Choosing topics for online courses can be a challenge. As an expert in your field, there will come a time when you’ll want to start offering online courses. Depending on your industry, your competition may have already beat you to the punch.

Does this mean your dreams of having a profitable online course are over? Of course not. Find out why below.

A saturated market doesn’t mean there’s no room for you and your ideas. Saturated markets offer a unique opportunity for you to present a different perspective on topics that your competition may have covered already. Here are a few strategies for choosing a topic in a saturated market.

Start with pain points

People don’t buy online courses just because they like them. People choose topics for online courses because they have a huge problem that needs to be solved sooner rather than later. In marketing, we refer to this as a pain point.

Pain points are a great place to start when developing a successful online course because no matter what information is already available, people are still struggling with something. For example, a lot of women are interested in developing their sense of style but they struggle with putting looks together. Fashion courses are widely available but they may only be tailored to women who are average size. This is a unique pain point for plus-size women. To break this pain point down further, there are even postpartum, plus-sized women who are having trouble developing a style that’s fashionable and functional. This is another avenue for a course topic.

This strategy can be applied to any industry.

Use social media to your advantage

Social media platforms are a breeding ground for online course ideas. Social media isn’t just useful for keeping up with the rest of the world it can also be used to gather valuable data and information. There are thousands of people asking questions, expressing frustrations, and even begging for specific courses.

Someone should make a course on Adulting Better 101. I’ll build your course site for you if you do!

— Karmen | Marketing Manager 📈 (@iamkarmenk) March 2, 2022

Combing through Instagram comments, being active in Facebook groups, or even looking through job listings on LinkedIn can give you the content ideas you’re looking for. 

Keep in mind, nobody can teach a course like you can

Issa Rae once said “Nobody knows what you know like you know what you know. The way you see things is pretty unique.” This can apply to your course topic and it works especially well if you’ve already built a community. 

There can be a million courses teaching on a topic but none of those courses can ever deliver information from your unique perspective. That’s the beauty of online learning. 

Take time to “spy” on your competition to see what they’re doing. Make note of the things they’re doing well and what they can improve on. Build your course on the same topic using your unique knowledge and expertise. Put your sauce on it and present it.

Bloggers and content creators execute this strategy perfectly. They understand that people want to create content that’s like theirs. Even though there are a ton of content creator courses those courses are all different based on who’s teaching them.

Don’t let the competition discourage you from teaching a course on something you’re passionate about. Choosing a topic can be as easy as adding your voice to what’s already out there.