143: 3 simple strategies to delivering an online course that your students will love!

In this episode of Online Business Uncovered, I’m diving into a step of course creation that so many entrepreneurs overthink: how to design and deliver an online course in a way that feels simple for you and transformational for your students.

If you’ve ever spiralled into tech overwhelm, stressed over content design or felt unsure whether your course should be live, evergreen or maybe something in between then this episode is going to feel like a deep exhale. 

I’m breaking down the tools you actually need (and the ones you don’t), how to create learning materials that support (not suffocate) your students and the delivery methods that work best for different types of offers.

You’ll hear real examples from inside my own business, along with practical tips to help you keep things streamlined, impactful, and totally doable… I promised that no fancy tech and no perfection required!

If you’re ready to stop overcomplicating and finally deliver a course that your audience will love, complete, and rave about… just hit play.

This episode will give you the clarity and confidence to bring your course to life the smart, simple, freedom-focused way.

Transcript

Karen [00:00:00]:
Hello and welcome to Online Business Uncovered. This is episode one for free. And in today's episode I'm going to be talking about how you can deliver an online course that your students love and actually finish. So let's jump right in and let's get started. Welcome to Online Business Uncovered, the show that lifts the lid on what it really takes to turn your brilliance into digital products, passive income and time freedom. 

I am your host, Karen, an online business strategist, course creation expert and your go to for building a business that works for you and not the other way around. If you are an ambitious entrepreneur, feeling overwhelmed, burnt out, or maybe you're just ready for a smarter, more sustainable way to grow, then you're in the right place. Because each week I'll be bringing you inspiring conversations, practical strategies and step by step guidance to help you create scalable, repeatable digital products that sell even more while you sleep.

Karen [00:01:05]:
So if you're ready to stop trading your time for money, reclaim your time and finally build a business that gives you the freedom that you deserve, hit, subscribe and tune in every Thursday. Let's uncover what's truly possible for you, starting now. Hello and welcome to today's Episode. I am so pleased that you're here and I've got a really great episode coming up. 

Today's episode is special sponsored by the Digital Creators Hub. So if you are not in there then I do highly encourage you to get in there because I've got lots of free tools, resources and training to share with you. So head on over to www.sellyourbrillianceonline.com/community and go and sign up for free. Because if 2026 is going to be the year that you're going to start your online business, then I promise you, you want to be in the Hub because I'm going to be sharing some great stuff with you.

Karen [00:02:11]:
So head on over, it's completely free and go and sign up today. Okay, so today I am diving into what I think is one of the most exciting steps of the course creation process and that is the design and the delivery of the actual course. If you have ever spiraled into overthinking things like what platform should I use or do my slides need to look perfect or should I be delivering this training live or evergreen or maybe both, then I want you just to take a step back because right now those things at the moment don't matter because today is all about simplifying this stage so that you can create something that your students are ultimately going to love without Sending yourself into overwhelm and getting so caught up in the weeds that you actually don't take the action needed to get this set up, to get this delivered, and to start generating that income. So today I'm going to be breaking it down. I'm going to be talking about tools, design and all that stuff that you're going to need in order to deliver your online course. So before we dive into today's episode, there's something I want you to just hear, and that is when it comes to creating your online course, you do not need fancy tools to build something that's going to sell and make you money. What you actually need is clarity and consistency. They are the two things that matter the most.

Karen [00:03:50]:
Because a lot of entrepreneurs get stuck because they think that a real course that is going to be paid for demands things like pro editing, studio lighting, fancy platforms, and a tech stack that is enough to send anybody into overdrive. And it really isn't the case. Some of the best courses out there are created very simply using Canva for slides, Zoom for recording, loom for quick tutorials, and a simple course platform like System IO, Teachable or even Kunjabi. And when I say Kajabi, you don't necessarily need to be spending on a platform like Kunjabi, which is very expensive. But if you do like Kunjabi, it just simply gives you what you need to get this stuff done. So that's it. You don't need a big tech stack or fancy tools to be able to create a course that sells. So I really need you to take that on board because it is so easy to sit there thinking, well, I haven't got a checkout and I haven't got this and I haven't got that, so I can't do the thing that I want to do.

Karen [00:05:11]:
It simply is not the case. You need to start with what feels easy. So start with what you already know because the more complicated you make it, the less potential it has of being seen by others. Because so many people start creating courses, they get overwhelmed by the overthinking and then they don't finish them and then they don't sell them and then they don't make any money. You are creating a course to make money, so you want get the thing done, dusted and out there. So we need to keep it simple so that you actually can take action. Because your students are not buying your lighting setup, they're not buying your course platform, they're not buying the, you know, the, the really fancy editing what they're buying is your clarity. They're buying your expertise and the result that you're going to help them achieve.

Karen [00:06:15]:
That's what they want. They want a which is going to be a solution to a problem that they're experiencing. So it doesn't have to be fancy. You just need to get together your training so that you can get them to a place where they get that result. Because your job is helping them to move forward, to overcome that problem and to give them the solution that they're looking for. So it doesn't need to be fancy. And the thing is, you can always upgrade later. If you get to the point where you are creating a lot of courses, or maybe you think that you want to have fancy tech, fancy editing and all of that stuff, then just pay for it later on.

Karen [00:06:58]:
But right now, just start simple and go from there. Your first version doesn't need to be perfect, it needs to exist. So don't get overwhelmed by all the things. Keep it simple, because simple will lead to action. So I want to talk about course materials. These are things like slides, worksheets, PDFs, templates. It's all the stuff that is ultimately going to support your students journey. Now, the key word here is support because again, it doesn't have to be fancy.

Karen [00:07:38]:
And the problem when it comes to creating stuff that's going to support your students is the potential of adding too much. So we want to make sure that we're keeping everything streamlined. We don't want to be adding too many slides. We don't want to be adding too many videos, too many downloads, or too many anything. We want to only provide the stuff that is going to move your student. Now, I know it's very tempting to think more stuff equals more value. All it does, if truth be told, is it equals more confusion. Because the more you add, the more confused your students are going to be.

Karen [00:08:24]:
So keep it simple. Instead, you want to focus on materials that keep your lessons focused, materials that reinforce your transformation that you're delivering, materials that give students something actionable to do, and materials that map directly to your framework. Nothing more, nothing less. Again, we're going for simplicity. So ask yourself, when you're creating resources, does this help them to move forward? Is this essential? Like, do they actually need this? And is there a more simpler way to deliver this? Can you streamline and cut stuff down? If the answer is yes, then you want to keep it. If the answer is a no, then it's clutter. And we don't want clutter because your students will love you for being concise. So if it doesn't serve the course and it is only there as a nice value add, I want you to remove it.

Karen [00:09:41]:
Now, the next thing to consider once you've con you've sorted out your resources is how you're then going to deliver your course. So how are you going to get this course in front of people? Now this is where a lot of people get stuck because they think there's a right answer. There isn't. The only right answer is for you and the reason and the season of business that you're in. And what I mean by that is there is no hard and fast rules. You can deliver your content in whichever way suits you. So if you want to do a live delivery to prove that your content works, then do that. Live delivery is perfect.

Karen [00:10:27]:
If you want to get high engagement, you're looking for feedback. You want to get a higher completion rate because you're there delivering it live. So you can handhold or you simply want to validate your content as you go because maybe you're a little bit uncertain as to whether your content is right. So if that's you, then live delivery may be the perfect solution. Now, if you just want to record and have it available on an evergreen basis, meaning that people can buy whenever, then this might work for you. If you know that you have validated your course material, it's also for you. If you want to create passive income, I'm a huge fan. Passive income, I think is the way to go.

Karen [00:11:18]:
So having an evergreen course is one of the best ways to achieve this. Or maybe you just want a freedom friendly model where you're not having to be on the hook to be there when people are working through your content. Or maybe your topic just doesn't require real time interaction so it can be pre recorded and people can work through it at their own pace, in which case an evergreen delivery is absolutely perfect. Now you may want a mixture of both. You may want to create a hybrid delivery and that's absolutely fine as well because this is a favorite for a lot of entrepreneurs because this gives you evergreen assets. Plus you have live touch points like Q and A sessions, coaching calls, and maybe even live workshops that you deliver in person. Now this approach can make the experience feel intimate without requiring you to be on all the time. So maybe for you, if you have less time available, a hybrid option could be the way to go.

Karen [00:12:29]:
Now as I said, there is no wrong way. The only way is a way that supports your lifestyle, your students and ultimately your goals. Now Your course does not need to be complicated. It just needs to be focused, helpful, and delivered in a way that feels really good and aligned to you. The simpler you make the design and delivery of your online course, the better, because your students are going to love that. They're going to want to learn, they're going to want to complete the course, and you're going to get those referrals and testimonials that you can then use to promote your course further. Now, in my own business, I've created many different products. I have, if you like, a mixture of all three, I have live option, I've got evergreen option, and I've got a hybrid.

Karen [00:13:20]:
So, for example, my live delivery option for a course I have is for the podcast plan. This is a live program I deliver where I have a group of people come in and I will handhold them through the process of launching their very first podcast. Now, this is great if people want to build awareness around their brand and they want to sell their digital products, because I love podcasting, I'm here now. Podcasting. I get my message out there, I get to talk about the thing and I get to share my value with you guys. So I deliver that in a live delivery format because I want it to be interactive. That's really important to me. It's important that I have that live interaction.

Karen [00:14:10]:
I also have an evergreen delivery system. I have various online courses that I sell, one of which is called the Passive Profit Accelerator. So for those that want to create passive income in their business, but they have no idea where to start, then this mini course has been designed to guide them through it step by step in a very easy and digestible way. So that's completely self paced. I have no live element in that at all, because it doesn't need to be. I have created the content, I've recorded the content. I have even got a lot of resources, templates and tools in there that I share with my students. They can work through it at their own pace and they can get what they need from it.

Karen [00:15:01]:
Because by the end of this course, they will be able to have their first product set up ready for them to be generating that passive income. And I walk them through how to do that. So as I said, that's completely evergreen. I sell it all the time and it means that people can buy it, they can do what they need to do, but I'm not involved. They can reach out to me for support and they can reach out to me to have their questions answered, but ultimately, I do not need to Be there for them to get that result and that transformation. And then I have a hybrid delivery, which is my membership. So my membership is great because not only do I deliver live events, so I get to interact with my members on a regular basis. They also have frameworks and training and resources and templates and all the things that they need to do to create what they need to create to generate income online.

Karen [00:16:02]:
So this approach is a little bit more in depth, it's a bit more holistic in terms of what they get access to. It's all inclusive. And I create passive income income from this because it's a monthly reoccurring amount that is generated from my members. So all three methods serve at different points. So the live delivery is great because that gives me real life and real time insights, gives me feedback, I get interaction. The evergreen delivery is great because I can generate passive income from selling that product over and over again. And then the hybrid delivery in the form of a membership is brilliant because I get a mixture of everything. The work's been done with my membership.

Karen [00:16:51]:
I just show up, I support, I provide training, I guide them to where they need to go and they feel supported because they know they can interact with me, they can ask questions and they can get what they need from me. So all three delivery systems offer something different and unique to each of my audiences. Because the reality is that people coming onto a live program may come on there because they want that live aspect. The people that buy the evergreen delivery, they buy it most likely because they want something more self paced that they can work on in their own time. And then the hybrid delivery is great for those that want to kind of crack on and do what they need to do, but they also want to have ongoing support as well. So when it comes to you deciding what delivery system to use, I would simply think about what do you want to offer, what feels right for you, and what do your students want as well. And then don't forget, you know, you can have a mixture of everything because you can deliver your course live. If you want to create that live element, you can also deliver it on the evergreen delivery system where, where it's self paced, but you can also do a mixture of both as well.

Karen [00:18:14]:
So you can take your one course that you've created and you can actually replicate it three different times to, to sit in with all three of those options. Like I say, there's no hard and fast rule. It's what works for you, what is aligned with you, and what is going to work for your students. And for me in my business I love doing all three because all 3st meaning that I can generate income from all three approaches. And this is what will give you a freedom focused business because each of those taps into different aspects. The Live Delivery I get to build my email list really comfortably because of what I'm offering again with the Evergreen and the Hybrid as well. So think about what it is that is going to work for you, what style suits you and then choose a platform that provide you with those options. Now I use a platform called System IO.

Karen [00:19:19]:
I highly encourage you to look go and have a look at this because I think it's absolutely brilliant. You can get started for free. You can even use all three options on there because it gives you the ability to do so and it's just a brilliant platform. And even if you exceed the free option then you're probably most likely looking at like 17 which is 12 quid, which is not a lot at all. I will put a link to Systeme in the show notes but I do highly encourage you to check this platform out because it's absolutely brilliant and it will give you what you need to deliver your online course in the easiest way possible. 

Thank you so much for tuning into today's episode. I hope this episode has given you some clarity and perhaps sparked some new ideas. Now if you found this helpful, please do share it with a friend or fellow entrepreneur who's also building their online business because it may be exactly what they need to listen to today.

Karen [00:20:20]:
And if this episode has you thinking that maybe you're ready to start turning your expertise into income, I would love to invite you into my free community, the Digital Creators Community Hub. Because inside you'll get access to free tools, resources, monthly masterclass replays, and of course you'll be the very first to hear about my upcoming workshops. 

You can join me now at www.sellyourbillingsonline.com/community. I will be back next week with another episode, but until then, have a wonderful week. Thanks for tuning into today's episode of Online Business Uncovered. If today's conversation has sparked an idea or gave you a dose of clarity, then please make sure to check out the show notes for all the links and resources mentioned. New episodes land every Thursday, so hit follow or subscribe to stay in the loop. And if you're loving the show, a quick rating or review goes a long way in helping more brilliant entrepreneurs like you find this show.

Karen [00:21:28]:
Until next time, keep showing up, keep sharing your brilliance, and remember, freedom in business is possible and it starts with taking the next right step that.