10 Lessons I Learned From Running My First Course
In case you missed the memo, I jumped on the course bandwagon in 2020. I launched the first round of Practitioner Marketing 101, and 35 amazing peeps jumped on board!
I’ve always been the type to wing it and learn as I go - because I hate getting stuck in the ‘thinking about it’ space! So I threw myself in the deep end with the course.
The good news is that it paid off - financially and educationally! Now that the first round has come to a close, I’m ready to share 10 lessons I learned as I went through the process of creating, marketing and running my first course.
The Top 10 Lessons I Learned From Running My First Course
Run a beta round - everyone wins!
I love me a good beta round - aka a first round of a course done at a lower price point to test the market and viability. Why? Because everyone is a winner when you use a beta round!
You win because you get to test the content and worry less when tech gremlins arise. Plus you get to cover the cost of creating the course, so every cent in future rounds is leveraged/passive income
Your beta participants win because they get a bargain price
Future participants win as they are more likely to jump on board and benefit if you have rave reviews and people spruiking the course for you!
A beta round is a good way for you to build up confidence if you’re worried about charging well for your course. Just make sure you stick to increasing your prices - don’t run at beta prices forever.
Creating content takes more time than you think - even if you do it for a living
I hate to state the obvious here - but creating content takes a long time! Whether it’s written content, video content, tutorials, PDFs, meal plans, or a combination, it needs concentration and a solid plan for what you’re making.
Even though creating content is my bread and butter, it still took me longer than I expected. That’s why I always suggest overestimating your time by 25% to account for this.
The good news? You only have to create the content once (maybe 2-3 times if you need to add content or update it occasionally). So it’s well invested.
You’re probably going to overthink and overdeliver - tone it down
No one really thinks they’re a health expert in their niche. This is because you’re surrounded by your area of expertise all day long. You know how much you don’t know.
But the average person still doesn’t know nearly as much as you!
This is why I suggest covering the basics and delivering 25% less content than what you want to. That way, you won’t overwhelm people.
Even though I knew this on one level, I still got caught up in thinking my content wasn’t going to be enough. Luckily, the feedback from my participants told me otherwise!
One solid fan can make your course a runaway success
Sure, we want to get our courses in front of as many people as possible. But sometimes, one raving fan can make all the difference.
This is exactly what happened with my course. I had 14 people on the waitlist already - not too shabby for a week of promoting it. But then one student practitioner shared it into the student groups, and poof! 2 days later, I had over 70 people on the waitlist.
Don’t be afraid to ask your true fans to share it with people who might benefit.
Participants love a time buffer
Think that a 6 week course will only take people 6 weeks to complete? Think again.
Life happens, and we can’t always predict when it will hit.
Because I had prizes linked to the first round of my course, I needed to have a cut-off date. But I also knew that a lot of my participants were under the pump.
So I gave them an extra 2 weeks to complete the 4 week course. Many of them thanked me for the additional time, and more were able to enter the competition!
This is also a good idea if you’re including live/interactive aspects to your course such as a Facebook group.
Running a Facebook group takes time, but it can help you tailor the course
A Facebook group is often a good tool to use alongside your course. It does take up more time as you answer questions and post bonus resources and threads in the group.
But it’s also another good way to get feedback on the course. Clients can ask you questions and request resources or more info if they need. This can then be added to future rounds so people get even more value.
I loved having the Facebook group. Next time, I’d put aside a bit more time to hang in the group, because it’s one of my favourite aspects of running a live course!
Now if you’re looking to have an evergreen or completely passive course, a Facebook group may not be a good idea. At most, you might consider having a group for the beta round to get feedback.
Everyone loves a giveaway promo!
A great way to market? Offering a giveaway!
Now I don’t recommend giving away a place on your course as a promo. The goal is for people to purchase your course, not hold off in case they win!
Instead, look at offering a giveaway for people who sign up. I do this with my paid courses such as my Marketing 101 Course.
At the end of the day, it’s 60-90 min of my time gifted to the winner(s), and it gets me much more than 60-90 min worth of marketing!
Have an upgrade offer ready for anyone who wants more juiciness
A percentage of people will want to work further with you. Don’t make it hard for them to figure out how they can do this!
An online course will typically have an upgrade of:
1:1 work
More intensive group work such as a program or mastermind
A longer course that goes deeper into a topic
How much your upgrade offer is really doesn’t matter. Completing the course is a massive boost to the Know Like Trust Factor, so people will be more comfortable paying well for the right service.
The most important thing is that your upgrade is a natural progression for what you’ve already covered.
Courses are either a fit for you or not
Honestly, courses are not for everyone. Some people get high off the buzz of working 1:1, and that’s absolutely fine. Others might be good with leveraged income but prefer in-person care. That’s fine as well!
Don’t create a course because you think you should. Create it because you have a good sense that it might be a fit for you.
If you’re not sure, create a 7 day course and test that to see how it feels.
The good news? I found that courses are a perfect fit for me! I love creating content that is juicy and of value for my ideal peeps. It takes less energy for me to serve 20-30 participants at a time vs 1:1 clients.
And as we know, I love to market!
When creating a course, accountability is everything
You know those little procrastination demons in your head that tell you that creating your course isn’t important enough?
Don’t let them win.
You need something to keep you focused and on track.
Because I’m famous for winging it, it probably surprises no one that my accountability was the people who had already signed up. I knew each week I needed to have that content live and ready to go!
Some of it was created a few weeks in advance. A couple… they were honestly created a few hours before that week went live!
Not everyone is crazy enough to have paying clients as accountability. If you’re not, don’t worry. You just need something to keep you accountable and stop you from never actually creating/marketing/launching that first course.
It might be:
Committing to your clients, including pre-selling spots
A friend or mentor who checks in with you
A specific launch or open date that is set in stone
PS - This is why you’ll probably never see me create an online course about creating an online course - the accountability is a non-negotiable aspect for me.
Is creating a course on your to-do list?
Want someone to hold your hand while you plan your course and marketing strategy, and keep you accountable until that baby is launched?
I’m here to help. Click here to book a 1:1 appointment.
