🖐 Happy Wednesday!
Issue #41 is 680 words and a 3.0-minute read.
1 big topic: Creators Give Online Courses an A+
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Online courses are the top income source for global creators who make at least US $100K in annual sales. (1)
Why it matters: In the age of AI, customers still want human insights when they buy an online course.
📊 By the numbers: The creator economy is on track to be a $480 billion industry by 2027. (2)
Creators sold 12 million course offers on Kajabi in 2023, up 32% from 2021 (3)
Creators who have more than US $150K in sales per year have 7+ income streams, including multiple online courses (4)
62% of Thinkific survey respondents are more interested in educational content than entertainment (5)
Zoom out: Trading your time for money is a grind.
Sure, consulting models can work if you have enough clients who will pay your fee.
While you work toward that goal, online courses give you 3 big perks.
Feedback on which problems clients might pay you to fix in one-on-one sessions
Diversity in your revenue
Time for business development once your online course is on auto-pilot
Zoom in: Start with a run-down of your products and services.
How many products and services do you offer?
Is your digital course your sales leader?
If you don’t offer a digital course, can you test market demand with your other digital products?
Remember, the top creators have 7+ revenue sources, and their online course(s) bring in the most money.
Does this mean you stop everything to build an online course?
No.
💀The cemetery for bad courses is still open, and you don’t want yours in there.
📘 Guides, e-books, and templates give you a ‘safer’ way to test your ideas, earn money, and provide value.
When your audience shows high interest in your Level 1 digital products, it’s time to pursue Level II with a digital course.
👇 Go deeper:
Here’s your online course recipe, according to the experts.
1 conversation (or 6) with other creators who have a great course in their portfolio: (here’s the chat I had with expert course consultant, Eli Natoli)
1 BIG transition that your students demand
1 platform (Thinkific, Kajabi, Teachable, and others)
1 smart marketing strategy that pre-sells the course, drives demand and tests the price
A pinch of feedback forms to double down on what students liked and remove what they did not
One of the biggest mistakes I made in 2022 was building an online course that I never launched.
I thought the topic was great.
I did not test it enough in the open market.
The money, design, and creation process taught me a ton about what not to do.
😃 You can do better!
📣Business Breakdown: Life Coaching Students Yell, “Fraud!”
The big picture: Students are angry about the life coaching classes they paid tens of thousands to take without getting the positive results they wanted. (6)
Why it matters: Your reputation is your most important asset, and every product you sell reflects your integrity.
🔑 Your takeaways:
Test your course with students who will give you honest feedback before you release it to the public
It’s smarter to under promise in your marketing and overdeliver on your student experience
9 happy students may not tell anyone if your course is great; yet, 1 unhappy student will tell 9 friends if it’s not
1 fun idea:
I’ve never had a dog.
🐶 It’s time to change that.
Instead of binge-watching videos on digital courses, I’m down the rabbit hole with labs, cavaliers, and retrievers.
It’s amazing how much joy a pet brings.
I hope I make a good choice.
Do you have any advice?
Stay curious and keep opening doors.
-Erik
Sources:
(1) Kajabi, “The State of Creators ‘24 Report: Secrets of Six-Figure Creators, Kajabi, June 3, 2024, https://creatortrends.kajabi.com/?_gl=1*i4qcew*_gcl_au*OTAwNzE3NjA4LjE3MTcyNjQzNjA.
(2) Ibid.
(3) Ibid.
(4) Ibid.
(5) Thinkific, “Online Learning Trends 2024, Thinkific, June 3, 2024, https://www.thinkific.com/elearning-trends/#lp-pom-block-634
(6) Bishop, Katie, “They Spent Their Life Savings on Life Coaching,” The New York Times, June 4, 2024, https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/02/business/life-coach-debt-savings.html
