Not only is it easier than ever to teach online, now it’s cool too! Thinkific’s Digital Learning Trends Report for 2023 found that more people are looking for educational content from creators than entertainment-only content. Online learning has become synonymous with speed and accessibility, opening up a ton of opportunities for creator educators to step in and fill this industry with useful content. If you’re looking to dive into the content creator world this year, we’ve put together the best niche online course topics to help you reach super specific and ready-to-buy students.
Skip ahead:
- What is a niche for an online course?
- What is a sub niche for an online course?
- What are the most profitable niches for online courses in 2023?
- How to choose your niche
What is a niche for an online course?
If you’re not yet familiar with online learning, the first thing you might think of when you hear “online course” is something related to traditional education, maybe a high school or university math or language course. But the industry offers so much more than that. Today, people of all backgrounds and experiences are creating and distributing courses on just about any topic you can think of.
Have you heard the saying, “there’s riches in niches?” This is particularly true in the online education space.
Niches are very specific categories where someone might have special knowledge or experience. For example, a cooking class could be a niche if it’s about a particular country’s cuisine or style of cuisine like bread making. Bryant Terry, for example, is a notable chef with 6 top-selling cookbooks on healthy vegan or vegetarian recipes. As an expert chef, he could create a course on that one niche within your specialization and become the go-to source for learning on that topic.
It’s important to know that to have a niche, you don’t need to be a global leader in that area or have encyclopedic knowledge about it. You just need to know significantly more than the average person — enough to help them learn and experience some sort of noticeable growth, improvement, or transformation. Your niche can be related to your work or your personal interests. You can jump ahead to the section on finding your niche here.
What is a sub niche for an online course?
A sub niche is a specialization within your niche. In other words, it’s a specialized area within one specialized area. To use our cooking example, instead of focusing on bread making, an expert chef might decide to give a lesson specifically on creating a starter for sourdough. So, while their niche is bread making, their sub niche is sourdough starters.
When putting together your online course content, you can create entire courses on sub niches or use them to help you organize your lesson. You might choose to build a course in a niche because it has more search volume in Google and then cover sub niches within the course lessons. If you’re just starting out or if your course is quite long, consider also making each unit purchasable individually so that you can see what students are most interested in learning. Read more on how to build your first course here.
What are the most profitable niches for online courses in 2023?
Digital marketing
Stories of layoffs and tightening marketing budgets have dominated headlines for much of the past year. Marketing leaders are being asked to reduce their spend and really prove the return on investment (ROI). In that environment, many marketers — especially those early in their careers — are looking for opportunities to upskill. This presents a great opportunity for skills marketers to share their knowledge of digital marketing.
Examples of online courses in this niche:
- Digital Marketing Program by CareerFoundry
- Meta Social Media Marketing Certificate
- Affiliate Marketing for Publicists
Search volume for keywords in this niche:
- Digital marketing courses online – 24K/month
- Social media marketing course online – 1.7K/month
Examples of sub niche topic ideas:
- Crisis management communications on social media
- How to create a high-converting Google Ad
- Understanding quantifiable metrics of digital advertising
- 5-steps to creating your first content strategy
Cooking
If there’s something you can cook on repeat really well, there’s never been a better time to monetize that skill through online learning! Create an online course sharing how to prepare your signature dishes. Cooking is a great niche for diversifying your income streams as well. You can sell recipe sheets or an entire cookbook, offer 1on1 cooking lessons, and sell additional products to your course attendees.
Examples of online courses in this niche:
- Forks Over Knives Plant-Based Cooking
- Cozy Meal Interactive Online Cooking Classes
- America’s Test Kitchen (Course: Feeding a Crowd)
Search volume for keywords in this niche:
- Online cooking course – 1.9K/month
- Online cooking course with certificate – 497/month
- Learn to bake online – 2.9K/month
Examples of sub niche topic ideas:
- How to make a great ice cream base
- Introduction to making sourdough bread
- Basics of cooking eggs
- Advanced cake decorating techniques
Cybersecurity
As another skill of the future, cybersecurity is now a huge and quickly growing topic. Demand for cybersecurity courses are skyrocketing as organizations, seeing organizations like Lastpass and Indigo suffer significant impacts from attacks, are realizing the risks of taking it a little too lightly. Not only is there fierce competition for hiring cybersecurity professionals, this is one area where every single member of a company should have some basic know-how. That means a ton of opportunity if you have sufficient technical knowledge to build learning products on cybersecurity.
Examples of online courses in this niche:
- Beginner’s Cybersecurity Awareness Training
- EdEx Essentials of Cybersecurity Professionals
- Learn Social Engineering
Search volume for keywords in this niche:
- Cybersecurity course – 76.3K/month
- Cybersecurity course online – 5.9K/month
- Learning cybersecurity online – 840/month
Examples of sub niche topic ideas:
- Basics of API security
- How to go above and beyond a firewall
- How to code securely
- Cybersecurity awareness training for non-technical employees
Personal finance and investing
The markets are messy, inflation is high, and there’s news of banks collapsing. Unsurprisingly, many people want to learn manage their own money and investments while relying less on financial institutions or professionals. Since most banking and investing can now be done in an app, there’s a great opportunity here to start educating people about personal finance. This is not a hard niche to sell — financial literacy and investing know-how will make people money. Your course is basically a short-term investment that will itself pay dividends in the long run!
Examples of online courses in this niche:
Search volume for keywords in this niche:
- Personal finance 101 – 1.1K/month
- Different types of loans – 3.5K/month
- How to invest in the stock market – 26K/month
Examples of sub niche topic ideas:
- Comparing different long-term investment types
- How to start investing in the stock market
- How to calculate your net worth
- Negotiating with a mortgage broker 101
Digital transformation
Digital transformation is a rather new niche which has grown as companies started moving more of their systems to the cloud. The COVID-19 pandemic forced a lot of companies to switch to remote or hybrid operations. As a result, these companies now need online systems that are efficient, fast, and secure. This is a highly desired skill of the future, and it may be good to target any professionals who are trying to upskill or find a new job with a more technical focus. Luckily, digital transformation topics can be both strategic and technical, so if you have experience in either you shouldn’t have a hard time finding a willing audience for your course.
Examples of online courses in this niche:
- Digital Transformation Training by LinkedIn Learning
- Digital Transformation in Financial Services
- Foundations of Enterprise Architecture
Search volume for keywords in this niche:
- What is digital transformation – 12.8K/month
- Digital transformation course – 3.5K/month
- Data analytics course – 81.3K/month
Examples of sub niche topic ideas:
- Mobile commerce technologies
- How to move a physical server to the cloud
- Data analytics for beginners
Executive leadership development
Executive leadership development courses have long been a profitable area for coaches. Leaders are the strategic minds behind the business and are particularly difficult (and expensive) to replace, so supporting their development is a no-brainer. Since more teams are working remotely or in a distributed environment, it’s harder to get everyone in person for training. Instead, they’re turning to online courses that are easily accessible and give busy executives the flexibility to learn at their pace. While there can be a lot of competition in this niche, it tends to be a particularly high-margin area.
Examples of online courses in this niche:
- Digital Transformation Training by LinkedIn Learning
- Digital Transformation in Financial Services
- Foundations of Enterprise Architecture
Search volume for keywords in this niche:
- Leadership course – 11.8K/month
- Leadership development program – 8.8K/month
- Corporate coaching – 4.1K/month
Examples of sub niche topic ideas:
- Leading with empathy
- Leading in times of crisis and tremendous change
- How to foster alignment on a large team
- Best ways to motivate a sales team beyond money
Home improvement
Who doesn’t love a good DIY? By 2028, the U.S. market for home improvements is going to skyrocket up to a value of over $500 billion. So, yeah, a lot of people are on “team renovation.” While the demand is there, the average person probably has less know-how around the home than ever before. That makes for a great teaching opportunity. But finding the right niche is key here since you’ll likely be competing with free videos on YouTube. Find an area of home improvement that is expensive, difficult, or requires prevision and you’ll likely find a profitable market.
Examples of online courses in this niche:
- Drywall Repair and Installation for Beginners
- Open Book Build to Build Your Own Home
- The Fundamentals of Interior Design
Search volume for keywords in this niche:
- Home improvement diy – 6.6K/month
- How to build a deck – 17.7K/month
- DIY kitchen renovation – 870/month
Examples of sub niche topic ideas:
- How to choose a paint color for your room
- Pouring concrete 101
- Creating an arched door frame
- How to refinish hardwood flooring
Influencer marketing
It feels like influencer marketing has been a trendy niche for a decade — because it has — but the industry is constantly evolving. TikTok has taken over from Instagram and is making it easier than ever for everyday people to build massive audiences. Still, it’s easier said than done. If you have a background in marketing or communications, you might be able to help aspiring influencers find their audience or help brands navigate the world of influencer marketing. This is another niche where the learning will drive revenue generation for your students, so they’re willing to pay for that knowledge upfront.
Examples of online courses in this niche:
- How to Get Brand Deals with a Small Audience
- Build Your Personal Brand on TikTok
- Instagram Influencer Marketing 101
Search volume for keywords in this niche:
- How to become an influencer – 16.1K/month
- How to make money on TIkTok – 31.8K/month
- Amazon influencer program – 46.5K/month
Examples of sub niche topic ideas:
- Getting perfect lighting in different spaces
- Video editing 101
- Understanding social media algorithms
- How to use affiliate links to gain the most income
Stress management
There’s no doubt a lot of “once in a lifetime” stuff has happened in the news over the past few years. Between the pandemic, isolation, layoffs, inflation, global conflicts, global warming, it’s safe to say that stress is at an all-time high for many people. Help individuals manage their stress is a great online course niche that is desperately needed in the world right now. Plus, people have never been more willing to seek out information to help them navigate their feelings and experiences. Corporations, too, are increasingly acknowledging that the mental health of employees plays a fundamental role in their performance and happiness. This niche is ripe for knowledgeable creator educators to come in and make a real difference.
Examples of online courses in this niche:
Search volume for keywords in this niche:
- How to manage anxiety – 8.6K/month
- Stress management course – 1.7K/month
- How to manage stress at work – 3K/month
Examples of sub niche topic ideas:
- Building emotional resilience
- What is mindfulness
- Practicing a psychologically safe work environment
- Leading with empathy
Sports coaching
Not every niche has to be new. Even though it’s a very competitive, well-known field, there’s still a huge audience of people who are just getting started or are trying to excel as sports coaches. Sports coaching is a niche itself, but has a ton of sub niches for each sport. Great coaches can also get trained in general topics such as nutrition, injury therapy, and communication management to help them best serve their teams. Whether you have experience coaching a sports team yourself or you’ve trained coaches in the past, you might have some helpful insights to funnel into sellable online course content.
Examples of online courses in this niche:
Search volume for keywords in this niche:
- Basketball coaching clinics – 2K/month
- What makes a good coach – 1.1K/month
- Sports coaching degree – 890/month
Examples of sub niche topic ideas:
- Mentoring high performance athletes
- Nutrition for high performance soccer players
- Essentials of building a game plan
- How to run effective tryouts session
Personal organization
Marie Kondo’s “spark joy” method for organization took off in 2014. People loved her simple, down-to-earth, and highly-relatable way to make decluttering and home organization easy. She’s put out multiple books, a show, and even a Youtube series on how to create and maintain a clean and sorted life. In other words, she’s proof that people admire and need this kind of information in their lives. A little organization goes a long way in building calm, improving efficiency, and increasing happiness. And those are things people are willing to pay for.
Examples of online courses in this niche:
- Organize Yourself as a Self-Employed Person
- Maximize Organization with Excel Sheets
- Simple Living Hacks
Search volume for keywords in this niche:
- Organization skills examples – 1.2K/month
- How to stay organized – 1.6K/month
- Time management tips – 11.3K/month
Examples of sub niche topic ideas:
- Guide to prioritization 101
- Building and maintaining a label system
- Creating a plan of action
- Building timelines and schedules
Healthy living
The practice of healthy living can be interpreted in a lot of ways. For most, though, it means eating balanced meals, engaging in physical fitness activities daily, and keeping a level state of mind. Dieticians, doctors, therapists, spiritual coaches, and chefs can all build courses in this niche. The great thing about this topic is that there are consumers who want information on the general awareness level and the know-it-all level, meaning you can choose to create content to suit either — or both!
Examples of online courses in this niche:
- Bodybuilding Masterclass for Beginners
- The Science of Weight Loss and Diet Myths
- Yoga and Meditation Classes by Alo Yoga
Search volume for keywords in this niche:
- Online fitness classes – 2.8K/month
- How to develop healthy eating habits – 2.2K/month
- Healthy lifestyle tips – 9.2K/month
Examples of sub niche topic ideas:
- Balancing workout and recovery
- How to find your inner spirit
- Diets to support specific conditions
- Maintaining consistency in healthy living
Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurs pursue the path of building and running their own business because they like the idea of being their own boss. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re already equipped with all the skills to succeed at doing just that. In fact, almost half of all businesses fail within their first few years. If you have experience running your own successful business or working in a start-up environment that was tight on resources, it’s quite likely that you’ll be able to offer some helpful words of advice. Since no one wants their business to be the next one to flop, entrepreneurs are always on the lookout to learn.
Examples of online courses in this niche:
Search volume for keywords in this niche:
- Entrepreneurship course – 14.1K/month
- How to run a business – 3.8K/month
- Marketing tips for small businesses – 2.1K/month
Examples of sub niche topic ideas:
- How to turn an idea into a product
- Securing funding for your startup
- Guide to hiring your first employee
- High-converting marketing strategies for beginners
How to choose your niche
Think about where your area of expertise is
It’s not likely that you’ll be able to write great content for something that you don’t know or care about. Think about the areas that you care enough about to learn deeply to then share with someone else. This passion might stem from something you deal with in your work or personal life, or might just be about a hobby that you enjoy. For example, Sunny Lenarduzzi found inspiration for her super successful video marketing courses from her work creating videos for consulting clients. Or, take a look at Amy Lang, who made $113,000 helping parents teach sexual health to their children. Both found an opportunity from something close to their lives and made it into something that could earn them income.
Try brainstorming a list of all possible niches related to your experience and interests that you might be able to build course content from. Then, narrow it down to a top selection of under fives ideas. You can use the next steps to help you narrow down further if you need to. Or, you can also rely on friends, family, and co-workers to help you find the niche that sounds most like you.
It’s also important that your niche experience is modern and relevant, so try to avoid choosing a niche that you might have done a lot of in the past but haven’t touched in 5+ years (or even less, if it’s something related to technology which changes quickly).
Research the competitiveness of that niche
What are your competitors already doing within this niche? Is there a lot of content produced on the topic? Try to do some thorough research about the niche itself, as well as any sub niches that you would be interested in creating content about. Start with a simple search on the internet for courses related to your niche. Pretty quickly, you will be able to see if there are existing courses on the topic. Using a free browser plug-in like Keywords Everywhere can give you the SEO difficult (KD) score for the searched keyword. The higher the score, the tougher the existing competition is. Ideally, you will aim to compete with a keyword under 60/100.
Also, you may want to search popular course databases such as Coursera or Udemy to see if how many courses they offer in the area. This research can also help you get an estimate on pricing your course and setting a course duration that works for your students. If a competitor’s course is free, you might even consider signing up for it just to see what it’s all about!
Find where your audience is
Researching existing topics for your online course niches is a helpful way to see what people are already buying. It might take a while to get through this research through Google search alone, but there are helpful marketing tools that can give you this information a bit faster. For example, Google Trends is a search tool that will help you see how popular a search term is. Input your niche or sub niche into the field and it will generate a score for you between 0 and 100. The closer the score is to 100, the more in-demand that content is. SEMRush is another popular marketing tool that can give you insights on search volume per month. If your audience needs to be in a specific geography (ie. you’re giving advice related to a law or standards in a given country), you can also filter by region in the tool for the most accurate insights.
Start creating small bits of content to test out
Before launching into full-blown course selling mode, you’ll want to do a few test runs. This step is essential to gauge if you like creating content, if you feel comfortable talking about it, and you have enough knowledge on it to really build a full course. If you’re still stuck between a few niches that you could create content for, this stage is likely to help you make the final decision. Create a few short course segments in various formats (ie. video, quizlets, downloadable resources), and share them with friends and family. Better yet, if you can, find a few willing students online who are interested to learn your niche and offer them this trial content for free or a discounted price while it’s in development. Ask them if in return they can provide feedback so that you can get fresh insights on how to improve your course content. When you feel like you’re all ready to roll, it will be time to launch! Learn more about marketing your first online course here.
Riches in niches
Whether you’re preparing to launch your first course or you’re a long-time creator veteran, there’s no shortage of niche topics that have a high potential for earning you big profits. And by no means is our list exhaustive!
If you have a passion for something that you know really well and want to share with the world, take that leap. Sign up for your forever-free Thinkific account today and begin your creator-educator journey.
