Grow your coaching business with online courses

If you're a coach - or currently training to become one - you’ve probably asked yourself: “How can I grow my coaching business in a way that feels sustainable, valuable, and true to my purpose?”

You’re not alone.

Many coaches reach a point where their time is fully booked, their income plateaus—or they’re running their coaching business alongside a full-time job or family commitments - and begin looking for ways to expand what they do without losing the personal touch that makes coaching so powerful.

One of the most effective - and accessible - ways I’ve seen coaches do this (including in my own business) is by creating an online course.

Why Online Courses Make Sense for Coaches

Let’s be clear: an online course doesn’t replace coaching - it enhances it.

Some of the benefits of having an online course include being able to share your message and expertise more widely, giving your clients a resource they can revisit between sessions, and enabling you to support more people without working longer hours.

So, whether your goal is to create an additional income stream, serve a broader audience, offer more value to your clients, or simply work more flexibly, an online course can help you do just that.

It also gives your coaching business something it often lacks in the early stages: scalability. Your time is precious, and you’ll quickly realise that there’s a limit to how many 1:1 sessions you can deliver each week. With a course, you create something once that can continue delivering value, day after day, often while you're focused on other areas of your work—or even taking time off.

What I’ve Learned After 22 Years in Coaching

When I started coaching over two decades ago, everything I offered was 1:1 and delivered live—either over the phone or in person. Zoom, social media, and all the platforms we now take for granted hadn’t yet been invented!

As my client base grew, I started to notice something: I was often repeating the same key ideas, tools and coaching similar topics with different clients.

That wasn’t a bad thing. And of course, every client is unique. But as my niche was (and still is) presentation skills coaching, there was often synergy between clients and sessions. Until finally, it got me thinking: could I make this work smarter, not just harder?

By 2015, when internet bandwidth made streaming video content more accessible, I realised the value of packaging those ideas into a more structured, reusable format. That’s what inspired me to create my first online course, Speak Like A Pro Online.

And honestly? It was a game-changer.

My clients got more from our coaching because they had video-based materials to explore between sessions. It helped them stay on track, absorb ideas more deeply, and arrive at our sessions feeling more prepared and resourceful. Plus, I was also able to reach people who weren’t yet ready—or able—to commit to 1:1 coaching, as they could do the course independently and still get value from it.

And for my business? It created a whole new stream of income and impact—all while giving me more time and energy to do the work I love.

But What If You’re Not ‘Techy’?

If you’re thinking “That all sounds great Mike, but I’m not very technical,” you’re in good company.

One of the biggest myths about creating online courses is that you need to be tech-savvy or have a professional studio setup to make it work. You really don’t. Most of the successful coaches I’ve supported started with simple tools - a smartphone, Zoom, PowerPoint, or a basic course platform – one even created their online course on YouTube!

What matters far more than the tech is your ability to guide your clients through a transformation. You already do that in your coaching - an online course would just allow you to do it more so, at scale.

Is This the Right Next Step for You?

If you're wondering whether course creation could work for you, here are a few signs it might be the right fit:

• You often find yourself repeating similar ideas, tools or exercises with different clients
• You want to help more people without adding more sessions to your calendar
• You’re looking for ways to scale without compromising the quality of your coaching
• You’d like to create passive or recurring income alongside your ‘live’ offers
• You’re ready to grow—but want to stay aligned with your coaching style and values

Believe me, you don’t have to be an established coach with a huge following to create a successful online course. In fact, creating a course can help you build your visibility, credibility, and client base.

Join Me for a Live Business In A Box Masterclass…

If course creation feels like something you want to do but aren’t sure how to begin, you’re not alone.

That’s why I’m delivering a 3½-hour live masterclass on 12th July as part of The Coaching Academy’s Business In A Box series. It’s called: Growing Your Coaching Business with an Online Course.

Whether you’re brand new to the idea or already have something in progress, this session will give you clarity, structure and a practical plan to move forward.

We’ll explore:

• How to turn your coaching knowledge into a course that works
• What content to include (and what to leave out)
• Choosing the right tech—without overcomplicating things
• Pricing and promotion strategies that feel natural and authentic
• Examples of how other coaches are successfully using online courses to grow

I’ll also share behind-the-scenes insights from my own courses and answer your questions live during the call.

Above all, the session will be practical, inspiring, and grounded in real-world experience. So, if you’re ready to grow your coaching business while staying true to who you are as a coach, this could be your next great step towards achieving that.

I’d love to see you there.

Book your place today on our next Growing Your Coaching Business with an Online Course!

About Author:

Mike Blissett is a Presentation Skills Coach based in London. He trained with The Coaching Academy in 2003 and has been part of the training team since 2007. His online courses, mini workshops and masterclasses include Speak Like A Pro Online, The 7-Day Speaker Challenge, Confidence To Camera, 5 Weird Ways To Begin Your Presentation and Make A Great First Impression, Making An Impact and Webinars That Work.