7 Steps To Create & Sell An Online Course | Online Course Training

Let me guess… you’ve been wanting to create or revamp your online course for a while now, but everytime you sit down to do it your mind goes blank. Or maybe the whole thing feels super overwhelming so you just work on other tasks.

 

Well coach, if this describes you, you’ve come to the right place because today I’m going to show you how to create & sell your online course.. The simple way! 

 

And don’t forget to stick around until the end because I’ll be sharing my FAVORITE online course resource that will have you creating, packaging and selling your online course faster than you ever thought possible!

Welcome back to SLG, the place for online coaches who are building profitable coaching businesses by creating, monetizing and scaling their genius in signature programs, online courses and other digital products… all while living in their deepest levels of self leadership. 

 

Coach to Coach... I know how important creating & selling an online course is to your coaching business. 

 

Maybe you’re feeling burned out on 1:1 client calls.

 

Or perhaps you’re ready to scale and use one piece of content in multiple ways.

 

Or maybe you’re just starting out and your feeling guided package your genius right from the start.

 

Now, aside from the obvious benefits of helping exponentially more people in less time than you ever could 1:1, and having multiple streams of income… Having an online course in your coaching business model also gives you back your time, your mind space and your energy. 

 

And Coach, I know how important it is to have mind space that's reserved only for creativity… and energy to share your life with people you love… and free time to do whatever you want, whether that’s travel, or hobbies, or just a sit down and read a book!

 

In this blog I’m going to walk you through the 7 steps to creating an online course that will be completed faster, magnetize the most students, and make the most income, all while creating it in a way that feels most natural to you. 

 

In saying all that, let’s get started:

 

Online Course Step #1: Online Course Planning

 

First we need to create a complete Online Course Framework. Your online course framework is a detailed outline of your best knowledge, content and activities that you organize in an easily applicable step by step process. This is what you use to take your students from the challenges they’re having to the results you’re promising.

 

So, here’s what Online course planning looks like:

• FIRST - Clarify your Online Course end result. This represents the solution, outcome and overall main topic of the course as a whole.
• SECOND- Work backwards and brainstorm 6-8 main topics your future students must know in order to accomplish the end result. After your list is complete, put those topics in order of importance, meaning what they need to do first, second, third and so on. These tips will be your course Modules.
• THIRD- Bullet point the lessons beneath each module. Within your lessons will be the tips, tools, strategies, stories, workbooks, and anything else your students need to apply the knowledge you’re sharing. Remember, your students need to be able to understand, apply and integrate your content to create the transformation. So this last step is where you develop the full structure of your Online Course, and ultimately walk away with a complete outline & framework.

Now, this was a quick overview of creating your online course outline and framework.  If you’d like a more expansive explanation, click this blog and I’ll walk you through it!

 

RELATED BLOG: How to Create An Online Course Outline

 

Online Course Step #2: Online Course Research

 

Before you build out your Online Course curriculum, it's important to know if people are searching for and care about your topics. 

 

There are two different types of research we do here:

1. Market research to your current audience
2. SEO and keyword research

 

Now, most coaches skip over these steps which is why they create for YEARS without any real traction, and then typically give up.  In saying that, DON’T SKIP THIS STEP!

 

First, start simple and put out some feelers to your current audience.

 

This could look like:

• creating a poll on your facebook or instagram stories
• posting in facebook groups talking about your topic in a nonchalant way to see what kind of response it gets
• sending out an email to your list asking for feedback.

 

Second, take some time to either learn or hire out for SEO and keyword research.

This is how you’ll know exactly how many people per month are searching for your online course topic and all the module and lesson topics as well.  When you gain clarity on the PERFECT keywords, you’ll then use those in your Online Course title so the search engines magnetize clients & students to your offers, and you’ll also use them on your sales page and in any content marketing you plan to do.

 

This one step is how you’re reading this blog right now!  So, at the very least, learn SEO and keyword basics!

 

Online Course Step #3: Online Course Ideal Student

Your Online Course is crafted for ONE person with ONE problem and it offers ONE solution.

 

This is an inside, out process I do with my clients with what I call the Simplified Student System.

 

The really important aspects of uncovering your ideal student for your online course are:

1. Learning the exact story they’re telling themselves, which looks like determining the precise language your ideal students use so that your online course speaks directly to both their problems and desires. 
2. The second aspect is relating to their emotional experiences. This looks like sharing personal stories or client stories that describe what it feels like to NOT have what they want, as well as the emotional journey throughout the transformation your online course provides.
3. The third aspect is understanding the exact scenario they’re most likely living. So, are they binge watching Netflix as part of their avoidance? Do they open their computers and look at a blank screen … then take their dog for a walk because their mind is drawing a blank. What are EXACT scenarios? What are the EXACT scenarios that are happening in your ideal students' lives right now?

 

Once this is determined, you move on to…

 

Online Course Step #4: Online Course Curriculum

YAY! This is the most unique and FUN part of the creation process. And this is also where most coaches miss the boat… so listen up!

 

Developing your online course curriculum is NOT spewing out information that your students can find on the internet for free. 

 

This is a beautiful, intimate, and unique process of excavating your knowledge and integrating your experiences into bite sized pieces of content that your ideal student will connect with, learn from, and apply to their own personal situation. 

 

During curriculum development you’re going to choose the fastest, easiest, most harmonious way to extract your course curriculum from within you, and it’s going to happen in a way that's most natural to you so you never have to feel stuck with getting your message out to the world again.

 

There are many ways to do this, so it’s important to work with a coach or mentor who can support you in doing this YOUR way, as opposed to someone’s else’s way that might be structured but feels unnatural and like a struggle for you.

 

And just be aware because this step typically requires the MOST Self Leadership work because this is where you have to believe with everything in you that your unique message is: 

• good enough
• That it’s going to be helpful 
• That your students will get results

 

It’s not something you’re copying off the internet, this content is coming from within you. So, I invite you to be ramping up your Self Leadership work, as you’re going through this beautiful process.

 

Online Course Step #5: Online Course Delivery & Packaging 

 

THIS is one of my favorite parts of the online course process! Delivering & packaging your Online Course gets to look however you want, and it gets to happen in a way that feels 100% authentic to you. 

 

This is the fun part! So, if you love being on video? Perfect! Or if you prefer doing voiceovers on a slide deck? No problem, I can show you how to do that! 

Or, if you feel most comfortable recording audios? Love it… some of my favorite courses are audio courses!

Or maybe you’d rather do a Facebook Live series and package those? Sounds like a plan! However you look at it, you're going to package your online course YOUR way! 

 

After that, you’re going to commit to a content delivery system, upload your curriculum, and create your course branding. 

My favorite content delivery system is Kajabi which is what I’ve been using since 2014!  If you’d like to see the backend of my courses and check out if it might be an option for you, go ahead and click on this blog and I’ll walk you through it!

 

 RELATED BLOG: Want to see the backend of my business? Check out this blog >> KAJABI REVIEW: WHY IT'S THE BEST ONLINE COURSE PLATFORM

 

Then lastly, you’ll create a magnetic title and price your offer to SELL! Whether it's a tiny offer or premium fees, I have a formula called the Perfect Pricing Process (which I’ll talk more about towards the end) to help you find the sweet spot pricing that your ideal students won't be able to resist!

 

Online Course Step #6: Online Course Marketing

 

So, you've created, packaged and perfectly priced your online course by this point, and now it's time for the world to experience it in mass quantities! 

 

There are a lot of options on how to market your online course, so ongoing marketing options will depend on how big your current audience is, where they hang out online, and where you’re getting the most engagement. 

 

However, a plan that allows for the biggest, long term bang for your buck whether you’re just starting out, or if you already have a following is content marketing on search engines like google, youtube or pinterest.

 

RELATED BLOG: The Best Content Marketing Strategy for Coaches | Content Marketing 101

 

When you market using these platforms, your content works FOR you! Meaning, one blog, youtube video, or pin could be driving traffic to your online course and making a difference and making money for years. 

 

I have youtube videos that bring in leads and sales literally everyday, and I’d like to see that with your online course!

 

To start, develop a simplified marketing message that inspires your ideal student to want to learn more. 

 

Then, create a 12 week content marketing calendar that will position you as your ideal student’s coach, cultivate trust, build your email list, and increase sales. Your content will be sharing bits of each of your modules and lessons.

 

Lastly, map out your daily, weekly, and monthly marketing tasks so that you always know what to do, when.

 

Online Course Step #7: Online Course Email Campaigns

 

If there were "tricks" to making money without physically being there... email campaigns would be one of those tricks! 

 

Your email campaigns will play a key role in your course being evergreen, meaning that the content will be relevant for years to come and it will be open for enrollment full time (as opposed to having an open and close launch period).

 

Your email campaign will walk your potential students through a series of scenarios, emotions, testimonials and opportunities that support them in knowing how they can achieve and receive their ideal end result faster with your online course.

 

While each email in your campaign does have a theme and topic for you to follow, they’ll still be 100% authentic and created through your own inspiration. I say that because I’ve had clients and students resist the idea of email campaigns in fear of them seeming robotic and inauthentic, and I've found that it’s quite the opposite!

 

It all depends on the energy you’re in when writing the emails. I still to this day get people replying to emails in certain campaigns saying that they felt like I was speaking directly to them!

 

Overall, once your email campaign is automated, your job will be to drive traffic to that campaign so it continuously makes a difference & sales for years to come! 

 

Now, while these 7 steps are absolutely vital to creating and selling an online course, there are still a few more steps and tricks of the trade I want to share with you, and you can find them in the resource I was telling you about in the beginning of this blog!

 

Like I promised, I wanted to share a resource I created called Online Course Simplified.  This is going to walk you through not only mapping out and building the curriculum for your Online Course from scratch, but also the process you need to SELL it ...whether that’s by having an evergreen course, or open/close cart dates, or even selling it as part of a group coaching program! 

 

 

So, go ahead and click the picture above to learn more about that now.

 

📣 And, if this blog was just what you needed in your coaching business, please let me know by sharing it with your coach friends.

 

Until next time, Coach… keep building your empire!

 

XO, KellyAnne

 

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