5 Lessons I Learned From Generating Six-Figures With Mini-Courses

If you've never created a digital product before, a mini-course is your best choice.

I built my previous business, Peak Productivity, almost entirely on mini-courses.

Each of my mini-courses tackled a specific productivity problem (like procrastination, time-management, or focus).

Together, these mini-courses generated over $200,000 in revenue in just three years.

In this article, I’ll share 5 key lessons I’ve learned from building and selling multiple mini-courses, so you can shortcut the process of creating (and launching) your own mini-course.

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Lesson 1: Solve a Highly Specific Problem

The thing that makes a mini-course different from traditional online courses is that it solves one clear, painful problem - and fast.

Most creators overcomplicate this. They think they need to create a massive 12-module course with 10 hours of video content to deliver value.

But that’s not true. In fact, it’s often the opposite.

People are busy. They don’t want 10 hours of video. They want a quick solution to a specific problem they’re dealing with right now.

And that’s exactly what a mini-course delivers.

Mini-courses sell well because they’re:

• Specific (no fluff, just solving one real problem)

• Fast to consume (usually 1–2 hours of content)

• Affordable (priced at $37–$150)

• Low-risk, clear-outcome for the buyer

If your audience has a specific pain point and you can solve it in 90 minutes of content, you’ve got yourself a product that feels like a no-brainer.

The clearer and more urgent the problem, the easier it is to sell.

Here are some examples to show the contrast between flagship courses and mini-courses:

• Flagship Course:

  • Build a 6-Figure Online Business

• Mini-Course:

  • Create & Launch Your First $50 Digital Product in 7 Days

  • Craft a High-Ticket Coaching Offer That Attracts $1K Client

  • How To Launch Your Paid Newsletter In 21 Days

• Flagship Course:

  • Ultimate Productivity Mastery Course

• Mini-Courses:

  • Conquer Procrastination In 7 Days Using Neuroscience

  • How To Boost Your Productivity With Smart AI Tools

  • Flow State Protocol: Science-Based Routines To Boost Your Mental Focus

One is broad and vague, while the other is specific and solves a clear problem.

Guess which one is easier to create, promote, and sell? The mini-course.

So if you want to launch a mini-course that actually sells, start by identifying one specific pain point your audience is facing.

Then build a solution around that.

Lesson 2: Validate Demand Before You Build

Here’s a painful mistake I made early on (and I’ve seen tons of other creators do the same)…

I created a course on a topic I was personally excited about - morning routines. I thought, “This is it. Everyone’s going to love this!”

Spoiler: they didn’t.

I spent weeks building that course, launched it with high hopes… And crickets.

Only made about $2,000 in total.

Not the end of the world, but also not worth the time and energy I put into it.

Why? Because I never validated demand.

I never checked if my audience actually wanted a course on morning routines.

I just assumed they did because I was excited about it.

That was my mistake.

Before you spend weeks building your course, make sure people actually want it.

Otherwise, you risk creating something no one buys.

There are two solid strategies to validate demand:

Strategy 1: Let Your Audience Tell You What They Want

Instead of starting with your own idea, start by listening to your audience.

• What questions are they already asking you?

• What topics get the most engagement on your Substack?

• What kind of DMs or emails do you get?

• Which newsletters get the highest open or click rates?

Look at all that data, and then let it guide your course idea.

For example, for my productivity newsletter, I had an email list of 15,000 subscribers.

I ran a simple survey:

1. What’s your #1 goal for wanting to be more productive?
   → Answers: write a book, build a business, get fit, etc.

2. What’s the biggest challenge holding you back?
   → Most people said: “I don’t follow through. I procrastinate.”

Boom. That was my course idea.

I built a mini-course called Procrastination Antidote, and it went on to generate over $60,000 in sales in a year.

I didn’t just build something I thought people wanted. I built something they literally asked for.

Strategy 2: Start With an Idea, Then Test It

If you do have a course idea already, that’s great.

But don’t go all-in without testing demand.

Here’s how to test it: