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Create a course? Teach people online? Who… Me? Be kind and rewind to 4 years ago to when I was asking myself those same questions. Now, I’m an online educator bringing in 90% of my profits with my courses on Instagram, Pinterest, Email List Building, and more. Now the only question is: Could YOU create a course? My answer is YES.
Goal Digger Coaching is back and you get to listen in as a listener gets coached on air by me! I’m going one-on-one with today’s guest, Meg Wheeler. She’s a student in my List to Launch Lab, and she’s toying with the same course questions that you might be facing in your own business. How do you know you’re ready to offer a course? What should your course be about? And how do you determine what your audience needs not what you think they need?
All that, plus more, going all the way from the basics through launch in this coaching session. If a course is on your mind, press play and listen in on this coaching session with a Goal Digger like you.
Meet Meg Wheeler
When Meg Wheeler left the corporate finance world she didn’t really have a plan. She returned from maternity leave to discover her role was changing and saw it as her way out. Meg always felt she had more to give and she could make a greater impact outside of corporate, so she took the leap. After starting her first business, an online gifting marketplace all about supporting women, she still missed the financial side of things. Meg wanted to help women figure out all the money stuff in their businesses. With her background in finance and tax, Meg serves as a kind of “on-demand CFO” for entrepreneurs and businesses. With her first business running on it’s own system and requiring less time and attention, Meg is ready to grow her second business helping women on the financial side of their businesses.
How Do I Get People Excited About My Topic?
Meg’s first question was a great launch point for our conversation. Meg works in the world of finance and tax, and she admitted that the topic isn’t really that “sexy”. So how can she get people excited about the topic and wanting to spend their money on her offer if it’s not that exciting? This reminded me of my very first course (List to Launch Lab). At the time, building an email list wasn’t nearly as exciting or sexy as Instagram, but I was so passionate about building a list because I knew from experience the difference it can make in a business.
My advice for Meg to generate interest in her finance and tax related offer was to tell stories that people can envision themselves in (as it relates to their finances). I also provided some examples one how Meg can begin to talk about her topic and set herself up as an expert in the field so people want to learn from her. But in defining herself as an expert, I cautioned her on one piece. Be careful with how you talk about your area of expertise so you don’t make people feel guilty about their lack of knowledge or action. Instead, assure your audience it’s okay to start right now, you’re giving them permission, and here’s the first step they can take.
When Am I Ready for a Course?
When Meg told me she read that she should have tons of experience coaching 1-on-1 BEFORE launching her own course, my reaction was, “Huh?” I don’t agree with this advice she’s heard before. Meg has over 10 years experience in her field from her previous job. Meg is absolutely ready to take that knowledge and experience and apply it in a new way through creating a course. She’s even more equipped to do so because she’s been working with clients independently for a year, so she knows their pain points and struggles, and can speak even clearer to those needs.
The second question Meg asked about being “ready” is one I hear a lot? Do I need a certain amount of followers or email subscribers to successfully launch a course? My answer was both yes and no. Of course, it would be great to launch to a massive social media following and email list. However, there are things she can do to make her launch a greater success. I recommended investing in Facebook ads to keep building her social and email list.
Ultimately, I told Meg not to wait. She’s ready to go, as long as she maintains her Facebook ad strategy to build her following and list, and keeps an eye on which ads and freebies perform the best. This will be the best indicator of what the audience wants and will ensure they go crazy over the course when it launches.
Is My Audience Ready for the Sale?
I can totally relate to Meg’s apprehension around selling (go listen to episode 250 with my own business coach during which we do a deep dive into my fear of selling). Her fear is that someone will land on her email list and the next day her course launches and they feel overwhelmed. Truth is, this might happen, but I gave Meg some ideas to warm up her audience. For example, in my own business we have a six month long funnel that every new email subscriber goes through before they are added to my mail list. This six month welcome sequence is 90% serving and only 10% offers. Each email builds off the next with the mission of serving so no one is bombarded with sales messages at the start.
Now listen, this is super next level, so in this episode I dialed it back with Meg to analyze what it could look like for her business where it’s at right now. To hear more about this strategy and more about what my welcome sequence looks like, tune into the full episode with the player above.
What’s the single biggest factor for success when creating a course?
I love this question from Meg, and the answer is simple. When you create a course, START with the END result. When someone takes your course, what should they be able to do at the end? Creating your course around a clear promise will simplify the process. It also gives the audience security with their investment — they know what they’re gonna get for the money.
Another key element of the success of my courses is the evergreen content. I teach on social media and it changes every day, but I created my courses in a way that they can be updated easily to reflect major changes instead of recreating the entire course every time Instagram adds a new feature. We also don’t try to cram in allll the info. I don’t create massive 50-module courses. It’s just too overwhelming. Don’t feel like you have to teach everything at once.
More from This Episode
Meg and I dive into so much more, including strategies for beta-testing, why I never do video courses (and why I advise against it for your first course), and the action steps I set for Meg to get her closer to a course launch. I hope this episode meets you where you’re at and addresses some of the same questions you’re having in the course creation process. Don’t forget, my business coach and Tony Robbins are teaming up for a free live training on April 30th and it has everything to do with how YOU can unlock what you already know and turn it into profits with a course, ebook, or another program that serves your audience. Join me at jennaslink.com.
