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Since COVID-19, online courses have become the norm.  

We talk with powerhouse entrepreneur Lesli Bitel, MBA (Global Business), BS (Dietetics), BAA (Health Fitness Promotion), RDN, LDN, about her formula to create and sell a successful online course with 5 critical steps.

Show Notes:

2:08 - 3 reasons to talk about online courses

First and foremost, so many people are asking me, "How do I successfully not only create a course but how do I fill it? How do I market and sell it?" So again, I think that post-COVID especially, this really makes sense. People are more comfortable using online platforms now.

The second thing that we are realizing is a healthy business has multiple revenue streams.

The third big reason why I wanted to talk about this topic is connected to the fact that if you're in the one-on-one model, working with clients exclusively in that one-to-one model, which many of us do, right? I can't deny it's a great way to work with clients. You can help your clients really move forward and achieve their goals, and it's so gratifying.

3:40 - What about working with clients 1:1?

We might reach a ceiling in terms of what we can charge for our services. In those cases, it makes sense to not ditch the one-on-ones. What I'm suggesting is to add some leverage income into the mix. Leveraged income, meaning, where you're serving many people in any given hour versus strictly the one-on-one relationship. (think: group courses.)

5:20 - How online courses can lead to more private clients

We can look at offering a course as a sales funnel in itself because there's always going to be people as a result of participating in your course. They're going to get to know you better. They're going to get like, "Wow, this is so great. I want more." And so that in of itself can lead to more higher-end private clients, so it is a great option to have in your back pocket.

6:59 - The first critical key to a successful online course

It might sound obvious, but it is amazing how many coaches and practitioners out there believe they know what their audience is looking for and they create a course. And what tends to happen, unless they've done some due diligence, is quite often, no one ends up buying. You can have the most amazing, award-winning course, like the most amazing course in the whole universe, but if no one buys …. that's not what we're after.

The first tip that's really important is to do your homework, do some market research, do some polling. Maybe visit some Facebook groups, got a sense of what people are asking for most often. You can do a Google survey. This past fall, I did just that. I put together a pretty in-depth survey because I was in the process. I had this great idea and I thought it would sell, but I wanted to make sure because it takes time and resources to actually create a course and launch it successfully. You want to make sure that whatever you're thinking is actually something that your target market is willing to invest in.

8:54 - Make sure you hone in on an urgent need

One thing I will add to this particular part of our conversation is you really want to identify what their most urgent problem is that they want to be solved. Because there's a lot of things that would be nice to solve, it'd be great maybe, but what you want for your course is what is that one thing that is super urgent. Like they really want this solved, they view it as urgent, and they are willing to invest in solving that problem.

So that is super important. I’ve got to tell you, doing that Google survey for myself was invaluable because then I could really take a look and I could say, "Okay, so these are the things I thought were going to be super important to include. Maybe they're not as important. I might include them." But you learn through that process what is most relevant to them, and you can prioritize accordingly.

10:43 - The second critical key to a successful online course

Okay, so after you figured out what your target market desperately want solved, the second tip is what we call the sales funnel. A successful sales funnel involves a process where it might be like a lead magnet that you're sharing that's related to your paid course. You might decide to do maybe a webinar that's somehow related to the paid course.

So what I want to share here is that you want to make sure that pre-content that you're sharing, whether that be a PDF, a lead magnet, a webinar, some kind of a Facebook challenge, whatever it is, you want to make sure it provides value.

To hear the other 3 critical keys for creating and selling your successful online course, take a listen to the podcast!

And to get your free guide to find out 7 Critical Keys to a Profitable Practice, visit leslibitel.com.

Further Reading

The Value of Speaking Engagements - with Dr. Meghan Walker

Overcome business owner anxiety with these 4 daily actions

Why You May Want to Prioritize a YouTube Channel - with Sex Coach Caitlin V

Push the Damn Button! 4 Steps to Rock Your Livestream  

Programs, Getting Started, lesli bitel, growing your business, inspiration

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