The Online Course Show

Today we’re chatting with Steve Nixon, a successful online piano course creator who played an interesting role in my own course creation journey. He’s got a wealth of experience in his niche and is on a mission to teach people what online businesses actually need to become successful. "It’s better to get feedback from people right away… real people with real problems that you can serve right away." - Steve Nixon It was awesome to hear Steve’s perspective on over a decade of successful online courses, plus hear where he is branching out into new territory. I’m feeling inspired and I think you will be, too! In This Episode, We Talked About: (1:11) Chatting about the latest updates to our businesses and more (6:18) Catching up with Steve Nixon and hearing about his online course journey (9:16) How Steve’s story impacted my own (12:06) Tracking the market and finding “the hook” (14:01) Steve’s perspective on starting the risk of starting his own online course (15:58) Why he has multiple offerings within one business - and his suggestion for people who don’t have an audience yet (19:36) A classic downfall of new course creators (20:08) What Steve would do if he was creating his first online course today (24:38) Looking to the future of the online course market (28:37) Branching out and providing value (31:46) Steve’s upcoming projects and future plans (34:15) David and I discuss Steve’s interview (40:55) Is it a good sign if you’re being trolled? (41:12) Wrapping up today’s episode We covered a lot of interesting ground today, so I hope you’ll drop me a line and let me know your favorite part of the conversation! And make sure you check out the great tools and freebies linked below. Links Steve’s Free Jazz Lessons Website Ontraport Optimize Press Traction book Clickfunnels Free Templates & Trial The Online Course Community (free Facebook group) Steve’s New Strategy Samurai Website The Online Course Guy Make Time Deep Work Piano in 21 Days The Online Course Guy Deadline Funnel Free Trial Piano in 21 Days

We’re back with an all-new interview, this time with artist Angela Fehr! Angela recently hit an awesome milestone with her online course business, and it was great to get to know her a bit and chat about her online course journey. "Marketing your course is like parenting or saving money: you could always be doing it better." - Angela Fehr Angela has approached certain aspects of her course very differently than me, but we also have had a lot of similarities in starting out. It’s always great to hear what works for other course creators, and I think you’re going to enjoy our conversation! In This Episode, We Talked About: (1:47) Updates from me and David on webinars, upcoming travel, and more (6:50) Angela introduces her online course business and shares a recent milestone (10:14) The teaching platform Angela relies on (12:22) Looking back at her online course journey (15:22) Thinking about changes in online course businesses as they become more mainstream (17:01) Building an audience and evolving course content (20:05) When Angela realized that her online course was going to work (21:16) Branding and marketing decisions (26:06) Does Angela use scarcity to drive sales? (27:19) How she spends most of her working time and how she measures growth (31:04) Looking at similarities in how we gain traffic (32:27) How Angela deals with exchange rates for international sales (34:48) Favorite tools and thoughts on keeping things simple early on (40:05) Mighty Networks vs. Facebook Groups (44:03) Angela’s advice for new course creators (46:01) David and I discuss what we’re most impressed by with Angela and her business (48:22) Thoughts on why I prefer Facebook Groups (52:11) Creating courses and moving past imposter syndrome (54:39) Wrapping up That’s all for now, folks! See you on the next episode of The Online Course Show, and don’t forget to sign up for my Online Course Community (link below) if you haven’t already. Links Camtasia Canva Mighty Networks Zapier ConvertKit Loom Screen-Cast-O-Matic The Online Course Community (free Facebook group) Piano in 21 Days The Online Course Guy Bonjoro Free Trial Angela’s Website Teachable Logitech C920 webcam Camtasia Canva Mighty Networks

One of my favorite episodes from last year was Episode #57 with David Walliman, so in this new year I was excited to have him back on the show with me. There was a lot to talk about and some interesting epiphanies David had that we all can learn from. "Look at the trends… Look at the bigger picture. That’s the wiser approach." - David Walliman It was great to get David’s perspective on what worked (and didn’t) for him in the last six months. I hope you enjoy listening in on our conversation! In This Episode, We Talked About: (2:07) Recent LSU highlights and the genesis of my new Friday Facebook Live chats (5:53) Setting up a webinar for the first time (12:44) David Krohse’s plans for reaching out to new potential students (17:58) Revisiting my first interview with David Walliman from way back when (20:19) The downside to being extremely consistent with a given process - and what that meant for David moving forward (22:58) How he improved his content planning to take off some pressure (25:29) Burnout, breaks, and figuring out what is actually necessary to sustain business (hint: this will be different for different businesses) (31:02) Gaining perspective on success and fluctuating sales (34:12) Would David still encourage people to create their own online course? (35:22) How has his branding evolved? (37:39) Teachable, new tools, and growing David’s team (40:49) His response to a question someone recently asked me about transitioning into online courses (44:20) Navigating licensing issues in the music niche (46:10) David’s goals for 2020 (47:19) Wrapping up our interview (47:47) David Krohse and I discuss the importance of auditing business processes (50:16) My story of making the switch from a “normal” job to online course creation (53:37) Thoughts on platform choices and content planning (54:36) Getting ready for the ups and downs of owning your own business That’s all for now, folks! See you on the next episode of The Online Course Show (and don’t forget to check out the Facebook group link below if you haven’t already). Links Deadline Funnel Free Trial Crisp Piano in 21 Days The Online Course Guy The Online Course Community (free Facebook group) David’s Website OCG Episode #57 Teachable

We’re changing things up a bit today: on this episode of The Online Course Guy, I am the guest, and the host and interviewer is actually Evan Johnson of Path to Podcast Success! I had the pleasure of chatting with Evan a short while ago, and thought that the topics we covered could be of value not only to his audience but to mine. "Be consistent and stick with it." - Jacques Hopkins I hope you enjoy this role-reversal interview, and hopefully learn something you can use in your own online business or podcast. In This Episode, We Talked About: (1:29) An introduction to today’s episode (2:11) My biggest fear before starting my own podcast - and how I got past it (4:08) Branching out into interviews (5:10) Talking podcast format evolution and recurring themes (6:00) My business funnels and the role my podcast plays (9:08) Starting out with basically zero audience (10:24) My podcast production process (13:41) How much time does outsourcing save me? (15:51) The benefits of having a podcast (16:53) Is outsourcing worth it? (19:02) Where I found my team (19:09) What I wish I had done differently when I was starting out (20:51) How I built my audience (22:45) My thoughts for people considering starting their own podcast That’s all for today, but Nate and I will be back soon with more cool tips and great insights from the world of online business and courses! Links Bonjoro Free Trial Path to Podcast Success Upwork The Online Course Community (free Facebook group) OCG episode 89 Piano in 21 Days The Online Course Guy

Happy New Year from The Online Course Show! David and I are excited to be back with a new year full of awesome upcoming content for course creators, and a big goal for 2020. I’m planning on putting out an episode every week, rain or shine, which means 52 episodes chock full of important info and helpful insights into the world of online courses. It’s a tall order, but I’m feeling confident!Kicking off this first episode of the year we have Parker Stevenson as our guest. Parker is co-founder of Evolved Finance, and he’s all about bringing course creators up to speed in an area that is extremely important to maintaining a healthy business: bookkeeping "The whole point is to run a business that makes profit so that you as a business owner can live a lifestyle you want to live." - Parker Stevenson Parker provided some great food for thought on how to deal with finances within the world of online courses. I’m definitely taking his advice into consideration, and I hope you do, too!] In This Episode, We Talked About: (1:14) Starting the new year with a big new goal for this podcast (2:42) Thinking about goals, motivation, and penalties for 2020 (7:10) Reintroducing ourselves for new listeners (9:52) David and I revisit an issue that I recently discovered with my business bookkeeping (10:45) Introducing our topic and our guest (13:12) Parker tells us about his business working with online course creators (14:38) What is bookkeeping and why does it matter, anyway? (16:44) Being your own bookkeeper vs. hiring one (20:10) Insights that a service like Evolved Finance can give online course creators into their businesses (25:08) Why some businesses have less potential to be sold (26:44) The right percentage for profit (28:54) Parker’s thoughts for course creators looking for a bookkeeping service (32:41) What to look for in an accountant (37:11) Discussing the Profit First concept (41:43) Parker’s advice for new and aspiring course creators (45:24) How established course creators can set up a consultation call with Parker (48:33) Parting thoughts from Parker for course creators (49:28) David and I discuss the interview (52:56) What David’s been doing for bookkeeping and his tip for determining when to hire someone else (55:39) My experience with video editing hires (56:47) Will David outsource bookkeeping in the future? (58:56) Wrapping up We covered a lot of ground today, and I think there was plenty for new and growing business owners to consider. I hope you’ll drop me a line to let me know what aspect of today’s conversation was the most eye-opening to you. And stay tuned for another episode coming next week! Links Deadline Funnel Free Trial Evolved Finance Profit First The Online Course Accelerator Piano in 21 Days The Online Course Guy

It’s just me and you today – that’s right, it’s time for one of those rare solo episodes where the only person talking is me, myself and I. (Not for too long though, I promise). ????As 2019 comes to a close, I want to give you a glimpse into the inspiration behind this show, some things I’m planning for next year, and even ways that I can help you with your own online course. “You’ve really helped pull it all together for me… I went through your course and redid my whole funnel, and I’ve done $1200 in three days!” -Student feedback from my Online Course Accelerator In This Episode, We Talked About: (1:49) My journey towards creating this podcast and a pivotal email that helped kick things into gear (6:27) Some awesome deals I’m offering you (including a free resource valued at $1,000) (10:41) Feedback from one of my Online Course Accelerator students (12:07) My ongoing love for ClickFunnels - and I can help you get started without too much effort (14:05) Who is my Next Level Courses course for? (14:40) A big goal I’m setting for this podcast in 2020 (15:29) What to do if you want to get in touch with me or join my online course community on Facebook (17:09) Wrapping up That about does it for this year! Don’t forget to join me and my co-host David in January 2020 – we have a bunch of great interviews and discussions lined up and coming soon. Happy New Year! Links Deadline Funnel Online Course Accelerator Next Level Courses My Favorite Online Course Guy Tools Facebook Group - The Online Course Guy Community OCG Episode 89 Piano in 21 Days The Online Course Guy

Yes, you read that episode title correctly! We are taking a short break from our standard interview format to discuss a very popular book from a unique perspective. While some of you may have heard of the concepts explained in The Five Love Languages, I’m willing to bet you haven’t thought too much about how to apply those principles to the world of online courses. But that’s exactly what we’re doing today. "If someone’s love language is [being used, hopefully] they’re seeing that I’m taking the time to respond and help them" - Jacques Hopkins In This Episode, We Talked About: (1:28) Updates from me and David (3:00) How we learned about The Five Love Languages (6:09) David breaks down the different love languages and we discuss some examples (10:11) Practical application of love languages in our relationships (20:08) Gift-giving - where does it fit into an online course business? (32:14) Incorporating acts of service into sales funnels and enrollees’ course experiences (36:40) Creating opportunities for quality time (44:46) Using words of affirmation throughout our online course businesses (46:21) Thinking about how to use the quality time love language and welcoming new members into my free online course Facebook group (48:30) “I’m proud of you.” (49:50) Building rapport and giving students confidence despite the disconnect of online communications (51:21) The one thing that would convince David to sign up for my piano course (53:09) Can physical touch factor into remote learning? (56:01) Storytime with David  (57:50) Being authentic and finding ways to connect (1:00:42) Wrapping up That’s all for now, folks! See you on the next episode of The Online Course Guy. Links Bonjoro Free Trial The 5 Love Languages Piano in 21 Days The Online Course Guy

Sometimes the journey is the destination, and that’s especially true for our guest today. Leah Gervais is founder of Urban 20 Something and an online course creator who’s learned firsthand what it means to turn life experience into teaching tools that can help others. "Having happy customers is better than a good funnel." - Leah Gervais Leah provided some great food for thought about how simple online course setup can possibly be and much, much more. I was super-impressed by how she handles certain aspects of her business, and I think you will be too. In This Episode, We Talked About: (1:41) An update and a funny story from David (5:08) A shoutout to one of my course students who hit an important milestone recently (6:43) What I’ve been working on recently and how I’m expanding my team (9:47) Today’s core content - my interview with Leah Gervais (10:46) How Leah got into the world of online courses (16:39) A look at how she has her courses set up (20:13) An example of courses that don’t need a coaching component (21:07) Why Leah offers separate coaching services (23:15) Talking revenue, messaging, and more (25:56) Does Leah do her own discovery calls? (26:55) Getting in front of the right people (29:54) Automations and options (32:10) Leah’s team (33:20) Her advice for new and aspiring course creators (35:23) Where to find Leah online (36:08) Takeaways from how Leah got started compared with our own experiences (38:05) My top-ranking blog post, plus thoughts on content repurposing (41:26) The unusual way that Leah has set up her courses (43:09) Something that jumped out at me during the interview (45:10) Wrapping up Thanks for listening and learning along with us today. Stay tuned for another great episode coming soon! Links Bonjoro Free Trial Expert Secrets plus Free Access to my Online Course Accelerator Leah’s Website Loom Lead Pages Pro Piano in 21 Days The Online Course Guy

We’re back with another episode of The Online Course Show! Today I shared an interview with Drew Badger, an online course creator who’s found amazing success online with his English course. He’s got some fantastic insights into how to differentiate your course from others, what takes to build something that really meets students’ needs, and much more.. "I knew that I needed to specialize in something. I needed to be first." - Drew Badger David and I enjoyed listening to and discussing what Drew shared on this episode! In This Episode, We Talked About: (1:39) A launch update from David (3:31) Some things I’ve been working on recently (5:01) A mistake that I’m currently learning from (7:56) SEO and ads - what’s worked for me, what I’ve moved on from (11:02) Is TrustPilot a good investment? (13:00) How did Drew Badger end up in a small town in Japan? (15:55) Drew’s first product that turned a profit (17:35) The steps that led to making it with his online English course (23:42) Drilling down into what differentiates one course from another (25:44) Drew’s amazing YouTube numbers and how his videos factor into his funnel (33:47) What he would do differently if he was starting over now (36:50) Is it harder to start with or without more input from potential students? (41:41) Top tools Drew relies on (43:47) What has having a successful online course meant for Drew? (45:20) The app that he’s been working on and why he’s so passionate about sharing it with the world (48:16) Wrapping up with today’s guest and where to find Drew online (50:09) How I typically find guests like Drew for this podcast (52:23) Some big takeaways from my chat with Drew (55:04) Thoughts on the Frederick app (55:58) Testimonials and the “why” (58:31) David’s 5-million dollar ad concept (1:03:11) Something I want to do more of in the future (1:04:12) Wrapping up the episode Whew! That about does it for today – don’t forget to join us for the next episode of The Online Course Guy! And Happy Thanksgiving to those who are listening from the U.S.A.. ???? Links ClickFunnels Trial Drew’s Website Drew’s App Trustpilot Kajabi Stripe PayPal April Fools Air Guitar Ad Piano in 21 Days The Online Course Guy

It’s time to talk tools! What works best for online course creation? What are the apps and software I can’t live without? And do other successful course creators use the same tools I do? We are about to find out, because today’s episode is jam-packed with tool reviews, tips on how to integrate different tools, and plenty of insight into what it takes to keep an online course running smoothly. "I only promote things that I actually use." - Jacques Hopkins With the help of my co-host David and guests Abbey Ashley and Nate Dodson, we covered a lot of ground in this episode. Have fun listening, and don’t forget to check out the numerous links down below! In This Episode, We Talked About: (0:49) A fun update on David’s most recent launch (3:19) Some little insights into the world of Jacques, and a recent trip I was able to take while continuing to sell online courses (5:13) Why we love this week’s sponsor (6:51) Introducing today’s topic - top tools for online course creators (8:22) A course update from Abbey Ashley (10:24) An update from Nate Dodson and thoughts on dealing with changes in your team (12:54) ClickFunnels vs other platforms and add-ons (20:00) Email auto-responders - does it matter what you choose? (23:22) How Abbey and I use Bonjoro (27:52) Does Zapier make our lives easier? (31:42) An interesting new tool Abbey’s using (35:00) If not Deadline Funnels, what? (37:51) Sending the Right Message (39:40) What PicSnippets does and why I use it (41:07) Handling bookkeeping (45:20) Video and screen capture tools we love (48:33) Backup tools (49:31) Sending thank you’s to new students (50:50) Abbey’s go-to tool for content planning (52:33) How to ask people for information and feedback (54:12) How to show social proof for your online course (55:17) Managing emails (57:19) Nate’s new video editing tool (57:54) How I’ve set up a remote workstation for a new member of my team (58:44) Getting third-party reviews (1:00:00) How Abbey handles internal communications (1:01:51) To EverWebinar or not to EverWebinar? (1:02:59) How to address issues with late payments from students (1:05:05) Abbey’s upcoming transition from Trello to ClickUp (1:07:54) Two more tools Nate recommends (1:09:11) Something new I’m excited to try (1:10:44) Wrapping up with our guests (1:12:44) Discussing top tools David’s excited about (1:16:11) An offer I’m sharing to help people get started with ClickFunnels (1:18:15) Nate’s update after implementing a tool he learned about during the recording of this interview (1:20:24) A few tool mentions we missed earlier Whew! That about does it for today. Stay tuned for another great episode coming soon! Links Bonjoro Free Trial Abbey’s Website Nate’s Website  ClickFunnels Teachable LeadPages SamCart ConvertKit ActiveCampaign Zapier Stripe Freshbooks GroupFunnels Deadline Funnels Right Message PicSnippets Quickbooks Evolved Finance Screencast-O-Matic Loom Skitch Backupify The Online Course Guy GSuite Thanks.io Team Up Google Forms TypeForm Proof HelpScout DaVinci Resolve Shadow.Tech TrustPilot Slack EverWebinar Stunning.co Trello ClickUp Procss Doodle Vanguard Pocket Dateless Planner Members Pro Canva Premiere Pro Piano in 21 Days