Are Online Courses Still Worth It in 2026?

Over the past few months, I’ve been hearing the same thing again and again.

From coaches.
From trainers.
From people building online businesses.

It usually sounds something like this:

“I tried creating a course… and it didn’t really work.”

Or:

“I feel like I’ve missed the boat with online courses.”

And if I’m honest, I understand why people are thinking that.

Because a few years ago, the message was very different.

Create a course.
Upload it.
Sell it.

And let it run in the background as passive income.

Simple.

Except… it wasn’t.

So what actually changed?

This is the part that most people get wrong.

It’s easy to assume that courses just stopped working.

That the market became too crowded.
Or that people lost interest.

But that’s not what I’ve been seeing.

In fact, something else has happened instead.

And once you see it, it completely changes how you think about creating a course.

Here’s what I’ve noticed

Over the last couple of years, a very clear pattern has emerged.

The coaches who are struggling with courses…

are often doing one thing.

The ones who are quietly getting results…

are doing something else.

It’s not about working harder.

Or creating more content.

Or even being “better” at marketing.

It’s something much simpler than that.

But it’s also something most people overlook.

This is why it matters

Because if you’re thinking about creating a course —
or you’ve tried before and it didn’t quite land —

this isn’t about starting from scratch.

It’s about approaching it differently.

In a way that actually fits how people learn now.

I’ve broken this down properly in this week’s video

Rather than try to explain it all here, I’ve recorded a short video where I walk through:

• What’s actually changed

• Why the old model no longer works

• And what’s quietly replacing it

👉 Watch the full video here

One question before you go

If you’ve ever thought about creating a course…

what’s the one thing that’s stopped you so far?