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Are you struggling to launch your online course? Maybe you don't have enough time, don't know where to start or are intimidated by other people with similar courses. Today, we will be talking about how to launch your online course. Whether you have never launched a course before or you want to relaunch an old one, these strategies will help you.

Outsource Your Course

I have worked with many course creators over the years and one of the top struggles is the amount of work it takes to create a course. There are various ways to create an online course - you can do it yourself, you can hire an agency or a coach, and you can outsource some portions of your course. This can help you save a lot of time, frustration and enable you to make a professional looking course. There are a lot of pieces of the puzzle where you could outsource, like graphics, website design, LMS setup, video editing, management, website hosting, and so much more! You can only grow your business if you have a team around you to help you succeed, and it all starts with outsourcing your online course. I will be conducting a specialized training for a small group of people called, "Outsource Your Course". If you are interested in learning how to outsource parts of the course creation process, you get on the waiting list to get a personalized training course built just for you and with you. I am only accepting a few people to this initial phase, so if you are interested in learning how to outsource some parts of your course, sign up now. I'll be reaching out to you to see if it's a fit and if it's something you want to participate in.

1. Know your why.

When you're thinking about your course, you have to know your why. One of my why's is to help you to teach many that will impact millions. If I can help you, then you can teach many who will also impact millions. The domino effect is pretty cool. It is my goal to teach 5 million people in 5 years, but I don't have to have 5 million people in my course. I just need good people who are passionate about what they do. They are the ones who will teach who are also going to teach others. Know your why and that will make things easier.

2. Get off the sidelines.

Some people have a lot of ideas for a course It can be frustrating at times because you can get easily sidetracked with all that you want to do. If I don't have a solid plan, I will not be able to execute. So if you have a lot of ideas, take the best idea and move on with that. A lot of times, people are on the sidelines because that have a lot of fears - the fear of failure or the fear of success. Let's say you spent a lot of time and money, yet the course does not sell. You can modify the course or survey your audience why they did not buy the course. All the things that you learned from a course, you can apply to your next course. Once you have learned what works, you can serve your audience in multiple ways. When your course gets too big and you get to hire people, I'll bet you've figured it out. Face your fear and get off the sidelines.

3. Know that other people are doing this and they are having success.

If other people can do it, why can't you?  I have worked with a lot of people since 2003 and most people aren't any smarter or better than you. I know that you can make a difference. If they can overcome the challenges, you can do it, too.

4. Think of what it will cost you if you don't make your course.

Probably, you're going to spend another year hoping, dreaming, and wishing you had a course. So, what will it cost you if you don't make a course? You won't make an impact and influence that you want. You won't have the income that you desire as well. If you don't make a course, you're going to save a couple hundred or thousands of dollars, but you'll never know the impact and influence you can have if you don't make a course.

5. Stop in being a cheapskate.

Invest in yourself and your course. I read a lot of books, listen to a lot of podcasts, and buy a lot of courses. It's going to take some investment of time and money.

6. What are the little things that you can do on a regular basis that will bring you towards your goal?

They could be marketing or you can write more content on your website. Maybe you need to plan your course or market better. Making a course is a lot of work and there's going to be a lot of things that seem overwhelming. But when you take one step towards your goal every single day, you will go higher towards the completion of your course.

7. Build your audience and influence.

What are the things that you can do to build your audience? You can do Facebook Live sessions, podcast interviews, blogs, video content, and ebooks. You can also reach out to partners and social media influencers. If you are looking for those, you can go to my website and search for marketing topics. I have several podcasts and videos that you can listen to and watch. The most important thing is you implement what you have learned.

8. Survey your audience.

Once you have built your audience, find out what they need and want. Ask them what are they struggling with. This can be both exciting and scary. When you know what they want, then it's time to deliver.

9. Plan your course.

I always recommend people to offer their course alongside their audience. Sell your course/idea to your audience. If enough people buy it, then you can walk them through your course as a group and they can get individual attention. Make sure you build your first course with the people and you sell it for something. It doesn't have to be hundreds of dollars.

10. Build your course.

A great piece of advice is your course doesn't have to be perfect before you launch it. You can always change and improve it. It has to be good with solid content. It needs to be out there. Take these ten steps and implement them this year, this month, this week, or even today. Get off the sidelines. Send me an email and let me know your thoughts or what you are working on. I love to get your emails and chat back and forth.

Outsource Your Course

I know making a course can be a lot of work. Maybe you don't have the money to hire me or somebody who does this professionally, I have a system and strategy that I use for outsourcing the different parts of your course creation process. You can sign up to get on the waiting list and I'll build a personalized training just for you. We're only going to be doing this for a small group of people.

Today, we are going to talk about the differences between private and public courses - courses for companies vs. courses for individuals. There is a huge untapped market with private, corporate e-learning courses. This podcast episode interview is with Aditi Ramchandani where we will talk about sales and marketing. She is a digital marketing strategist who works with businesses and entrepreneurs to build strong brands through strategic brand communication, online visibility, and expert positioning.

Sales is simply helping people, sharing the benefits of your services, and solving problems. It does not have to be a complicated thing where you are begging people to buy your course or to hire you. Based on my experience, listening is the easiest way to sell.

Another thing I want you to hear Aditi talk about is how many times she created momentum for herself. When you hear what she talks about, listen for ways on how you can create momentum in your own business.

I also want us to go over how to get corporate clients. It can be intimidating especially if you haven't been in the corporate world. There are many different strategies on how to find corporate clients. If you would like an in-depth course on finding corporate clients, feel free to send me an email.

Now, on to my interview with Aditi.

J: Tell me about your background and who you serve?

A: I have been in marketing for 14 years now. I was literally marketing things before I even know what marketing was. I did both my undergrad and Master's Degree in Marketing. I did six years in Corporate America before going back to Grad School and then started my marketing business full-time. Now, I've been working with entrepreneurs and mid-sized businesses. I help them with their marketing, online visibility, brand communications, as well as helping them position their company as a leader in the industry.

What is the difference between a private and public course?

A: A private course is a course that is not publicly advertised. It is only for a select group of individuals. A public course is a course that is promoted and everybody knows about it.

J: How did you launch your first public course?

A: A lot of times, companies provide on-the-job training for different roles that they have. Online courses are great for companies to use internally with their employees and externally for their customers. When I was in Grad School, I had friends who are entrepreneurs. I knew that they were seeking marketing help and I'm in school. So, I thought why don't I put some things together based on what I'm learning. At first, I did two private courses and just taking donations because I was afraid of charging. After that, I launched my first public course.

What do people need to have to get started with their first course?

A: People need to have a course outline. They have to have some sort of sales page. They should also have a payment method and a way to deliver the content to the clients. An email marketing system to keep in touch with people who enrolled is also important. It does not have to complicated when you are just starting out. Also, have a free content that leads to your course launch.

J: How much does it cost to run a course?

A: In general, I found that costs $0-300 to organically run a small-scale course without Facebook Ads and stuff like that. With my first course, it was zero cost because I used Google Hangouts and Google Drive. Running a public course would cost you a little bit more money.

With my third course, I spent only $300. I did not use Facebook Ads, I just did it with people who were connected to my network. I contacted my past clients if they wanted to jump into the advanced one. I also made a platform and videos uploaded, so I was able to charge a premium price for it. I'm always encouraging people that to start off, you don't need a lot of funds.

What is your favorite marketing strategy to enroll people in a course?

A: My favorite marketing strategy is doing a pre-sell. If you are anxious and if you have a few people enrolled in your course before publicly advertising it, you're gonna feel confident. In order to do that, you're going to literally reach out to people in your network. You can charge a cheaper price for a pre-sell. Also, you don't have to have the whole course created before you start selling it.

J: What do you find that people struggle with the most in terms of creating and running a course?

A: I found that people get really overwhelmed about what to put on the course. First ask yourself, what is the end goal? What will people get from taking your course? Be clear about what your customers are going to get out of your course and then work backward. Like, what are the five main areas or steps that can get you from point A to point B? You can break them down further, if necessary.

I also like people to make shorter videos rather than longer videos. A good timeframe is 5-15 minutes.

I've also seen people stuck in not feeling like they are the expert. They feel like they need to wait to have all the information ready. I always tell people to start making outlines and pre-sell the course. Pre-selling is also one way to validate your idea for your course. If you're not getting any presells, you can go back to the drawing board and see if you are offering what the customers really want.

J: Aditi, I appreciate you being here on the show today? Where can the customers know more about you and your services?

A: Everyone can head over to my website and I look forward to seeing you there. Thank you.

Whether you are just starting out or whether you have been doing courses for a while, I'm sure you have picked up some good strategies from Aditi Ramchandani.

As I have said, sales is all about serving. Let me know how you are doing with your sales and marketing as well as your questions about getting corporate clients.

If you haven't gone to my website in a while, there are some new things that you might want to check out. Go on there and check out some of my new videos and some of the past podcasts. I would also be honored if you can leave a rating or a review.

If you need coaching, you can go to the website, fill out the form, and see if we are a good fit.

Please help us bring more content to the masses by subscribing to the podcast at https://onlinecoursecoach.com/itunesapp