Most courses don't sell more than a few copies, even if they are very good. How do you avoid putting in months of work only to get nothing out of it?

By using the Winning Courses Framework for determining if your course idea is a winner.

1. Real Problem

Find a real problem your course idea solves for your customers. Ideally it's something they complain about or a dilemma they face that keeps them from moving forward.

2. Clear Result

Define a clear result your course produces. Put a number on it if possible. Kevon Cheung's Make Twitter Friends shows you how to make 10 friends on Twitter who will engage with your content. Sean D'Souza's copywriting course shows you how to write an entire long form sales page in 3 days.

3. Actual Person

How do you know the problem matters to your customers and that your solution makes sense? You talk to a real person. Describe the problem and the result, then shut up and listen to their response. You'll discover if you're on target or get a better idea.

4. Persistent Obstacles

Your course must address the obstacles that make it difficult to get the result. If there were no obstacles, the result would be easy to achieve. Label the hurdles and then in the next step create a ...

5. Branded Framework

Determine the steps that overcome the obstacles and get your customer from Point A to Point B. Give that system a name.  This makes your approach memorable as well as marketable. Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus became an international best seller in the 90s, not because the ideas were so unique but because John Gray created unique and interesting ways to describe each concept.

The next time you have a course idea, run it through this framework to determine if your idea is a winner or if it needs to be adjusted. You could save yourself months of effort moving in the wrong direction.