The Course Mentors Podcast
Hey there, future course creator!
Ever feel like turning your know-how into an online course is like trying to solve a Rubik's cube blindfolded? Well, grab your headphones because "The Course Mentors Podcast" is here to be your secret weapon!
Meet Aimee and Odette (that's us!), your new best friends in the course creation world. We've been in the trenches for over a decade, and for the last five years, we've been rocking the online course space. Now we're here to spill all our secrets in bite-sized, 15-20 minute episodes that'll fit perfectly in your coffee breaks.
No fluff, no filler - just real, actionable advice that'll take you from "um, what's a landing page?" to "holy moly, I just hit six figures!". We're talking everything from crafting your course to marketing it like a pro and building a business that'll have you pinching yourself.
Whether you're dreaming of ditching the 9-to-5 grind, adding a sweet extra income stream, or just want to trade demanding clients for students who think you're the bee's knees - we've got your back.
Think of us as your personal cheerleading squad, but instead of pom-poms, we're armed with proven strategies and a healthy dose of "you've got this!" energy. We're here to give you the straight-up truth (with a side of fun) to help you crush your goals and create that freedom-filled life you've been daydreaming about.
So, ready to turn your expertise into course gold? Tune in to The Course Mentors Podcast. And hey, once you're done implementing our awesome advice, swing by Instagram @thecoursementors and show us what you've created. We can't wait to celebrate your wins!
Let's make some course magic together, shall we? 🎉
The Course Mentors Podcast
The 5-Step Course Launch Checklist (Steal This Process!)
Ready to launch your course but not sure if you've covered all your bases? In this actionable episode, we are sharing the exact 5-step checklist we give to every single course student before launch - and now it's yours to steal!
No more wondering if you're ready or second-guessing your preparation. We're breaking down the essential elements that separate successful launches from flops, giving you a clear roadmap to follow.
In This Episode:
- The 5 non-negotiable steps before any course launch
- How to identify your unique "secret sauce" methodology
- Authentic communication that converts without sleaze
- Lead capture systems that actually work
- Why testing with real students beats perfect planning
Whether you're launching your first course or your fifth, this checklist ensures you're not missing any crucial pieces.
Ready to launch with confidence? Hit play and let's get your course into the world! ✅
#CourseCreator #LaunchChecklist #OnlineCourse #CoursePrep
Hello and welcome to the Course Mentors podcast. I'm Odette and I'm Amy, and today we are talking about the checklist that we give to every single online course school student before they launch.
Speaker 2:So if you want to get into the world of online courses and you want to build out your own online course, this is a checklist that you can steal, to just take it, plug and play, get it into your business and get ready for your course launch. That's right.
Speaker 1:If we were to boil down, I guess, everything that we do in the online course school into a 20-minute podcast. This would be it. So listen up, Amy. I'm sure you've had a great week, but I want to get straight into this, so let's go for it. What's step one?
Speaker 2:Yeah, okay, let's do it. Okay, step one is and it sounds really simple, but step one is just figuring out what your course achieves. It is really just asking the question what is the solution to your course, what is the outcomes to your course? Obviously, we do this in like more intelligent ways than just asking the question but really figuring out what it is that you do. So if you have a course that you want to launch, the very first thing that you need to know right now is simply what does your course do, who is it for, what is the outcome and why are they doing this?
Speaker 1:program and I think you hit the nail on the head. It's a sort of deceptively simple. It's what you've been sort of remunerating on for probably years if you've been wanting to do a course. So it's really all about getting those ideas into like a product you know, into a course. You know what you do. If you're a service-based business or whatever you are, you've been repeating yourself for years. Then actually getting that into a product that sells is a whole nother thing. And that's where a lot of the back and forth comes in with us. And it's probably one of my favorite stages, because it takes people from being unsure with what they're doing and a bit of that imposter syndrome oh why me? You know I want to do it. But it takes all that away and people like actually get to see, oh, I get it, this is how I turn what I do into a business or like a really sellable product. Really one of my favorite stages.
Speaker 2:Me too, okay. So once you know what your course achieves like, what is it going to actually do and where are people going to be when they finish that course the second thing that you need to do on your checklist is to figure out what your secret sauce is, and again, this is another one of those questions that's deceptively simple, because you probably have many, many, many, many, many options for what your secret sauce could be. But this is really just about your methodology. It's about what you do a little bit differently. It's about how you get to that outcome a little bit more creatively or faster or easier or more intelligently than other people do.
Speaker 1:This is why we call it a mentorship program. It's not just a course we give to you and you take it and run with it. There needs to be a lot of back and forth with this sort of stuff, because you don't really know what you know until you start sort of talking about it and trying to get it into like a framework for people outside of what you do, and that takes talking it out.
Speaker 2:I agree a hundred percent and I think that that's such a fun process for people as well. Like it sounds really scary, but it is so much fun to be like. Okay, like let's talk about what makes you special. That's our favorite thing of the entire planet.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's right, and a lot of the time you don't really know what's cool about your methodology. You don't realize what you know and how cool it is. It's like sewing. I could teach you how to use a sewing machine and what equipment you will need and all of that dry stuff. You know it's boring Technically. They do need to know it, but I'm not going to sit down and do lessons on how to use a sewing machine because it's boring. I'll teach that stuff along the way when they're making cool bags and they're making cool this and that, and that's finding a way better methodology to teach what I know. It takes some you know thinking. It takes some deep thinking and we want you to sit down with it and go through it, not just the A to B, you know, but the A to Z. Like you really need to sit down and think about this and figure out what it is that you do and how you're going to do it.
Speaker 2:And then step number three once you know exactly what your course does and what your secret sauce is, then we dive deep into communicating about it. So being able to actually tell people this is what my course is, this is what it does and this is why it's special. And this one is really, really important. And so far, if you're following our steps down the line right, what you'll notice is that we do not create courses that, like Declan touched on that come out with. I have a sewing course. You will learn about sewing machines and it is good, because that is where courses go to die. That is the graveyard of courses.
Speaker 2:When you hear about courses that don't make money or well, it's those kinds of courses. Courses that do really, really well, have a clear outcome, they have a methodology and a secret sauce and they are communicated very, very, very well. This is all about learning how to write about your program, how to talk about your program and how to sell it through authenticity without having to push, like there's a 30-minute countdown timer on my sewing course that's going to run out if you don't buy, because if you can communicate these two things exceptionally well, you don't actually have to do any of that stuff. If you could talk about the value that it brings, the methodology that you have, how it helps people, how it changes their life or their day or their hobbies or the way they think about things, then you can make sales without all that other crap.
Speaker 1:Yeah, 100%. It's kind of like a checklist for the first two steps too, because if you can't communicate it well or if you're having trouble talking about your course, it's probably that you haven't got your methodology nailed down or you don't know exactly who it's for or your transformation just isn't that strong. So it kind of like validates your first two points. But definitely there's no point in having a great course if you can't communicate it or talk about it to people. We get it down into really simple terms, into your one sentence that can be communicated in one second on a sales page.
Speaker 2:Okay, deb. So if you're following along at home and you are going down this checklist getting ready for your course launch, so far, you should know what your course does, what the solution that you provide is and who the course is ultimately for. And then how is your course easier, faster or smarter than what's available to them in the market right now? And then can you describe it really well, can you communicate about it, can you talk about this program in a really enticing, sexy way? And then step four is to start creating a way to take leads, drive interest and a way to continue to market to people.
Speaker 2:So this step isn't very confusing or convoluted, even though it sounds like it is. But essentially, once you've got your course communicated and you know what it's going to be and you know who it's going to be for, what you need is a place where you can show people exactly what your course does, like a website page. And then you need a place where you can take leads, like people's email addresses, so that they can let you know that they're interested in your course. And then, finally, you need a way to continue to market to these leads. So in OCS, what we do here is we take people through a very, very, very simple, effective, highly converting sales strategy here, and we call it the monthly recurring intake planner, and so, basically, what this does is it provides a place for people to drive interest, take leads and a way to continue to market to people, and that is all that you need at this step a place like a website, a place to take leads and a place to be able to email and communicate with those leads later on.
Speaker 1:And then step number five is simply to test it. So you really need to just start getting feedback from people, making sure all those ideas that you've had along the way really land with people. You get so much awesome feedback to improve the course, improve your communication. We really insist on and everybody loves doing their pilot round because it validates their ideas in a way that we can't predict. Sometimes they'll come back with feedback which is oh perfect, that is something I want to add to the course, or oh cool, I didn't think of that. This is ways to tighten it from actual students. So testing it really important and that's what we add as the next step.
Speaker 2:Okay, let's recap, because there's been a lot. So step one is to figure out what your course does right. It's who it's for. It's what do they get out of doing this program? Why are they buying this course? What do they get?
Speaker 2:Step number two is figuring out why your method might be easier or faster or better or more intelligent than what's available to them on the market right now, and figuring out what your secret source is. Step number three is just learning how to communicate this in a really authentic, natural but still really enticing way, so that you're not having to rely on really scammy or high pressure sales strategies because you are communicating with them in a way that feels very value led. Step number four is then to create a place on the tech front where you can drive interest, like a website page, take leads and then a way to continue to market to those leads into the future, so that you can make the most of your sales and also continue to scale and grow your business month on month. Step number five is really to test your course out, because the first time that someone takes your course is basically going to be in a pilot round. Even if you don't call it that, it's still a pilot, it's the first time that they've seen it or done it, and feedback is what makes our course excellent, and I think that that's really, really important.
Speaker 2:One of the things that we believe in so, so, so, so much I can't even begin to describe is how incredibly integral having a fantastic course is to having a successful, scalable, million dollar business. Having a good course is at the very, very forefront of that. So, again, the final step is really just to test it, make sure it's good, make sure that you are implementing that feedback and that you are iterating and improving your course, and then from here you are basically done. I know we skipped some steps in there, like filming and building out some emails and building up your resources in your course, which, of course, we go through with people every single day.
Speaker 1:We have so much education on how to do all of that really well, but that's kind of done in there loosely around the edges, that's right, like we'll go through your curriculum and you know what you're going to be teaching in more detail, but that's like the overarching steps of what you need to be able to get to launch. We of course, yeah, teach you how to film and mark your videos and read all about what you do and we love all that stuff. But yeah, we don't have all day. It's a 20-minute podcast. We say 20 minutes. It's like 10 minutes here, 30 minutes there. Maybe it averages out.
Speaker 2:Depends how much debt decides to rein in my yapping. But once you've done these five steps, this is when you can go to market and when you can launch properly. And if you're wondering about marketing, amy, how do I get people to look at this course? How do I get them to see it? Well, there are entire marketing strategies, but one thing that Dan and I believe in is that you cannot start building an audience and marketing a course that does not exist. So this is why we always say to people you do not need an audience to start, and really you shouldn't have an audience to start, because once you have this course created, once you have a place to take leads for your course, once you have a place to describe what your course does, then you can start marketing it. So this is the point when you can get out into the market, when you can start talking about your program and when you can start driving interest and leads towards your course, to start intaking on a monthly basis.
Speaker 1:So marketing we go through in a big way. Well, Amy does. Actually, I don't think I even get a look in there. She's amazing with the marketing. But after the marketing modules, Amy, I think we have something really exciting. Tell us about it.
Speaker 2:So, after marketing right, we have the diagnostics. And this is probably my baby. It's my pride and joy, it's my. Is there resistance? Is that how you say it? You speak French, I don't know.
Speaker 1:It was a good effort.
Speaker 2:Thank you. Once you have got your course out there, once you've hit market and once you've started to market your program, advertise your program and drive a lot of interest into your program. This is where, for me, this is where into your program. This is where, for me, this is where I get excited. This is where things start to get really, really, really sexy. This is where you start to scale your course the big, bad, scary scale word which is where you can take whatever you are currently doing and you can times it by 10 or by a hundred and if you have a goal, like every single month, I want to take on 20 people or 40 people or 100 people. This is where you do this in the diagnostics, through the power of mathematics and really intelligent scaling. This is where you look at your business and you intentionally move the needle on what's working and then change things that aren't working so that you can then scale and grow your business into whatever it is that you want it to be.
Speaker 1:Yeah, if you want to quit your day job and just focus on your course, that's where the diagnostics modules come in. If you want just a side hustle income, that's cool too, but what we need to look at is the system as a whole and see what needs improving. It's really exciting stuff. Those modules are like your baby they're. They're amazing and, um, I think it really sets us apart. If I'm it's, I feel like I'm doing like a plug on our course.
Speaker 1:It's our podcast well, this is our podcast and we can plug our course if we want to but I think it does, because I think a lot of people that are teaching course creation don't read the data. They don't have like like the knowledge of what happens after a launch. Anyone can teach you how to make a video, for God's sake. You know you can go to YouTube for that. I think the diagnostics modules just show like it's all about the numbers. It's not like personal, it's not scary. You do the thing and then you watch what the thing is doing and then you fix the thing. It's nice and mathematical, I think, and I think that takes a lot of pressure off people, especially when it's like a personal branded business.
Speaker 2:That was gorgeous Dat. So this is our checklist. This is what we take every single OCS student through before launch. Give or take a bit, there's always a lot of personalization there as well, and we'll go up and down and around in circles and figure things out until we need to, but this is the same checklist that we take every single person through. So steal this checklist. I'll put it in the show notes below the steps. Take it, run with it, let us know how you get on and if you've got any questions, let us know know. But otherwise, I think that's it for this week. I think that's it. I look forward to seeing you next week. Thanks, guys.