The Online Course Show

People all over the world are succeeding with online courses on a variety of topics, and today’s guest is a perfect example of that! Alison Ellis teaches “floral math” to florists worldwide, and it was great to have her on the show today and hear about her online course journey. "You don’t have an excuse to not do this… If you don’t put out your crappy version, you’ll never get your good version." - Alison Ellis It was awesome to chat with Alison and hear her open up about the why and how of her online course business. Her take on teaching online is inspirational and I think you’re going to love listening in to our conversation! In This Episode, We Talked About: (1:47) How Alison got into making online courses (4:10) Going from idea to actually creating a course (9:32) Did Alison start making sales right away? (11:16) An early realization she had that led to her development of new courses (13:44) Why Alison started with “flower math” (14:58) Her thoughts on figuring out sales and scarcity (18:39) Some of the benefits of creating an online course (21:14) What to do when customers fail to complete a payment (26:44) How having an online course enables to be flexible with her florist business (28:01) Where Alison’s traffic comes from (29:15) Does Alison have favorite tools or software? (31:18) How simple solutions can be game-changers for students (34:08) What Alison would tell herself if she was just getting started with online courses now (35:31) How her online course business affects her and her family That’s all for now, folks! See you on the next episode of The Online Course Show. Links Bonjoro Free Trial Alison’s Website Zippy plugin for Wordpress Stunning Stripe Piano in 21 Days The Online Course Guy

If $3,000,000 in sales isn’t a success story, I don’t know what is! Jonathan Levi is my guest today, and he has some amazing anecdotes to share about his online course journey. "… think about the psychological state of the learner at every point." - Jonathan Levi We delved into some very important insights on how to ensure student success, why learning to learn matters, and much more. I’m going to go out on a limb and put this episode in the “must listen” category! In This Episode, We Talked About: (2:27) How Jonathan got into the online course world (4:48) The reasons each of us got and MBA, and our thoughts on whether it was worth it (8:57) Why Udemy? (11:25) How Jonathan generated sales early on (15:59) Why he’s sticking with Udemy even after building up his course library elsewhere (19:48) His recommendations for new course creators (23:29) Other elements needed to promote successful online learning, especially for adults (26:59) Jonathan’s take on refund policies (28:47) How he helps people build their own online courses (30:24) Some other things Jonathan is very excited about these days (32:36) His favorite tools for his business (34:45) How having online courses has impacted his life (36:37) Wrapping up Whew! That about does it for today – don’t forget to check out all the cool tools (listed below) that we mentioned in this episode! And if you haven’t already, drop me a line and let me know what you’re enjoying about the podcast and what kinds of topics you’d like to hear me cover in the future. Links Bonjoro Free Trial Jonathan’s Website Thinkific Zapier Stripe Slack Thanks.io Lemlist PicSnippets Acuity Piano in 21 Days The Online Course Guy

Pinterest: I’ve avoided this topic until now, because I honestly haven’t known how this platform could fit into how I market my online courses. But that’s about to change today! Monica Froese is here to clue me in on how to make the most of this platform, and fortunately she has a ton of experience and knowledge to draw from on this topic. "Listen to what people are asking you." - Monica Froese Monica shared a wealth of insight on how to leverage Pinterest in different ways and what has worked best for her own online courses. I’m still mulling over what I learned in today’s episode, and I think you’ll enjoy what you learn, too! In This Episode, We Talked About: (2:20) Monica’s online course history and course creation evolution (6:54) A story about validating personal knowledge and turning that into product (8:19) Why she’s such a fan of her favorite funnel (9:52) Where Monica’s traffic comes from (11:30) The reasons that Pinterest ads can be challenging for some (13:33) Monica gives me recommendations on how to get started with Pinterest for my business (19:27) Where Pinterest stacks up in terms of ROI (21:27) What stage of your course creation process you need to be in to use Pinterest successfully (24:01) Monica’s experience with Facebook groups (28:09) Setting boundaries as your online community grows (30:18) Advice on keeping course content updated (35:00) A favorite tool that Monica has used to improve conversion rates (39:26) Why she’s changed her opinion of Deadline Funnel (41:11) Monica’s advice for new course creators We covered a lot of ground today, so I hope you’ll drop me a line and let me know your favorite part of the conversation! Stay tuned for another great episode coming soon. Links Monica’s Website Proof Deadline Funnel Lead Pages Thinkific ThriveCart Piano in 21 Days The Online Course Guy

A very special guest joined me on this very special 100th episode of The Online Course Guy. Way back when I started this podcast, I wasn’t sure where all this would lead. But I knew I would have loved to listen to this kind of podcast when I was a new course creator. Ever since then, I’ve been looking forward to celebrating this 100th episode milestone, and what better way to do that than to chat with the one and only Niki Hopkins – my wife! "It was definitely scary… we said we were going to give it a year." - Niki Hopkins I couldn’t have created my piano course without Niki, and it’s only fitting that today we discussed what this has looked like for our family and her perspective on online courses. Let’s dive in and hear her side of the story! In This Episode, We Talked About: (4:20) What would be different about our lives if I had never gotten into online course creation (7:27) An example of how not working “normal jobs” gives us more freedom and flexibility (8:04) Niki’s business and how it evolved (10:52) How we respond to people who ask what I do for a living (12:57) Was Niki okay with me quitting my job before my online course was fully sustainable? (16:56) Her first thoughts when I initially told her about my idea for an online piano course - and some of my previous ideas that didn’t work out quite so well (18:06) Niki’s initial reaction to my strategy for course pricing (19:10) Wrapping up and a note of appreciation I hope you enjoyed listening in to this conversation between me and Niki on what online courses have meant to our family. Thanks so much for being the reason why I do this podcast – and here’s to many, many more awesome episodes to come! Links Bonjoro Free Trial Life as Paper Piano in 21 Days The Online Course Guy

If you’ve been listening to this podcast for a while, you might have noticed that many of my recent guests mention Thinkific as their course platform of choice. I’ve been curious about this platform for a while, so today’s interview is with Rob Balasabas of Thinkific.com. Having him on the show with me was a great opportunity to hear about one of the many options we course creators have and why this platform might be right for you.* “There are a ton of . . . groups that don’t have an offering. Go to all those places that have people congregating around these different topics and ask them what their pain points are.” - Rob Balasabas Rob delved into what Thinkific has to offer course creators, and how to make the most of what this platform provides. I enjoyed our conversation and I think you will too!*Just for the record, this episode was not sponsored by Thinkific in any way. In This Episode, We Talked About: (3:23) Some of the most random online course topics Rob’s encountered (4:29) What Rob does and how he came to work at Thinkific (5:58) Building strong communities online (8:25) Thinkific’s origin story (11:30) What Rob sees as the biggest hurdles for online course creators (13:22) Finding a balance between UX and marketing (15:42) Why choose Thinkific? (18:48) A funny connection I made with someone from a well-known company (19:47) Rob’s personal experience with course building and what he’s working on now (21:28) How Rob is validating his course concept (26:22) His advice for beginning and struggling course creators (28:41) What about course creators who are doing okay but want to level up their sales? (31:34) A parting pitch That wraps it up for today, but don’t forget to subscribe so you can keep up with all the latest episodes. That’s all for now, folks! Links Bonjoro Free Trial Thinkific 90-Day Trial Zapier Piano in 21 Days The Online Course Guy

If there’s one thing that I’ve tried to do with my business, it’s to keep things as efficient and time-saving for me as possible. Outsourcing is a big part of that! And my recent conversation with Jason Dion of Dion Training was a great opportunity to focus in on the topic. "Take your time upfront and do it right. If you treat [contractors] well, they’ll treat you well." - Jason Dion I’m still mulling over what Jason and I discussed in today’s episode. While not everyone has the same outsourcing needs, there’s a lot to take away and a lot of great ideas to consider. In This Episode, We Talked About: (4:17) An update on Udemy, web sales, and more from Jason since our last podcast conversation (7:10) Jason’s freelancing (8:53) Comparing our different approaches when it comes to outsourcing tasks (12:08) Hiring freelancers on a need-basis vs. growth mindset with full-time hiring (15:23) How Jason has found his team and why he focused on hiring from the Philippines (18:21) His favorite book on where to start with outsourcing (20:07) Jason’s take on pay rates, benefits, and bonuses for freelancers (25:13) How he handles the financial side of hiring in the Philippines (29:11) The legal ins and outs of hiring contractors vs. employees (32:26) How Jason and his team communicate (35:40) Roles and responsibilities within Jason’s team (37:00) The tool Jason couldn’t live without (38:38) His top tip for vetting freelance applications (40:28) Jason’s final piece of advice for course creators interested in outsourcing I really enjoyed today’s episode, so thanks for listening in! If you felt inspired by what you heard, please do me a favor and take a second to leave a review of my podcast over on iTunes. I’d really appreciate it! Links Bonjoro Free Trial Jason’s Website Virtual Freedom book Remit Gsuite Shadow.Tech Piano in 21 Days The Online Course Guy

Recently, I had the chance to talk with Louise Dean about the story behind her successful novel-writing course and how her passion has become her business. Louise had a fascinating start to her online course journey, and shared some great tips and tools that could be useful no matter what your niche is. "Proceed with glee! . . . Keep it really personal, really friendly, really truthful and honest." - Louise Dean I’d love to hear what you found most interesting about this interview – feel free to drop me a line and let me know. In This Episode, We Talked About: (4:04) The social experiment that eventually prompted Louise to create her first online course (6:17) How Louise found a group of people willing to take her novel-writing challenge (7:20) Why she sets a time limit for the structure of her course (9:01) How her original course compares to her current course iterations (10:01) How Louise has set up her course content (10:37) Why she provides additional courses beyond her 90-day offering (13:38) Louise’s challenge to me - this one took me by surprise! (14:14) How many students she’s had to date and how she continues to find more (15:40) The built-in review-gathering process in her course (16:11) Louise’s favorite tools and services (18:31) Scheduling and marketing on Instagram (19.39) How Louise stays on top of things without a traditional team in place (20:37) Her advice for new or struggling course creators Thanks for listening and learning along with me today. Stay tuned for another great episode coming soon! Links ClickFunnels Louise’s Website Kajabi PlushForums Acuity Zoom Sked IFTTT Piano in 21 Days The Online Course Guy

Rather than interview a course creator this week, I’m bringing you something a little different but very relevant. Deadline Funnel is one of the most important tools I use when it comes to selling my online course, and I know a lot of other people out there who feel the same way. So it’s my pleasure to bring you an interview with Jack Born, founder of Deadline Funnel and marketer extraordinaire. "If you see the potential, don’t let your doubts and anxiety . . . stand in the way." - Jack Born Jack shared insights on funnels, marketing, and communicating with integrity. So grab a cup of coffee and get ready for an awesome interview! In This Episode, We Talked About: (3:15) The top question my listeners have for Jack, and the story behind his reply (8:23) Jack’s thoughts on authenticity and integrity in funnels (11:59) Product launch strategies and limitations (14:49) How to handle sales after a deadline ends (18:23) Evergreen marketing, timing, and business growth (20:23) Jack’s advice on helping students benefit from your course (24:00) How automation can free you to improve other aspects of your business (25:10) The problem with some launch strategies (26:58) The danger of not having a deadline - and what having one can mean for your sales (30:19) An example of how Deadline Funnel has worked for a business similar to mine (34:14) The quickest way to help new students experience a “win” (36:43) How Jack would respond to questions about automated emails (40:17) Dealing with late enrollment requests (46:44) How to increase conversions through the structure of your funnel (50:48) Webinar discussion and The Sunk Cost Fallacy (57:51) Jack’s thoughts on increasing ROI with deadlines  (59:22) How you can get started with Deadline Funnel We covered a lot of ground today, so I hope you’ll drop me a line and let me know your favorite part of the conversation! I’ll be back with another episode soon. Links Deadline Funnel Jack’s 3-Part Article  Email inquiries for Jack’s webinar replay strategy Piano in 21 Days

After a bit of a break, I’m back with another online course creator interview! Jason Resnick of Rezzz.com and I had a great conversation about the topic of today’s episode: interaction. It’s one simple word – but how do you handle interaction with the people who are on your email list, let alone enrolled in your course? "Be open to [your audience’s] ideas… Hear how these people want to learn, and then apply that to whatever you’re building." –Jason Resnick It was great to chat about some of the similarities and differences between how Jason and I handle interaction. There’s a lot here to mull over, so put on your thinking cap and enjoy! In This Episode, We Talked About: (2:22) How Jason aligned his course with prospective students (3:05) What “interaction” means to Jason and how he implements it at different points along his funnel (6:45) How and why he uses one of my favorite apps (9:10) The reason behind Jason’s interaction-heavy approach (10:22) The skepticism that we sometimes encounter when sending personalized messages (13:34) Why and how Jason created his own online course (20:12) Using a membership model (22:26) What Jason’s course actually entails (24:23) The pros and cons of different community platforms (26:09) Why he chose to create a membership site instead of charging students a one-time fee (28:20) The platform and plug-ins Jason uses for his course (30:09) How Jason gets things done as a one-man show (32:11) The ways that having an online course affect Jason’s life (34:04) Jason’s advice for new course creators Thanks for listening and learning along with me today. Stay tuned for another great episode coming soon! Links Bonjoro Free Trial Jason’s Website Slack Restrict Content Pro Piano in 21 Days The Online Course Guy

This is a first for this podcast: my guest today is not only a successful course creator – she’s an online course coach and consultant! Though Janelle Allen and I work in the same online space, we really aren’t competitors. That’s because we have different approaches and different niches we are reaching. "At the end of the day, I think [your online course] has to be something beyond making the sale. It’s about having an impact and helping someone." - Janelle Allen It was great to geek out over online courses and coaching with Janelle! Enjoy listening in, and don’t forget to check out her podcast too (link below). In This Episode, We Talked About: (3:02) What being an instructional designer means to Janelle and why she focuses on user experience (5:42) Janelle’s perspective on understanding your market as online course creators (6:58) Course content and the value of building learning communities (10:14) Debunking myths about passive income (11:54) Janelle’s podcast and how the power of listening has led her to expand her online offerings (14:19) Focusing our efforts as course creators (16:12) How Janelle teaches her students to validate their course concept and launch (17:37) Favorite launch strategies and the importance of “ask campaigns” (21:08) Comparing course platforms (25:14) Why Janelle’s opinion of Udemy has shifted over time (27:14) How to get testimonials and social proof (30:31) Janelle’s favorite resources and tools (31:37) Her perspective on how online courses can change lives Thanks for listening and learning along with me today. Stay tuned for another great episode coming soon! Links Bonjoro Free Trial Janelle’s Website Janelle’s Podcast Thinkific Podia ClickFunnels Lead Pages Drip TypeForm RightMessage ConvertKit Crowdcast Zoom Piano in 21 Days The Online Course Guy