Part 2: How to go from 0 - $100K in 2022 with an online course
Part 2: Create + launch your product idea
Catch Part 1 HERE
Welcome to another episode of the Simplify Your Sales podcast! Today we’re focusing on Part 2 of our 4-part podcast series that is going to walk you through the step-by-step process for starting from 0 and growing an online course business to $100K in the next 12 months.
And if you missed part 1, you can head on over to the show notes for this episode at morgannield.com and I’ll link to it there.
Welcome to part 2 of this series--now that you know how to build an audience from 0 - 500 email subscribers-- and are hopefully taking action RIGHT NOW on that, it’s time to talk about the product you are going to create to sell them.
For the purpose of this series--how to go from 0 - $100K in 2022 with an online course, we’re obviously going to talk about your product being an online course-- which is essentially an online digital product that teaches your students how to go from A - Z on a certain topic with various resources along the way to help them achieve that. It’s a product you can create ONCE and then sell over and over and over again. My Simplify to Scale program that shares the step-by-step process for building an audience, creating an online course, and then marketing + selling your online course is, in fact, an example of an online course.
Pre-step: Product validation
But one of the biggest hangups I hear from new course creators is that they are scared they’re going to pour all this time + energy into creating an online course…and then no one will buy it.
And that’s a VERY real fear-- which is why product validation is SUCH an important step. Any product you sell-- digital OR physical-- should be validated--meaning that you do some “homework” first to make sure that your product is going to sell BEFORE you go to all the trouble of creating it.
And validating your product is as simple as doing some market research, talking with your audience, and making sure that the product-- the online course-- you are creating is something that they NEED-- that it solves a particular pain point or problem or frustration they are currently going through. One of the best ways to do this is to hop on a quick 10 minute Zoom call and chat-- or even asking them via email in a pinch. Once you’ve validated that YOUR product solves something like that for your audience, you are GOLDEN.
Step 1: Determine where your ideal student is starting from…and where they need to end up
This is one of those steps that is skipped all the time-- but it is SO important! Beyond just what you want to teach, you need to keep your student in mind-- where are they starting from? If you go too “newbie” or too “advanced” for them, they won’t resonate with your course.
So think of the Irresistible Invitation you’ve created-- if they consume your Irresistible Invitation, where are they beginning their journey with you? THAT is the starting point.
And then once you have that nailed down, it’s time to determine the ENDING point-- not only where do YOU want them to end up, but where do THEY want to end up? What would be the ultimate win for them on your course topic? This is the TRANSFORMATION.
And then it’s time to whip out a stack of post-it notes and write down everything that needs to be included in order for someone starting from point A to reach point B. This is your course content.
Don’t go too overboard here with unnecessary knowledge-- remember that your students are (in part) paying you for the straightforward ease-of-learning that comes from a single online course vs. months of researching random articles on Google.
This is also a great time to consider any bonus assets you’ll want to include with your course that can help further their results even faster and sort of “sweeten the pot” for them to make it a must-have purchase.
Step 2: Creating your course content
Now let’s talk about CREATING the content for your online course. As an online course creator for the first time, one of the BEST strategies you can implement is to pre-sell your course-- or selling the product BEFORE you have created it.
This isn’t some “shady” business practice -- it’s actually VERY smart! it’s the same as if you pay for a semester’s enrollment…before school starts. Or pay for a ticket to a concert before you go see it. Pre-order a book before it releases. Same concept here-- you’re asking people to pay you before you release the finished product.
This serves 2 purposes:
Validates your idea in a VERY real way-- with money behind it
Gives you the kick in the pants you need to get the course created!
So while you certainly don’t need to finalize all of your course content in this stage, you DO want to make sure you have a timeline of when the content will release, and a game plan for how + when you’re going to get it done.
You do NOT have to do video in your course! In fact, my first course-- MYM-- was 100% text-based with images-- and my students told me over and over again how much they loved it that way because it was so easy to search for what they were looking for.
Now, obviously the format you choose will depend on WHAT you are teaching-- a text-based watercolor technique course isn’t going to work. But home organization? Gardening? Social media planning? Those are all topics that can thrive in a text + image course format.
So keep in mind what you are planning to teach when choosing your format-- and I truly recommend picking the format of least resistance to you that can still get your students results. Don’t pick a complicated lesson format because “everyone else is doing it.” Remember-- you can always come back and redo lessons with more bells + whistles later!
Step 3: Pricing + naming
Now things are about to get real-- you’re going to give your new online course a name + a price.
Naming:
It’s better to come up with a on-the-nose name than it is to come up with something cutesy/clever. The reason? You only have ONE chance to make a first impression-- and that first impression for your course should communicate WHAT your program is about and who it’s for. If people are confused by your name, they’re going to naturally assume that it’s not for them-- and that’s not good!
Now obviously a single name can’t always do all of this--and usually won’t-- so including a clarifying tagline can also help add more understanding about your product.
For example, My Simplify to Scale course is named, Simplify to Scale. But that doesn’t tell you everything you need to know-- so I have the tagline “The step-by-step blueprint for leveraging the creative talents you already have and turning them into a simplified (+ ridiculously profitable!) online course business” which brings some much-needed context to my course name.
Naming is one of those things that while important, it’s really easy to get hung up on things to the point where you just stall progress because you haven’t found “the perfect name.” I recommend giving yourself 1-2 days to think about this and then just picking something. You can always come back later and change things up!
Okay, now onto pricing: how do you price an online course?
With a strategy known as value-based pricing.
Value-based pricing refers to deciding on a price point that is reflective of the VALUE you provide to your customers.
Value isn’t JUST about money--instead, consider the following as ways that absolutely give value to your students:
Saving time (this is a BIG one for most people and can be applied to almost ANY digital product)
Feeling confident (a more organized life, healthier lifestyle, body confidence, etc.)
Saving/making money (remember: you’ll be teaching them a skill they can replicate over and over again-- not just once!)
There is a LOT of buyer psychology strategy that goes into pricing your course and coming up with a specific number, we’re not going to go super in-depth into that here in this episode, but I want to give you some thought joggers on this topic. Ask yourself:
What would it cost to take an in-person training on this skill?
What would it cost to hire someone to create this for me?
What is it worth for your students to be able to replicate results over and over again?
How much money could a customer potentially make or gain from this skill?
How much money will your students potentially save?
How much time will your students save with your digital product vs. trying to learn it on their own? What is that time worth?
So just to recap:
Validate your course topic idea
Determine your starting + ending points
Create (or flesh out) your course game plan (ie; what format, timeline, etc.)
Name your course
Price your course
And that is your game plan on how to get the ball rolling with course creation in a way that ensures your course has massive marketability + profit potential.
And if you haven’t already, make sure you grab your FREE copy of our “Unlock your profitable course idea” blueprint that will walk you through EXACTLY how to pick a profitable course idea that leverages YOUR unique skills + talents.
Alright, and that wraps up Part 2: Creating your online course. Stay tuned for the next episode where we’ll be talking about the marketing-- and what it looks like to get your online course out into the world for the first time.
See you then!