My name is Cris Cawley and I have been creating digital courses and coaching programs for over 18 years for myself and my clients. I want to share with you 7 steps to validating a digital course concept or idea that will put you lightyears ahead of the rest of the pack, as you launch you course or coaching program online.
When researching a topic or market for a digital course, you want your final product to be something that is not only significantly better than what everyone else is doing but also something that your market actually wants!
When creating a digital course or product, you want to make sure you are addressing a problem and the course/product solves that problem. There are many free ways to validate your idea/concept and insure that this is the case. Here is a list of seven proven and simple ways I have personally used to validate ideas/concepts before investing a dime!
#1: Popular Podcasts on iTunes
#2: Amazon Search
#3: YouTube Search
#4: Facebook Groups
#5: Forums
#6: Udemy, Skillshare and Lynda Courses
#7: Google
Content Idea #1: Popular Podcasts on iTunes
Podcasts are quire popular these days and many influencers and speakers are using podcasts as a medium to engage their followers and draw them in. Here is an easy way to see which podcasts are the most popular while seeing what content is the most engaging and has the biggest following. To get started, simply install ITunes on your computer and search with the broadest keyword that would be relevant to your topic. For example, “Marketing”. Next, view all of the podcasts and channels related to your topic/idea. Each one of the channels and podcast episodes is a potential topic or concept for your digital course.
When you click to expand the series description, you will find even more details and ideas for content. In addition, you can view the top charts for any category to confirm what is the most popular, getting the most attention and is the most shared. Every industry has top influencers that have a podcast. Make sure you follow the ones that are relevant to you and your idea to stay on top of what is already working in the marketplace. There is no need to reinvent the wheel!
Content Idea #2: Amazon Search Suggestions
Amazon is a playground for content topic ideas. Remember, Amazon started out selling books and in a library of books, there are many catchy headlines. You can also see on Amazon which books are selling well and which ones aren’t. Here’s how you can find content/topic ideas on Amazon.com:
Go here: https://www.amazon.com/best-sellers-books-Amazon/zgbs/books Click on the appropriate category for your niche on the left side of the screen.
So if you’re in the business of marketing. Click on ” marketing and sales” and up pops a list of the best selling marketing an sales books. All of these book titles and sub headlines are content ideas for you that you can modify and run with.
You can also take it a step further and pick any of the books that came up in your best seller search and click on it to view the table of contents, if available, for content ideas as well. I also recommend you view the reviews on the titles/books (Filter them so that you only see the 1,2 an 3 star reviews) to identify what readers complaints are and to see where, from the audiences perspective, what valuable information is missing or what gaps there are in the book that you may be able to exploit.
Content Idea #3: YouTube Search
Did you know that YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine on the Internet with more literally billions of searches each month and thousands of hours of content are uploaded every day. You should be leveraging YouTube to identify and validate solid content ideas. Here’s how you can leverage YouTube to find blog topic ideas. Visit www.YouTube.com and type in a general keyword for the niche you are thinking of pursuing. As an example, we typed in “Marketing”.
There are literally thousands or potentially millions of videos on almost any business topic you can imagine. You can jot down the titles/topics as content ideas and also see how many view, likes and subscribers each video has to gauge popularity with that audience. View the topics and sub-topic ideas!
Content Idea #4: Facebook Groups
First, join Facebook groups that are relevant to your niche/audience AND are active groups. Once you are approved to join the group, search by keyword for questions with a lot of likes and comments and use that data to validate your idea/topic/content as well!
Content Idea #5: Forums
Just like Facebook groups, forums are a great place to validate content ideas and see what your potential audience wants. You have hundreds or even thousands of potential customers validating the questions being asked.
To identify forums in your niche, go to Google and type in the following:
- “keyword” + “forums”
- “keyword” + “forum
- “keyword” + “board”
- “Your Keyword + “forums”
Many times forums will be categorized by subtopics. Now sort the forum threads by “views” and look at the topics that most of the participants are most interested in also don’t forget to check the comments for potential ideas as well.
Content Idea #6: Digital Course Platforms
The education marketplace is a great place to start to get and validate content ideas! Some of the larger brands in this space are Udemy, Skillshare, and Lynda (which was recently acquired by LinkedIn). These are great sites for identifying and validating concepts/ideas. For example, on Udemy, you can type in your broad keyword and you will see a list of topic ideas. You can also choose a popular course related to your niche and just like we did with Amazon, you can look for 2 to 3-star reviews on various courses, to identify gaps and holes in other courses that you might be able to exploit in your course, making your course that much stronger and strengthening your unique selling position in the market!
Content Idea #7: Google
Google can help you learn how large a potential market might be or who your potential competitors are, or show you how you might differentiate yourself for optimal positioning in the marketplace. Go to Google.com and Trends.Google.com and search your keywords. You can also use the Keyword Planner tool as well. You are looking to see if there Is there an upward trend in search volume for the area you are interested in. Is there current market demand? Can you offer something unique that your market is currently missing? How many searched are there a month related to the keywords/niche you are exploring? These are all great points to look at and research to help you validate your concept/idea.
Digital Course Rockstar Bonus!
Bonus Tips for you already have a list or following:
If you already have an audience or following, validation is easy. Simply look through the responses to your last promotion, the number of attendees on your last webinar or check the engagement levels on your past social media or blog posts, which identify what is already proving to be popular with your audience. Also with a current following, you can send out an email or do a Facebook group post or Facebook live letting your clients know that you are planning to create “X Course” and If they want to get access for free or for a deep discount, they can fill out the survey and/or leave a comment and they will get access before everyone else when it goes live. If a ton of people eave comments or fill out the survey, you know there is interest. If you get minimal or negative engagement, it may be time to head back to the drawing board.
Bonus Tips if you are brand new and don’t already have a list or following:
If you are new to the digital course/product space, then you can use Facebook groups in your niche or a tool like Buzzsumo.com or Reddit.com to identify popular content related to our idea or concept! It is much easier to focus on what is already popular than to reinvent the wheel. Nobody wants to invest a ton of time and money into creating an epic product their audience doesn’t actually care about.
The overall process of identifying a niche/content and validating it so you’re your digital course is a success looks something like this… Identify idea, validate, modify, execute, repeat. The bottom line is do your research. Your next digital course is sure to be a hit with the marketplace if you put the time in on the front end to ensure backend success!
Looking for even more information resources or guidance?
My name is Cris Cawley and I want to help you create your own digital course or coaching program. Catch up with me over at www.facebook.com/digitalcourserockstar to get direct access to myself and a Rockstar tribe of entrepreneurs who are on the same path as you.
For more great content register for my FREE Masterclass where I will teach you to build your digital course with a tribe of Rockstar entrepreneurs just like you! You will learn my step by step blueprint to creating, marketing and profiting from a digital course in the next 30 days even with zero experience or tech skills! Visit www.DigitalCourseRockstar.com.
Digital Course Rockstar 