Are These Mistakes Holding You Back From Creating a Successful Online Course?
Nov 01, 2021
In this episode of The Dreamer’s Lounge Podcast, I want to talk all about what I find more courses are missing or doing way too much lately. By working with so many different people and looking at different types of courses every day, there are some themes that emerge that I want to share with you all, so you know what to do and what not to do when creating a successful online course. Scared of mistakes holding you back in your business? Stay tuned!
But before we dive right in, welcome! You’ve now entered into The Dreamer’s Lounge! I’m Ariel Schiffer, and I have made it my mission to take out the digital trash one bad course at a time. I am the creator of The Course Alchemist, Industrial Organizational Psychologist, and Curriculum and course design expert.
This podcast is for entrepreneurs who are looking to elevate their digital product suite so their offers speak for themselves. Nothing is worse than being oversold into something that under-delivers just like an overpriced bottle of wine. So, if you’re ready to develop high-quality offers, bring in consistent revenue, and have a business with long-term results for you AND your clients, grab your drink and join us inside…
And today, we're going to be breaking down how to not let your mistakes hold you back from creating a successful online course. For all the details, be sure to listen to the ENTIRE episode on your favorite streaming platform!
Proper onboarding in your business.
Proper onboarding is one of the MOST common things that are missed when setting up an online course. Adult learners do not like to blindly follow directions -- we like context and we appreciate having expectations laid out. When bringing someone into a course, they’re going to want to know a few of things:
- Is there a specific way I should be approaching this curriculum?
- How much time is this going to take?
- How should I be navigating all this stuff?
- What's a reasonable expectation of getting the results as promised?
Giving people some sort of parameter when it comes to timing and duration is key. Let them know how they can take advantage of the course features. People want simplicity, but they also want to know what's going on. Show them where they can find what they need, and always be thinking ahead of the game!
Thought process and empowering your learners.
The second thing you might be missing in your business is empowering your learners to make decisions for themselves. Provide your learners with decision-making skills to not only help them know what to do but also why they're doing it and how they're doing it. It's not just about the how, it's about the why.
Sharing the why behind things is so important in any course. In The Course Alchemist, I share our process, the steps, and what may be complicated. If people are taking your step-by-step process and things don't go as planned, they need to know why.
This is where you need to see where you can adjust and pivot so more and more people don't get stuck. You really want to make sure you're removing as many barriers to success as possible.
Overloading your course template.
Unnecessary actions and resources can truly create analysis paralysis for your learners. In our industry, there's so much pressure to create more and more for our clients and learners. Usually, out of that fear people think their course isn't going to deliver right.
When you overcompensate, you can tend to leave your client in this template lesson purgatory. If you have over 100 lessons in your courses, chances are people are going to feel overwhelmed. They're not going to know what to do or how to get through it all. Like I mentioned before, simplicity is key and that's what people want.
The last thing you want to do is scare people away. It's not about holding people's hands -- focus on giving them the main points without overdoing it. Don’t give people more than they need, just give them enough.
Focusing on your evaluation and feedback strategy.
Most people only have one survey at the end of their course (and not a lot of people fill it out). This leaves you with little to no feedback and affects the way you gather results, data, and progress of your learners. Whenever I audit programs, I ALWAYS ask to see client feedback.
You want to know what people are experiencing, what they're feeling, and what results they have gotten. If you're not focusing on the evaluation strategy of your program, you're not able to capture the full depth of the results.
In my business, we use the Kirkpatrick model, which is four levels of training evaluation consisting of reaction, learning, behavior, and results. This is a great way to see the transformation people are receiving in your program and how you can make the experience better.
Are These Mistakes Holding You Back From Creating a Successful Online Course?: The Bottomline
I hope this post makes you aware of what you should and shouldn't be doing to create a successful online course. You can give people such a gift when it comes to their development by focusing on how to serve them and give them the transformation they are looking for.
Thanks so much for stopping by The Dreamer’s Lounge! If you’d like to connect with other Dreamers in our community, join The Dreamer’s Society. And if you’re interested in learning more about working with the Dreampro team, check out our website!
If you enjoyed the episode please take a second to rate & review. Each review helps me fulfill my mission of improving the quality of learning in the online business industry. Don’t forget to take a screenshot, share it in your Instagram stories and tag me @dreamprocourses. See you next week!
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