15 Thinkific Course Examples [2024 Real Life Examples]

Following its inception in 2012, Thinkific has grown into a giant online course platform. It has worked with over 50,000 entrepreneurs and businesses, including HootSuite, Samsung, and many more, registering over 16 million students from 165 countries.

Its biggest strength lies in its ability to help creators create online courses, launch membership sites, and sell digital products easily. But this is probably no news to you.

If you’re here, you’re probably interested in seeing some real-life examples of Thinkific’s capabilities for creating successful online courses and hosting membership sites.

Below, we’ll be looking at 15 real-life Thinkific course examples by everyday people.

Let’s check them out!

Why Thinkific is a Popular Platform

Thinkific is well-known for its simplicity. It offers an uncomplicated approach to running an online course and membership business.

From website building to content uploading and editing, Thinkific’s features are easily accessible from the user’s dashboard.

Apart from the fact that it makes selling courses a cakewalk for creators, Thinkific offers transformative learning experiences to students with its rich multimedia course structure.

Creators are allowed to create unlimited courses (private and hidden courses included) and register as many signups as possible. Payment is convenient as Thinkific allows all credit cards and offers instant payouts to its creators through PayPal and Stripe.

Unlike most online course platforms, Thinkific makes it possible to start your first online course with zero budget through its free plan.

15 Thinkific Course Examples & How They Make Money

In total, Thinkific has helped creators all around the world to generate over $650 million selling online courses and running membership sites. This section reveals 15 examples of Thinkific’s successful customers.

Thinkific’s creators span different areas for their paid courses, including sewing, carpentry, content writing, and even Tai Chi!

These Thinkific examples aim to show you what’s possible with the platform’s course creation capabilities and inspire you to build your own successful course business.

1. Coastal Drone

Coastal Drone is a company that offers training to people interested in flying drones in Canada. Founded by Alec Wilson, Kate Klassen, and Adam Besse, Coastal Drone has turned thousands of students into certified and knowledgeable drone pilots through their Thinkific aerial photography courses.

Coastal Drone’s training programs include the Basic Pilot Certification for beginners and hobbyists as well as the Advanced Pilot Certification for full-time professionals.

Coastal Drone has positioned itself as a leading training center in the Canadian drone industry through its training programs and gets paying members each and every month.

Over the years, the founders have expanded their online business by serving foreign pilots and offering training and completion certificates on aerial photography and videography.

2. Key to Pictures

Key to Pictures is a four-week interactive video-based course that teaches professional-style photography to DSLR owners.

This online school is run by Katie Evans, who releases her training in weekly modules. It also has a membership website and a private Facebook group, where students can interact, compare notes, and access training content.

Thinkific’s affiliate program feature makes it possible for Katie to create loyalty programs to get more students. For every referred signup, Katie’s students can earn around 33% commission. This allows them to recover their signup fee only after three referrals.

Katie sells nine online courses on her website, with prices ranging from $19 to $197. She also offers a free course or two for people who just want to test the waters.

3. Kidexplorer

Kidexplorer’s content went viral during the 2020 US presidential election. Teachers across the world used their free courses to educate children about the ins and outs of the US electoral process.

The platform began as a YouTube channel providing free educational content for kids. But over the years, they made a bunch of viral videos and experienced remarkable growth.

As a result, they needed to expand to a platform where they’d have more control of their online business. So, they jumped on Thinkific, where they created a premium membership site.

If you want to take individual courses, you can access online classes in economics, fitness, etc. But for complete access to their premium content, Kidexplorer charges $10/month.

4. Olive Knits

Olive Knits is owned by Marie Greene, who began knitting by her grandma’s side when she was just 11 years old. Over the years, she needed a platform to share her knowledge and earn a living doing so.

With Thinkific, Marie has grown her business, offering courses, books, patterns, live coaching, and full access to her Knit Camp online community.

Her virtual Knit Camp became popular quickly with knitters worldwide, along with her other knitted accessories for sale. Check out her site as it’s a great Thinkific example of a storefront site.

5. Samurai Carpenter

Samurai Carpenter is an online business aimed at helping people develop strong woodworking skills. They provide many free courses and video tutorials on their landing page to inspire amateur woodworkers to go after their dreams.

They do, however, offer more in-depth project breakdowns within their paid plans. With over 250 videos and 28 online courses, Samurai Carpenter uses Thinkific to help woodworkers take their craft to another level.

Offering a free plan upfront helps them show prospects a glimpse of what’s behind the gates and encourages them to signup for their exclusive access program.

6. The Writer’s Oasis

Jennifer Louden, a personal growth author, believes that being a great writer begins with confronting fears, conquering creative blockades, and learning how to make your voice heard.

With the Thinkific course platform, Jennifer launched the Writer’s Oasis (also known as the Weekly Oasis), a membership that welcomes students who want to take their writing to another level.

She shares weekly audio lessons with her students and a monthly video call session with her members to discuss new updates and share resources. According to her, her audio notes are more like guided meditation tracks for writers, helping them “recenter their heart, recommit to their art, and get their scary sh*t done.”

7. Society of Visual Storytelling

Knowing how to draw is quite different from being a great illustrator. It takes a whole new level of artistry and storytelling to become a master illustrator. But that’s why the Society of Visual Storytelling (SVS) exists.

SVS offers a broad array of training, from online classes to a monthly podcast covering the technical aspects of illustration in a digestible manner.

You can get access to any of the individual courses on the website. But signing up for their membership allows you access to all available content to help you create better illustrations.

8. GuitarZero2Hero

GuitarZero2Hero is another great example of online course websites that runs on Thinkific. This training program is specifically tailored to suit musical enthusiasts who want to learn how to play the guitar.

The instructor, Paul Tran, takes a fun, fast-paced approach to the process. On the home page of the course site, he offers a free ebook to prospects who are completely new to the field. This helps him break the ice before offering access to his premium courses.

9. Dunbar Academy

Dunbar Academy is more like an instructor training program but for dog owners. They teach you how to train your dogs to be loyal and obedient.

Owned and operated by Dr. Dunbar, Dunbar Academy offers an extensive library of online courses ranging from free beginner dog training to advanced premium programs for new and experienced dog owners.

10. Rachel’s English Academy

Many English tutorial classes merely focus on learning how to speak and understand English. But Rachel’s English Academy pays attention to proper diction and accent while speaking the language.

The school targets non-native English speakers who have a hard time communicating with native American English speakers. Rachel has been in the teaching scene since 2008, running a YouTube channel with over 2 million subscribers.

With her Thinkific membership, students get access to all her courses and live online calls every month.

11. Sew It! Academy

Sew It! Academy is training content designed for folks who either want a career in the fashion industry or simply want to learn how to make clean stitches at home.

They make over 100 courses tailored for everyone, ranging from kids to adults. They also cover categories in men’s and women’s wear.

Sew It! Academy lets students take a free trial first before jumping on their full training offered at different monthly rates.

12. Kesler Science

Kesler Science provides hands-on science lessons and resources to help teachers educate their students more effectively.

Owned by Chris Kesler, his online learning platform charges a yearly subscription, providing teachers with a large pool of educational materials to draw from.

Kesler Science even has many ‘escape room’ packages, where science courses are converted into in-class educational games to engage students.

13. BizChix.com

Owned by Natalie Eckdahl, a business strategist and coach, BizChix.com is designed to help entrepreneurial women achieve better results with their businesses.

Signing up for BizChix’s Thinkific membership site makes you eligible for two weekly coachings, pre-recorded content, along with an exclusive community of entrepreneurs from around the world.

BizChix is a great example of a high-ticket online course business. They offer courses for $997 and their coaching program for $10,000.

14. Paul Lam Tai Chi

Dr. Paul Lam believes that he can help people improve their balance, calm their minds, and even treat some minor chronic ailments at people’s own pace. So he decided to launch his online Tai Chi Program with his online wellness business.

As an online business owner, Paul offers his content in three different categories, which will either give you access to his global community, courses, or both.

His Thinkific courses teach Tai Chi for ailments such as heart conditions, memory, and osteoporosis.

Paul Lam’s Tai Chi school is proof that anyone can niche down by teaching students what they love and have a successful business.

15. Personal Development School

With Personal Development School, Thais Gibon provides online courses and coaching to help people become better versions of themselves by overcoming anxiety, breaking through mental obstacles, and building stronger connections with the people that matter in our lives.

Membership to the school offers access to all modules, workbooks, along with the school’s online community. Signups also get two group coaching events every week.

On her home page, Thais Gibson allows prospects to take an attachment quiz to determine what’s best for them before enrolling in her program.

Create Your Own Online Course With Thinkific

The Thinkific examples above are a small percentage of the several successful online courses, coaching, and membership businesses running on the Thinkific platform.

With a solid game plan and a good dose of persistence, you’ll be on your way to launching the next top-rated venture on Thinkific, no matter your niche.

Thinkific provides creators with the things they need to sell online courses, a successful membership site, and other digital products without complications.

You can create course bundles, accept payments flexibly, host a course website with a custom domain, boost sales for your online course using loyalty programs, etc.

The best part is that Thinkific allows you to get started even if you have little to no budget!

If you’d like to see Thinkific alternative online course platforms, you can find in-depth comparisons between Thinkific, and its fiercest rivals below:

• Thinkific vs. Kajabi
• Thinkific vs. Teachable
• Thinkific vs. Podia

There are countless platforms, but the above are usually the top Thinkific competitors.