The Online Course Show

I’m back, and I’m glad you’re here to join me for another podcast episode. This time around I had the pleasure of speaking with Rod Howell about his tap dancing course, which he began all the way back in 2005! "You need to start posting on YouTube, because if you make really good content, people will find you." - Rod Howell There have been many lessons Rod’s learned and experience he’s gained over the years, so sit back and enjoy hearing what he shared during our conversation. In This Episode, We Talked About: (5:42) What sparked Rod’s initial interest in creating a course, and how his business has evolved over time (8:09) His current email marketing strategy and what he plans on tweaking for the future (12:14) Rod’s recommendations for new course creators on how to effectively get started on YouTube (15:00) The other strategies and platforms Rod uses for marketing and traffic-building (17:00) How the different pieces of his business fit together, and where he generates most of his revenue (18:15) Rod’s approach to maximizing revenue through product bundling strategies (19:40) His top advice for course creators who are just starting out and need to increase their sales (22:34) The biggest struggle Rod is working through these days with his course, and why he’s persevering despite the challenges (23:48) The number one thing Rod would do differently if he was starting out today (25:35) How his work-life balance has evolved over the years while working from home (27:33) Some closing advice for anyone who wants to make a course and isn’t sure where to start That’s all for today, but I’ll be back soon with more cool tips and great insights from another fellow course creator – don’t forget to subscribe! Links Bonjoro Free Trial ClickFunnels Free Trial Rod’s Website Piano in 21 Days The Online Course Guy

Today I brought on Curtis Stone, a.k.a. The Urban Farmer, and we had an interesting discussion about his online courses and much, much more. Curtis honed in on some topics he’s clearly passionate about, while providing a fascinating look at what has worked for his business over the years. "Write the content and hit “go”." - Curtis Stone I know I learned a lot from Curtis today, so I hope you enjoy listening in! In This Episode, We Talked About: (5:15) Curtis’s two current courses, and what he’s planning for later this year and beyond (6:58) What got Curtis into the world of online courses (7:27) How writing a book compares to creating a course, and the format that Curtis finds works best for his personality and vision (9:30) Curtis’s pricing strategy for the content he offers (10:32) How his books have value as a part of his sales funnel (12:18) The main social platform he uses to move people along his funnel (12:57) Curtis’s marketing motto (14:09) The evolution of his marketing style, and the way he tailors his approach to his niche and passions (17:08) Why he feels online courses can be a more effective means of sharing knowledge than traditional academics in some cases (18:15) Challenges Curtis has faced with piracy and dishonest business practices  over the years, and how he’s chosen to respond (21:26) The way he plans on structuring his course offerings in the future based on both evergreen and interactive content (22:16) How Curtis and his business partner divide up their roles and responsibilities (23:22) His take on how new course creators can benefit from partnerships - with some caveats (26:48) Advice for new YouTube creators looking to build an audience for their online course (29:45) The nine streams of income Curtis has developed around his content, and how he’s built his offerings from publishing and online content only into selling related products at several physical locations (34:50) What working from home looks like for Curtis, and how he manages his schedule and goals (36:36) The fascinating and detailed way he determined pricing for his course (41:30) Curtis’s top advice for aspiring 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! I’ll be back next week with yet another interview and more great tips for you as a course creator. Links Bonjoro Free Trial ClickFunnels Free Trial Curtis’s Website Piano in 21 Days The Online Course Guy

Happy 4th of July! Today’s interview is a bit different than those I’ve done before, because my guest has actually never created an online course. But as the founder of Bonjoro, Matt Barnett fits right in here anyway, because he’s all about creating meaningful customer experiences and enhancing personal communications – without creating a whole lot of extra workload on the business side of things. "Automate processes, but not relationships." - Matt Barnett I use Bonjoro to personally thank every student who enrolls in my course, so I know firsthand what a great tool this is to connect with others. Needless to say, I’m a huge fan of Matt’s product. We talked about why I love Bonjoro, but also much more than that. Along the way, Matt provided some really insightful thoughts on why and how connecting with customers on a personal level should be a top priority. In This Episode, We Talked About: (6:53) How witnessing firsthand the power of personal communication led Matt and others to develop Bonjoro (9:42) Matt’s thoughts on the value of connecting with individuals, even in a time where so many entrepreneurs are trying to scale their business on every front (12:03) His advice on when to integrate personalized communication along the different points of your marketing funnel (13:10) What he considers to be “the hardest part of the customer journey” (16:13) Where Matt draws the line between scale and personalization (21:08) The fun story behind Pat Flynn’s use of Bonjoro, and Matt’s perspective on how treating all customers equally can lead to unexpected benefits (24:00) Matt’s advice on where I (and other course creators) could improve communications on a personal level (28:18) The importance of delight, and how to incorporate delight into interactions with customers (30:07) What’s next for Bonjoro, and the direction Matt sees his business growing into in the future I know I’ll be thinking over Matt’s words of wisdom for a long time to come, and I hope you enjoyed listening in. That’s all for today, but I’ll be back later this week with more cool tips and online-course-related insights! Links Bonjoro Free Trial Piano in 21 Days The Online Course Guy

I’ve been busy switching things up lately on The Online Course Guy, so welcome back to my new and improved podcast! It’s been fun putting together a brand-new intro, working with some new sponsors (links below), and most importantly having some great conversations with fellow course creators. I’m stoked about today’s debut with all the latest and greatest info that I’m going to share with you. "Niches make riches." -Ari Blum   On today’s episode I had the chance to talk with Ari Blum about how he created his online radiation tech resources, and what he’s learned through trial and error along the way. Ari shared a wealth of insight and some stories that I could really relate to as a course creator myself. It was great to get his perspective on what worked (and didn’t) for him, and I’m glad you’re here to listen in! In This Episode, We Talked About: (0:00) My favorite takeaway from Ari’s story (11:00) What initially got Ari interested in online courses while working towards his career goals (12:26) How he identified his audience and started building his email list - before he even started developing his course (15:42) The inspiration Ari drew from Tim Ferris’ business model, and the steps he took to get started (17:30) The reason he classifies his resources differently than some course providers, and the unique offerings his website makes available (18:50) What triggered Ari’s expansion into not only teaching but offering licensing for his niche, and how that affected the structure of his web presence and resource offerings (20:05) What Ari considers his biggest mistake, and what he would do differently if he was a new online course creator now (22:25) Why Ari needed start-up capital to begin his business, and what he used that initial investment to accomplish for his business (24:11) How he’s leveraging social media to build niche-specific traffic while also benefiting from word-of-mouth marketing (27:32) How Ari handles monthly expenditures - and the tools he’s using to help manage all the moving parts of his business (32:08) Ari’s approach to balancing family and work-life (34:44) The value Ari sees in using co-working spaces, and why he advises every new course creator to consider using one too (40:01)  His advice for course creators looking to start their own online course business, and the value of really drill down into a specific niche Whew – that about does it for today! Thanks for joining me for today’s episode. I hope you like what you heard! Feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you think about the new format, and what you enjoyed most about my interview with Ari. Until next time! Links Bonjoro Free Trial ClickFunnels Free Trial Ari Blum’s Website AirTable Asana ZenDesk Piano in 21 Days The Online Course Guy

My guest for today’s podcast episode was Rob Stephenson – a full-time flea market flipper with over 20 years of experience. Over the past couple years, Rob and his wife Melissa have successfully turned their know-how into an online course teaching others how to become flippers. It was great to chat with Rob about their niche, online courses, and the advice they have for new course creators. Enjoy! "The best time to get started is right now." - Rob Stephenson   In This Episode, We Talked About: The personal setback that led to Rob becoming a full-time flea market flipper What motivated Rob and Melissa to turn their flipping experience into an online course How they divide their labor, and what works best for them as busy parents running their own business The social platform that works best for generating traffic to Rob and Melissa’s course What they’d do differently if they were starting over with course creation today Why and how Rob and Melissa decided to hire a coach to help them strategize further expansion for their business Rob’s advice for aspiring course creators That’s just a taste of what we covered in our conversation, so I hope you heard something insightful for your own course creation journey. Don’t forget to leave a comment and share what you liked about today’s episode! Links Rob and Melissa’s Website Piano in 21 Days The Online Course Guy

I’m back with another podcast episode, this time with Mike Moyer from mikeandlauren.com. Mike’s range of experience with a wide variety of courses makes him a great source of information, so it was great to hear how he and Lauren got started and what he recommends for new course creators. Enjoy! "As a beginner, you might be one of the best teachers possible." - Mike Moyer   In This Episode, We Talked About: How Mike and Lauren originally got started making YouTube videos, and how they eventually began to develop online courses The big online name who reached out to Mike and Lauren to collaborate on an online course The fascinating process Mike and Lauren used to create one of their latest courses - and how they made sure their content would meet the needs of their target audience Why Mike feels that being an expert isn’t necessary to teach Mike’s recommendations for online course platforms for new course creators His take on course scarcity, marketing strategies, AdSense, Facebook ads, and more! I had a great time talking with Mike on this episode, so I hope you enjoy listening. Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a comment below on what you learned from today’s podcast! Links Mike and Lauren’s Main Website Mike’s Fusion360 Course Piano in 21 Days The Online Course Guy

In today’s episode, I had the pleasure of talking with Abbey Ashley about the success of her virtual assistant courses and her best advice for aspiring course creators. Abbey shared a wealth of insight on how to approach setting up and launching courses, and it was very interesting to hear her perspective on what has (and hasn’t!) worked for her. I enjoyed our conversation and I think you will too! "Start building an audience right away… It really does start to compound over time." - Abbey Ashley   In This Episode, We Talked About: How Abbey broke into the online world, and what she loves about the virtual assistant side of entrepreneurship The big name in online courses who originally inspired Abbey to develop and her own course Why her first courses flopped, and what she learned as a result Abbey’s tips for managing time and distractions while working from home The strategy that Abbey recommends for getting your feet wet in the online world The main tools that Abbey uses to host and market her courses How Abbey structured her sales funnel and transitioned into an evergreen webinar pitch model Her advice for online course creators looking to hire virtual assistants themselves We discuss all that and much more, so don’t forget to leave a comment and let me know what you enjoyed about today’s episode! Links Abbey’s Website ConvertKit Loom Trello Slack Piano in 21 Days The Online Course Guy

I’m here with yet another podcast episode, and this time I got to speak with Beth Blackerby, who has been doing online courses since 2007. It was great to hear from another person in the music space of online learning!Beth first became interested in online courses through working with adult violin students, but no matter who your target audience is or what your teaching topic might be, there are lessons to be learned from her story. "It’s just a series of baby steps… Do one little thing and the next day do another little thing. It adds up quickly." -Beth Blackerby   In This Episode, We Talked About: The “light-bulb moment” that inspired Beth to branch out from in-person lessons to a different way of teaching violin The gap Beth saw in the online market for violin learners, and the way that she tailored her curriculum to the need she saw How things have changed over time for online learning, and what Beth had to do to make her vision for her courses a reality The marketing strategies that she used to eventually get her website out from the depths What it took for Beth to feel that her online courses were a success, and the growth she’s seen since then Her unusual membership model and the interesting reasoning behind her decision to not have auto-renew memberships What Beth would have done differently if she were setting up her online course today We discuss all that and much more in this episode, so I hope you enjoy listening. Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a comment below on what you learned from today’s podcast! Links Beth’s Website Piano in 21 Days The Online Course Guy

I’m back with another podcast episode, this time someone who’s been doing online courses since all the way back in 2009! Leon Turetsky has seen a lot change and some things remain the same in the past 9 years of teaching dancing. It was great to hear how things have evolved for him over time and what has worked for him and his business. "Research and figure out what people are already looking for online. Then try to create a piece of content that is better than what’s already out there." -Leon Turetsky   In This Episode, We Talked About: How Leon first got the idea to start his own course, and the first steps he took to set up his very first website The way that identifying his target audience changed every aspect of Leon’s marketing The social platform Leon has doubled-down on for finding new students Leon’s marketing funnel and the main ways he gets people to his site The tips Leon has for course creators looking into membership-model sites Other entry points into online learning that Leon has and is developing How Leon juggles the wide range of entrepreneurial endeavors he’s involved in and what he is finding the most challenging Leon’s advice for people exploring the realm of online course creation We discuss all that and much more in this episode, so I hope you enjoy listening. Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a comment below on what you learned from today’s podcast! Links Leon’s Websites Piano in 21 Days The Online Course Guy

Today’s podcast was fascinating! I had a very inspiring conversation with a fellow course creator today, and I’m glad you’re here to listen to it. Jessica Putnam Philips is a craftsperson who experienced rapid success with the launch of her course membership site. I know I’m super-motivated after talking with her, and I think you’re going to find there are lots of helpful tidbits for you to learn from! "Don’t let anyone hold you back or tell you that you can’t do it." -Jessica Putnam Philips   In This Episode, We Talked About: The negative experience that Jessica turned into a positive by letting it inspire to create her own ceramics course The unusual way that Jessica used live-streaming to find her audience Jessica’s membership setup and how she addresses different skill levels and needs The strategy behind Jessica’s course pricing structure Resistance she has met along the way and how she’s responded to her critics Some surprising similarities between the type of students Jessica’s resources attract and my own piano course students How Jessica keeps her students motivated and stays current with her audience What she would have done differently if she was just getting started with her course today We discuss all that and much more in this episode, so I hope you enjoy listening. Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a comment below on what you learned from today’s podcast! Links Jessica’s Website Piano in 21 Days The Online Course Guy