#046: Struggling to pick the perfect course topic for your online business? One that is going to be worth it...because it makes you money? This episode is for you.
I walk you through a process that will help you choose an online course topic that people actually want, so that you have the success you deserve.
You will learn:
Book your free 30 minute Launch Game Plan session here: https://www.louiseblakely.com/gameplan
View the shownotes here
Enjoy!
Lou xx
#046: Struggling to pick the perfect course topic for your online business? One that is going to be worth it...because it makes you money? This episode is for you.
I walk you through a process that will help you choose an online course topic that people actually want, so that you have the success you deserve.
You will learn:
Book your free 30 minute Launch Game Plan session here: https://www.louiseblakely.com/gameplan
View the shownotes here
Enjoy!
Lou xx
Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to today's episode of the online course creator show. This is episode 46, and today I'm chatting to you all about how to pick a profitable course topic, because, look, anyone can create an online course, but to create an online course that makes you money and builds the lifestyle that you want is the key, the differentiator, and it is what will make you a success. Now, picking the right course is really important, or the right topic is really important, right, it's going to make everything so much easier for you after the fact. And also, what topic you should pick can quite often be something that people get stuck on like for a very, very long time, and maybe that's you right now. Maybe you feel like you'd like to create an online course, but you're going round and round on what the topic should be. So that's what today's episode is all about so that you can move through that and actually pick a winning topic that's going to make you money as soon as possible. Now, before I dive into today's episode, i want to personally invite you to book in for a free 30 minute launch game plan call. So, if you're thinking about creating an online course or you want to grow your existing online course and you'd like some advice and direction, we'll get together on zoom for 30 minutes and we'll map out your game plan to achieve your goals. If that's something that sounds good to you, then great. You can book in at louiseblakleycom.
Speaker 1: Now let's get into today's episode. So, when it comes to a profitable course topic, there's some things that we need to get really clear on. The first is we need to get really clear on who this course is going to be for, and basically these people need to have three criteria that you are like ticking the box and you're saying these two, and these are do you like working with them? Because there's no point creating a course, no matter how lucrative it is, for a group of people that you don't want to work with. You have no interest in having any interaction with these people. I know that we can create courses that are self study, but you will have to have some kind of contact with them. It will just help you in your alignment if you like working with them. The second thing is do you actually have the skills to help them and provide the outcome that these people want? This is essential. And the third factor, which is very important as well as can they pay? So when you're, you know, looking at who you're creating a course for, do these people actually have the means, the financial means, to be able to pay for the course? Like it doesn't really matter what the price point is, like some markets just don't have a disposable extra $100. Do you know what I mean? So you've really got to make sure that, no matter what your price point is, that your audience can pay for it and they are financially set up in a way that they can make the investment in your course and it's not going to cause them any harm or anything like that. What you know, usually they just won't buy it because they can't afford it. So you must have three yeses here to move forward. So do you like working with them, do you have the skills to help them and can they pay you?
Speaker 1: Now there's also a few things that I want to mention here. So the people who currently pay you for you to do it for them like maybe your freelancer service provider, one of those two These people that just want to pay you to do it for them, are probably not going to be the same people that want to buy a course and then, because they're buying the course, they're going to DIY it, right? So this is especially true for you. If you currently do like done for you, work you provide services into like a corporate environment, or you know your clients are big companies, these people are not going to be the same people that are going to buy your course, so you've got to give that some thought. Who are the people going to be that do want to buy your course and go through that more do it yourself way of learning? And this is like, regardless of whether that's fully self study or with a coaching aspect. So maybe you're doing a group coaching program or you're doing a signature online course and you're doing weekly calls. It's still not going to be the same person that just wants to pay for you to do it for them, right? So just get very clear on that. Now, on that note, i actually don't want you to be restricted by who your current audience is. So maybe you've been marketing yourself to those bigger companies, because that's who's been paying for your services today. But when we move into an online course, we're actually looking at tweaking our audience, and sometimes that means that we actually need to build a new audience, start talking to new people.
Speaker 1: And, taking this even further, you could actually teach people how to do what you've done, rather than teaching the skill that you know how to do. An example of this is that you're running a yoga studio. Now you could create an online course helping more people, like the people who currently come into your studio. But the advantage of it is it's online, so you're not restricted by geography. You could specialize in a certain area. I'm going to be chatting more about that later. Well, you could actually, as the owner of this yoga studio, you could actually consider creating an online course that teaches aspiring yogis how to create and run a successful yoga studio of their own And maybe people have already been asking you for something like this.
Speaker 1: Like, think outside the box. You don't actually need to Create an online course. That is for your current customer right now. It could be for a slightly different market. So either of these could be successful. If you're a yoga studio owner, whether you create it on yoga or you're creating it for other yoga studio owners, both could be successful. But just don't limit yourself to your existing customer base, because business to business causes are especially lucrative and are seen as an investment in their future business. So this could be a good option, whereas maybe a course on, like how to do invirions or handstands or something like that, could actually be seen as a bit of a luxury purchase. So hopefully that makes sense. Just think outside the box a little bit about who you actually want to serve.
Speaker 1: Now, the second thing that you must consider if you want to have a profitable course is that your course solves a problem. Actually, i'm gonna take that back. I don't want you to consider this. It's a must. So people don't want to buy an online course just to learn a topic. There are a few exceptions to this, of course, so some exceptions could be if your course is actually helping someone to study for some kind of accreditation and you're creating the course to help them pass that hard exam. I actually think that's how Pat Flynn started an online marketing. He created a course that helped people study for an architecture some kind of architecture certification. It's quite interesting. Just thought I'd throw that in there.
Speaker 1: But for the most part, people don't want to learn something just for the hell of it. Like people don't want theory. They actually want to solve a problem. They have a problem that they need solve and that is the reason that they're going to invest and buy a course. So people generally invest money into things that are going to improve one of three areas of their life, and those three areas are health, wealth or relationships. So does your course or your idea for a course fit into one of those three categories? If not, i definitely suggest going back to the drawing board.
Speaker 1: So to improve one of these areas, there must be some kind of problem being experienced by your ideal customer in one of these areas. So the course should be about solving problems, not necessarily providing solutions that no one really wants or a bunch of theory. So what I want you to do is actually really drop into your ideal customer. Who is this person? Get to know them. Imagine you are following them around for a day. What problems would you see them experience? Not what you think is the root cause, because, as the expert, we're always like well, that's happening, because that's happening And we know that there's this layer underneath that's causing that. That is our expertise coming in the way, in a sense, there. So we're not thinking about the root cause. We're thinking about what is the problem that is showing up for them on the surface level, and that is what the course topic needs to be Revolving around is that problem that they know that they have And it's actually causing them issues so much so they're willing to invest to move past that problem. So that is a key factor if you want to create a course topic that people are going to spend money on. Now.
Speaker 1: The next thing is that you have to get really specific when it comes to your course topic, and I'm going to give you an example of a life coach, and the reason that I'm talking about the life coaching niche as the example here is because this is an area that I actually see the most issues with this. There's a lot of business courses and there's a lot of life coaching courses, and I personally see people have a lot more success with the business courses, and there's a reason for that. That's not to say that you can't have a really profitable and successful life coaching course. That is absolutely not true. But there's one key thing that you need to solve, or need to have when it comes to picking a profitable course topic, and that is to get really specific and make sure it's solving a problem which we just talked about.
Speaker 1: So if you are a life coach and you want to create a course to live an epic life. There's something that you might not want to hear is that you're not going to get many buyers, if any. So like living an epic life or becoming the queen of your life or whatever. Like, yes, i'm sure what's going on in your course is absolutely life changing and great, but if you can't get people to relate to that and it's not specific enough, like people, of course people want an epic life, but when they see a course offering that, they're like well, how does that really relate to me? Is it even going to solve it? It's too generic. So living a better life is subjective. Anyway, it looks different for everyone and even getting to the end result of the amazing life Like there's gonna be a bunch of different reasons why someone might not be able to get there anyway, even with your teaching. So you actually have to provide the course around solving that problem to even get to that result, right? So to sum it up, it's way too broad.
Speaker 1: Your messaging to sell such a course isn't really going to land with anyone, and that's the problem. We need it to land so clearly with your specific group of people that it then becomes a no-brainer. So how do you get to that point? You really need to dig deeper and look at what problems people are experiencing, which we just spoke about. But you know, getting specific and looking at the problems are quite intertwined.
Speaker 1: So talk to your ideal customer and ask them what struggles they are experiencing. What are the things that are holding them back, what are they coming to you for and asking for help with? So no one will come to you and say, hey, i want to live an epic life. I'm going to sign up for life coaching or your course. Instead, they'll say things like hey, i'm finding I'm anxious quite often and I don't know what to do about it. Or maybe it could be I'm really unhappy about my relationship. I don't want to leave, but I need help on figuring out what to do. Or it could be I never have any energy anymore. I don't know what's wrong with me. I need help with that. So this is the kind of information you need to be paying attention to, the words they are using, what their problem is. In their own words. These people are literally coming to you.
Speaker 1: Every time you get a DM, like someone asking how can I work with you, they will tell you what their problem is and you can use that information to actually create a course that people really want, because it solves a very specific problem and when you are able to relate to people on that level, then people by your course and it becomes profitable. So courses created around these common problems are going to be a lot more appealing and attractive to someone who is experiencing that problem and can relate to that, because it's going to feel like you designed it specifically for them and then becomes an absolute no-brainer if that problem is bad enough that they must solve it and they're willing to invest to solve it. And your course does need to be a no-brainer to your ideal customer. So instead of creating a course about how to live an epic life, it could be how to overcome your anxiety in six weeks, like you could even get more specific than that and create it just for mums or teenage anxiety or something like that. Or it could be that you you know, maybe your relationship coach and you're actually creating a course for people who feel like their relationship is not connected anymore to come in and actually work with you for six weeks so they learn how to connect together again. So that's really specific. Or it could be that you're a relationship coach who and you're helping divorces in their forties move on as fast as possible, like. There's so many examples here, but the key is to be really specific Now.
Speaker 1: My last point is that you really need to use market research, but you need to use it the right way. So market research is a really handy tool when used correctly and it's super helpful to finding out if your course will be profitable, like if it's a good idea of people are going to be willing to pay for it. However, i see it being used the wrong way all the time. I even see business coaches recommend doing this and it really frustrates me. I have done quite a lot of work in market research. I actually had a job. One of my first jobs, part time when I was at New Zealand, was doing market research for tourism, new Zealand. So I have done quite a lot of work in the space, especially in gathering data for marketing campaigns and all of that kind of stuff, and one thing I see that business coaches recommending to do is to think of a course topic and then go out to your audience and say, hey, i'm thinking about creating this course. Would you buy it? So obviously that's a yes or no question. And then the second one is how much would you pay? And that's what I have seen some people recommending as a way to judge how to price your course.
Speaker 1: That is not how you do market research And, honestly, if you go and ask people questions like that, people will tell you what you want to hear and not what they really think. And also, especially on the pricing one, if you ask people that question, you are basically asking them to share their money story with you, and that's not even part of the consideration. When you're pricing your course right. Your course has to be priced on the value that you are providing. So I don't recommend either of those questions.
Speaker 1: So that is not how you do market research. Instead, use market research prior to actually coming up with your course idea. Or maybe you have an idea but you just want to verify it And then ask qualitative questions to find out what their problems are And then create from there. So make sure you're getting on calls with people. It could be that you've already got clients in your world who do fit the ideal customer profile for your course and you could dig deeper into some of their problems And you just really need to keep asking below the surface level. I wouldn't even get into the pricing with people, because you all know if a problem is bad enough that people are willing to pay to solve it or not. So once you've had some conversations with some people, you are going to actually start to get a good idea whether your course idea has legs or if people are actually wanting something a little bit different, and they will tell you when you have those conversations with them. Then you can create your course from there, and it is so much more likely to be a profitable course topic if you have done that market research as well. So I hope you enjoyed this deep dive into what makes for a profitable online course topic. To sum it up, get clear on who your online course is going to be for. Create a course that solves a problem for them. Get specific with your course topic and use market research the right way Now. If you follow these guidelines, you'll create a winning online course that is going to make you a lot of money. Now don't forget if you are interested in booking in a 30 minute launch game plan, call with me. You can do so at louiseblakely.com.
Speaker 1: Thank you so much for listening today. If you enjoyed this episode, i'd love it if you could share it with your friends. Simply snap a screenshot and post to your Instagram stories, and make sure to tag me at lewisblakleycom. Have a great day and I hope to connect with you again in my next episode. Thanks, course, creators and go getters. You're incredible and I hope you enjoyed today's episode. If you haven't done so already, make sure you hit subscribe in your podcast app so you don't miss an episode. If you'd like to find out more about what I offer, hit across to lewisblakleycom. See you next time.