5 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Created My First Online Course

Are you ready to launch your first online course??

Creating and launching a course can be a really scary and daunting task – I know we have launched a LOT of them. Between our own courses and the ones we have built for our clients, there is a shit ton of work that goes into the process. The good news is that with the right strategy – you can totally rock the socks off of your customers, have some fun and make a lot of money in the process. Here are some things that I wish I knew before I started my first ever course!

1. Pre-Sale! Pre-Sale! Pre-Sale!

When I first found out about the concept of a pre-sale for my courses, I wished I could go back in time and save myself all the long hours and effort I put into the courses I made that either never saw the light of day – or just didn’t sell at all. The idea behind a pre-sale is that by collecting money before you put your course creation hat on, you will know for sure that this is something that people actually want and it makes the time and effort you will put into it worth doing. Take into the consideration of the time and effort it will take you actually put your course together and price it accordingly!

2. Don’t Over Think It

You don’t have to be everything, to everyone… EVER. I, too, still get caught up in the “am I giving enough value” phase every so often. I take that as a good sign that I am not just willing to put together a bunch of fluffy shit and sell it to anyone who will buy, but you have to be realistic when you are creating courses for your audience. You won’t ever be able to give them all the answers, all the time and at the end of the day – it is up to your students to achieve their desired results. If they don’t put in the time and the energy, they will never be able to get the results they want. So don’t over think it. Create solid content with the intention of serving and bringing value, but don’t run yourself into the ground in the process.

3. Don’t Wait Until The Week Before You Launch To Talk About It

OMG – if I had a dollar for every time I have seen someone do this I would be sitting real pretty! If you want to sell out your course, you have to build the hype. Think about Disneyland and Star Wars Land for example. They have been promoting this project for YEARS before the launch. Hell, I don’t even like Star Wars but I am excited about it. You have to get your audience engaged and interested in your product or service before you sell it in order for it to do well. It takes on average 7-12 times of an offer being presented to someone before they actually want to buy. It isn’t sleazy or “used car salesman” like to talk about it and pitch it to your audience multiple times if it is done with the intent that this product will solve XYZ problem for them. Spread your pitches out, bring value, get creative – BUT FOR GOODNESS SAKES TALK ABOUT IT PLEASE!! Show a behind the scenes, poll the audience for the name of the course, get them as invested as you are and you will have much better success with selling it!

4. Open Cart VS Closed Cart

When I launched my first course I didn’t even know that a “closed cart” was a thing. I thought you just put your shit out into the internet and that people would find it and buy it 😂  how naive was I?! LOL!! The idea of the open cart VS the closed cart is this – a closed cart can make your course more desirable because there is no telling if, or when, you will ever open it back up again. An open cart means that the product is always available – which can make people put their decision to buy it off for long periods of time. My advice to you is that during your first launch try a closed cart and see what happens! You can always open it back up again, but no one will no but you and that is your advantage!

5. PayPal Payment Plans

Ohhhhh PayPal how I love thee. As a student and as a teacher. If it wasn’t for the PayPal installment plans 90% of the money I invested into myself last year (ALL $15,000 of it) wouldn’t have been possible for me and if you don’t find a way to make payment plans for your customers, they may not be able to invest in your either. For just $30 a month (don’t quote me there – they change things sometimes) you can set up your business to be able to make installment plans so your customers can invest in your course even if they don’t have all the money upfront. Data has shown that more people will invest if there are payment plans available, so I would suggest you think about adding one to your course payment options!

Woooo!! You are one step closer to successfully launching your course! Want to learn more tips and tricks on how to launch, sell and grow your business? The She Social Society is my online Girl Growth Hub where I teach you everything you need to know about scaling your online business! You can check us out here 🙂

What is your next course about? Let us know below!!