How to Come Up With a Profitable Mini-Course Idea (That Practically Sells Itself)
7 ways to find a mini-course idea that actually sells.
If I could only add one digital product to my Substack…
It would be a mini-course.
Not an e-book.
Not a 20-hour flagship course.
Just a simple mini-course.
I built my previous business (a productivity newsletter) almost entirely on mini-courses, and they generated multiple six-figures in just a few years.
More recently, we launched Substack Notes Simplified - a mini-course teaching Substack creators how to write Notes that actually get engagement and grow their audience.
We went from idea to course launch in under two weeks - and now it’s generating revenue practically on autopilot.
We know that a lot of Substack creators want to build their first (or next) mini-course, but there’s one thing most of them overlook:
The topic of your mini-course is everything.
Choose the right topic, and selling your course becomes easy. Choose the wrong topic, and you’ll struggle to generate sales no matter how hard you try.
That’s why, in this article, I’ll share 7 ways to find a mini-course idea that sells.
#1: Look at the problems you’ve already solved
The most underrated source of course ideas is your own past.
Every painful problem you’ve solved for yourself is a potential shortcut you can sell to someone else.
Ask yourself:
What used to drain me constantly?
What did I spend months trying to fix?
What do I wish someone had just handed me a solution for?
For example, I used to be a big procrastinator.
I wasn’t lazy or incapable, but I just kept delaying the things that mattered most. It felt like watching my potential slip away.
So I went deep and studied psychology, behavioral change, dopamine, and habit formation.
Over time, I built systems and routines that actually helped me conquer procrastination and stay consistent.
After solving this problem for myself, I turned it into a mini-course, Procrastination Antidote, and it generated $60,000 in less than two years.
Sometimes the best place to look for a winning course idea is to look at the problems, pain points, and frustrations you’ve already solved for yourself.
If you struggled with something in the past, thousands of others are likely struggling with it right now as well.
#2: Look at your results and outcomes
Instead of asking “what do I find interesting?” ask yourself, “what results or outcomes have I achieved that other people might want as well?”
Pick one of these outcomes, and structure your course around that.
For example, we’ve published thousands of Substack Notes over the past two years. This helped us understand the Notes feature inside-out.
Nowadays, pretty much every Note we publish gets a lot of engagement - and it’s bringing a stream of new subscribers to our publication every single day.
Our audience kept asking us about our Note-writing process, so that’s how we came up with the idea of Substack Notes Simplified.
So, take a moment to think about the results you’ve achieved in your life (whether in your personal or professional life). That’s a great starting point for your mini-course.
And no, it doesn’t have to be anything huge or groundbreaking.
Oftentimes, the outcomes you take for granted - or that you think are ‘easy’ - are actually what most people are looking for.
#3: Find the skills that feel obvious to you now
Think about something that once felt confusing or overwhelming, but now feels completely normal.
That gap - between where you were and where you are - is where you’ll find some great course ideas.
For example, when we just started on Substack, writing Notes used to feel random.
What do you even say?
How short is too short?
Why do some Notes go viral and others get nothing?
We’d spent a lot of time figuring that out. But nowadays, writing Notes feels like second nature to us. It’s a skill we’ve learned through trial and error.
So, look at the skills that feel easy to you now. Chances are, they didn’t feel easy for you in the past. That’s what you can structure a course around.
💻 Want a profitable mini-course idea tailored specifically to you?
Answer a few quick questions, and I’ll personally suggest a mini-course idea based on your background, skills, and audience.
It’s free. Takes two minutes. And it might be the most valuable thing you do today.
→ [Get your personalized mini-course idea here]
#4: Pay attention to what your audience already responds to
If you’ve been creating content for a while, your audience has already told you what they care about. Not directly, but through their attention.
Look at:
