How to find a $100,000 course idea that sells and writes itself (in only 5 minutes)

Ahoy, Digital Writers!

Today, we have a special guest post from Ole Lehmann: The AI Solopreneur.

He just launched a new product The AI Course Creator: How to validate, outline, build, and launch your own best-selling online course—all with AI’s help.

Lots to be learned from Ole & his AI Solopreneur account.

Which is why we invited him to share his solution to one of the hardest parts of course creation: How to come up with a course idea.

Here’s Ole:

---

Hey there!

The biggest lie I’ve ever been told about creating digital courses:

“You need to be an expert”

But WTF does “being an expert” even mean?! If you have practiced a skill online for 6+ months, have the skills to create a $100,000+ course right now. You don’t need anyone’s permission to “be an expert” - except your own.

You have the knowledge in your head.

You just gotta find it.

But…

“Trying to find the perfect course topic is like searching for a sober person at 9am after an all night rave.”

There is none.

In my experience, most aspiring course creators have at least 1 of 2 problems:

1. They feel as if they have so much to say that they can’t decide on a topic

2. They feel like they have nothing to teach other people

I’ve experienced both.

As an ex music producer, crypto trader, and community builder, I felt as if I had a thousand things to tell people…

…but I couldn’t decide on where to start.

At the same time, I’d only been in AI for about 6 months when people started to ask me for advice on how they could do all kinds of things with AI (one guy even asked me on how he could hack someone using AI, but that’s a different story). I felt like I wasn’t an expert - but people were telling me I was.

But then, I learned:

Nobody ever feels like an expert.

And you NEVER feel “ready” to create your first course.

I spent many late nights talking with friends, followers, and partners until I found the confidence to create the AI Audience Accelerator.

At the time, I dreamt of making $30,000 with my first course…

This was me on June 25th, 2023… (4 weeks before launching my first course).

The results?

It ended up grossing $320,000+ and counting now. (I'm still in awe of this business model.) One of the hardest part of building the AI Audience Accelerator was overcoming my fear of failure, and finding a topic I felt confident in.

I never wanted to go through the same hard feelings of doubt again.

So, I tried a new approach.

How to find a $100,000 course idea using AI-guided introspection

Using an AI prompt to guide me through thoughtful self-reflection to answer a series of introspective questions generated by AI, I uncovered the best course ideas already within me (which I then tested with my audience).

This is exactly how I ideated the AI Course Creator.

My breakthrough came by tapping into the passions I'd taken for granted. I wasn’t aware of my own expertise. I had to uncover it with external help.

All it takes is 3 simple steps with AI.

Step 1: Run the expert introspection prompt

Go to a generative AI tool like Claude or ChatGPT. Insert the below introspection prompt into your LLM (Claude 2 or ChatGPT 4). Then have a conversation with the AI assistant to uncover viable course topics.

Here’s the prompt:

I want you to help me introspect to uncover 3-4 potential digital course topics that leverage my existing skills and knowledge.

For context, I'm looking for course topics where:

It's something I've already done for at least 6 months and have tangible results to showcase.

There are signals of buyer interest and demand in my environment (for example, people asked me for help about this before, or even tried to pay me for this before)

I already have in-depth knowledge of the topic that requires minimal new research.

Your mission is to ask me thoughtful questions to illuminate course topics that meet these 3 criteria, until I provide an answer that sounds like a viable course idea.

When I share an idea that seems to meet the criteria, politely point it out to me as a potential course topic before moving on. Use language like "that sounds like it could be a good course topic" so I'm aware of the solutions I'm uncovering.

As we talk, mirror my thoughts back to me and ask follow-up questions to draw out my knowledge and passion areas. Don't simply tell me what you should do.

Example questions you could ask:

What projects or tasks have I spent many hours per week on consistently for the past 6 months or more?

What skills come so naturally to me now that I take them for granted?

What topics do my friends, family, or colleagues often ask me for advice about?

What problems have I solved in a unique way that others have commented on?

What activities energize me and put me in a state of flow?

Let's begin the introspection.

Step 2: Choose a best fit course idea

Review the ideas AI give you and highlight the ones that resonate with you.

For example, here's a screenshot of one of my introspection conversations:

After you’ve reviewed the AI output, evaluate each idea using the following criteria:

1. Does it leverage skills you've practiced over 6+ months?

2. Are there clear signals of target audience interest? (For example, people have asked you to help them with this before, or even tried to pay you for this knowledge.)

3. Do you have in-depth expertise that doesn’t require excessive new research?

These questions will help you choose a best-fit course that you can rapidly execute.

Because you already have the expertise!

Once you have found 3-4 course ideas that you’re qualified to write for, it’s time to choose 1 of them for your course.

Step 3: Survey your audience

The easiest way to choose the best course is by surveying your audience.

Directly asking your audience questions to uncovers the insights you need to build the right course.

It shows you:

• Which course your audience wants you to create

• The specific problems & pain points your audience faces

• What they want to learn

• What questions they have

• Their objections & concerns

For example:

• What is the biggest challenge you face when it comes to {Course Topic}?

• What specific aspects of {Course Topic} do you find most difficult or confusing?

• Have you taken any courses or tried any methods to improve your {Course Topic} skills before? If so, what did you like or dislike about them?

• ‘What is the main thing that has prevented you from investing in {Course Topic} in the past?

• If a {Course Topic} could teach you one key skill or concept, what would you want that to be?

• What are your biggest fears or concerns about {Course Topic}?

• How confident are you in your current ability to {Course Topic} skill?

Your customers will literally tell you what you should create if you just ASK them.

Then take your audience's answers and turn them into lessons. You know way less about your audience's needs than you think. Even with 100,000 followers on my track record, I still jumped on 20+ free consulting sessions with my audience to get to know their desires deeply.

Surveys open your eyes wider to what your audience truly wants - and more importantly, will pay for.

Now, you have everything you need to start building your course.

That’s it!

Ole

---

PS…Are you ready to keep building on your $100,000 course idea?

If so, you can check out the AI Course Creator here.

Get immediate access to the tools, templates, and expert guidance you need to validate, outline, build, and launch a best-selling course in the next 14 days.

The doors close tomorrow, June 6th at 23:59 PST.

Grab it now (before the price goes up).

Check out the AI Course Creator here.