Course Creation: A Step by Step Guide

How do you even get started creating an online course? Now, I’m assuming if you’re tuning in that you are curious about the “how” or you’re already thinking about doing this for your business and maybe this show has made you aware of how big of an impact courses can make on your business, but just in case – today we’re going to cover why you can be an educator, how you create your first course, how you choose the right topic and all the nitty-gritty in between.

Let’s start with (my favorite) the numbers: I created my first course in March 2015 and since then I have created The Pinterest Lab, The Instagram Lab, The Photo Lab, and The List to Launch Lab. I’ve taught over 14,000 paid students through my courses. Last year my courses brought in over $2.5 million and I do between $5K-$10K a day in automated course sales.?I have a less than 1% refund rate with my programs.

WHY ONLINE COURSES?

I know what you’re thinking: I am NOT an expert in anything, I don’t know what I could even teach, heck, I’m an imposter, and the fact that I’m even thinking about charging to teach something is such a joke. Did I just call out your inner-mean girl? You bet I did. I thought all of those things and I still do. Who am I to teach these things to the masses? But if I listened to that little voice things like this podcast wouldn’t even exist and that’d be a sad, sad world. Am I right?

You already have the knowledge, know-how or expertise in your area or niche. What you take for granted as easy or things that come naturally — guess what? That’s not true for everyone else. So before you start thinking that you have nothing you can teach on, I’m going to challenge you to really dig deeper into that mindset. I’ve seen online courses on things as simple as making your kids lunches or how to scuba dive or meditation practices. There are limitless ideas that would make a successful online course ranging from super simple to more in-depth.

Creating a course will set you up as an expert in your industry. By teaching about your topic in the form of an online course, it shows your audience that you know what you’re talking about, you’re good at what you do and you’re an expert in your industry. This can create other opportunities like partnering with other businesses you admire or speaking opportunities if that’s your thing or even influencer or affiliate marketing opportunities.

Courses can be that passive income source you’ve been searching for that will help you to scale your business and make it more profitable. If you set up your course and launch strategy correctly, you’ll be able to consistently drive fresh leads to your course and automate that entire process. For ideas on how to create hype around a launch, check out?episode 193 . Trust me, there is nothing better than making money while you sleep, or on vacation, or on maternity leave.

Online courses can free up your time. Are you a consultant or freelancer or do other businesses contract you for your services? Let me guess, you’re in the dollars for hours camp and looking for a way to dig out of that? Putting all your information in one spot and really being thoughtful in how you set it up and share it could SAVE you time. Sure it takes time on the front end but with an online course you could set it up once and make money for months, even years to come. This could be your answer and a way to free up your time personally so you’re working smarter not harder or to do other big projects that could create a bigger impact but you just haven’t had the time to do them because you’ve been stuck in the hamster wheel.

You will be able to impact more people. Teaching in a group setting like an online course allows you to work with so many people than you could ever do 1:1. And what’s also really cool is that you are able to reach people at a lower price point and are therefore able to work with people that could have never afforded your one-on-one prices.

THE ABSOLUTE FIRST THING TO DO

Before we even get into the specifics of course creation I need to get on my soapbox and tell you about the absolute number one thing you need to do before you even start creating content for a course and that is: build an email list of people who are going to be interested in your topic and serve them well for several months before you even think about pitching anything to them.

This is not an episode on email list building, and don’t worry – I have?plenty of those ?if you’re needing more guidance in this area – but when I look at people who launch successful courses and those who don’t, what it comes down to at the end of the day is if they had a group of engaged people who already trust them, have been served by them, and are ready to buy their product. Don’t make the mistake of waiting until you have something to sell to start marketing to your target audience. This is something you can start today with the long-term goal of creating a course. I’ll get off that soapbox now, but go check out?jkemaillist.com ?for everything you need to know about this!

PICK THE RIGHT TOPIC

Get clear on what exactly your offer is going to be. It’s so important when you’re figuring out what to create that you tune in to the needs of the people you’ll be serving. It’s really NOT about you and it’s about THEM. A lot of times we, as creators, THINK we know what people need the most but we can often miss the mark if we don’t take the time to research and understand our audience's greatest needs. What are their pain points? What do they struggle with? What do you get asked about the most? What current content performs the best for you?

At times, what you think people need from you is not what they actually want, and if this is the case, you can either switch your offering to be aligned with what your audience is looking for from you — OR spend the time educating them and leading them down the path so that when it comes time to sell your course — they are primed, educated and ready.

Another thing that’s important when picking your topic: Make sure you love it and are passionate about it. This is going to be something you are going to talk about endlessly until you feel like you’ve exhausted all topics so let’s try to have some fun in the process. This passion is going to shine through when it comes to the sales process and you’ll want to have a bunch of stories, examples, and life experiences to reflect back on when you’re promoting and teaching your course. While you might not be passionate about the exact topic, you MAY be passionate about the end result or what people will gain from learning about it. It’s safe to say I’m not crazy passionate about Instagram or list building in itself but I see the results it gets me and that fires me up!

Finally, make sure there is going to be demand. I’m going to bet some of you have had the thought after seeing someone else teaching about a topic you were considering. It goes something like “Great, now I can’t do that because so-and-so beat me to it.” I have good news for you: this is simply not true. Abundance people, abundance! The fact that someone else is teaching on the topic already means there is demand for it. You might have what you think is the greatest idea, but if there isn’t demand, it’s not going to sell. If someone else is successful teaching on a topic you want to teach on, that is a great place to start in terms of determining if there is market demand for it. I also want to say that you are going to put your own spin on things based on your unique circumstance and experience.

Ask yourself a few questions: Are people in your industry are talking about your topic — is it relevant? Is it something you get asked about often or find comes easy to you? Would someone a few steps behind you benefit from this knowledge? Do you get a lot of questions about it from your audience and are you knowledgeable in the area? Is there a gap in the market either from a topic standpoint, looking at things from a different angle or a new teaching style or perspective? These answers will help you in determining if it’s a good choice for you

CHOOSE YOUR PLATFORM

What I use: Kajabi. Why I love it: It’s a super simple way to build out your course content and you can choose from design themes to make it fit your brand and look professional and well put together. There are also additional features like email marketing, automation, quizzes, and surveys so if you’re looking for a more all-in-one platform it’s a great option for you. We only use the course hosting functionality, but if you’re just starting out and looking to check off more pieces of the puzzle in a one-stop-shop, this might be a great choice for you. I’ve used them for FOUR years and can’t imagine using a different platform. Scroll down for a 28 day free trial of Kajabi for yourself! Other options that I know people who host courses on to look into are: Skillshare, Teachable, a simple WordPress site with password-protected pages, Udemy, and Course Cats.

BUILD A CURRICULUM

I remember the first time I told my mom I was going to teach a course, she laughed. Not because she didn’t think I was capable but because she’s taught college students for 30 years and suddenly her 24-year-old daughter thought she was going to build out a curriculum. It felt daunting, sure but I learned a secret in the process. Before writing even one module or outline for your course, begin with the end in mind. At the top of any fresh new brainstorming doc for either a new course or an existing course says these words: “End Result”. Now, this is the end result I want to see for my students.

What will the end result or promise be?

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