A pilot course lets you validate your idea and refine your teaching with real students — before investing months in a full production. But "run a pilot" is vague advice. How do you actually structure one? How many students do you need? How much time will it take? This guide walks through three structural options with a concrete example, so you can choose the right format and plan your pilot with confidence.
A Worked Example: Jenny's Pilot
To make this concrete, let's follow an example through all three structural options.
Jenny is a personal trainer who wants to create a course for new mothers on losing post-baby weight. She's worked with dozens of clients one-on-one, but she's never taught online. Seven moms sign up for her 6-week pilot.
Jenny creates a bare-bones outline of the topics she needs to cover for her students to reach their goals:
- Week 1: Easy and safe post-baby workouts
- Week 2: Nutrition for busy new moms
- Week 3: Supporting mental health during recovery
- Week 4: Ways to include baby in fitness routines
- Week 5: Self-care when you barely have time to sleep
- Week 6: Recap, review, and next steps
Notice what's not on this list: polished slides, pre-recorded videos, a fancy course portal, branded worksheets. The pilot is about the teaching and the feedback — not the production quality.
Option 1: Small Group Coaching (Best for First-Timers)
This is the simplest format and the one we recommend for your first pilot. All you need is Zoom (or any video call tool) and a way to send emails.
How Jenny runs it: She holds calls on Monday evenings from 7:00 to 8:30 PM — a time when most of her moms have someone else at home to watch the baby. For the first 30-40 minutes, she teaches the topic of the week. Then she opens the remaining time for Q&A.
During Q&A, she discovers things she never expected. One mom is dealing with diastasis recti. Another is struggling more with sleep deprivation than motivation. These insights reshape her curriculum in real time — and they're exactly the kind of feedback you can't get without teaching live.
She records every call so students who miss a session can catch up. She also creates a private discussion thread in her course platform where the moms can support each other during the week.
Best for: First-time course creators, topics where interaction matters, groups of 5-12 people. The intimacy of a small group creates strong relationships and honest feedback.
Option 2: Group Sessions + Individual Coaching (More Depth)
This option adds one-on-one coaching to the group format. It requires more time but gives students personalized support and gives you deeper insight into individual challenges.
How Jenny runs it: In addition to weekly group calls, Jenny schedules one 30-60 minute individual call with each of her seven moms at some point during the six weeks, plus a shorter follow-up call toward the end.
This is where she goes deeper. When Margaret is dealing with a thyroid issue and Laura wants to focus on the psychological aspects of weight loss, Jenny can address each situation in their private sessions — while keeping the group calls general enough for everyone.
Best for: Topics where individual circumstances vary widely (health, business strategy, creative skills). Also ideal if you're transitioning from 1:1 coaching to a group format — this is the bridge.
Pricing tip: Adding individual coaching justifies a higher pilot price. Jenny might charge $99 for group-only and $199 for group + individual coaching, letting students choose their level.
Learn about group coaching programs →
Option 3: Webinar-Based (Larger Groups)
If you have 15+ students or you're already comfortable presenting online, a webinar format lets you teach at larger scale. There's less interaction but more structure.
How Jenny runs it: Each week she runs a structured webinar with slides. She teaches for the first hour, then leaves 30 minutes for questions via chat. After each session, she emails the recording and that week's action items (exercise routines, meal plans, reflection prompts).
The tradeoff: less personal connection, more polished delivery. Students ask questions via chat instead of conversation, so the feedback is thinner. For a pilot, this means you learn less about individual struggles — which is why we don't recommend this for a first pilot unless you're already experienced with webinars.
Best for: Experienced presenters, topics that are more lecture-based than practice-based, groups of 15-50 people.
How to Estimate Your Time Commitment
One of the most common mistakes new course creators make is underestimating how much time a pilot takes — especially the between-session communication. Here's a simple formula:
(# of students) × (emails per student per week) × (avg. minutes per response) × 2 = weekly email time
The "× 2" accounts for the fact that things always take longer than you expect: troubleshooting tech issues, answering follow-up questions, sending reminders.
For Jenny's pilot with 7 students, assuming each one emails twice per week and each response takes 5 minutes:
7 × 2 × 5 × 2 = 140 minutes (~2.5 hours) per week on email alone
Add 90 minutes for the group call plus 30-60 minutes of prep. That's roughly 5 hours per week — significant, but manageable if you plan for it. What catches people off guard is the email time, not the teaching time.
Ways to reduce email load:
- Set expectations upfront: "I respond to questions within 48 hours on weekdays"
- Save common questions for the next group call instead of answering individually
- Use a community space where students answer each other's questions
- Batch your email responses at set times rather than checking continuously
What Your Pilot Needs (and Doesn't Need)
Your pilot must allow you to do three things:
- Hold live sessions — Zoom is free for up to 40 minutes, or use your course platform's built-in video tools.
- Communicate between sessions — Email works fine. A course platform with built-in messaging is better because everything stays in one place.
- Collect feedback — Google Forms for surveys, or simply ask questions during your live Q&A and take notes.
That's it. You don't need slides, pre-recorded videos, custom branding, an email automation sequence, a private community app, or a landing page. You can add all of those for your full course. For the pilot, simplicity is a feature, not a limitation.
When Group Support Helps (and When It Doesn't)
A community space — a discussion area in your course platform, a private Slack channel, or a group chat — can be powerful for the right pilot. Peer connections often become as valuable as the content itself. Students encourage each other, share their wins, and normalize the struggles.
But group support only works when you have enough people to sustain conversation. With 5 students, a community space can feel empty and discouraging. With 8-12, it starts to hum. If your pilot is small (under 8), skip the community space and encourage students to ask questions via email or during live sessions. You can always add community features when you scale to your full course.
Your Next Step
Pick the format that matches your situation. If this is your first course and you have fewer than 12 students, start with Option 1 (small group coaching). Keep the tech simple. Focus on teaching and listening.
Once you've chosen your structure, our step-by-step pilot execution guide covers everything from sending the welcome email to collecting post-pilot testimonials.