Looking for your next best passive income idea? I’ve got something for you.

I’ve been teaching how to launch a blogging business for a long time now as it’s a great way to start something on the side with no experience and grow it to the point where you become location independent, are your own boss and do work you enjoy.

That’s the kind of business model that works best for me, but due to recent changes in the digital world and the reasons you’ll see below, there’s a more convenient, profitable and passive income-driven approach you can take to teach people online how to achieve a certain result in whatever niche you’re in.

Hint: It’s an industry that was worth $107 billion in 2015, and is predicted to reach $325 billion by 2025.

That’s creating and selling online courses.

Over the past 2 years, I created a few online courses, took many more and partnered with other course creators to offer bundles. It’s been an amazing experience and I highly recommend you have a digital product to offer to your audience. Not just that, but you should also release an online course aside from eBooks, printables or other smaller offers. 

Most people don’t even consider that though as they think they need experience, to pay for an expensive tool and learn how to work with it, aren’t an expert enough to create a course on the topic, or else.

None of that should stop you from turning this passive income idea into reality! Here are the reasons why now is the best time to create your first online course and teach others what you know in a convenient way online:

Why Courses Should Be Your Next Passive Income Idea

1. The online learning market is growing rapidly.

When you choose a business idea to work on, pick your niche or decide what kind of product to create, you need to make sure there’s demand for it. With online courses, the numbers speak for themselves.

People are comfortable learning things online and even prefer this method now.

Multiple online learning platforms are available. More and more individuals are interested in giving a new hobby a try and taking a course about it or learning a new subject inside out through a training program like that.

One of the main reasons why this became so popular (even for the non tech-savvy users) is that you can learn anything from the comfort of your home. Most courses are self-paced and that allows the student to plan when to learn or simply do it any time they feel like.

Aside from the comfortable learning environment, completing lectures means achieving a milestone and that always feels good.

Not to mention a digital product like that – which provides a whole learning experience and the chance to develop a whole new skill – costs less than any other form of education as it requires no commuting or investing in textbooks.

Hundreds of thousands of people are already looking for courses online and your product is what your target audience needs.

2. Anyone can create a course.

Let me bust another myth about creating your own digital product and becoming a course creator.

Anyone can do it! Even if you have no experience, no budget or connections, aren’t sure how to sell online or what platform to use, you can quickly learn that and start creating the content of your course.

One thing you do need though is to choose the right topic. The rules are usually the same as when choosing a business idea, a blog niche, or else.

It must be:

• something you’re good at and know a bit about (you don’t need to be an expert but you do need to know more than the average person)
• something you’re passionate about 
• something people are already buying (research competitors to see courses on the topic being sold successfully already, and you’re good to go. If you already have an audience though and they keep asking for a course on a certain topic, then you already have demand.)

Regular people are already creating courses on every possible topic out there – cooking, playing the guitar, making a wooden table, parenting, training your pet, and so much more.

If you have a problem with something and have found a solution, chances are there are others out there who’d love to learn that too.

3. This is a scalable business model.

The next thing you should know about the online learning industry, and courses in particular, is that you can scale. And that’s what makes this business model an incredible passive income idea.

A course can be sold from $10 to $1000, or more it all depends on the value you’re providing and what you’re helping people achieve.

Once the product is ready, you can only get better at finding your ideal audience, marketing it with the right techniques and making sales.

There are no limits to how much you can earn with 1 digital product.

Let’s take Amy Porterfield, for example. She built a multi-million dollar empire through courses (and in particular, through here 1 main course that she opens for enrollment once a year – Digital Course Academy).

She offered other products in the past, but over the years found the perfect niche market for her and became an authority.

When she’s not actively selling her course, she’s publishing valuable content on the podcast, growing her email list, interviewing students who crushed it, building awareness about the course by talking about it and sharing her results, and basically pre-selling it.

So when the time for its doors to open comes, so many people in her audience are already dying to grab it and start learning. 

Also read: How Scott Grew Man of Many to 2 Million Monthly Readers & Millions in Revenue

4. If you’re not an expert yet, you can become one.

Another reason why now is the best time to launch a digital course and why this is a great passive income idea, is that even if you have nothing to teach yet or don’t feel like you’re an expert, you can start learning and become one quickly.

Choose a subject you care about and that you want to help people with. Read a few books on the topic, maybe take a course to see what’s included in it, consume as much free content related to it as you can (blogs, podcasts, etc.). 

Gather all your knowledge, outline it, and you’ll be ready to create a course for beginners. 

5. You can provide massive value.

Any online business exists thanks to the problems people have and the solution it provides. You need to constantly provide value if you want to make this last, help people and do your best work.

An online course is an amazing opportunity to do just that. You package your unique knowledge and turn it into a training program that can help anyone achieve something you’ve already seen results with in your life.

Of course, you can’t do the work on their behalf and it takes time and dedication. But you’re providing the tools so that the student, if determined enough, can transform an aspect of their life.

As a content creator, you should never stop publishing free content and growing your audience. But one or more online courses will help those people ready to dive deeper into a subject and master it.

So these are some of the main reasons why we live in the best possible times to be a course creator and reach as many people online with your expert knowledge as you can.

Will that be your next passive income idea?