14 Best Online Course Ideas to Create in 2025

Last updated: December 12, 2024

It’s always a good time to come up with online course ideas, especially when you’re looking to earn some additional income. A successful online course is about creating something people want to learn and teaching it engagingly. By being passionate about what you teach, you can spread the enthusiasm for topics people find challenging. Online course creation takes a lot of work. Still, with the benefit of being paid from teaching business courses, personal development courses, or even data science courses, it’s definitely worth the effort. In this article, you’ll learn how to become a course creator and develop online course ideas, and we’ll also share a few ideas of our own, so you can start teaching online courses.

How to Create an Online Course for Free

1. Research a topic heavily

People who pay for online courses want information they can’t find on Google. You’ll need to have enough industry knowledge to teach people your expertise. Research goes beyond reading a few articles about a topic. Research typically means having some first-hand experience with it. So, if you’re planning on creating online courses, get into the industry you’re going to teach, make some mistakes, learn many lessons, and win big. Use your wins as the basis for what you teach in your successful online learning program.

2. Create an outline

After building up the knowledge and expertise needed, you’ll need to craft a course outline or curriculum. The beginning of the online course should provide industry context, such as “What is [topic],” course goals, and explanations of common jargon in the industry. It should simply introduce the essential content to ease them into it. As the course progresses, the level of difficulty and complexity of the topic should increase. Add activity challenges, tests, and homework projects to help people apply the knowledge from the content to their work. Plus, it’s a great way to know if people absorb the content properly.

3. Create the educational content

The next step in creating online courses is to produce the content. Focus on creating scripts or bullet points that you talk about for your course. Create short videos. For example, it can be easy to lose focus when a single video is over an hour long. People like short, snappy, and engaging videos, so make them fun and educational. Pack the essential details, actionable advice, and things people can learn from and apply immediately. The total course run time can range from one hour to 10 hours. But remember to keep it engaging the entire time.

4. Sell your course on Payhip

The most crucial step of creating an online course is selling it. Without getting it in front of people, no one benefits from it. The best platform to sell online courses on is Payhip. Why?

• Well, it’s free for online course creators. You pay a 5% transaction fee for every sale. So, if you haven’t made any sales, you won’t have to pay monthly subscriptions. Plus, unlike other online course platforms, you won’t be subjected to their sales discounts.
• The price you set for your course is firm on Payhip. So, you have more control over the ownership of your content.
• Payhip has numerous features for online course creators, such as a beautiful course player, the ability to add videos, text, quizzes, downloads, surveys, assignments, embeds, customizable branding, and drip content.
  You can build landing pages to promote it, charge a one-time fee or monthly subscription, or pay what you want.
• Plus, students will access their own accounts, preview a free lesson, comment on lessons, and much more.

5. Promote your online course

A successful online course wouldn’t be complete without some marketing strategies. For example, you can create a landing page on Payhip that you run ads to, so you can get immediate sales from your new course. You can also promote your course on social media, to your email list, or by building out blog content on your website.

Read our comprehensive guide on how to create and sell online courses in 2025.

How to Come Up With Online Course Ideas

1. Think about topics you’re an expert in

The easiest way to become an online course creator is to think about the topics you know more about than the average person. Are there topics where people regularly come to you for advice to ask about? Do you find yourself constantly reading books and articles on a specific topic? Maybe you went to school for this area of expertise, or perhaps you have had a long career in the field. Either way, by picking a topic you’ve mastered, you’ll be able to share beginner, intermediate, and advanced knowledge, which will make people more likely to want to learn from you because you’ve practiced what you preached.

2. Think about topics you’re passionate about

When thinking about online course ideas, consider topics you’re passionate about. For example, what topics will you not stop talking about with your friends? Are there forums that you constantly check out? Do you know all the latest news on a specific topic? If there’s something that excites you, consider teaching that as an online course because your enthusiasm will shine through, which will make learning it so much more fun for your students.

3. Think about topics people need help with

A profitable online course idea is to think about topics people tend to need help with. For example, what are topics that people find difficult? Is there an area where you’ve tutored someone and noticed you had a lot of students asking for help? Subjects like math, science, and finances tend to be popular topics people need help in from an academic perspective. But there are also burning problems, such as weight loss or dating, which can cause problems for certain people. So if you have a lot of experience in these areas, you can create online courses for those topics.

14 Online Course Ideas to Teach in 2025

1. Business Course Ideas

Business is a profitable online course idea since it captures a large segment of people. Some people work for businesses that require business courses to learn topics for their jobs, and then there are also business people who are experts but require brush-ups since technology changes quickly. Still, since business technology is changing with time, people need a regular tune-up. Here are a few business course ideas for you to consider:

• How to Create Excel Spreadsheets/Google Sheets
• How to Sell Digital Products Online
• Project Management Basics
• Cold Calling For Startups
• Customer Service Mastery
• How to Read Data for Your Business
• Negotiation Skills for Executives
• How to Communicate at Work
• Public Speaking for Beginners
• Presentation Skills for Entrepreneurs
• How to Recruit World-Class Employees
• Business Fundamentals for 2025

2. Marketing Course Ideas

An online course business can also cover exciting topics like marketing. From social media marketing to email to content marketing, the world is filled with content for us to consume and ways to elevate our personal brands. You can teach a multitude of online courses in this area on any online course platform to find success. Here are a few profitable online course ideas in marketing you can teach:

• Media Outreach: How to Build A Media List that Lands Coverage
• How to Build a Personal Brand in 2025
• Digital Marketing for Beginners
• How to Write Email Copy That Converts
• How to Get Millions of Pageviews for Your Blog
• A Guide to Social Media Marketing
• Website Traffic: SEO Tactics For Your New Website
• TikTok Videos for People Who Are Camera Shy
• Facebook Ads Bootcamp: Conversions
• Online Marketing for Your Own Business
• Search Engine Marketing for Beginners

3. Health and Wellness Course Ideas

The health and wellness industry is filled with online course ideas that solve burning problems. From finding the proper diet for your body to taking care of your mental health, there are endless online courses you can teach in this area. Having some credentials can be particularly helpful in these industries to build your authority, but you can also share your experience in managing your health. So here are a few wellness courses you can teach:

• Keto Diet Fundamentals
• Vegan Cooking Classes for Beginners
• First Aid Basics
• Acupuncture Pressure Points
• How to Improve Your Posture At Work
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Trauma
• Stress Management 101

4. Art Course Ideas

Art online course ideas can be educational or a passionate hobby for students. Some people might be interested in learning how to improve their ability to draw for professional purposes, such as to sell their art, whereas others might be looking to learn a few skills for a hobby. Here are a few art online courses you can teach:

• Digital Art for Beginners
• Sewing Fundamentals for 2025
• Watercolor Painting Basics
• Figure Drawing: Beginner to Advanced
• Advanced Animation Fundamentals
• Craft Courses for Beginners

5. Personal Development Course Ideas

As a course creator, you can teach tons of personal development courses to help people become more productive, improve their leadership skills, build their confidence, or help them in their online business. Whether you offer career guidance or just some online education about a specific character trait, you can transform people’s lives by developing them.

• How to Save More Time
• Master Your Mind
• Leadership Training 101
• How to Develop Confidence
• Life Coach Training
• Goal Setting Mastery

6. Relationships Course Ideas

With millions of people looking for love every day, you can become a course creator who helps people find their perfect match. Whether you’re helping people build a compatible relationship, improve their current relationship, or heal from a breakup, your expertise can improve someone’s mental health in terms of their love life.

• Zodiac Matchmaking for Beginners
• Find Your Soulmate in 30 Days
• How to Improve Your Marriage
• Moving On After Divorce
• How to Ask Someone Out

7. Lifestyle Course Ideas

With so many hobbies to choose from, you can create your online course about your biggest passions. For example, you can teach numerous areas, from baking to makeup to jamming on your favorite instrument.

• Stage Makeup for Actors
• How to Braid Your Hair
• Tarot Card Reading Essentials
• How to Bake A Cake
• How to Make Your Own Wine
• How to Become A Twitch Streamer
• Airbnb Hosting for New Homeowners
• How to Play Guitar
• Time Management 101

8. Personal Finance Course Ideas

A successful course can help millions of people solve their problems. Making money, saving money, and spending money are all topics people could use some more education on. From managing their accounting, tracking their spending, and learning how to trade stocks, you can sell courses on a range of personal finance topics for your online business.

• Bookkeeping 101
• Introduction to Macroeconomics
• Best Money Management Tools
• How to Improve Your Credit Score
• Stock Trading in 2025

9. Fitness Course Ideas

Online learning can be about some of the most popular topics, like fitness. For example, you can create workout programs where you teach people how to dance. Or another course idea is that you can teach people how to lose weight fast. Fitness courses can help a lot of people who are looking to get in shape to maintain good health.

• Pilates for Beginners
• How to Lose 10 Pounds In One Month
• Weightlifting Workouts for Warriors
• Advanced Dance Choreography Lessons
• Marathon Training Program
• How to Perfect Your Golf Swing

10. Technology Course Ideas

Some of the best online course ideas in 2025 are in technology. Technology is a growing industry that people can still learn a lot about. Future careers are being shaped by some sectors, such as cyber security, the metaverse, and machine learning. Whether you’re teaching how to code or some other online learning topic in tech, this industry has many profitable online course ideas.

• Artificial Intelligence for Beginners
• Machine Learning Foundations
• Cyber security for 2025
• How Technology Will Change Your Life
• Blockchain Technology Master Course
• Metaverse Masterclass

11. Language Course Ideas

There are entire online course businesses dedicated to teaching people new languages. If you’re fluent in multiple languages, you can teach these languages to people from around the world. However, you can also take this in another relevant direction; there are so many nuances, acronyms, and common expressions people use that you can educate people on. Highlighting cultural differences in language courses could also be beneficial for students.

• How to Write Your First Novel
• Learn Portuguese in 30 days or less
• Understanding Common English Acronyms
• French Lessons for Beginners
• Common English Expressions and What They Mean

12. Home Improvement Course Ideas

With more people owning homes than ever, online courses about improving your home are in high demand. Some of the best online course ideas are about home organizing to home renovations. People love new ideas for decorating their space to make their houses feel homier.

• Advanced Home Repair
• Starting a Home Improvement Business
• Color Psychology for Painting
• Home Interior Designs
• Home Organization and Decluttering
• How to Design Your Dream Kitchen

13. Animal Course Ideas

Many people are passionate about animals. Online courses about animals can range from how to take care of your new pet to how to become a veterinarian. Plus, some animals could use some basic training, so dog training online courses are a popular choice too.

• Dog Training Courses for First-Time Owners
• Horseback Riding for Beginners
• How to Breed Animals Ethically
• Animal Disease Prevention for Veterinarians
• Animal Adoption: The Basics

14. Everyday Course Ideas

Online course ideas can also be about everyday topics. For example, think about everyday things people do, such as posting selfies on social media, raising their kids, or cleaning their homes. Of course, there’s always a better way to do something, so you can share your experience with how you do ordinary things but better.

• Food Photography for Social Media
• Housekeeping for Busy People
• Growing your own vegetables at home
• Potty Training for Toddler Parents
• How to Fold Towels Like a Hotel
• How to Backup Your Photos and Videos on the Cloud
• Safety Survival Basics

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