Did you know most digital course creators start out as digital course students? I did! I wanted to learn something on my own time, at my own pace from someone who I trusted as an expert. Once I signed up and completed the materials in that first course, it came to me: “Jenna,” I thought, “You can totally create your own digital course!”
I had this massive realization that digital course creators don’t have to have a doctorate. They don’t need 28 years to master an industry or craft to create an impactful, results-driven program, either. They just simply need to be able to get people results. That’s it!
That means me or you or ANYONE who has a unique skillset or valuable information inside their noggin is capable of creating a wildly successful digital course.
Why should you create your own digital course?
But first, let’s talk about the value of digital courses and why you might want to create one of your own. Let me shoot off a few of my favorite quick facts about digital courses:
- They allow you to impact more people on a greater scale. Compared to 1:1 coaching or even group coaching, digital courses enable you to get a ton of information and education into anyone’s hands who wants it at any time.
- They can cover just about any subject that adds more value, ease, or joy into others’ lives. It doesn’t have to be just business related (though that’s great, too)! I’ve seen digital courses on things like; getting babies to sleep, home gardening, home design, cooking, self-care, manifestation, and more.
- You can help people while you sleep. (Or play with your kids, or run errands, etc. etc.) The beauty of digital courses is that you record the information on a platform and then students can purchase and login at their convenience to work through materials!
- YOU have something unique and special to teach, and it can be taught in a digital course. Have you learned something or have you created a way to get results, and could you use that same knowledge to help more people? Alllll of that goodness can be packaged up into a digital course!
6 keys to create your own digital course
Creating an online course simply starts with what you know and how you can use that to help others. So let’s walk through the key things to remember to turn what you know into education for your audience.
01. Look for results you’ve gotten.
Have you gotten yourself or others valuable results in some area of business or life? This could be simplifying a process, helping others make more money, streamlining something, or providing useful tips to improve something that most people don’t already know. Wherever you’re experiencing growth, improvement, or assistance to others, those are your results.
02. Tailor those results to be useful for a group of people.
When you’ve figured out those results, look at each step it took to achieve those results. Tailor those and broaden them so that they’re applicable to others. Figure out a universal system that can get many people to that final result.
Review every piece of the system from a high level, and then drive down into each small detail it took to get to the result place. It helps to actually list every big and little step along the way.
03. Serve first, sell second.
Sure, we want to get you to a place where you can sell a digital course for a profit. But not many people will be willing to buy if you’re not serving value for free first. A wonderful way to gain interest in your capabilities as an educator is by serving others at no cost.
If you can get people results for free, even with little wins, you can bet that more people will start coming to you with their questions and interested in the bigger picture (your course)!
04. Systemize your course process.
It’s important to build out the system you use in detail so you can teach it the same way again and again. What works really well for the majority of people you help?
Dig into the exact steps you and your students/clients take to get to the same end result. Get that road map down on paper so you can revisit and refine that process over time.
05. Remember you can refine when needed.
You can edit, change, tweak, and refine your process down the road. Trust me, I’ve done it a hundred times in my own courses when best practices change or new resources get released! Keep that in mind when you’re creating. It’s better to get your knowledge out there imperfectly and refine down the line.
Pay close attention to questions asked or any problems that might arise after releasing your course. Those are your magnifying glasses into what could be tweaked or improved!
06. Get your digital course out there.
My favorite part! *eeek!* After your system is in a good spot, you can offer it up to the masses to make a greater impact. Of course, one of the most effective ways to do this is an online course. Digital courses are accessible to all, students can soak up the materials at their own pace, and you can package up all the details of your system into a resource that is all your own.
You have an unparalleled combo of knowledge, expertise, and experiences that can boost the lives of others. You just have to go for it and begin the process to create your own digital course to get your unique knowledge out there.
