Online Course Topic Ideas – Great Examples with FAQs, Tips & More

BestColleges.com conducted a survey that showed 79% of students found online learning to be better than or equal to in-person education. 

You can find tons of tutorials on the internet on how to create your first online course.

However, a largely unaddressed problem that many new course creators face is, choosing the right topic for their course. 

To help you get some ideas and inspiration for your first online course, we’ve rounded up some of the most popular and profitable topic ideas out there currently. 

27 Winning Topic Ideas You Can Explore

The heading is pretty self-explanatory so, without further ado, let’s get into it: 

Technology and Coding

You’ll agree with us when we say that it’s a tech-driven age with computers being a part of almost every single walk of life. 

It’s highly prudent for professionals, students and even laymen to be proficient in different forms and aspects of technology. 

Not only are there a plethora of technological tools out there that you can create courses about but there are also techniques and avenues you can teach to build online businesses and passive sources of income. 

Some examples that you can create courses about include: 

Website Creation

Whether it be businesses, solopreneurs or individuals in any other profession, building an online presence is borderline-essential in today’s age. 

The first thing to do is build your own website. Which, if you’re not a web developer, most people will not know how to do. 

This is something you can capitalize on. 

There are two routes you can take if you’re building courses about website creation. 

The first is teaching people how to make their website without the use of a website building platform. In this case, you can create courses about:

• HTML
• CSS
• Javascript
• JQuery
• PHP
• Node.JS 
• And many more web development languages. 

The second is to create courses about website building platforms such as: 

• WordPress
• Wix
• Squarespace 
• Weebly
• Joomla! 
• Drupal 
• And many more. 

Data Analytics

Organizations and companies all over the world have realized that data is king. Every major decision in any project for most companies is almost always data-driven. 

Hence, the demand for companies to recruit data scientists and analysts is extremely high. With that, the number of people looking to acquire such skills is also immense. 

You can create courses about tools and languages that are used in Data Analytics. 

You can also create courses about how to actually analyze the data you have and then, generate actionable steps on what to do moving forward.

Some sub-niches to target include: 

• Using Excel for Data Analysis 
• Data Analytics for Businesses 
• Visualizing Data 
• Social Media Analytics 
• Web Analytics and Insights 
• Handling Big Data with R programming 
• Managing Big Data with Hadoop Framework 

Machine Learning and AI

If you’re tapped into the world of technology, you’ll know that machine learning and AI are fields that are extremely popular right now. 

And for good reason. 

Machine learning and AI have benefits that the technological world has never seen before. 

Thus, there are a number of different topics you can create courses about which will benefit students looking to become more proficient in the world of machine learning and AI. 

Firstly, you can create courses about programming languages that are typically used in AI-related projects such as: 

• Python 
• Prolog 
• LISP
• Java
• C++ 

Other than that, you can write about general machine learning niches such as:

• Blockchain technology 
• The Use of AI in Customer Service 
• The Use of AI in Web Development 
• Internet of Things (IoT) 

Programming

There are always emerging niches and sub-topic areas in the world of technology. However, one area that has always stayed relevant is programming languages and coding. 

This is because it’s a fundamental part of almost every area of technology. 

Some popular programming languages that you can create courses about include: 

• Python 
• Java
• C#
• Swift
• Scala
• Go
• Ruby
• Rust

With programming becoming such an integral part of technology, there are many students looking for online courses to get started. 

“Fundamental” or “Introduction” courses to different languages can be a great place to start with your first online course. 

If you’re more experienced at a certain language, you can also build more niche courses related to a certain language. 

Entrepreneurship and Marketing

In today’s rising market of entrepreneurship and freelancing, there’s a high demand for courses on how one can turn their hobbies and interests into profitable businesses. 

The market of entrepreneurship, freelancing, and how you’re supposed to stand out is ever-changing. Thus, the potential for course topics in such a field is immense. 

Some great niches you can look towards include: 

Amazon Affiliate Marketing 

Amazon’s Affiliate program is called Amazon Associates.

It’s one of the most trusted and widely used affiliate programs in the world. 

Amazon affiliate marketing can be a great topic for your course for a number of reasons: 

• It’s multi-niche. There’s a wide variety of products available on Amazon so, marketers can choose from a variety of different niches and categories. 
• It’s highly popular, so you can find loads of knowledge and information about it online. 
• It’s simple and easy to get into, even if you don’t have any prior experience with it. 

Amazon FBA

Just like Amazon’s affiliate marketing, Amazon FBA also has a ton of success stories that you can read online. 

So, naturally, you can imagine that there’s a lot of demand for information on how to set up your own Amazon FBA business. 

Amazon FBA stands for Fulfilled by Amazon and it refers to businesses and sellers storing their physical goods in Amazon’s fulfillment centers for them to pack and ship. 

Amazon is the world’s largest online marketplace and there is a huge demand for courses on how to successfully sell products on Amazon. 

This is true for both already established businesses as well as new sellers. 

Thus, you can really capitalize on this demand by designing courses aimed at helping people to sell their products effectively on Amazon. 

You have to keep in mind that there are already a lot of resources and courses available for selling on Amazon. Thus, you have to identify a specific, common problem that a seller could face and create a course (or courses) about that. 

Digital Marketing

We mentioned earlier how in this digital age, building an online presence is almost essential. 

Thus, courses related to digital marketing and promoting yourself online have become increasingly popular. 

Not only do people need digital marketing skills for their own personal ventures but companies and organizations also regularly look for digital marketers that can help promote their image online. 

Digital marketing can take on a variety of different forms. Thus, you have a plethora of different sub-topics and niches to choose from. 

Some of these are: 

• Email marketing 
• Social media marketing
• Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising 
• Paid search advertising 
• Content marketing 
• Native advertising 
• Content Rate Optimization (CRO) 

Arts and Crafts

With the rising popularity of websites such as Etsy that have enabled artists to sell their work online, more and more people are getting interested in tapping into their artistic side. 

Depending on your own skill level in whatever artistic niche you choose, you can either create advanced courses for intermediate to expert artists or you can create fundamental courses. 

Whatever you choose, it’s important to zoom in on a specific niche and then, target a specific area in that niche. 

Some great niches to look at include: 

Painting & Drawing 

We’ve already explained how you can zoom in on a particular artistic niche and then create a course about it above. 

Painting and drawing are both extremely popular and are often the main medium most artists look towards when attempting to fuel their artistic expression. 

Thus, it’s definitely a lucrative area from which you can profit as well as provide value to your students. 

Carpentry

Carpentry is a fairly unconventional niche that not many people think about when they first think about developing an online course. 

However, if you have the expertise and know-how for it, you’d be surprised to know how many people actually want to learn it. 

Furthermore, the world of carpentry is extremely vast and there are a plethora of niches you can explore to determine what your course will be about. 

Some of these niches include: 

• How to Turn Trees into Timber 
• Types of Wood 
• Cutting Trees and Logs 
• Types of Composites 
• Tools and How to Use Them 
• Tool Maintenance 
• Sharpening Techniques 
• Finishing (Polishing, Veneering, Painting, etc.) 

Graphic Design and Illustration

Graphic Design is an art form that has become an integral part of creating any brand image. Be it your personal brand or the brand image of a business/organization you work for. 

Good graphic design can be the difference in what makes a customer convert or not. Hence, there’s a high demand for courses that teach how to do graphic design effectively. 

However, the market for graphic design courses is highly competitive. Thus, you’ll have to carve out a niche for yourself. 

The same is the case for digital art and illustration. While graphic design can be an umbrella term, illustration specifically refers to using digital software and tools to make creative illustrations. 

Some niches that you can target are: 

• Corporate graphic design 
• Packaging graphic design 
• UI graphic design 
• Graphic design for apparel
• Print media and flyer graphic design
• Portraits 
• Abstract art 
• Using tools such as Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, etc. 
• 3D art 

Content Writing

Written content is something that’s a part of every facet of online media. Be it organization websites, personal brands, social media pages and so on. 

Hence, the market for content writing is something that’s always popular and it’s a skill that will pretty much always be in demand. 

There are a number of different writing audiences you can target but some of the most popular ones include: 

Copywriting 

You may not realize it but a large majority of what you read online is copywriting. 

Copywriting refers to content writing that persuades the writer to take a certain action. This could be clicking on a link, buying a product, donating, etc. 

Someone can be a really good writer and still fail at copywriting. This is why courses on copywriting are so popular. 

SEO writing 

SEO writing refers to Search-Engine Optimization writing. It’s a technique that’s often used in conjunction with copywriting. 

Essentially, it’s a form of writing that is focused on helping a website rank on search engines such as Google, Yahoo, etc. 

Being able to do this effectively requires thorough research of competitors as well as what search engine algorithms are looking for. 

• For one, you can create courses just on how to write search-engine-optimized content 
• Secondly, you can also write about how one can do their own research on what search engines want and then tailor their writing accordingly

Creative writing 

Creative writing is a niche that people are interested in both, professionally as well as something they want to do in their own time. 

Hence, there’s a lot of people looking out there for helpful content on how they can write creatively in an engaging fashion. 

Just like a lot of other niches, the market for creative writing is quite saturated. 

Thus, you’re going to have to find ways to provide value that other course creators are not providing. 

Entertainment and Media

In the internet age, entertainment and media are no longer just limited to the television screen. 

Furthermore, a career in such a profession is something that is achievable now more than ever. 

Hence, there’s a vast audience looking for content on how they can create such media on their own. 

Courses on video production, editing and distribution are just some examples that you can think about when looking for a course topic. 

Let’s have a closer look at some great niches: 

Video Creation

When we’re talking about video creation/production, we’re talking about all the steps one has to go through from ideation to actually recording raw footage. 

Some great topics that you can explore include: 

• Visual and audio gear; What to buy, etc. 
• Storyboarding 
• Script writing (This could also be a writing course) 
• Lighting 
• Blocking and Framing 
• Video recording techniques 
• Audio recording techniques

Video Editing

With video editing, there are a wide variety of sub-categories that you can target. 

The major two are the following: 

• Editing techniques 
• Editing tools and software 

The first category deals with different techniques and what kind of emotion they will evoke in your work. 

For example: When to use jump-cuts, how to edit dialogue scenes, etc. 

The second category would deal with different editing software and how one can use them effectively. 

Some popular editing software that you can think of making courses about include: 

• Adobe Premiere Pro 
• Final Cut Pro 
• Avid Media Composer
• DaVinci Resolve 
• HitFilm Express 

Cinematography and Color Grading

Cinematography refers to the framing of your shots, how you set up the camera and what type of mood you want to evoke with your camera angles. 

Color grading is something you do after you’re done editing your video(s). 

It defines the overall look of your work and how the colors of it will look. Needless to say, this can change the overall presentation and mood of your work. 

Making Videos for Youtube 

While the above two niches can give you a good understanding of making Youtube videos too, the fact of the matter is that content that gets popular on Youtube is very specific. 

People on Youtube have very short attention spans so, your videos have to be really engaging to retain an audience. 

There are endless forms of videos on Youtube and you can explore many different sub-categories. Some of these are: 

• Vlogs 
• Product review videos 
• Youtube tutorials 
• Gaming videos
• List videos 

Live Streaming

According to MediaKix.com, the live streaming service, Twitch, sees an average of 15 million daily active users. 

The world of streaming is gigantic and it’s becoming more huge every single day. With that, a lot of creators have been jumping on the bandwagon of live streaming. 

Anyone can live stream from the comfort of their home but you have to understand that the market is still relatively new. 

If someone is into video games, chances are that turning that hobby into a career is something that they’ll most likely be interested in. 

However, another great thing about Twitch is that its “Just Chatting” category is one of the most popular categories it has. Live streamers in this category do not stream video games but instead, entertain their viewers in other ways. 

Thus, there’s a lot of potential for you to create courses within this niche.

Music

Teaching music online can be extremely rewarding. 

Seeing students go from novices to proficient musicians can be very gratifying. However, once again, this is a market that’s fairly saturated. 

There are a ton of free tutorials on Youtube itself and thus, you’re really going to have to find a specific niche to target if you want to see an audience. 

If there’s an unconventional instrument that you know how to play, that could be a great place to start. 

You can also think about teaching unconventional techniques to play regular instruments for which there’s not a lot of information out there. 

Furthermore, there are a ton of DAWs (Digital Audio Workstations) that you can create courses about too. 

Some examples of popular DAWs include: 

• Ableton Live 
• Logic Pro 
• Pro Tools 
• FL Studio 
• Cubase 
• Studio One 
• Reason 
• Garage Band

Organization and Personal Improvement 

In the digital age, many people are finding it hard to manage time and stay ahead in a world that’s moving at such a fast pace. 

As a consequence of that, courses related to personal development and organization have been steadily rising in popularity. 

Some examples include:

Time Management 

Time management is a highly important skill that is not explicitly taught in schools or colleges. 

This is something you can take advantage of as it’s something everyone wants to know how to do. It’s something that can help any individual in almost any task he or she does. 

We must advise you, however, that you do need to niche it down. 

Confidence and Public Speaking

With so many people interacting majorly through social media, real-life social skills are something that the current generation is not very good at. 

Many people are looking to learn how to be more confident and be able to speak in public with conviction. 

While you can definitely create general courses on public speaking, body language, social interaction, etc., another great way to make a course is to analyze how a public figure speaks. 

These types of courses are gaining popularity very quickly as they provide the audience with actual examples of how they should carry themselves. 

Sciences and Math 

Sciences and Math are courses that will never cease to be popular. 

There are a bunch of different ways on how you can create a course for this niche but it can vary from topic to topic as well as your own preference. 

Some teachers like to create courses that are purely theoretical whereas others require students to practically solve examples and experiment. 

We feel that the latter approach definitely works better as a more interactive course usually leads to students gaining more value from it. 

And if your students gain value from your course, they are more likely to recommend it to others. 

Some sub-topics to look at are: 

Physics

At this point, we should not have to say this but we will: Avoid making a generic course about physics that covers a wide variety of different Physics topics. 

Instead, you should do your research and identify some problems that students face. After that, you can consider creating a course about how to solve that problem. 

Secondly, you can also just identify a sub-topic that isn’t taught correctly or effectively in available courses and then, try your own hand at it. 

Some examples are: 

• Acoustics
• Classical mechanics
• Magnetism
• Fluid mechanics
• Non-linear acoustics
• Sound pressure

Chemistry

Your approach for Chemistry should be the same as we described above for Physics. 

Don’t focus on the rudimentary topics but rather, try to zoom in on a problem or a niche and capitalize on that. 

Some great sub-topics to look at are: 

• Organic chemistry
• Analytical chemistry
• Molecular chemistry
• Polymer chemistry
• Plasmonics
• Chromatography

Biology 

The approach to creating online courses for Biology will be the same as that described above. 

Some great sub-topics to choose from include: 

• Evolution
• Developmental Biology 
• Nutrition
• Cell Biology 
• Anatomy

Environmental Science

With the effects of climate change and global warming quickly becoming apparent, there are a ton of people looking for information and education that can help them make a difference. 

Again, with environmental science, you should not try to cover many things at once in your online course. 

Instead, zoom in on a single topic. 

For example, you could focus on teaching students about renewable energy. Maybe choose one example of it like Solar. Then, create a course about how one can implement it on their own or maybe, how one can implement it at a medium to a larger scale in their hometown. 

Remember to be specific in your course. 

DIY Skills and Home Improvement 

The possibilities in this niche are literally endless. We’re just giving you some of the more basic and rudimentary sub-topics but don’t hesitate to let your mind go wild! 

Here are some of the sub-topics you can aim for: 

Home Cooking and Baking 

Offering a “basics” or “introduction” course is rarely a good idea. 

This is because there are already better, more established creators out there offering this. 

Instead, you’re going to have to be a bit creative about it. 

For example, you could create a course on home fermentation. Or maybe a course on Sous-Vide cooking. 

Does your home country have a rich history of cuisine that is largely unknown to the rest of the world? 

Create a course about it! 

Home Organization and Decluttering

With the popularity of home organization gurus like Marie Kondo, it’s not difficult to see that there’s a great demand for information on home organization. 

As Marie Kondo has gained popularity through her method, maybe you can do something similar: 

• Do you organize your things in a unique way? 
• Is there some method you’ve developed in your home that helps you stay organized and work more efficiently? 
• Do you have a specific method for decluttering?
  How do you decide which stuff to keep and what to throw out? 

These are all great sub-topics you can consider. 

Home Mending and Renovation Skills 

According to the New York Post, a new poll of 1,000 millennial dads and 1,000 baby boomer dads found that when a DIY task needs to be done at home, more than half of millennials prefer to call a professional. The numbers with Gen Z are even worse. 

Hence, there’s a booming market for DIY and home repair skills that are just waiting to be dominated. 

Again, keep in mind that you have to be specific. Don’t cover many different skills in a single course. 

Conclusion

As we’ve thoroughly detailed in this post, there is no shortage of course topic ideas out there. 

People are looking for knowledge on all types of things and it’s your job to identify what you can help them with. 

Not only is selling courses online a financially rewarding experience but it’s also hugely gratifying in the sense that you’re making a meaningful impact in your students’ lives. 

To summarize, always target a specific niche, try to balance your expertise with what’s profitable and then, begin gathering information for your first online course.