DIY Courses Struggling For Sales

I've noticed a shift happening in the online marketing world.

Most of the entrepreneurs I know who sell online?courses?have seen sales dip in the past year.

Of?course?- there's all kinds of speculation about why this could be.

Maybe it's simply because people are FINALLY opt-ing out of "information overload" – and getting more choosy with where they spend their attention.

But after speaking with some of my marketing peers – and working through some of these challenges with my clients – here's a few insights from the trenches:

#1 - Some entrepreneurs are probably FEELING like there's a big dip... but that could be an illusion from the huge SPIKE during c0v1d in online learning and course?sales.

With some of my clients, we're seeing that things are on par with "pre shutdown" numbers after we actually dig into the books.

#2 - SO many people jumped on the info-product bandwidth in the last few years that the market is flooded. It takes a little extra "oomf" (mostly through differentiation) to stand out.

That means it's the first time people have had to pivot in a while (new, fresh copy, or added value, etc.) - so I think a lot of FEELS harder now, since it was pretty cruisey for awhile, and most decent?courses?were selling themselves.

#3 - With the flood of new info businesses, people are feeling saturated with DIY learning, and are looking more for 1-on-1 coaching and hands-on mentorship instead.

This is the biggest shift I've seen in the last year or so. A lot of the evergreen?courses?- the stuff where you're left to your own devices - are taking a hit.

People are looking more for personal help, a seasoned guide, accountability groups and communities, etc.

Of?course?- You'll always have "serial?course?collectors" who will buy anything and everything just to stock their learning library...

But the?courses?that come with some sort of?personal?attention are killing it.

#4 - People are reinventing themselves more than ever, and they're looking for personal help to figure out WHAT THEY ACTUALLY FRIGGIN' WANT.

Many of them have already taken?courses from the big gurus out there.

They got great information and have all the tools they need to be successful, but need help figuring out what they actually WANT out of life!

I'm hearing things like, "I'm not sure WHAT I need. I need someone to give me direction on where to focus my energy."

And these last 2 are great insight from my smart friend Matt Johnson.

#5 – There's lots evidence of burnout in the thought leader/coach/course?creator space, even the really successful ones.

I know multiple people making huge business shifts, looking to sell/exit, or completely shutting down their businesses. Even shutting down multi-6 figure consulting side business simply because they're burned out.

There's a lot of PTSD from 2020 – chickens coming home to roost. People are coming down from an extended period of being in fight-or-flight mode and taking a beat before diving into "what's next"

#6 - Sales cycles are getting longer in the course?and coaching spaces. People have money but want to spend it "wisely" - this is a natural outgrowth of not getting what they want from previous?courses... combined with inflation.

Some markets just feel like people clenched up and held onto money more tightly this year (like real estate), while some industries went on hiring and spending sprees (like aerospace).

My opinion –Most likely this is also related to burnout.

People want to "do the thing" but they're exhausted and keep putting themselves off. Have to hype themselves up to pull the trigger and get started.

Just my two cents based on what I've been seeing lately, but I'd love to hear from you!

If you sell?courses and info products (or help clients who do) – let me know what trends you've noticed.

Talk soon, Rachel

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