How to Evaluate an Online Course Before Buying

A five-minute checklist that's saved me thousands of dollars and dozens of weekends. Use it the next time a launch email lands in your inbox.

Most course sales pages are designed to bypass evaluation entirely. Big promises, scarcity timers, testimonial walls. By the time you've scrolled to the bottom, you're not deciding — you're being decided to.

Here's the checklist I run before any course over $200:

Who is this actually for, in one sentence? If the page can't answer cleanly, the curriculum won't either.

What's the one specific outcome at the end? Not 'a transformation' — a thing you can point at.

Is there a sample lesson? Watch it. Their best ten minutes is the ceiling, not the floor.

What does support look like after week two, when motivation drops? Real coaches, dead Slack, or nothing?

Is there a refund policy you'd actually use? Read it twice.

If three of those don't have clean answers, the course isn't ready for you yet — or you aren't ready for it.