Welcome to the Keep it Simple - Online course Creator

This is your space to build and grow your online business through creating online courses you can run and sell again and again and again!

Week 1 - Course Ideas

Learning Outcomes - to come up with a course idea and find out if that's what people want

First Exercise

So welcome to the first day of the Keep It Simple Online Course Creator.

Over the next 7 weeks we're going to be working together on your online course - and this first week we're going to coming up with your course idea and going out there and finding out if it's what people want and need right now!

Today we're going to start to answer some of the following questions:

• What will my course be on

• What will I teach

• What do people need

• What is useful to people

• What do I know

• What can I confidently deliver

• What do I enjoy

• What questions do people ask me?

And I'm going to share with you the tools of the Ikigai - the Japanese word for a reason to live or a reason to jump out of bed in the morning.

But we're going to simplify it to a 3 step venn diagram that gets you to consider what you love doing, what you're good at and what do people need?

So I want you to consider your strengths. What are your key strengths and talents? When you work with people, what are you helping people with? What skills can you share with other people so that they can learn from you?

I want you to consider what it is that you love doing? What about your skills and strengths could you share every day? What excites you? What gets you up in the morning. If you think about the courses you could run, which ones give you a tingling feeling - the feeling you're on the right track?

And then what do people want? What is the zeitgeist right now? The general intellectual, moral, and cultural climate of an era? We're living in strange times right now? What is it people need? What are they lacking? What do people want right now? Where do people want to get to? Think about the questions your clients and customers ask you. What do people want to know? How do they feel? You can find those out be asking people (more of that later this week!), but listening on social media, but writing down notes from conversations you're having. From looking at what other people are doing.

If you can map out those 3 elements you'll be able to come up with ideas that you can launch now.

Have a play get as many ideas out there that you can. Be creative. Be innovative. Don't hold yourself back.

I'd like you to have 3 course ideas by Wednesday - it would be great if you'd share them in the group!

And on Wednesday we're going to be working on those ideas a little more.

Second Exercise

Today we're going to be fine-tuning your course ideas.

Hopefully you've come up with a few ideas that you're starting to get excited about.

There are 2 things I want to talk about in today's live.

First is Maslow's hierarchy of needs! Now I remember studying this in A Level Sociology, but it's also interesting to as as business owners. Because people buy things because it fits a need.

And I'd like you to take a look at Maslow's hierarchy of needs (I'll post it in the group after this, so you can have a good gander!) and consider which needs your course fits.

Maslow described 5 stages of needs in hierarchical order:

Physiological Needs:- These include the basics of food, water, clothing and shelter

Safety and security: – These include health, employment, property, family and social stability

Love and belonging:- These include friendship, family, intimacy, sense of connection

Self Esteem:- These include Confidence, achievement, respect of others the need to be unique

Self Actualisation:- These include morality, creativity, spontaneity, purpose and inner potential

Now most people have their basic physiological and safety and security needs met.

But what about love and belonging, self-esteem and self-actualisation?

Will your course support people to have a better sense of community, confidence, purpose. Will it give them strength, a sense of freedom? Will it give them respect or status.

If we can prove that your course give them one of more of their basic needs, you're onto a winner.

The second thing I want you to consider today is who is this course for?

We're starting to think about the course you want to launch. We're talking about what it could be on using the venn diagram tool from Monday, we're considering which need it supports them with. We also need to consider who it is for?

Who is your course going to be for?

What age, gender, income bracket do they sit in? What do they hope and dream for? What problems do they have that you can solve for them?

What are they moving away from, and what does nirvana look like to them?

We're going to be delving into this and more on Friday at 11am - come along with your ideas and let's work on them together to make them concrete.

Week 2 - Mapping out your Course

Learning Outcomes - The 3 pillars of the online course. The outline, mapping it out and delivery.

First Exercise

With you or without you?

So this week we're going to be mapping out our course and the first step of this is to consider how involved you're going to be within your course.

Do you want to create a course that people can sign up to and complete without you there? Or do you want to take people through a syllabus and be there with them as they work through your course?

There are pros and cons to each!

The positives to you being present are that you're much more likely to have engaged students, who develop a relationship with you - which is great if you want strong testimonials and maybe for them to buy other products from you in the future. And them being more engaged means they are more likely to complete the work and have a better experience of the course. It also gives your students a taste of what it's like to work with you.

The negatives is that you have to be there. This is less a passive income (although there's really no such thing), so there's less of the money while you sleep type of affair.

On the plus side of creating a course that people can just buy off the peg and go with is that your students can go through it in their own time and generally can buy it at anytime. So you get that ohh, I just sold another course while I was sleeping feeling.

There is no right and wrong way to do this. I have course that I take people through like this one, and courses on my website that people can buy off the peg.

In an ideal world you might have a mixture of the two.

I also want you to consider if your course is Evergreen - in this sense meaning always available like my SEO minicourse on my website, or whether it has a start and end date, like this course?

The pros to an evergreen course is that people can sign up to it whenever they like - it also means you always have to have an eye on promoting it. And evergreen course is more a money while you sleep type of affair.

The cons of an evergreen course is that you have to have the entire course ready before you launch, and there's no sense of urgency for people to buy it.

If you have a start date and an end date there is some urgency to your marketing, people have to buy it before a certain date to get it. You will have more engaged students (because with this type of course you're generally more present).

You can also sell the course before you've created it all, and create it as you go. So you've less to invest in time before you know you're course is a go'er.

But there's no money while you sleep and there will be a period of hustle when you're marketing your course and getting people signed up.

All of my course have been created with people present and doing it with me, and then I've re-packaged as a off the peg course later.

So you can mix and match and if you choose a down with you start and end date course, there is no reason why further down the line you can't repurpose that content to be an off the peg course.

So the questions for today are - is your course with or without you AND is it evergreen or off the peg?

U2 - with or without you! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haGR6DsBZ10

Second Exercise

Hello!

This morning we're going to be talking about where you're going to be holding your course.

So there are a few things to think about here.

First is there any community element to your course?

If yes, then where will you hold this community, will be it be Facebook groups, LinkedIn groups, Whatsapp groups, a forum on your website? There are also membership platforms available that you can host your community on like, mighty networks & disciple.

The second question is are you going to host the learnings online?

For this course I'm using the Units elements within the Facebook group to store all the learnings and at the end I'm going to upload it to my website with password access to that via my memberspace account.

If you want there learnings to be available online there are countless options for you. You could use the system I use, memberspace which enables me to password protect pages on my website and take recurring payments. Memberspace can be used alongside all websites.

If you have a Wordpress website that are plugins you can use that can create member areas within your website like memberpress and membermouse.

Or you can use third-party platforms to host your content like Kajabi, thinkific, or teachable.

I'm going to be sharing a lot of comparison articles for you so you can read up on the best solution for you.

My advice - go with simple!

Don't make your course overly complicated and complex. Having to learn an entirely new piece of software might not be the thing you need to learn right now to get your course out of the door.

I use memberspace because I already know how to create pages in my website - so entering that URL that I want to password protect in memberspace is easy. And I use Facebook because 70% of the UK have an account and most of those go on it several times a day. Plus it's one of the biggest drivers of traffic to my website, so I know my audience is on Facebook.

Choose simple, you want to spend your time creating a fantastic course. Not agonising over where to host it.

And remember you just need to make a choice. There is no right and wrong answer, you'll just be learning as you go. Go with what seems easy right now and you can get things more high tech as you go along.

Your course might just be a half-day zoom workshop, marketed on eventbrite.

Always think how can I remove as many steps as possible to reach my goal.

Here's your links...

Best Online Community Platforms - https://sellcoursesonline.com/best-online-community-platforms

Best Membership Site Platforms - https://sellcoursesonline.com/best-membership-site-platforms

Best WordPress Membership Plugins - https://bloggingwizard.com/best-wordpress-membership-plugins/

Memberspace - https://www.memberspace.com/

Link to the trello board to start mapping out your course: https://trello.com/.../keep-it-simple-online-course-template

How to zap between mailerlite and memberspace to carry those emails over! https://www.loom.com/share/b0e8178674544cefb93e9e7e72e4f3f3

Week 3 - Brand, Customers, Pricing

Learning Outcomes - nailing your brand, your customers, your pricing!

First Exercise

Getting to know your customers!

Introducing STEAR statements.

S – Situation – what situation are they currently in. What’s true for them right now?

T – Thoughts – what thoughts are they having? What is their internal monologue?

E – Emotions – what emotions are they feeling?

A – Action – what actions are they taking to solve the situation?

R – Results – what are the results of the action they take?

So let’s do a few examples using customers from some of my current clients!

Situation – they are feeling frumpy, they don’t feel confident anymore, they’ve lost their way a little bit, they’re using notebooks that don’t have all the features they need, they’re missing drinking in a pub with their friends and bored of the boring beer on offer in the supermarkets, they’re not excited about life anymore, they know they want more, but they can’t access what that is, they’re tired of feeling tired, of having headaches all the time and are not happy with their expanding middle.

Ok, so I hope that gives you a few indications of the way to create those situations. If you can go deeper than I did. Really dig into that situation.

Thoughts – I just don’t look good in anything, this notebook just doesn’t quite cut it, I miss the variety and quality of the beer I can buy in a pub, there must be more to life than this!, I can’t keep feeling like this day in day out.

Again, dig deep into those thoughts. What are your ideal customers thinking about their situation?

Emotions – Frustrated, annoyed, sad, excited, fear, anticipation, sadness, guilt…

You know, those emotions we all have all the time! Which ones are your customers feeling?

Action – This is where it get really interesting. Your ideal customers can take all sorts of actions, from buying another book, course, searching on the internet, buying your products, doing nothing at all.

What actions do you think your customers has taken before they find you?

Results – And so what results do they get from the actions they take? It might be that they take no action and so things stay the same and they’re still frustrated. It might be that they buy another course, book and get more confused about they way forward?

What results do you think your ideal customers are getting from the actions they take?

The more of these you do, the more scenarios you create around your ideal customer, the more you’ll be able to really dig into who they are feeling, where they are at and what they’re doing to try and resolve their problem.

And then you can use this to create your messaging.

If you feel like x, but want to feel like x, and have tried x, y & z and feel x, come and try my x!

You get the idea!

Second Exercise

Pricing mapping out strategy - watch this FB live video! https://www.facebook.com/debbiedooodah/videos/542413149660496/

Some blogs to dig into around brand, customers & USP

https://debbiedooodah.co.uk/blog/2020/11/5/how-to-create-your-personal-brand
https://debbiedooodah.co.uk/blog/2016/9/8/find-your-usp
https://debbiedooodah.co.uk/blog/2019/1/31/how-to-stand-out-from-your-competition
https://debbiedooodah.co.uk/blog/2018/4/26/are-your-customers-clear-about-how-you-can-help-them
https://debbiedooodah.co.uk/blog/2017/7/19/4-ways-to-discover-your-personal-brand

Week 4 - Sales Pages

Learning Outcomes - to have written a sales page!

First Exercise

So this week we're going to be writing and crafting those sales pages.

And the first thing I want you to think about is what are the Features and Benefits of your course?

The FAB?

So Features - if I was selling a car I would describe the nuts and bolts aspect - it has a steering wheel, a boot, an engine. I might even get really descriptive about the engine. I might tell you about the stereo.

I'm also going to tell you the benefits of driving this car. It will get your children to school safely. It will elevate your status. It will make women fall at your feet. It will help you feel good about saving the planet.

So think about your course. What are the features - the nuts and bolts of the course? What will they get for their money? How long will the course be? How many modules? What will they learn? How will it be delivered?

And then the benefits. What will they get from it? What is their nirvana? Will they be richer, happier, healthier? How will they feel? What benefits will they have?

The benefits tend to be more emotionally charged - think about the work we did on Maslow's hierarchy of needs? People buy things because of what they'll get out of it - what benefits are you giving people?

To sell something we need to spell out both the features and the benefits.

So your homework is to write a list of the features and the benefit of your course!

Second Exercise

A large part of your sales page is getting people to trust you - that you can deliver the services, that you can give them whatever it is they want, that you have the knowledge, the expertise, the know-how.

So why should I trust you to deliver your course? Why would I trust you to help me?

Think about the expertise you bring to the table - years of experience, the experience you have, any qualifications, any awards, your skills and strengths, the way you're going to deliver the course, your X + Y = USP, your values, your empathy, your life experience?

We need you to be visible on your sales page - people will buy into your product if they can build a relationship with you.

Also think about testimonials you can share with them - reviews from previous customers about the way you work, or their experience of working with you - they don't need to be exactly about this course (you've never run it before) but about you and your service.

We love reviews, if other people say you're great, I'm much more likely to believe it whe you say you're great. Social proof goes a long way!

But remember - it has to be relevant to what you're selling!

Sales page framework

Here's a framework you can use for your sales page:

You feel (negative feelings)

But what if you felt (positive feelings)

Introducing (sexy name of thing)

What's included

Social proof

Overcome objections (bonuses)

Make them feel safe (guarantee)

Give them a job (do this next)

Week 5 - Self-limiting Beliefs

Learning Outcomes - to dig into, name and start to address self-limiting beliefs through conscious belief change

First Exercise

Today we're going to start digging into our self-limiting beliefs.

Those beliefs we have about ourselves that can hold us back.

That can stop us from trying, from putting stuff out there.

Watch the Ted Lecture by Carol Dweck, the Queen of mindset - of the power of believing you can improve. It's not necessarily about getting everything right the first time. But believing in the power of not yet. That there are always possibilities. That we learn by doing.

And that's what we're doing right now in this course - learning by doing.

Having a week of working on our self-limiting beliefs is key for me. I've realised through coaching people throughout the years that it's not necessarily that they don't have the knowledge to grow their business, it's that they underneath don't believe they can.

So this morning we're going to doing a little exploration into your beliefs.

I want you to write down all the reasons why you can run a successful online course.

And then I want you to write down all the reasons why you can't. All those assumptions and perceptions that we have about ourselves and the world around us.

I want all those beliefs that maybe you think no-one will buy your course, that you don't have a list big enough to sell to, that you're a procrastinator, so you'll never get it done, that you don't have enough knowledge to teach people, that you don't know how to get it done, that you're no good at speaking to people, that you don't enjoy marketing, that you worry what if your course is wildly successful and then money changes you.

All those beliefs you have that creep up in the night.

So all the reasons why you can run a successful online course, and all the reasons why you can't.

Get them out - now is the moment to be honest with yourself! The more honest we are the more we can deal with each of these objections.

Hold those I can't because statements - we're going to work on them a little more on Wednesday and in the Friday mastermind.

For now I just want you to sit with those I can because and I can't because statements x

Second Exercise

Morning!

So hopefully you've had time to watch Monday's live and have written those I can and I can't run a successful online course because.

And remember it might be that you've a fear of success as much as failure.

Write them all down so there are no more reasons why you can't. When you think you've got to the end ask yourself are there any more?

Now go through the list and give each reason a score out of 1-10 for how emotionally charged it makes you feel - 10 being high and 1 being low.

Grab those ones that have an emotional charge of 7 or more - these are the ones that could potentially hold you back.

For each I can't statement that has a charge of 7 or more journal on the following statements.

Where does this belief come from?

Is it your belief or someone else's?

How does this belief help you?

How does it hinder you?

Do you gain anything from believing in this?

How do you know this belief is true?

What do you choose to believe about yourself instead?>

Visualizing your goals can help you better manifest them (excerpt from DailyOm)

The abundance you are experiencing today is not a product of chance. You may be inviting prosperity in with your increased self-confidence and ability to see your dreams. Visualizing your goals can help you better manifest them. Try sitting comfortably in a quiet space and counting backward. Imagine achieving your goal. Then, visualize each step you will need to take to make it happen. What you think about today can become your reality tomorrow.

Visualizing your goals in specific detail can help you make them a reality because your brain can more easily work on achieving what you want once you've imagined it. Creating a mental picture actually helps your brain create the logical connections that will make taking the first step much easier and prepare you for action. Because imagery is a language of the brain, visualizing what you want can make your dreams seem more attainable and solidify your resolve to proceed. Visualization can act as a powerful motivator and give you the strength you need to move forward. Visualize today what you want to manifest in your life, and the path you need to take will unfold before you.

Week 6 - Sales & Marketing

Learning Outcomes - to XXX

Exercise One

So the final week! And we're all about marketing ourselves and our courses!

There are 3 stages to marketing your course:

Stage One - Warm up

Stage Two - Pre-launch

Stage Three - Launch!

So today we're talking about warming up your leads - this is such an important stage! And really this is what you should be doing all the time to build a successful business.

Your customers - do you have a clear picture of who your customers are? Where can you find them?

Your expertise - what do you want to the Queen of? Your X+Y=USP?

Content - what original content are you creating to raise your visibility?

Having a good engaged audience on social media is key - you don't need to be on all platforms though - being present on 1 or 2 is enough.

Do you have an email list? Growing an email list will give you a way to nurture your audience.

Are you consistent? Consistency is key.

Download your workbook - there is also a marketing audit for you - it's worthwhile thinking about your strengths and weaknesses in marketing. Can you identify any opportunities that you're not grabbing, is there something missing in your marketing arsenal that you know you should be doing?

Exercise Two

Ok - we're ramping up the marketing today and looking at 5 different methods to promote your online course - The webinar method, the live challenge method, the workshop method, the email nurture method and the social media method! Use your launching guide to take you through these 5 methods and think about the method you would like to use.

There!

This in no way needs to be the end - I’ve really loved going through this process with you and building relationships with each and every one of you.

I would love to carry on these conversations over in the fortnightly Freedom Seekers mastermind calls - you can join us in the private Facebook group and join us every other Wednesday at 9.30am for £35 a month! https://debbiedooodah.co.uk/indie-freedom-seekers A steal if I do say so myself!!