The Online Course Show

Happy Monday! Continuing on the recent theme of online courses with a musical emphasis, my guest today is David Walliman, guitarist and course creator. But that’s not to say that only the musically-inclined will benefit from what he had to share – on this episode he shared how he’s created a highly successful YouTube funnel, with some great ideas for any course creator no matter what your topic of choice is. "The more specific you are with your audience, the less competition there is and the better quality product you can produce." -David Walliman David really honed in on some important info for anyone looking for practical ways to boost their traffic. It was awesome to hear his insights, so I hope you’ll like what you hear! In This Episode, We Talked About: (2:30) David’s guitar qualifications, and what led him to create a course (4:38) His transition process from teaching in person to offering content online (8:18) How his brand and sales focus have evolved over time (11:20) The how and why behind the way he defines his niche and target audience (13:04) The role YouTube plays in his business, and how he strategizes his traffic-building process (16:14) What David wishes he had started doing earlier as he developed his business (17:20) The evolution of his YouTube content - and how he keeps generating new video ideas (22:41) How he’s using specific language and marketing to really ensure he attracts the right students for his content (22:54) The initial distinction he drew between his own music and his learning resources, and how he’s rethought his perspective over time (25:43) How David figured out what would improve his branding and found a design agency to help (27:40) Some interesting results for his web traffic data (29:50) The impact email marketing has had on David’s business (32:12) His favorite tools and platforms (33:50) The biggest struggles he’s currently facing and how he hopes to address it in the future (38:25) His advice for aspiring course creators That’s all for now, folks! See you on the next episode of The Online Course Guy. Links Bonjoro Free Trial ClickFunnels Free Trial David’s Website Teachable ConvertKit Piano in 21 Days The Online Course Guy

This episode is a little different than ones I’ve done before. After the previous episode where I interviewed Rob Hampton, we got into a conversation on evergreen funnels that I thought was definitely worth sharing. Rob had some questions about how I set up my sales funnel – not only from a logistics side of things but also about the ethics of evergreen funnels.With Rob’s permission, I’m posting our talk here so anyone else who’s been thinking about this (or didn’t realize they should) can figure out their stance on certain marketing topics too. Feel free to drop me a line and let me know your thoughts! In This Episode, We Talked About: (2:10) The percentage of sales I get from people who sign up for my course through my email list (3:37) Where my traffic and email opt-ins typically come from (5:30) Rob’s concerns about marketing and specifically evergreen funnels (8:29) My perspective on funnels and marketing in general (13:23) My refund policy, the Golden Rule, and how that factors into student experience (15:56) Thoughts on how perceived scarcity can actually benefit consumers (17:32) How some evergreen webinars cross the line when it comes to integrity (20:35) Using Bonjoro to connect with customers (plus a live recording of me sending out one of the many Bonjoro videos I record each week) That wraps it up for this week, but don’t forget to subscribe! I’ll be back next week with some more great info on course creation. Links Bonjoro Free Trial ClickFunnels Free Trial Rob’s Website Piano in 21 Days The Online Course Guy

On today’s episode I brought on a guest who would have really come in handy about a year ago! Susie Parker is a sleep consultant and course creator who candidly shared with me what her course creation process has looked like, what she’s learned along the way, and what she’d do differently if she was just starting out today.   "You need to pre-sell. Don’t spend a ton of time creating until you know you’re going to be selling." -Susie Parker Susie really got me thinking about some of the intricacies of course creation and niche marketing. It was a pleasure to speak with her, and I hope you enjoy listening in! In This Episode, We Talked About: (3:00) Susie’s journey into sleep consultancy (5:25) How she got started in the course creation world (6:19) The early mistake she made, and what she learned as a result (7:15) What her early forays into building her website and sales funnel looked like (8:45) How she’s balanced her course sales with one-on-one consultation sales (11:02) Susie’s observations on the different demographics in her audience (11:43) The simple way she addresses her customers’ pain points (14:10) Her thoughts on the pros and cons of creating scarcity for her audience (15:24) Why she currently uses Teachable, and what she is transitioning into using for the future (21:16) Susie’s take on her sleep consultancy certification and its effects on her business (23:29) Where the majority of her traffic comes from, and how her SEO strategy has evolved over time (24:49) Her most recent business struggles (29:43) Her goals for future hiring/outsourcing and what she’s experienced during platform transitions (33:22) Susie’s advice for anyone interested in creating an online course Whew! That about does it for today – time for a quick nap. ???? Don’t forget to join me for the next episode of The Online Course Guy! Links Bonjoro Free Trial ClickFunnels Free Trial Susie’s Website Teachable Kartra Piano in 21 Days The Online Course Guy

I’m back with another interview, this time with Rob Hampton, an experienced guitar teacher and course creator. Rob’s course creation journey and unusual approach to his niche of choice provides a lot of food for thought and a lot of passion to be inspired by "Be nimble, be tough… Keep your list warm." -Rob Hampton It was great to hear what has (and hasn’t) worked for Rob as an online entrepreneur, as well as where he might be headed in the future. Thinking outside the box is definitely worthwhile, and I hope you’ll apply this idea to your own niche to see what interesting new ideas you come up with! In This Episode, We Talked About: (4:43) Rob’s guitar and guitar teaching journey - and what got him interested in teaching online (6:20) The steps he took to start building content, and what that looked like back in the early days of online tech (7:04) His explanation of chord charts as they relate to his guitar approach (a topic which is useful to know about for my piano course, too!) (8:55) What led Rob to transition his website from a “business card” to an online learning resource (10:23) The significance of his Alexa Rating, and where a lot of his traffic is coming from (12:38) The importance of lead magnets and attracting the right kind of student (14:03) What Rob would do differently if he was creating his first course now (15:16) The exciting new niche he is targeting with his new course (15:33) What he sees as the benefit of offering chord chart resources online, and what excites him the most about teaching guitar (18:13) How getting ahead of the curve with posting guitar resources helped him boost his SEO ratings very early on (19:29) The inspiration and steps behind his current and upcoming courses (20:39) A challenging aspect of finding the correct niche and converting traffic into sales - plus how he’s using what he’s learned to plan for future course offerings (22:40) The difficulties of engaging with his core course demographic based on his current subscription model (24:41) What seperating his online business into two segments looks like for him now as he launches his latest course (27:30) How Rob identified pain points and motivations for his second target demographic (31:15) The exciting ways that his new course will help aspiring musicians and performers (34:44) How he rates the current trajectory of his launch, and his biggest recent takeaway (39:58) The best mindset and strategy to have when developing online courses (40:40) How Rob was able to create his website, sales funnel, and lead magnets without outsourcing (43:18) The software and resources he’s used along the way (45:17) His top advice for new course creators We discuss all that and much more on today’s episode, so I hope you enjoyed what you heard! Feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you found most helpful about this interview – and make sure you subscribe! Links Bonjoro Free Trial ClickFunnels Free Trial Rob Hampton’s Website Thrive Themes ConvertKit Wishlist Member Plug-In Piano in 21 Days The Online Course Guy

I switched things up a bit for today’s episode, and in the process shared some valuable info that has really impacted the success of my course and many others. Instead of bringing on a guest, I’ve run through the 3 most effective sales funnels I’ve ever seen. Learning how they work and implementing some of them myself was a huge factor in kicking my business into gear "The insights I got by talking one-on-one with my customers has been completely invaluable." –Jacques Hopkins By using one or more the funnels I describe in the episode, you will be doing yourself a huge favor. So I hope you enjoy listening in! In This Episode, We Talked About: (2:15) What is a funnel? I explain the most basic form of a sales funnel - and why it’s not ideal (3:22) The goal of each step in your funnel (3:57) The types of traffic that could introduce potential customers into your sales funnel (4:35) Three main components I recommend for the middle of your sales funnel (5:12) Why I don’t recommend skipping certain funnel steps - even though I do know of success stories from people who do just that (7:09) How and why one of my personal favorite funnels works (11:12) Some examples of how the Product Launch Formula funnel has benefitted course creators (11:57) Another funnel type that is all the rage these days - and for good reason (13:50) My advice for anyone setting up an evergreen webinar (16:55) The absolute best resource I’ve found for webinar creators (18:05) A great example of a webinar that works (18:19) A less common funnel that has been making a comeback recently, and why you might want to consider using it (23:06) You’ve picked a sales funnel to use for your business - how do you turn that into sales? (23:51) An outside-the-box sales technique I recommend for new course creators (28:25) A quick recap, plus why you should consider using more than one funnel I enjoyed this special solo edition of my podcast, but I’ll be back soon with more interesting interviews with course creators. Have a great weekend, and don’t forget to subscribe! Links Bonjoro Free Trial ClickFunnels Free Trial Expert Secrets Nate Dodson’s Website Piano in 21 Days The Online Course Guy

I’m back with a very special episode of The Online Course Guy podcast! This was a first for me: I had the chance to talk with a course creator who, like me, has an online piano course! Steve Lungrin joined me to chat about the many fascinating lessons he’s learned with his course, and I really enjoyed hearing from someone in the same online space as me. "It’s less about making sales, and more about finding the right customers." -Steve Lungrin Steve was super-transparent about his journey both with the piano as an instrument and his course creation process. Even if you aren’t focused on music courses specifically, you’re going to hear lots of tips that could help you no matter what topic you’re teaching! In This Episode, We Talked About: (4:43) How Steve first got into playing piano (7:01) The seemingly-random scenario that luckily led him to a different approach (8:32) Why Steve was initially skeptical about turning his passion for piano into a career (9:55) What led him to take his know-how and turn it into an online course (12:40) How he started pulling in 4 figures monthly about 6 months after setting up his course (15:43) What’s changed in his business over the years, and some future changes he may make (18:05) Steve’s thoughts balancing a course structure with the actual lesson content (20:04) His advice for anyone looking to create their own course (21:27) What he would do differently if he was starting over today (21:50) How changing technology has impacted his business and led him to evolve over time (22:56) The most important lesson he’s been learning recently (25:12) What Steve’s sales funnel currently looks like, and his detailed plans for what he wants to add into his funnel (28:31) His plans for revamping his pricing structure (28:59) The platform he swears by for his online course (30:46) Steve’s biggest struggle over the years as an entrepreneur (31:28) His advice for anyone working on their business (35:47) What Steve hopes every entrepreneur will remember And stay tuned for next time – I’ll be doing a special solo show explaining the ultimate top three sales funnels! Links Bonjoro Free Trial ClickFunnels Free Trial Steve’s Website Kajabi Piano in 21 Days The Online Course Guy

Welcome to yet another TOCG podcast episode! Michelle Schroeder-Garner came on to tell me all about she snowballed her blog into an online course AND how she gets WIFI on her boat – plus shared some really helpful tips along the way "Unless you put yourself out there, you’ll never know how it will turn out." - Michelle Schroeder-Garner Michelle passed on some great info and insights, and as a result I’m already implementing some tweaks in my own business. Enjoy listening in! In This Episode, We Talked About: (4:04) The wide range of expertise Michelle brings to the table, and what her different income streams look like (4:56) What led her to develop an online course on affiliate marketing (5:48) How her passion for traveling factors into her business, and why she’s so motivated to develop passive income (6:50) How Michelle rates her different income streams (7:17) Her current sales funnel setup for her online course, and where most of her traffic comes from (8:51) How she decided her course price-point (10:18) The way that Michelle keeps her business expenses low (11:08) What affiliate marketing looks like for her course on affiliate marketing (pretty meta, I know) (11:45) Her advice for those of us who aren’t bloggers by trade but want to get started with affiliate marketing (12:53) Michelle’s recommendations for online course creators who are considering diversifying their business (14:38) Her important tips on how to disclose affiliate links in your web content (17:19) Her course development process, and how she responds to student requests for additional information (18:24) What Michelle would have done differently if she could go back in time (18:47) The top advice she has for anyone considering creating their own online course (19:43) What she sees ahead for her business and future goals That’s all for now, folks! See you on the other side of this weekend (and don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss the next episode of The Online Course Guy)! Links Bonjoro Free Trial ClickFunnels Free Trial Michelle’s Website Teachable Piano in 21 Days The Online Course Guy

What’s the difference between a fiddle and violin? Well if you don’t know the answer, you’re in the right place. Today’s episode features my interview with Jason Kleinberg of FiddleHed.com. He’s had a really interesting, organic path to course creation, so it was very cool to hear his story. "Start giving people things and see what happens." - Jason Kleinberg There were lots of little nuggets to learn from in my conversation with Jason, including how his mindset and approach to his business has really evolved with time. It was good to get perspective on what has worked so far for him, and I think you’ll enjoy listening in! In This Episode, We Talked About: (2:34) How Jason got started creating video lessons for his fiddle students, and the turning point that led him to create an online education system (5:22) The most important addition to his business so far (7:20) How his online lessons and course development are intertwined with in-person lessons (9:05) What led Jason to use a subscription model for his website (and why he didn’t jump into the world of subscriptions right away) (10:21) Steps he took to learn how to launch the most recent form of his business (10:45) The book that changed his outlook on outsourcing - and what transitioning to outsourcing looked like for his business (15:20) The realization that Jason had on how to improve communication with his team (17:04) How his pre-launch and launch looked (19:25) What he’s thinking about changing in the future for his pricing and membership structure (23:50) Where most of Jason’s traffic comes from - and how a furry friend has helped build rapport with his fans and students (26:08) His biggest struggle with his business and work-life balance (28:52) Jason’s advice for course creators who are just starting out That wraps it up for today, but don’t forget to subscribe so you can keep up with all the latest episodes. Catch you later! Links Bonjoro Free Trial ClickFunnels Free Trial Jason’s Website The 4-Hour Workweek Piano in 21 Days The Online Course Guy

On today’s episode I had the chance to talk with Jeremy Deighan, course creator and online entrepreneur. Jeremy is a co-host with Phil Ebener on their own podcast about online courses, so this was an amazing chance to pick his brain on the topic "Don’t be scared… go through the process, and figure out what you need to fix later on." - Jeremy Deighan Jeremy provided some great food for thought on how Udemy has worked as a platform for his business. In fact, during the course of our conversation Jeremy convinced me to make some of my own content available on this platform for the first time! In This Episode, We Talked About: (4:29) How Jeremy first got into doing business online - and what hooked him on creating online courses (6:53) The process behind creating his own course (on a relatively simple topic) and building it out into several additional related courses with more advanced information (8:25) Why he got started on the Udemy platform and has continued on to incredible success there (10:07) Some options he suggests for new course creators (11:23) The restrictions that new Udemy course creators have on their content (12:34) Jeremy’s interesting advice for me as someone who’s never used Udemy before (13:46) His take on who comes to Udemy and why they might not find courses in some of the other ways that course creators have optimized for (15:26) How Jeremy views Udemy’s segmented pricing strategies and recurrent discounts (17:11) A bit about how Jeremy’s podcast co-host Phil Ebener’s approach to Udemy (18:23) The other platform he sells his courses on, and why (19:31) What his course creation process has looked like from course to course (20:39) His current favorite tech tools and programs (21:23) What Jeremy might have done differently if he was starting over today (22:29) Where he goes to get inspired and motivated about his craft (24:35) What he’s focused on getting better at these days (25:00) Jeremy’s advice for ranking high on Udemy (27:24) His encouragement for aspiring course creators (29:32) The results I’ve seen from my own Udemy experiment We covered a lot of interesting ground today, so I hope enjoyed hearing our chat plus the results and feedback I have on his suggestions after having implemented some of them with my own course. Until next time! Links Bonjoro Free Trial ClickFunnels Free Trial Jeremy Deighan and Phil Ebiner’s Podcast The Deighan’s Website Udemy Skillshare Canva Camtasia Adobe Suite Piano in 21 Days The Online Course Guy

Today’s guest is probably the most successful course creator I’ve interviewed to-date! It was so cool to chat with Caitlin Pyle, on this episode of The Online Course Guy. Caitlin’s proofreading courses have generated 7-figure income and trained a huge number of students how to become successful proofreaders from home. You’d better believe I’m double-checking this post before I hit the “Publish” button! "You’ve got to be invested in quality and value if you want to stand out." -Caitlyn Pyle It was great to get Caitlyn’s perspective on what worked (and didn’t) for her when she was first getting started. She had some great tips for aspiring course creators, and I’m still mulling over a lot of what she shared. Enjoy! In This Episode, We Talked About: (4:17) The road that led Caitlyn from writing an ebook about her freelance experience to creating an online course (7:11) How her husband inspired her along the way, and the cycle of generosity she feels plays a part in her success (10:11) Caitlyn’s take on a common question she and I have both heard from people about our online courses (12:10) The mindset she overcame while learning to create her course, and the tool she’s relied on since the beginning (14:26) What Caitlyn’s workflow looks like now that her course has experienced such success (15:59) How she has built her team and identified who she wants to work with along the way (16:43) How she’s delegated to team members - and the cool way she makes sure everyone is motivated to keep the business successful (19:14) The way that her business structure compliments her personality and leadership style (22:02) Her perspective on investing time and money wisely (22:39) The biggest thing she would do differently if she was starting over today (23:49) Caitlyn’s thoughts on the challenge of selling courses on non-profitable skills, and a great piece of advice she gave a friend on this topic recently (27:25) What some sample sales funnels look like for her courses (31:45) How her automated webinars work and her process for creating videos (35:52) The ways she communicates about pricing/tuition to potential enrollees (36:30) Her recommendations for new course creators working with a limited budget That wraps it up for today, but don’t forget to subscribe so you can keep up with all the latest episodes of The Online Course Guy. More great interviews are in the works, so I hope you stick around! Links Bonjoro Free Trial ClickFunnels Free Trial Caitlyn’s Website WordPress Courseware Plugin Piano in 21 Days The Online Course Guy