Why selling courses is a worse business than you think

Executive overview

Courses can generate impressive revenue, but the customers buying them could pay far more for a higher-value service. The opportunity cost is the real problem: if someone will spend $997 on a course, they'd likely spend multiples of that on consulting, software, or services.

Give away courses for free. Use them to build goodwill. Make money from something bigger.

The core insight: your course audience is your best sales lead for a much higher-margin product.

The course economics look good until you compare them

• Neil's course business peaked near $600k/month with 60–80% profit margins
• Consistent $300–500k/month was achievable without major effort
• The business model still felt wrong once they saw the alternative

Why courses are the wrong product

• A buyer willing to spend $100–$1,000 on a course is signalling demand for something more valuable
• Neil replaced course revenue with consulting clients spending $10M+
• Course buyers were the same people who could have paid for marketing services
• Google analogy: selling ad spots beats selling services; HubSpot gives content free and charges for recurring software

Goodwill compounds; premature monetisation kills it

• Creating content builds goodwill over time — but extracting too early stops that compounding
• Neil sold a $97 course bundled with a free 30-minute call; ROI didn't hold up
• Removing the call offer had zero impact on conversions — the call was unnecessary friction
• The play: give courses away free, earn trust, convert to a bigger-ticket product