validating your idea ensures it’s not just a passion project but a solution your audience genuinely wants.

What Happens When You Don’t Validate Your Idea?

Skipping validation can lead to disappointing results.

First, you could waste a lot of time and money creating a course that nobody wants to buy. This is not only frustrating but also discouraging, especially for new course creators with limited resources.

Second, if your course doesn’t attract many students, your launch might feel like a flop. This can hurt your confidence and make it harder to sell future courses.

How to Make Sure Your Course Idea Will Work

So, how do you avoid this mistake? Here are some simple steps you can take:

1. Know Your Audience

To create a course that connects deeply with your audience, you need to understand the real-life impact of their challenges.

Explore how these issues disrupt their daily routines and what solutions they've previously attempted. Identify their core anxieties and what keeps them up at night, and determine the kind of solution they dream of but haven’t yet found.

This deeper insight will enable you to create a course that not only addresses their pain points but also offers the ideal resolution they are seeking.

The better you understand your audience, the easier it will be to create a course that they’ll find valuable and engaging.

2. Ask for Feedback

Once you know your ideal audience, don’t hesitate to ask them what they think about your course idea. You can do this through surveys, social media posts, or even casual conversations.

The goal is to gauge whether your idea resonates with the people you want to serve. Are they interested? Do they see value in it? Would they be willing to invest time and money in your course?

Gathering feedback early on is invaluable. It allows you to refine your idea, adjust your content, and ensure that what you’re creating truly meets the needs and desires of your ideal students.

Plus, involving your audience in the creation process can build anticipation and trust, making them more likely to enroll when your course is ready.

3. Pre-Sell Your Course

One of the best ways to validate your idea is to sell your course before it’s fully created. Pre-selling allows you to gauge interest and secure sign-ups even before you have created the course.

If the response isn’t as strong as you hoped, you can tweak your idea before committing more time and effort.

4. Test with a Small Group

Before launching your course to a larger audience, consider running a small test with a select group of students.

Think of this as a soft launch or beta test. Invite a handful of people who fit your target audience to take your course before it’s fully created in a polished form. In exchange, ask for their honest feedback on the content, structure, and overall experience.

This approach allows you to make necessary tweaks and improvements based on real user experiences, helping you to fine-tune your course before the official launch.

Not only does this help you iron out any issues, but it also gives you a chance to gather testimonials and success stories that can boost the credibility and appeal of your course when it’s time to go public.

Validating your course idea might seem like an extra step, but it’s one that can save you a lot of time, money & resources in the long run.

By making sure there’s interest in your course before you create it, you’ll set yourself up for success.

And whether you're diving into a live, evergreen, or pre-launch, having the right funnel page is crucial for success.

Click the button below to check out my Kajabi Template Shop and find the perfect funnel template for your needs.