14 Amazing Thinkific Examples for 2024

Updated for 2024

Interested in creating an online course on the Thinkific platform but feeling stuck?

You’ve come to the right place! We’ve compiled a list of some real-life Thinkific courses and membership sites that tick the boxes for success. These sites show what’s possible with Thinkific courses and give you a template for creating your own. 

You’ll see how people just like you have used Thinkific to grow their businesses, and sell digital products online. On this platform you can even publish blog posts quickly and easily using tools like DropinBlog for Thinkific to demonstrate your expertise to your specific audience.

One thing is clear: Thinkific provides many opportunities for online course creators to serve their specific audience and turn their personal passion into a tidy profit.

Ready to be inspired by these Thinkific course examples?

Let’s dive in. 

14 Best Thinkific Course Examples

1. Dunbar Academy

Dunbar Academy solves a new dog owner’s problems with courses by accredited trainers. The free courses offer general dog behavior and training tips while the paid courses target specific problems such as barking, growling, and separation anxiety.

For $20 a month, Dunbar gives you membership in the Top Dog Academy and ongoing guidance. This gives you access to an extensive library of video courses, including recorded podcasts and workshops, worksheets, training, and ebooks.

You can even ask questions about your dog’s issues by emailing the trainers, chatting in the Facebook group, or joining a webinar Q and A.

2. Key to Pictures

Key to Pictures gives aspiring and professional photographers more confidence in their camera skills so they capture more satisfying images. 

Instructor Katie Evans’ key offering is a 4-week online training that includes videos, a workbook, a Facebook group, and interactive “Office Hours” sessions. A copy of Evans’ own photography book is included, and she also offers more advanced courses that build on this basic Thinkific training.

A free Thinkific-supported affiliate program with 33% commission for referrals is a tantalizing way for students to recoup their investment by inspiring friends to join.

3. Coastal Drone

Drone pilot and instructor Kate Klassen founded Coastal Drone to teach aspiring drone pilots how to fly safely, with the ultimate goal of passing the Canadian drone pilot exam.

The basic course includes animated video training, exam prep, and standard operating procedures. The more advanced course and certification include photography, videography, and industrial inspection training. Kate also offers many generous free resources include a podcast, blog, ebook, and YouTube videos.

So far 10,000 people have enrolled in Coastal Drone courses, which are all housed on the Thinkific platform.

4. Olive Knits

Olive Knits is the brainchild of creative entrepreneur Marie Greene. It provides knitters with tools, training, and exclusive resources for knitting sweaters.

The site offers everything a keen knitter could ever want to buy or learn. The shop sells custom-made knitting patterns and accessories, while the workshops extend a knitter’s skills and repertoire. If, say, you have longer arms or a wool allergy, you’ll learn how to modify a knitting pattern in the Sweater Boss course.

Marie also founded the Thinkific membership group “Knit Camp” to foster community. To thank subscribers for their support, each month she sends them an exclusive knitting pattern.  

5. Rachel’s English Academy

Even someone who’s already learned English can still struggle to follow a fast conversation or make themselves understood in the new language.

Rachel’s English Academy was born from her own challenges as a language learner. After achieving big success on YouTube, she created an online English school on the Thinkific platform so students could access all her courses. 

A monthly or annual academy subscription includes daily video training, as well as access to live monthly interactive classes and downloadable audio files. Students can also join a private Facebook group community for personalized feedback and coaching.

 6. GuitarZero2Hero

GuitarZero2Hero teaches novice musicians how to play songs by their heroes, such as Ed Sheeran, John Mayer, and Keith Urban. 

Guitarist and teacher Dave Tran’s goal is to make music accessible and fun, and his teaching philosophy is “stop trying so hard” so you can “get really good at guitar really fast.” He teaches tutorials for free on YouTube and basic and advanced Thinkific courses on his site.

In exchange for your email address, Dave gives away a chord and song-writing cheat-sheet. He also sells guitar-themed tees and mugs and recommends products through affiliate links.

7.The Balanced Runner

Both elite and everyday runners want to improve performance and avoid injury. Jae Grunke knows how to help them. She set up The Balanced Runner to apply her training in dance and Feldenkrais therapy. Her goal is for runners to optimize how they move so that running increases their pleasure not their pain.

Runners can sample her method by listening to free audio exercises while they run. They can also learn how to analyze the running form of marathon winners by reading her blog posts. In addition, Jae offers individualized online coaching, online camps, workshops, and events.

8. Samurai Carpenter

The Samurai Carpenter, Jesse de Geest, demonstrates DIY woodworking projects with free video tutorials. He even walks you through the process of building his own cabin, including hand-forging latches for the windows!

An amateur woodworker wanting to upgrade their skills is ripe for de Geest’s membership community, the Makers Mob. There’s a members’ forum, videos on specific projects, courses, and new content each month.

Jesse’s shop adds another income stream, selling tees, tools, project plans, and accessories.

This is another membership site example that shows how a passion becomes a course that leads to a thriving business.

9. Sew It! Academy

Sew It! Academy is for anyone eager to learn to sew and design clothes, from fashion designers to frustrated home sewers. The courses start with making a simple sunglass case and advance all the way to a tailored lined coat!  

Founder Mimi G was inspired to start her site to help people learn a new skill and even start a business. She teaches patternmaking, draping, fitting, and sketching through online videos. Subscribers can choose womenswear, kidswear or menswear. New courses are added to the academy every month.

Mimi also offers a free trial which allows a customer to try before buying.

10. Kesler Science

Chris Kesler is a boon to any science teacher, because he shares his middle school science teaching expertise on his Kesler Science site.

He saves his fellow teachers countless hours of reinventing the wheel by supplying them with quality downloadable lesson plans, activities, interactive notebooks, and writing prompts. The value proposition of the offering is clear, “Like having another teacher in the classroom with you.”

Prospects get a free resources package and regular teaching tips in exchange for their email address. Those who decide to buy can choose between a monthly and yearly subscription to receive access to the full library of resources.

11. BizChix.com

CEO and strategist Natalie Eckdahl set up BizChix to share her 25+ years of business experience. Her aim is to empower female entrepreneurs to “expand their impact, reclaim time, build wealth, and find friendship.”

Through her Thinkific site, Natalie leverages her time by offering group coaching. High-performing women can choose from a Leadership Lab, a SixFigures Lab, and a yearly individual mentorship program. A self-paced course on team building and hiring whets the appetite of customers to sign up for more in-depth coaching.

These high-priced courses are complemented with a free podcast of 400+ episodes.

12. Paul Lam Tai Chi (OnlineTaiChi Lessons)

Dr. Paul Lam Tai Chi is a Thinkific-based online business teaching Tai Chi for health. Dr. Lam draws on 40 years of research and experience teaching Tai Chi to curate programs for specific health conditions, such as arthritis, diabetes, memory, and heart problems. He’s also designed Tai Chi courses to increase energy and aid recovery, as well as courses for seniors and children.

When a customer signs up for a course they automatically join a global community, which opens up experts’ interviews, extra content, and inspirational stories. And the premium bi-monthly subscription gives access to the entire video library.

13. Personal Development School

Thais Gibson brings academic training and client-based research into her Personal Development School, which helps people deal with subconscious negative patterns in their lives.

Customers choose from 45 self-paced online courses, which include interactive workbooks, certificates of completion, and quizzes. These courses are designed to help people overcome roadblocks in their lives.

Customers can buy a single course or subscribe monthly for an all-access pass, including weekly Q&A webinars with Gibson.

This Thinkific example shows how a savvy course creator can offer a buffet of courses even in the crowded personal growth niche. 

14. School of Visual Storytelling

To be a professional illustrator you need to draw well plus hone your storytelling and artistic skills. This can be a long journey, but there is a shortcut to success – finding an experienced guide.

The School of Visual Storytelling, founded by master illustrators, offers a clear step-by-step path to becoming a professional illustrator. Courses teach drawing characters, props, environment, and the business fundamentals of the job. And the monthly podcast builds on the courses with technical tips and tricks.  

You can buy each Thinkific-based course separately, but when you subscribe monthly you get access to all 80+ videos plus a “critique arena” and members’ forum. 

Let These Thinkific Examples Inspire Your Own Course

As these Thinkific examples show, the sky’s the limit to the kinds of courses and membership sites you can create on this platform.

You’ve seen how your fellow course creators turned what started as a simple idea into a valuable course for their customers. And maybe even spied a membership site that you could model for your own. 

Thinkific offers a world of possibilities and now you know better which ones will work for you. 

We’re excited for you to get moving on your content creation and use these examples to inspire your own unique course.

And before you know it, you too will be designing an amazing Thinkific course!

And if you want to learn more about the process of creating online courses, you might consider joining our Hybrid Courses Bootcamp. It’s completely free to join and teaches you how to create a successful and profitable online course.