Deciding to create an online course is a big step forward, but if you don’t even know what you’re going to teach, you should put some serious consideration into your topic before you start. There should be several deciding factors in how to choose what you eventually create your course around, but here are the main things you should think about.
What do you like and what are you passionate about?
You’ll get bored before you’ve finished the course if you’re not writing about something that you enjoy. Make a list of all the things that you are passionate about, whether this is food, sports, music, humanitarianism, family and relationships or animals. There are many different things in the world and you’re bound to find a few that you like.
What do you have knowledge about?
As much as it’s important that you enjoy the topic and you’re passionate about it, you also need to have a lot of knowledge about it. Creating an online course isn’t like creating a blog where you can share your ideas and opinions with your readers quite easily. With a course, you have to be able to impart some useful information to your students, especially if they are paying for it.
What is there demand for?
You should always check out what courses are already out there and what people actually want to learn. You can find this out by using analysis tools which will show you how many users search for certain phrases and keywords each month. You can then compare this alongside how many online courses for that particular topic already exist. Using this information, it’s easy to gauge how much competition there will be, and therefore how easily or difficult it will be to get attention and succeed with your online course.
What topics can you get external input for?
The content for the online course is probably going to come primarily from you, but you should also get input from others. This will not only provide a course that is well-rounded and suitable for a wide range of users, but you could also have the opportunity to provide key messages and information which may not otherwise have been shared through the course. If you have family, friends or colleagues and acquaintances who are also interested in a topic, ask them to give you a few minutes of their time to share some thoughts and ideas.
