The Online Course Show

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

I’m going to go out on a limb here: I bet most of us can’t really imagine what it would be like creating online learning resources back when webcams hadn’t even been invented yet! But that’s exactly what my guest today did, and Jori Chisholm has been teaching bagpipes online ever since "Find your unique voice. Find what it is that makes you different and appealing to a potential student." - Jori Chisholm The fact that Jori has been doing this for so long means he has a wealth of stories and experience to draw from, as well as a really good perspective on what has (and hasn’t) about the online learning sphere and what students in his niche are looking for. We had a great chat, so hang on to your hats and let’s do some time-traveling! In This Episode, We Talked About: (3:32) What prompted Jori to register his website domain all the way back in 1999, and how the way he's used it has evolved over time (5:28) Why he was willing to give this formerly untraditional path a chance, and the technological advancement that opened up new horizons for remote learning (7:17) The developmental timeline of Jori's online business (personally I think he was pretty ahead of the curve in a lot of ways!) (10:24) How he's used his years of seeing what students want to set up his sales and pricing structure (13:49) The way he's collaborated with others to create unique content for his subscribers (17:02) How Jori's call-to-action and works on his website to help build rapport with potential students and grow his email list (19:49) His favorite online services and SaaS products for his business (22:25) How he’s using FB ads to grow his conversion rate, and how he’s targeting specific demographics (25:09) Where most of Jori’s traffic comes these days (25:38) The biggest challenge he’s currently facing, and how that’s shaped his goals for this year (27:44) How his weekly work schedule looks (31:31) His take on internet freebies and how his perspective has changed on the competition (32:06) Jori’s excellent advice for aspiring course creators That about does it for today! I hope you enjoyed my conversation with Jori and gained some knowledge along the way. I’ll be back soon with one of the most successful course creators I’ve ever spoken to – don’t forget to subscribe so you won’t miss it! Links Bonjoro Free Trial ClickFunnels Free Trial Jori’s Website Website Klayvio AdEspresso The Million Dollar One-Person Business Piano in 21 Days The Online Course Guy

Happy Monday! My guest today doesn’t only have an online course – she’s built an entire online academy with a wide range of courses by her and other collaborators, all about writing and illustrating children’s books. Speaking with Dr. Mira Reisberg and hearing her journey into this world of teaching online was a pleasure. "If you’re starting out, learn from others. Take courses yourself, see how they do it." - Dr. Mira Reisberg This episode provided a great look at how and why Dr. Mira has grown her passion and skill set into a successful business. I found her story and her emphasis on community-building very inspiring, and I hope you do too! In This Episode, We Talked About: (3:41) The story behind how Dr. Mira’s online courses came to be (5:12) What leaving behind academia to start her online academy looked like, and the team that she’s grown over the years to help her community and business thrive (7:25) The cool mindset she uses to overcome the challenges of learning new tech, and some transitions she is currently making on the backend of her courses (11:04) What blogging looks like for the community she’s created around her business (11:33) How Dr. Mira delegates some of her workload to her team (13:08) Why she’s created such a large number of resources in her niche, and what she’s currently working on in terms of new content (15:51) Her goals for creating more balance between her business efforts and creative time for working on new books of her own (16:45) The sales structure she is currently using, and why it works for the type of oversight and interaction she has with each new course enrollee (18:04) Her awesome sales traffic, and some thoughts on what the high volume of interest in her academy stems from (22:40) How Dr. Mira reaches out to prospective students, and the personal touches she gives to her teaching that really sets her courses apart (25:03) Why she’s found online teaching to be the best fit for her teaching style and personality (28:25) The great advice Dr. Mira gives for people who are just starting out with their own online course We discuss all that and much more, so don’t forget to drop me a line and let me know what you enjoyed about today’s episode! I’ll be back in a couple days with even more great content about online course development – see you then! Links Bonjoro Free Trial ClickFunnels Free Trial Dr. Mira Reisberg’s Website Weebly Teachable Infusionsoft Canva Piano in 21 Days The Online Course Guy

To close out what has turned out to be a pretty busy week, I’m back with my interview with Teresa Perleberg, a relative newcomer to the world of online courses. Over the past year, she’s managed to turn her hobby and online retail business into a really cool learning opportunity for people interested in her niche of needle-felting. "Just know that [your course] is going to grow, and plan ahead for that." - Teresa Perleberg I loved hearing Teresa’s story, and was impressed by her confidence and positivity. I think it’s safe to say her success to-date is just the beginning of more to come. Enjoy! In This Episode, We Talked About: (3:58) Teresa’s transition from selling handmade products and supply kits to creating a course on how others could make their own needle-felted creations (6:44) The reason she felt confident about expanding into online courses (hint: supply and demand!) (6:57) What her course creation process looked like (7:30) How she’s structured her course and set up her ever-expanding content offerings (10:19) The pricing options in Teresa’s membership model, and the surprising results she’s achieved after past adjustments (13:33) How Teresa’s multiple income streams are set up, and where she is currently creating the most revenue (14:25) The struggles she’s currently facing as her business grows (15:06) What she’d change if she were starting her online course over today (16:02) The mastermind group she finds most helpful as an entrepreneur (16:29) The surprising main traffic source to Teresa’s site, and the strategy she recommends based on what works for her (18:03) How she uses SEO strategies, and the benefit she’s seen as a result of long-term work in this area (19:10) What Teresa recommends for people who are interested in starting their own online course based on their hobbies and passions That’s all for now, folks! See you next week for another episode of The Online Course Guy. Links Bonjoro Free Trial ClickFunnels Free Trial Teresa’s Website Learn Dash for WordPress Piano in 21 Days The Online Course Guy

Welcome back! Today I’ve brought on Susan Poizner to talk about the story behind her course on growing fruit trees. I have had some fruit tree disasters over the years, so I know firsthand why the information she’s offering has value. "You have to start by teaching others." -Susan Poizner One thing I love about doing these interviews is hearing how people from all walks of life are turning their passions and hobbies into real businesses – no two stories are alike! It was great to hear how Susan developed her an online course, and how she’s achieved success even without a previous background in online marketing or teaching horticulture. I hope you enjoy listening in! In This Episode, We Talked About: (6:05) What led Susan from a background in filmmaking and journalism into teaching people how to grow and care for fruit trees (7:40) How she went from teaching in-person, to writing a book, to creating online courses (and why she feels the online format lends itself very well to teaching in her niche) (8:52) What Susan would do differently if she was just starting out today, and the learning management system she swears by after much trial and error (12:51) Where Susan recommends new course creators start their process (14:45) The types of expansion she envisions for her course offerings in the future (15:40) The role she feels her filmmaking background has played in developing her actual course content - and what she recommends for those of us who aren’t cinematographers (16:36) Why Susan feels her content stands out and is gaining traffic momentum, even without concentrated SEO strategies in place (20:37) The benefits she’s seeing from using paid Facebook ads (21:16) The biggest challenges Susan is currently facing as she seeks to expand her business (23:12) Her top tips for aspiring course creators That’s all for now, folks! Have a great weekend, and see you on Monday for the next episode of The Online Course Guy. Links Bonjoro Free Trial ClickFunnels Free Trial Susan’s Website Sensei for WordPress Piano in 21 Days The Online Course Guy