The Game Changer: Crafting Content that Sells Courses

Ready to step up your game as a course creator in this digital era? Get ready to unlock a whole new way of leveraging content to maximize your course sales.

We'll be peeling back the curtain on how to create compelling content that not only keeps your audience hooked but also drives them towards transformation. We'll be gently nudging you away from the constant pressure of being a content creator and guiding you towards becoming a transformation-focused course creator. 

We'll be unboxing strategies to help you craft content that educates your audience about your unique philosophy and methodology, setting you apart from the crowd. More so, we'll be delving into how to convert your audience into paying customers by addressing their questions and problems that might be inhibiting their growth. Leverage your existing clientele by using real-life examples and showcase the potential of your course.

Tune in for this packed episode where we break down the process of creating content that converts, a must for every course creator seeking to make an impact in the digital realm.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Are you struggling to create content on social media that actually converts your audience into people who purchase your course? If yes, definitely stay tuned for today's episode, because I'm going to be talking all about content and how what you are doing currently like following social media trends is not leading to course sales and what to do instead. So stay tuned. What change becomes possible when 100,000 people are impacted by your work? This question came to me one day and I have been working to find the answer ever since. Hi, I'm Jess and I help online course creators amplify their influence and create a movement with their message, and on this podcast, I am sharing the simple strategies and systems to help you impact more people with your programs so you can create quantum growth in your industry. You are listening to the Quantum Course Creator podcast. Hey there, quantum Course Creator. Welcome back to the podcast. Jess here, and I am so excited to chat with you today about content. This is something that I've actually been passionate about for a really long time, but something that I've really paid attention to the trends and the way that things are changing in the industry, and something I'm excited to talk to you about today. So, in case you don't know this part of my story.

Speaker 1: 1:18

I actually started in the online world as a digital creator Back in the day in 2012, when I had a blog that grew a successful audience and then a coaching business that then turned into what it is today. We didn't really call it being a digital creator. It wasn't a thing back then like a content creator. But I have been creating content and creating educational content on the internet for a long time now, and so I have always kind of had my ear to the ground to listen to trends and things that are changing in the industry. And with the rise of content creators and digital creators that are outside of the norm of course creators, necessarily, I'm beginning to see these trends of how educators and course creators are jumping on the trends that content creators are creating, and this really started with the rise of TikTok and Reels and this different like viral focused content platform and content system rather than really like looking at an educational platform. So when I was a blogger, my blog had a very specific niche, a very specific topic, and I created content relevant to that niche and topic and as a course creator and as an educator, as a like, as an expert in what you teach. Your content and your platform should be very focused on that niche and on that topic that you serve your audience around.

Speaker 1: 2:52

But we live in this world of digital creators right and content creators, and there becomes this very real pressure to create content like a content creator, especially when those content creators have the ability to grow an audience very quickly and very like largely right. And so there, as a course creator, maybe sitting here with a thousand or a few thousand followers and then see somebody who just records funny videos of their family having tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of followers and think I need to create content like them. But here's the thing that is not actually the case. And following social media trends will never sell your course. And on today's episode, I'm going to be really digging into this idea of thinking about content differently as a course creator and how to start leveraging your content to create course sales rather than focusing on virality and really and really this like content creator mindset over being a course creator. So let's dig in.

Speaker 1: 4:02

So the most important thing that I want you to take away from today's episode is that, as a course creator, your content should lead your audience to purchasing your course. I know that that sounds really obvious, but it kind of gets convoluted. When we live in this content centric world. Right, where our content is a form of self expression, we tend to get lost in the lines between being a personal brand or a expert brand and an educator and being an influencer, and I have a past episode about this and the difference between the two, but this bears repeating again. Right, when you are an educator, when you are a course creator, you, the person, are no longer really the brand, right? The transformation that your ideal client wants is the brand. That is what your content should be focused on. It should be focused on the transformation and how you help them do it. You yourself, as the creator, is far less relevant to your ideal client than the transformation that they want to receive and how you help them do it. And so, rather than focusing on creating content about you and about yourself and about your interests and about you as a person, your platform really should be more about the transformation and how you help people achieve it.

Speaker 1: 5:30

And I know that this really goes against a lot of what you may have been told and a lot of what may feel natural, right, we've been told for so long that people need to know, like and trust you to buy from you. I think that's crap. We've been told that you are the reason why people buy from you. I don't think that's true either. Right? I think that people buy courses because they believe that that course will deliver on the promise that you made. Right? They believe that the course will get them the transformation that they want.

Speaker 1: 6:01

Sure, them identifying with you and linking with you is a bonus, but I have purchased courses from people I don't even know because I don't care. I don't care if, like Jenny, who's selling a sourdough course, is cool and has the same number of kids as I do and I relate to her personally I don't really care. I care that she knows how to bake sourdough and I want to learn how to bake sourdough, so I'm going to buy her course because I trust that she can teach me how to bake sourdough. Right? That's the important part here. It is far less about how we relate to people as people when it comes to course creation and course buying than it is that we trust that their course, their content, will deliver on the promise, which is getting the transformation that I desire, or that they desire, and so your content needs to make that clear. It needs to build the case that your course will get them the transformation that they desire. That's it, right. They don't have to know that you have four dogs. They don't have to know that you have elementary school kids, right, these are not important things to a purchasing decision. They just have to trust that you are an expert and that your course will deliver on that promise, and your content is a really great way to do that.

Speaker 1: 7:21

And I want to say, before I get too deep into this, that content does not just relate to social media content, right, there are far more types of content than just Instagram, and I think that we get really stuck in this bubble of showing up in one platform and we completely forget that content is far bigger than just one platform, and so, if you are so deeply focused on creating content for a platform and platform-specific content, you are missing a huge piece of the market that has nothing to do with your social media, and so, when you think of content, I want you to think bigger than just Instagram. I want you to think about your website, I want you to think about your blog posts, I want you to think about creating a legacy platform like a podcast, a blog or a YouTube channel that has searchability, that has a greater reach than just one platform like TikTok or Instagram. That's really when you're going to make the difference with your content is by thinking outside of the box of that one platform. So now that you know what your content shouldn't do, that you shouldn't be focusing on trends, let's talk about what your content should do and what you should be doing with your content. So the first thing is that your content should educate your audience on your philosophy and your methodology, and this is a really important piece, and I hear so many big box course creators really like poo poo on the idea of educational content, but I think that that's a really weird stance to take. Right Again, I think that that comes outside of the realm of logic when it comes to making that purchasing decision, and so your content doesn't need to educate them on the how, but you need to educate them on your philosophy and your methodology.

Speaker 1: 9:15

Your philosophy around your specific topic are the ways that you think about what you teach. It's the different beliefs that you have around your industry. It's about the unique perspectives that you have as it relates to the problem that you help them solve. So, for example, just to go with the sourdough theme, maybe the norm in baking sourdough is that it takes a long time to bake sourdough bread, but maybe your unique angle is that you can bake sourdough in just one day, and that's a unique angle, right? That is a different philosophy, and so educating your audience on that philosophy is really important. Or that you can bake sourdough as a busy mom or a busy woman, right? You don't have to, like, take a ton of time, you can fit it into your schedule, whatever that looks like, right? Or that a beginner can make expert level sourdough using my tips, right? So these are your philosophy.

Speaker 1: 10:18

What are the things that you think about the transformation that you help people achieve that is different than other people's beliefs around it, and how can you educate your audience on how you think differently about the specific thing? And so that is really educating them on your philosophy, on helping them see why what you do and teach is different than other people out there. That's what becomes a differentiator for your course. The other thing is your methodology, how you help them do that. So you are going to educate them on what your specific frameworks are what your processes are, and I'm not saying again teach them your processes, but break them down for them. Tell them that you have a process. How did you develop the process? What are the steps of the process? Why are those the steps of the process and how is this process going to help them achieve that outcome faster, easier, less time, less money, less effort than any other particular process out there? That is really the important part of the educational style.

Speaker 1: 11:24

Content that you wanna create is content that educates your audience on your differentiating factors, on your philosophy, around what you help them achieve, as well as your methodology of how you help them achieve it. So that's really the first style of content. And again, this goes so far outside of just Instagram content. This is where you could create podcast episodes, where you could create blog posts, where you could create YouTube videos. These are all areas where you can show up as the expert in this field and show how you are unique with your philosophy or philosophies and your methodology or methodologies. I do believe that we should have multiple methodologies and processes inside of how we do things, because everything breaks down into smaller bits and pieces, but that is another topic for another day. So the second thing that you want to focus on with your content is addressing any questions or problems that they have had getting the result themselves. And this is an area where I see most people completely fall short with their content right, maybe they're creating content that talks about their unique philosophy, maybe they're creating content that talks about their methodology, maybe they're creating the third kind of content I'm going to tell you about in a second, but most people are not creating content that addresses any questions or problems that they have had getting the result themselves. And this is the most powerful kind of content.

Speaker 1: 12:54

I don't believe that people have objections. I think that that term is really disempowering and it really makes it seem like advent or what's the word I'm looking for Like anywho, I can't even think about it right now Antagonistic that's what I was looking for that they have like an antagonistic perspective when it comes to purchasing your course. I don't think people have objections. I think people have questions, and the more questions that you can answer and the more ways that you can help them see the problems that they've had come up in the past and how you help them overcome that problem by presenting them with solutions to those problems. That is how you're going to help them get off the fence and make a decision to purchase your course, because the person who answers the most questions is the person who's going to help them in the best way, right? If they have no more questions, they have no more reasons to not purchase your program, and so a large chunk of your content should be focused on addressing those questions or those problems that they have had getting the result themselves. And so, when you really think about this, I like to have my clients go through the process of coming up with 50 questions, and that's a lot of questions. But what are the questions that your ideal client is asking? You is asking themselves, what are the problems that are coming up for them, what are the things that they are unclear on, that's keeping them from taking action or, most importantly, keeping them from getting the results that they desire, and how can you create content that addresses that question and answers it for them in a way that removes that question from their field of thinking and puts them into an empowered place where they feel like they have no more questions left to be answered and that they can get the result that they want.

Speaker 1: 14:46

This kind of content is really great for those shorter form social media platforms. Right, if you can create content that answers questions, not only does it become shareable content because if they know other people that have that question, they can share it to their audience or share it with their friends but it also creates very bingeable content. One of the ways that creators are leveraging content in a way that course creators are not is creating bingeable content. When you scroll Instagram reels and you see one that you find relatable, what do you do? You click on their profile, you go to their feed and you binge their content.

Speaker 1: 15:27

We are not focused on creating bingeable content as course creators yet, but when you focus on creating content that answers questions or answers any problems that they've had, it becomes bingeable content. They think like, oh, what next? I need to keep watching this, right, and that's when they start binging your content. That's really something that you want to focus on when you are creating this style of short form content, because you want to create content that people want to binge, where they can get caught in a hole of consuming your content, and so that's really that addressing questions or problems content when they get stuck into that binge hole. So the first type of content that you want to create is educating them on your philosophy and methodology. The second kind is addressing any kind of questions or problems that they have had getting the result themselves, and the third is content that shows them what is possible.

Speaker 1: 16:19

Now, this is content that's focused more on creating social proof or sharing stories of other people who have gotten the result that they desire. Now we know why this kind of content is important. I don't need to sell you on social proof content, but again, this is an area where I feel like a lot of people are lacking because they don't feel like they have good enough testimonials. They feel weird sharing testimonials. What is really more important about this type of content isn't highlighting just the best, most shiny testimonials. I think that that's actually a toxic practice in this industry, where really we should be focusing instead on just showing them what is possible through the stories of our everyday clients, not just cherry picking the ones that got the best possible result, but sharing the sharing the little ones as well. Not only will this empower your clients to keep moving forward, because you're highlighting their story and their experience, but it will also show your potential clients what is possible, no matter where they are at in this process.

Speaker 1: 17:24

This kind of content is very relatable. It relates to the story part of their brain, to them and shows them that if they could do it, I can do it too. That in itself removes a question, removes a potential quote, unquote objection from their periphery. It shows them that other people are doing this, so I can do it too. It creates that positive social pressure that other people are successful with this, so they can be successful too. That kind of content is really good in a few different platforms. You could do a client interview on a YouTube channel. You could do a podcast interview with your clients highlighting a specific result that they got. You could do a blog post. You could do an Instagram live. You could do a reel where you're talking with them. There are so many different ways of carousel, sharing their story.

Speaker 1: 18:15

This is the kind of content that spans all platforms and has such a multimedia possibility when it comes to sharing these results with your audience. But really being diligent and intentional about this is how you're going to really captivate those stories and share them in a variety of ways. If you don't have a ton of client testimonials now, it's probably because you're not asking for them. By having a mechanism inside your course to collect those stories and testimonials and results, you're going to have an easier time gathering those for your content and sharing them with your audience.

Speaker 1: 18:58

To recap, you should not be creating content like a digital creator or a content creator, but as a course creator, really focusing on content that leads your audience to purchasing your course.

Speaker 1: 19:10

You want to educate them on your philosophy and methodology. You want to address any of those questions or problems that they have had getting the result themselves. Do you want to show them what's possible using real life examples from your existing client pool, and this is the kind of content that's going to lead them to make a purchasing decision, far more than jumping on those social media trends and trying to create content like a content creator, not like a course creator. I am so excited to talk more about this topic. So if you're interested in this and creating content that actually converts to course clients, you definitely want to stay tuned, because I'm going to be sharing more and more about this over the coming weeks and if you have any questions, I'd love to jump into it with you on Instagram at Quantum Course Creator. Thank you so much for listening to today's episode and I will see you next week.