Here’s a unique business model, assuming you have these three things:
1. A desire to teach others
2. 4 to 8 hours a week to commit to it
3. Roundabout 3 to 5 grand to put towards expenses and training
If that appeal, here’s how it works.
I’m going to share 5 lessons that will aide you in starting an online course business.
Lesson-1: Imagine Your Future
Imagine how it will feel when you create a wildly profitable online course or challenge using your expert knowledge and create a business that works whether your there or not.
One that you can market over and over again around the world without you being directly involved everyday after it’s initial creation.
People will pay you a premium price for your information to help them grow their lives and business so they can create the lifestyle they desire.
I’m going to lay out the 5 initial steps to getting you off to a quick start.
This is not something that will happen overnight but the process of getting your course started can be reduced by years by following these proven techniques.
Expert business are some of the most profitable business in the world.
Once you learn the top 5 priorities you’ll be able to take the profits from your business from serving others and become an investor, travel or create the lifestyle and freedom you desire for your family.
Not only will you get to share your knowledge and expertise with hundreds or even thousands of students all over the world, but you’ll be able to do so with less time, stress and fewer skipped family outings. Imagine a life where you are free to do what you want…
What’s On Your Bucket List?
What do you desire, more family time, retiring a spouse, sending your kids to private school, traveling, giving more to a charity or simply just being able to pay all of your bills without worry or stress.
Whatever level you are at it starts with deciding what you desire in life. What are you willing to fight for?
This is your first lesson to decide what you truly desire.
Write out 101 things you want to do.
No matter how silly and useless you may think this is, it will help inspire you more than any lesson or technique that I could ever teach you.
Let’s face it, there are lots of people in the world who have a lot of expert knowledge yet they are still broke and not living the life that they could live.
Why is that you ask?
Because they never decided what they really wanted.
So when it came time to put in the work, the price to pay was too much for the average life they had in their mind.
You are different, and oh, If you done this before, this time the outcome will be different. If you do a few things:
*Forget about the past
*Decide 101 things you want to do
*Don’t quit until you have checked them all off
*Reach back and help someone else
Do It Now:
Before you read any further, stop and write it out. Ready or not just begin, once you start writing trust me ideas will start flowing.
If you can not think of any on your own, google what should be on my bucket list. You never know what could inspire you.
Vision:
Your ability to think something in your thoughts and then make it become a reality is one of the most magical moments you can ever experience.
You will be left saying my reality is much more than you could even imagine.
Lead with service and make a significant impact and you will have everything and more than what’s on your bucket list.
Then help someone else check off their bucket list with your courses and challenges.
Lesson-2: Creating Service and Significance
You never forget how someone makes you feel and the service that you receive from them. No matter if you drive up through a drive thru or get quality service at a fine restaurant how someone make you feel matters.
Keep that in mind when you are preparing and communicating with the people you will serve.
Communicate with your customers in a way that makes them naturally want to buy and learn from you.
Be so good at how you do what you do that you become their first choice when it comes to them deciding who they want to learn from and buy from because know one gives them as much value as you. No one else makes them feel as special as you do.
As the saying goes, no one cares how much you know until they know how much you care.
Now that the foundation is laid out, it is important to understand the secret formula which is in lesson 3.
Lesson-3: The Secret Course Formula
*Who
*Where
*Bait
*Results
These are the 4 simple questions that you must ask before creating a course every time.
It’s the secret sauce and the perfect formula to creating the perfect course for the perfect group of people.
The one mistake a lot of people make is trying to serve everyone and do everything for anybody.
If you want to become great, you want to master and focus on the one thing that will solve the biggest problem with the right group of people.
This formula will help you to create and grow a company.
Imagine watching CNN who is known for being a 24 hour news station to turn it on and they are playing lifetime romantic movies.
You will be confused the same way your followers will become confused if one day your selling a course on personal development and the next day it’s about fishing and the next day it’s about how to do an act in the circus.
A confused mind takes no action.
Your goal is to get people to take action and buy from you.
You find that out by asking these questions:
Question 1: Who Is Your Dream Client? Who do you want to actually work with?
These are people that you will spend time with.
You will be communicating with in your groups and or on messenger.
They will be helping you design your course or challenge based on what they desire.
It’s like choosing a spouse what characteristics and attributes do you really want.
You get to decide this up front.
Take the time to ask yourself a few questions about them as well as write out what you are feeling and thinking so you can come up with the perfect partners to serve.
Notice I said partners if you listen to what they want and give it to them you will win, and they will also win. Write down the answers to these questions to help you identify who you want to work with.
1. Who are my dream clients?
2. What do they look like?
3. What are they passionate about?
4. What are their goals, dreams and desires
Question 2: Where Can You Find Your Dream Client?
*Where can you find the perfect man or woman?
*Where are they hanging out at online?
*What social site, what groups do they belong to.
Answer the questions above and complete as much information as you can about where they are hanging out on social media.
If you want to get to where you want to go you must become a detective in this phase of creating your course.
Most people make the mistake of doing all the work to create a course and then have know one to deliver it to.
Imagine putting a stamp on a letter with a name and no addresses. It’s like having a course that’s sealed and ready but can not be delivered. Let’s deliver your course to the right people and go to where their at. Answer the next set of questions.
*What social sights are my dream clients on?
Facebook, Instagram, Linkend, etc…
*What groups are they apart of?
*What blogs do they read?
*What email newsletters do the subscribe to?
*What online publications do they read?
*What hobbies do they have?
*What else did you discover?
Question 3: What Bait Will You Use To Attract Them?
If you made it this far in this fast start guide, this was the perfect bait for you. The headline or copy made you want to know more.
A bait is an exchange for giving them training or information. In return they will give you their email address or subscribe to your messenger Bot.
This is how you will begin to gather the people you want to serve and sell to all in one space.
This will allow you to have a single focus.
Your bait can be a pdf, a physical book, an educational ad, audio recording, webinar, invite to a group, etc….
Your next step is to create the right bait for them.
Keep in mind your bait must be congruent with the course or challenge you are going to offer.
Once you know what attracts your dream client it becomes easy to find them. You can then construct your bait to attract them and only them.
For example, if you were creating a course for vegans your headline would not mention meat in it.
Fill in the next sentence:
I will attract my dream client with a METHOD (book, pdf, audio) they are most attracted to LEARNING HOW TO DO OR BECOME to grab their attention my headline will have these KEYWORDS That INTERRUPT THE SCROLL and make them pay attention and believe I have the answer for them.
ex : I will attract my dream client with a PDF, they are most attracted to living a vegan lifestyle as a wife of a meat eater who hates vegetables.
Now it’s time to Decide Your Bait:
*What Method will you use?
*What will they Learn how to do or become?
*What Keywords will interrupt the scroll?
*What Head Line will you use?
Question 4: What Results Do You Want To Give Them?
Let me be very clear here, we know you are creating a course or a challenge when you answer this question this is not the time to decide which one.
This is the time to decide what RESULTS they will receive from you serving them.
Decide what transformation will occur because of you serving them.
A business is about results not products or services.
People will be willing to pay anything when it’s something that they desire to truly be, do or have.
Price is only an issue in the absence of value and results.
Think of the highest level of service that you can provide for your client and give them the best results. Again this will go far beyond a group course or challenge.
If you could wave a magic wand and provide the ultimate transformation what would it be?
This is where you start at and then we will work our way back down to the course or challenge.
If you don’t start there you will not be able to ascend to the highest service.
It’s like wanting a PHD you cannot skip your bachelor’s degree (your bait) to get there.
Begin with the end in mind.
Keep in mind most of your clients will not pay the price nor sacrifice the time to get to the best that you have to offer but you must have a desire to serve at the highest level possible.
Answer the following questions to help you come up with your absolute best.
Imagine a few will pay you anything to get what they want. Imagine the best.
Think from the results, this is the key to your success and taking your clients on a journey to the end and not leave you and go to someone else because you have no vision to deliver the internal desire that they truly have.
If you serve from this level it will be significant to them and lead to success for everyone involved.
*What would you do to help guarantee their success?
*Where would you lead them to?
*What does it look like?
*Is this the best of the best for your clients?
*Where do you want to take them?
Lesson-4: Creating Your Value Ladder of Service
This is the first thing you want to determine before you can start working on your sales funnel or website. (We use a sales funnel which is just a process that moves people through the sales process and your job is to convert as many people as possible into repeat customers as they climb up the ladder to learn and do more and eventual become your dream client)
The value ladder is all about figuring out what courses and challenges you are going to offer to move your dream client from the bait to your best offer.
For example, you went to the dentist your value ladder may look something like this.
Starting From The Top of the ladder:
$ Special Dental Service
Cosmetic
Retainer
Whiting
Teeth Cleaning
(The bottom of the ladder while have a recurring payment for 6 month check ups)
Your Course value ladder may look something like this:
Starting From The Top of the ladder:
Highest profit/most value/highest price experience
Weekend Intensive
Mastermind
Full Course
4 week with a private members area
1 to 21 day challenge
Free Giveaway
(The bottom of the ladder while have a recurring payment for software/training)
Focus on these 2 things when creating your value ladder.
Provide the best value at the best price that’s affordable to that person.
You can start getting paid and be profitable while identifying your dream clients and who can afford to buy your best offer.
Now it’s time for you to identify the group course or challenge that will be on your value ladder.
This of course will take time.
Always remember that done is better than perfect. What ever you have down in the next 48 hours go with it.
You are not creating it you are just deciding what you are offering and how you want to serve.
In lesson five you will name it.
Ready set go, the clock is counting down. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
*Course/ Challenge Best of The Best
*Course/ Challenge Advanced
*Course/ Challenge Intermediate
*Course/ Challenge Beginner
*Bait
*Continuity Service (a recurring charge)
You will only be only be creating one course or challenge at a time so don’t get overwhelmed when coming up with the value you will provide, this is simply your table of contents or your syllabus.
As your customers ascend up the ladder they will help you to determine what they need to go to the next level.
When you have enough people with the same problem you can tailor your group sessions to solve their most pressing issues.
When you think you gave it your best ask yourself how can I now over deliver and review your value ladder and do it over again and add more value.
**How can you better your best?
*Course/ Challenge Best of The Best
*Course/ Challenge Advanced
*Course/ Challenge Intermediate
*Course/ Challenge Beginner
*Bait
*Continuity Service (a recurring charge)
Lesson-5: Design, Outline and Tweak Your Course or Challenge To Keep Your Dream Client Engaged and Moving Up Your Value Ladder By Following These 10 Steps.
- Sell Your Course Before All Your Content Is Created
- Get Students to a Transformation
- Get Your Students Results Early
- Recognize Reasonable Results
- Set Reasonable Expectations
- Keep the Group Involved
- Outline Each Course In The Value Ladder
- Keep Each Lesson Short but Impactful
- Choose Title That Stops The Scroll
- Plan Your Media Circuit
- Sell Your Course Before All Your Content Is Created:
Sounds crazy right?
I thought the same thing.
How can I sell something I don’t have.
What your selling is the idea and the concept to see if you have interested buyers.
The biggest mistake people make is thinking that what they think and believe other people will think and believe.
Not true.
The reason you are teaching is because you have something of value to add to their life.
You are teaching from a level one step ahead, so if they knew what you knew and think like you think they will not need to buy your course.
Promote from the old you and where you were before you had your transformation.
You know all the struggles and setbacks, that’s what you want to speak about because now you have an answer for that same problems they are facing.
What you want to hear is me too. This is what I am going through, that exact same problem. Now they believe you are the source to help them fix it.
Here are a few tips on where you want to promote, not directly about the course but give value tips and stories about what you have been through and the transformation you experience.
This post is not about the how to’s of promoting. We will talk more about how that works later.
Broadcast your journey through these methods just to name a few: Master 1 source and then tackle others.
Facebook Lives,
Facebook Stories
Facebook Watch Party
Facebook Groups
Facebook Swap Meets and Yard Sales
Instagram Stories
Live on Linkend
2. Get Students to a Transformation
There paying you to get them results. To equip them with knowledge that they can use and become who they are not today. Pay close attention to the results your students are getting. Do they have clear actionable steps that they can take and measure and able to act differently based on what you taught them.
As you create your outline ask yourself this question:
*What transformation will XYZ have after taking this lesson.
Notice I said lesson.
Yes you asked yourself that question with the course but you must also ask yourself that question with each lesson.
The lessons should also build upon each other.
For example, if you are teaching someone how to make a cake, your first lesson would not start with when to slice the cake after removing it from the oven it would start with why bake cakes, the ingredients needed, how to shop economically, etc…
You get the point, take them through a journey and transform that at each level of that journey.
Ask yourself how that transformation will look and what feelings will they receive.
3. Get Your Students Results Early
What’s early?
Theory is boring, winning is rewarding. Get your students little wins in the first 20 minutes.
How do you do that?
Because you have done your homework and you know what problems there facing, simply address it, share a story about it, solve it in 20 minutes.
In the first 6 seconds wow them with a topic/headline on how you are going to help them with XYZ.
Give them a backstory for the next 5 to 10 minutes of your journey with details about how you felt (a heavy weight on my shoulder), the environment (we were in the kitchen), the wall you faced (overwhelmed with bills) the epiphany you had (listening to a training and learned xyz).
For the next 5 minutes the transformation (how life is now).
The last 10 minutes actionable steps they can take to get and receive what you currently have.
4. Recognize Reasonable Results
Under promise and over deliver.
A great mentor of mine said you move people and transform them when they know how much you care.
No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care.
Be there to answer questions and then congratulate and encourage them as you see progress.
That’s the power of group courses and challenges you get to go on the journey with your students.
Because you are there at least once a week inside the group, they feel connected to you as you serve and transform them into who they desire to become.
5. Set Reasonable Expectations
What’s reasonable? Whatever you think it’s not based on how fast you can get it or comprehend it.
Follow the 20 minute rule above and if you don’t get positive feedback I get it, that makes sense or all I have to do is this then here is one important fact:
YOUR TEACHING SUCKS
Now lol, before you get all defensive I wanted to be overly dramatic with that statement so you can remember to check yourself first.
This is the time to ask your students questions and get clarity from them as to when you say xyz what do they get from it.
If you are open to ask and seek clarity you will hit your target and get results.
Sometimes we teach in to much theory and facts that we lose are audience.
A great question to ask yourself: Can a 4th grader understand what I am saying?
If you have one around who you can share your lesson with, pay them a few dollars to take a class from you and see if they can comprehend what you are saying.
The moral of this is to inspect what you expect.
Expectations are set and met by you are they clear, is there a step by step system and will it transform.
6. Keep the Group Involved
Keep students involved in your group course or challenge by giving them small achievable tasks after each lesson.
You can even directly ask students to comment, like or share the value they got from you and others.
By doing this it makes students feel invested and thus personally attached to the course.
It’s like pro sports the top fans are all involved in the process.
When you bring your students with you on the learning journey…..
The course and other students will feel like a part of something — and to be honest, they are.
They will help you to create a successful and transformational environment that’s conducive for learning and having fun in the process.
7. Outline Each Course In The Value Ladder
If you have reached this point in this post, you should have your value ladder completed.
Underneath each of those steps write out at least 3 to 5 problems that you are going to solve in that step of the value ladder.
Stay focus on the path that you are taking you dream client in.
As in the cake example, every lesson should build on the next one. I know this seems redundant and basic.
It really is, remember the old saying. KISS keep it simple silly is what I say!
Also stay flexible and willing to pivot, your students are building your lessons.
When you get it to the perfect course or challenge, results happen and there are very few questions being asked.
Clarity and transformation is king and queen.
8. Keep Each Lesson Short but Impactful
10 to 30 minutes is ideal unless you are doing an actual 3 to 4 hour class.
If that’s case take breaks every 45 to 50 minutes.
If all they hear is blah, blah, blah they are not learning.
It’s hard to stay focus for extended time periods.
Think of movies they usually run the gamut of 60 to 90 minutes long.
Pay attention to body language if you are on a zoom or in a classroom.
Ask for feedback.
Remember you are not normal, you can go long periods because you are obsessed with what you do, your dream client will feel the same way but about 90% of the people in the class will get bored.
This is when you start to find the people who want more and it will help you plan or replan the next step in the value ladder.
9. Choose Titles That Stops The Scroll
Your course or challenge titles matter. First off, your titles help sell your course.
Ask yourself what would you type in when looking to learn something and then jazz it up with an adjective to create that wow factor…
There are 3 things that grab people’s attention:
1. Curiosity
2. Need
3. Greed
When potential students land on your course landing page — they want to know what they’ll learn, somewhere on your landing page gives them previews of your content and challenges.
Additionally, think of what you do when you open a new purchase — you poke around.
When someone buys your course, they’re going to navigate around and see what the course looks like.
Clear and value-forward titles touching on the three elements above enhance the idea you’re providing value.
Do a keyword search first.
Then let your sales copy reflect content that leaves your students believing that only you can solve their problem so the must buy your product.
10. Plan Your Media Circuit
This is the most important step, if you don’t have a plan in place to get your message out you are failing to plan.
Think of back in the day when a new movie was released.
The actor would hit all the late night circuits. They use direct mail, radio and the newspapers.
Your circuit is Lives, podcast, blog appearances as well as emails, groups etc.
Put a campaign in place to have a media circuit so you can maximize your exposure and get the message out.
Remember the goal is to sell the course before you put it together. Who’s show can you get on and who can you get on your show.
Last but certainly not least where are you broadcasting at?
Here are a few channels that you can consider depending on how you want to broadcast.
*Video = Youtube, Facebook Lives, Instagram Stories
*Written = Blogs a simple and free site to use is Medium
*Audio = Podcast you can easily get one started with Anchor and they will broadcast you to other channels also.
In Closing:
Your goal is to provide a ton of value, communicate effectively and build out your course structure in a strategic way so you can get your course or challenge out and get paid what it is worth.
Premium course are roughly 3 to 5k.
This is an amazing business model and it requires real work, these are things that a lot of people don’t share it’s usually the fluff of their course or about themselves, it takes work to create something great.
Interalize and master this system and you can use it to bring any product or service to the market and impact others across the globe.
Would you like help in taking your course or challenge from a thought to a profitable premium course?
Are you “Ready to Unleash your Expertise?” if so….
Go to EcourseU.com and book a strategy call.
Cathy McReynolds
Your Fun, Money & Skill Coach And Online Course Strategist
