The 5-Step System for Testing Your Course Idea Before You Build It
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You’ve got this amazing course idea that’s going to change everything. You can see the modules, the transformation, the success stories. But before you spend months building it, wouldn’t it be smart to know if people actually want it?
I know how excited you feel when you have that perfect course concept. You can picture exactly how you’ll help people and how grateful they’ll be. I know that excitement is a wonderful feeling, but let me share something I’ve learned from watching too many smart people pour their hearts into courses that barely sell.
Why You Should Validate Your Course Idea
Creating a course can be a significant time investment. I’m talking weeks or months of your life spent planning, recording, and building something you hope will help people. I don’t want you to worry that your beautiful course will launch and all you’ll hear are crickets.
You want to solve the problems that people are actively looking for solutions to. Just because you know how to solve something doesn’t mean people realize they need it solved, or that they’re willing to invest money in fixing it right now. Your knowledge is valuable, but we need to make sure it matches what people are actively seeking.
Testing your course idea first will help to prevent disappointment and wasted effort if things don’t go as you hoped. Validating your course idea helps you create something people will actually buy and better yet, complete all the way through. When you test your idea first, you learn how your audience talks about their problems, what outcomes they really want, and what approach resonates with them.
Here’s what you’ll learn from testing your course idea:
- Do people have the problem you think they have? Sometimes we assume everyone struggles with something just because we did. Testing shows you how widespread the problem really is.
- How urgently do they want it solved? There’s a big difference between “yeah, that’s annoying” and “I desperately need help with this.” You want to solve problems that keep people up at night.
- Will they pay to solve it? People might agree they have a problem, but putting money down is the real test of whether they prioritize solving it.
- Is your approach the right fit for them? Maybe they want the outcome you promise, but they prefer a different learning style or method than what you’re planning.
I don’t want you to think you can skip over the course validation process, so in the table below I have listed the costs of not testing and also what you can gain from taking time to run a test. I hope you can see the benefits of putting in the effort.
| The Cost of Not Testing | What You Gain from Testing |
|---|---|
| Your time: You’ll spend weekends recording videos, evenings writing workbooks, and countless hours organizing everything. | Your confidence: You’ll know that you’re creating a course that what people want and there’s a genuine demand waiting. |
| Your emotional health: There’s nothing quite like the confidence hit of launching something you poured your heart into and having very few people buy it. | Your ideal student: A clear picture of your ideal student will emerge during your testing, and you’ll be able to speak directly to their struggles in your course. |
| Your other opportunities: While you’re spending months on a course that might not work, you could be working on other projects with proven demand or existing customers. | Your credibility: You’ll gain social proof, positive feedback and testimonials before your big launch, giving you credibility from day one. |
Convinced this is an important step? Great!! Let’s look at how its done…
How to VALIDATE Your Course Idea
I’m going to walk you through a simple 5-step system to test your course idea. In this system, we’ll use a mini-course to validate demand, which gives you real data about whether people will be interested in your topic and will pay for your full-length course.
By the end of this post, you’ll have a clear roadmap to validate your course idea before investing months (and money) in creation.
Step 1: Have Real Conversations with Potential Students
Your goal is to understand the problem from your potential students’ perspective. You’re not trying to sell anything—you’re learning how they experience the challenge you want to help solve.
Reach out to 10-15 people who might be interested in your course topic. These could be friends, former colleagues, or people in online communities where your audience hangs out.
Ask open-ended questions about their challenges with your topic. Don’t lead them toward answers you want to hear. Let them tell you about their real experience in their own words.
Here are some key questions to ask them:
- “What’s your biggest challenge with [your topic]?”
- “What have you tried to solve this problem?”
- “If you could wave a magic wand and fix this, what would that look like?”
- “How much time or money have you spent trying to solve this?”
What you’re listening for:
- Do they struggle with this problem?
- How do they describe it in their own words?
- What outcomes do they want?
- Have they invested money in solutions before?
RED FLAG: If people seem confused or non-chalant about the problem or don’t express urgency about solving it, it may not be a top priority for them.
GOLD NUGGET: If people tell you “I’ve been looking everywhere for help with this” or describe the problem with emotional language, then begin to pay attention and note down the exact questions and phrases they use so you can address them in your mini-course (see Step 3).
Step 2: Create a Simple Interest Landing Page
You want to test demand before you build anything. You’re trying to see how many people are interested enough to leave their email address when they hear about your course idea.
What to include on your landing page:
- A clear headline using language from your conversations in Step 1
- 3-5 bullet points describing the outcomes they want
- Simple email signup: “Get notified when this mini-course launches”
- Brief description of what the mini-course will cover
Don’t get complicated creating your landing page. You can create it in a Google Doc! But here are other options: Carrd (free with custom domain), Leadpages (more features, paid), simple WordPress page, or even a Google Form. Remember, at this point you’re just gathering data, so use whatever you feel comfortable with.
Share your landing page with your existing network through email and social media. Post in relevant online communities where your audience hangs out. Ask the people from Step 1 to check it out.
If 100 people visit your page, about 2-5 people on average should leave their email. If 5-10 people leave their email address that’s even better! Other good signs include people sharing it without you asking and emails asking for more details.
NOTE: Always do research to understand average opt-in rates for your particular field or topic. If signup rates seem low (under 2%, 2 people leave their email address) the problem might not be urgent enough, or your messaging needs adjustment.
Step 3: Build Your Validation Mini-Course
So, why does a mini-course works better than surveys?
It’s because people pay money for the mini-course, proving real demand rather than just being polite answering your survey (especially friends and family).
It also gives you the opportunity to test your teaching approach and see if people respond to your style. And even better, your students get real results, giving you testimonials.
AND it can become the first module of your larger program.
Here’s how to structure your mini-course for your validation test:
- Focus on ONE specific outcome from your bigger course idea
- Create 3-5 short lessons (total learning time should be no more than 30-60 minutes)
- Include a simple workbook or worksheet [link to workbook article]
- Keep it focused and actionable
So, instead of creating a course called “Complete Business Launch Course,” you’d create “How to Validate Your Business Idea in One Weekend.”
Your mini course should be priced around $27-47. That will make it low enough to remove barriers but high enough that people have skin in the game.
You’ll want to sell it on a simple platforms like Gumroad, Teachable or Thinkific (using their free plan). You could even deliver it as an email course.
Step 4: Launch and Gather Real Data
Once your mini-course is created it’s time to launch it. Email your landing page subscribers first. Share with your network through social media and email. Post in relevant online communities. Ask people from Step 1 if they’d be interested.
Here’s what you should be looking for and keeping track of for about 2-3 weeks:
- How quickly does it sell?
- Do people finish it?
- Do students ask questions or share progress?
- Are people getting the promised outcome?
- Do people recommend it to others?
TIP: If sales are slow, consider adjusting your messaging, price, or audience before moving forward. You might want to give your mini-course longer than 2-3 weeks depending on your topic.
Step 5: Read the Signs and Make Your Decision
Now it’s time to review the results of your validation test! Check out the chart below for green, yellow and red lights to help you make a decision based on the data you captured for your mini course.
| GREEN LIGHT (PROCEED WITH COURSE) | YELLOW LIGHT (MAKE ADJUSTMENTS) | RED LIGHT (PIVOT OR PAUSE) |
|---|---|---|
| Mini-course sells steadily with minimal promotion High completion rates and positive feedback Students achieve the promised outcome People ask about next steps or more advanced training You have testimonials and success stories | Slow sales but enthusiastic feedback from buyers Good completion but students want different outcomes Right problem, wrong audience or approach | Very few sales despite promotion Low completion rates Lukewarm feedback (“nice” but not “transformative”) You’re working harder to sell than they are to buy |
From Mini-Course to Full Course
If your validation was successful, Congratulations!! Your mini-course becomes your roadmap for the full course. Expand on what worked, address questions that came up, and use student feedback to improve weak areas.
Your mini-course proved the demand and has built your first group of students. Your full-length course will now serve a validated demand with a proven teaching approach (make any adjustments from feedback, of course). You will be able to launch with testimonials and social proof already in place.
But don’t worry if you need to pivot, that’s extremely valuable information too. It’s better to discover this now than after months of course creation.
Conclusion
Validating your course idea isn’t about doubting your knowledge. Instead, it’s about making sure your course will solve a problem people prioritize solving (especially if it’s a course you want to sell).
So pick one conversation to have this week. Ask someone in your potential audience about their biggest challenge with your topic. That’s how validation starts.
What you’re really looking for is just a little proof to get started creating the course of your dreams. Two to three weeks of testing can save you months of building something that never sells. This small investment of time upfront will give you confidence and direction for creating a course people want. Good luck and be sure to share your mini-course landing page with me. I’d love to see it!