The Online Course Show

If you’ve been listening to this podcast for a while, you know that my first online course was not an instant success. That’s why I love hearing from other course creators about the highs and lows of their own online course journeys. Guest Kate Kordsmeier has a fascinating tale of successful blogging, making money, losing money, and turning it all around. “What I liked about courses was that it was a way to reach many more people, i.e. have a bigger impact but without having to do more work. I was trying to find something that was a little bit more scaleable, a little bit more passive...” - Kate Kordsmeier In This Episode, We Talked About: (0:47) Catching up with David on getting traction with your content (2:49) Reflecting on who’s inspired us and how co-hosting is going (5:01) Why David’s learning about standup comedy (7:46) What I’ve been working on lately (9:06) Celebrating progress with my Next Level Course students (11:23) Introducing Kate and how she got started in online courses (14:21) Why online courses instead of a book or a blog post? (18:09) Going beyond basic content (19:59) How Kate handles video coaching (25:30) What about students who aren’t on social media? (29:00) Value propositions + success stories (34:11) How Kate has structured her course content (35:32) Taking the course from idea to finished product (38:39) Learning from a low point (43:18) How Kate’s launch style has evolved (44:59) Does passive income really exist? (48:55) How the pandemic has affected her family and business (54:39) Transitioning into an evergreen marketing model (1:00:41) My suggestions for how Kate could relaunch to people on her list (1:08:44) Conversion rates and traffic sources (1:11:06) Making decisions based on niche and personality (1:19:01) Kate’s favorite tools and platforms (1:28:31) Advice for new and aspiring course creators (1:30:52) David and I discuss the launch rollercoaster (1:34:14) Recent changes in my business (1:42:08) The value of analytics (1:44:07) Wrapping up That’s all for now, folks! See you on the next episode of The Online Course Show.   Links Offers and Tools: Bonjoro Free Trial ClickFunnels Free Trial Active Campaign Guest Links: Kate’s Website Books and Resources: MoveU Owen Video Blog to Biz Hive Digital Course Academy Mariah Coz Rocket Fuel The Obstacle is the Way Jacques’ Courses: The Online Course Accelerator Next Level Courses Piano in 21 Days David’s Courses: Wellness Program Expertrategic Coach

Hands down, today’s guest has been the most-requested by my podcast listeners for quite some time. Way back when I first started The Online Course Show, Nate Dodson joined me each week as co-host and new course creator. The rest is history! And at long last here we are with an update of where Nate’s at with his course business, what’s changed for him (and what hasn’t), plus a fun bonus story that may call into question the definition of “takeout.” “There was a huge demand for this, and no one was filling the demand. I jumped right in… If you’re going to get started in an online business, being smart about it, doing some research, and finding areas of unfulfilled demand will make it feel more like luck.” - Nate Dodson In This Episode, We Talked About: (0:43) Bringing back a much-requested guest to the show (1:50) Milestones and different ways of measuring success (8:50) How Nate discovered his niche and how it works (10:23) Radical personal finance and failing to succeed (15:43) Has having a profitable business changed Nate’s lifestyle? (17:44) A question from David’s wife (19:20) Ideas vs. money (21:53) A typical week for Nate now that his business is mostly automated (24:16) Accountability and maintenance (25:38) Perks of having an online business (27:24) Considerations about hiring employees vs. contractors (29:52) Success stories from Nate’s students (32:10) Exciting moments in the online course journey (33:48) How Nate and I met (35:36) Burning out and looking to the future (41:30) Are physical product offerings worth it? (43:06) (Not so) embarrassing stories from early on (46:38) Favorite podcast recommendations (47:37) Nate’s advice for new and aspiring course creators (50:37) Thoughts on passive income (53:46) His favorite software and tools (54:40) Motivation and mentorship (56:55) Wrapping up That’s all for now, folks! See you on the next episode of The Online Course Show.   Links Offers and Tools: Bonjoro Free Trial ClickFunnels Free Trial Active Campaign Guest Links: Nate’s Course: Microgreens Farmer Books and Resources: Goodbye Things Who Expert Secrets Blue Ocean Strategy Strategic Coach Podcasts: Joe Rogan Mind of George Think Like a CEO Making Sense Good Ol’ Grateful Deadcast Jacques’ Courses: The Online Course Accelerator Next Level Courses Piano in 21 Days David’s Courses: Wellness Program Expertrategic Coach

Just like anything else in life, not everyone in the online course community is the same or does things the same way. And that’s a good thing, because it means I get to interview other course creators and find how they’ve achieved success - even if their approach differs in some ways than mine. Today’s guest Tim Shields is the perfect example of this, and we had a great discussion about what works for him and his business. “You have to take the first step… Stop dreaming and start taking action.” - Tim Shields This episode is chock-full of interesting tidbits and inspiring stories, so I hope you enjoy tuning in! In This Episode, We Talked About: (0:37) Upgrading and re-recording my course content (2:43) Will my course always be on ClickFunnels? (3:58) Expanding my team (9:14) Backstory for today’s interview (10:22) The Two Comma Club and what it means to Tim (13:24) Digital vs. physical products (16:35) How Tim found his passion and why he didn’t start sooner (20:02) His “origin story” (24:04) Where Tim’s audience came from (26:39) How his lead magnet works (28:31) The secret of successful masterclasses (32:20) Transformation vs. information (35:20) Communicating the concept of why his course is different (37:09) Success stories from Tim’s students (41: 23) Why we initially connected (42:26) The value of awarding students for their achievements (51:26) Incentives and tie-ins (53:07) How Tim handles his student community (52:10) Webinar systems and strategies (1:04:38) Tim’s thoughts on selling additional products beyond an online course (1:05:35) An aside on synergy and Tim’s work schedule (1:06:29) Selling something new with tangible scarcity (1:08:41) The circle of focus (1:11:39) Tim’s course offerings with multiple launch funnels (1:17:23) The importance of testing ideas (1:20:11) Tim’s right-hand man for video editing and how he uses that video content (1:21:57) His wife’s role in his work (1:23:39) The beauty of outsourcing after bootstrapping early on (1:25:42) Thinking about platforms, strategies, and ads (1:33:19) Strengths and weaknesses of popular platforms (1:38:47) Tim’s love/hate relationship with his email management software (1:41:35) His thoughts on taking action on dreams (1:45:33) David and I discuss Tim’s rapid success and The Two Comma Club (1:49:35) The importance of reaching out and building credibility (1:52:03) Thinking about how YouTube benefits different people differently (1:55:45) How my advice to course creators is evolving (1:57:56) The difference between information and transformation (2:01:51) Do music skills give people an edge in attracting the opposite sex (2:04:40) Thinking about how to help my students showcase their progress (2:06:26) Discussing Tim’s “webinar sandwich” and work schedule (2:08:46) Why I haven’t focused on hiring people who live near me (2:11:11) Simplicity and freebies (2:17:05) Re-recording and re-evaluating as I prepare for a re-launch (2:17:13) Wrapping up That’s all for now, folks! See you on the next episode of The Online Course Show. Links Bonjoro Free Trial ClickFunnels Free Trial Tim Shield’s website Kajabi Fivver Active Campaign The Online Course Guy Jacques’ Courses: The Online Course Accelerator Next Level Courses Piano in 21 Days David’s Course - Wellness Program Expert

When I first started researching Dr. Marnie Ginsberg’s story, I was blown away by the success she’d had in helping teachers help their students improve their reading literacy. It was a no-brainer that I had to have her on The Online Course Show to talk about how her membership model course has worked, what she’s learned on her online course journey, and why she’s so passionate about what she does. “Don’t get overwhelmed by all the things. No one can do all the things, [so] focus on finding the core things… Consistency and persistence and listening to your community will teach you to provide what they want.” - Dr. Marnie Ginsberg It was fantastic to hear about the impact that Dr. Marnie’s resources are making on the world. Chatting with her was super-inspiring, and I think you’re going to really enjoy hearing what has worked for her business as it's grown! In This Episode, We Talked About: (0:44) Upgrades and updates (4:11) Engaging an audience while giving presentations virtually (8:41) Relaunch magic (9:45) Setting the stage for today’s interview (11:45) Introducing Dr. Marnie and why she created her course (14:53) Why this niche is so important both for families and teachers (21:12) Dr. Marnie’s membership model (23:47) How she set up her course + membership business (28:17) Group coaching considerations (30:37) Building a community and platform choices (33:54) How does Dr. Marnie keep retention rates up? (37:06) Learning from bingeable shows like Stranger Things (39:10) Can a membership site get too big? (41:04) What led Dr. Marnie to dive deeper into her niche and share it with the world (45:38) First sales, breakthroughs, and passion (50:07) Her response to skeptics (plus parallels and contrasts with piano learning) (52:21) Stories of how her resources have impacted people’s lives (56:24) Being a guide for students on their learning journey (1:00:09) Where does Dr. Marnie’s traffic come from? (1:02:43) How much is too much to spend on Facebook leads? (1:04:52) Funnels, freebies, and webinar evolution (1:09:29) Creating scarcity (1:10:38) Systems and struggles (1:15:04) How the pandemic has affected Dr. Marnie’s business (1:17:56) Her advice for new and aspiring course creators (1:19:15) David and I discuss different course models (1:28:21) Community options and the Facebook debate That’s all for now, folks! See you on the next episode of The Online Course Show. Links Bonjoro Free Trial ClickFunnels Free Trial Dr. Marnie Course: Reading Simplified Uplift desk Smart Passive Income interview LearnDash BuddyBoard Platform Storybrand Moolah Marketing Active Campaign Traction Jacques’ Courses: The Online Course Accelerator Next Level Courses Piano in 21 Days David’s Course - Wellness Program Expert

We’re back with another exciting interview from a successful online course creator! Guest Jono Petrohilos has an amazing story of bootstrapping his way from a tiny course investment to a thriving business in his fitness education niche. I loved hearing how Jono’s openness and drive made all the difference in his online course’s success, and we had a great chat on best practices for people at different stages in their own journey. “‘Build it and they will come’... is just about the worst marketing strategy there is.” - Jono Petrohilos Without further ado, it’s time for a deep dive into what has worked for Jono and his online course business. Get your notebook and pen ready - there’s lots of great food for thought here! In This Episode, We Talked About: (1:04) Why David is so excited about Next Level Courses (3:27) An epiphany I had on what platform to use for group coaching (6:04) Observations and feedback on how the podcast is evolving (10:15) My fanboy expectations being met and exceeded (13:51) Favorite takeaways from a recent learning opportunity (23:14) Setup for today’s interview (24:40) Getting to know Jono (27:10) How a learning mindset led Jono to success and prepared him for his online course journey (35:19) How he realized he could avoid a lot of upfront costs (39:56) Jono's very first launch (47:22) Building up a contact list (50:14) Going where your audience is (56:49) Course validation and pre-selling (1:01:36) What about course creators who don’t have an audience? (1:15:14) The power of giving value away for free (1:17:08) Having fun... and avoiding being called a stalker? (1:19:56) How Jono’s business is currently structured (1:24:02) Turning points that led to success (1:30:51) The theme throughout Jono’s journey (1:36:37) A favorite student success story (1:41:28) Jono’s platforms of choice (1:47:53) Dave’s thoughts on Jono’s story (1:52:26) What we assume our audience is vs. who they really are (1:53:42) Starting where you are (1:58:26) Am I too cool for David’s latest suggestion? (2:01:41) The Online Course Guy catchphrase… maybe (2:05:17) Wrapping up That’s all for now, folks! See you on the next episode of The Online Course Show. Links Bonjoro Free Trial ClickFunnels Free Trial Jono’s Course: Fitness Education Online Jono’s Facebook Group Fix This Next Chop Wood, Carry Water: How to Fall in Love with the Process of Becoming Great The 5 Love Languages Teachable New Zenler Jacques’ Courses: The Online Course Accelerator Next Level Courses Piano in 21 Days David’s Course - Wellness Program Expert

Lately I’ve been hearing a lot of buzz around new community-building platforms, and rightfully so. Community is so important to almost every aspect of life and that includes the online course world! As my business grows, my perspective on community has definitely evolved, and that’s why I found it so interesting to speak with guest Gina Bianchini on today’s episode. As founder of Mighty Networks, Gina is clearly passionate about this topic and had some great tips to share. "When I started with a community… everything changed." - Gina Bianchini No matter what stage you are in on your online course journey, considering how you build your community is time well-spent. What platforms seem like a good fit for your audience? What makes sense for your niche? I’d love to hear what has worked for you. In This Episode, We Talked About: (0:53) An update on sales and ads from David (3:49) Recent upgrades I’m very excited about (8:56) Content repurposing on the podcast (13:40) “Celebrity sighting” stories (17:30) Thinking about online communities and context for today’s show (21:52) Introducing Gina and her thoughts on learning in community (30:10) My early motivations versus what makes me excited as an online course creator now (35:59) Is it important to have your community and your course content all in the same place? (42:31) Resistance to new platforms (47:41) Can you keep old platforms while transitioning to new ones? (50:37) Apps and accessibility (56:18) New possibilities: what’s working and what probably won’t (1:06:28) Tips for new and aspiring course creators on where to start (1:14:56) Our thoughts on the ideas Gina shared (1:25:44) Would I charge my students for community participation? (1:30:39) Cool offers for my listeners That’s all for now, folks! See you on the next episode of The Online Course Guy. Links Bonjoro Free Trial Deadline Funnel Free Trial ClickFunnels Free Trial Mighty Networks Free 14-Day Trial M5 Ranch School Course from Scratch Honeycomb Social Smart Passive Income interview Jacques’ Courses: The Online Course Accelerator Next Level Courses Piano in 21 Days David’s Course - Wellness Program Expert

It’s time to get back into interviewing successful course creators and hearing what makes them tick. Today’s guest Stephanie Taylor is new to the show and relatively new to the online course world, but she already has a fantastic story and some important lessons to share. And as one of my former coaching students, it’s super-fun to get Stephanie’s perspective on things since we first started working to take her course to the next level. "You have everything you need within you to be successful. You just have to believe it." - Stephanie Taylor It was awesome to catch up with Stephanie, hear how her business has been growing, and learn what she’s doing to keep her course successful and her students happy. Enjoy! In This Episode, We Talked About: (0.43) Life updates and how a throwback Online Course Show episode has been inspiring David (3:53) An idea I’m working on for busy podcast listeners (8:14) How I met today’s guest through my Next Level Courses program (10:55) Introducing Stephanie Taylor and how she got into her current niche (17:01) The realization that led Stephanie to create a course (22:09) Her first launch and why her audience resonated with her message (25:07) Where her first paying customers came from (26:47) Facebook groups and a “horrendous webinar” story (29:22) How Stephanie deals with the tech side of things (31:38) The importance of persistence (32:39) How Stephanie and I started working together (41:35) Why she decided to make an investment in her course’s success (42:42) What we focused on while working on relaunching Stephanie’s course (43:56) The impact of adding an evergreen funnel and the “magical” feeling of making an evergreen sale (46:58) Average sales and how world events have affected Stephanie’s business this year (49:14) Facebook ads and other traffic sources (52:46) What online course success has meant to Stephanie and her family (55:38) What it means to be a leader in your niche (57:19) The role Stephanie’s sister plays in their business (1:00:50) Teamwork and communication (1:02:22) Why Stephanie prefers to do fewer live launches (1:04:00) Handling late enrollment requests with offer-based incentives (1:05:08) Pricing in the year of a pandemic (1:07:53) Webinar evolution (1:11:33) Stephanie’s newest ventures in different mediums (1:12:56) Why she’s excited about repurposing content from livestreams (1:16:12) Who her content is primarily for (1:17:26) Why write a book? + how Stephanie avoided a common mistake (1:23:43) Gathering testimonials and the power of names (1:29:27) Favorite tools and resources (1:34:24) What Stephanie wants new and aspiring course creators to know (1:40:57) David and I discuss our takeaways from the interview (1:45:11) The way podcast helps listeners feel like they know you (1:47:22) The importance of student success (1:50:22) Celebrating success and creating excitement (1:52:10) The value of mentoring and how to access my Next Level Courses resources (1:54:44) Am I going to write a book? (1:58:26) Thoughts on working with family (2:00:00) Wrapping up with a special Deadline Funnels offer for my listeners That’s all for now, folks! See you on the next episode of The Online Course Guy. Links ClickFunnels Free Trial Deadline Funnel Free Trial Compass Chiro Episode 2 Episode 96 Stephanie’s Website HMO Heaven Stephanie’s Podcast Stephanie on Instagram Streamyard Thinkific Active Campaign Power of Podcasting course Absolute Facebook Ads course Make Time Sprint Denise Hopkins Fine Art Jacques' Course - Piano in 21 Days David’s Course - Wellness Program Expert

At long last I’m back with my co-host, Dr. David Krohse. On today’s episode we’re talking all things road trip plus discussing why I recently had to take a step back and reassess my goals for The Online Course Guy and this podcast. We also got into our top podcast and audiobook recommendations… and David’s favorite song to mop to. ;) " Trips like these are why I wanted to create this kind of online business." - Jacques Hopkins We enjoyed catching up and filling each other in on what’s been going on over the last several weeks. Buckle up, and whatever you do, don’t rent a Ford F 150 for a long road trip! In This Episode, We Talked About: (0:32) Getting back into the swing of things after traveling (1:55) Highs and lows from the road (9:07) The freedom of having an online business (9:50) Favorite roadtrip stops for my family and David’s stops (13:20) A funny story from David and our thoughts on gamification (17:24) Podcast and audiobook recommendations (23:25) Driving, posture, and theme songs (26:26) Reassessing my goals and my brands (29:47) Introducing David’s story to new listeners (32.25) Recent interviews I’ve done and why I’m excited about them (35:15) Wrapping up That’s all for now, folks! See you on the next episode of The Online Course Guy. Links Bonjoro Free Trial The 4-Hour Workweek Strava Harmon Brothers podcast JP Sears podcast The Pumpkin Plan Toiletpaper Entrepreneur Fix This Next Profit First Dotcom Secrets Capital Gains Joe Rogan podcast - Dr. Rhonda Patrick episode Joe Rogan podcast - Kevin Hart episode The Online Course Guy Jacques' Course - Piano in 21 Days David’s Course - Wellness Program Expert

We’re keeping things short and sweet on this last episode before I return to my typical show format with co-host Dr. David Krohse. Today, I want to give you an opportunity to have your most pressing question about online course businesses answered. Make sure you stay all the way through to the end! "Now is your chance. Now is your opportunity." - Jacques Hopkins In This Episode, We Talked About: (0:37) Welcoming new listeners and a heads up about the podcast schedule (1:19) The opportunity I’m presenting (2:12) What I’m seeing in my podcast behind the scenes after recent interviews (2:39) How you can help my show grow and also be rewarded for your effort (3:18) Why I like to reply to people with videos when I can (3:47) How you can get your question answered (4:57) Wrapping up That’s all for now, folks! See you on the next episode of The Online Course Guy. Links Bonjoro Free Trial Smart Passive Income interview ChooseFi Interview The Online Course Guy Jacques' Course - Piano in 21 Days David’s Course - Wellness Program Expert

I’m back with another on-the-road episode of The Online Course Show, this time coming to you all the way from Sedona, Arizona! Like the last several weeks, I’m recording this episode on my phone and keep things pretty simple since I’m traveling with my family.   Soon I’ll be back to my normal setup in my home office and my normal interview format along with co-host Dr. David Krohse. But right now I want to share with you some content from my “Simple Path to Online Course Success” webinar. I’m sharing this for two reasons: because the content itself is very valuable and because it’s the best way for you to understand the structure and flow of how my evergreen webinars work. " I had no idea what I was doing when I got started and I was not an overnight success story… but eventually I figured it out and got results that were better and better. January 2017 brought in $22,000 in revenue and I have not gone below that in a single month since then." - Jacques Hopkins I appreciate you being here whether you’re a new listener or someone who’s been tuning all along! And I hope the info I share in this week’s episode sparks some food for thought about how your online course business can excel. In This Episode, We Talked About: (1:59) Traveling in 2020 (3:14) The business-related tasks I’m still doing each day (4:57) The evergreen webinar content we’re covering in today’s episode, and why (6:42) Welcoming new listeners (8:07) Introducing the webinar and setting expectations (10:04) Why I have credibility on this topic (13:39) The 2 groups of people who will find this information useful (14:45) You don’t need a big team or a huge amount of upfront investment to get started (16:00) My thoughts on “overnight success” and my own journey (17:29) Why someone who is not a “piano expert” is a successful piano course creator (18:16) How this Online Course Show came to be (18:56) Breaking success down into synergistic components (21:42) Why I care more about setting up a good funnel than paid ads (23:11) The joy of feeling like your business actually makes an impact (24:58) How to set up the number one factor for success (26:01) The key to generating consistent traffic without paid ads (32:20) The value of sticking with a platform such as YouTube (33:50) The evolution of my funnel and the strategy that made the biggest difference (42:55) The importance of not over-complicating your funnel (46:36) Focusing on transformation for your customers (49:12) How I get reviews and testimonials (55:52) Recommendations and free offers (58:36) The Online Course Accelerator for new course creators (1:01:52) Next Level Courses for course creators who want to level up (1:12:33) Alternatives if you want to be a part of Next Level Courses without ClickFunnels (1:17:54) Next Level Courses timeline (1:22:41) Wrapping up That’s all for now, folks! See you on the next episode of The Online Course Guy. Links Bonjoro Free Trial Deadline Funnel Free Trial ClickFunnels Free Trial Smart Passive Income interview ChooseFi Interview Expert Secrets Jacques’ Courses: The Online Course Accelerator Next Level Courses Piano in 21 Days David’s Course - Wellness Program Expert