How To Stand Out In A Busy Market With Your Online Course

#054: If you're thinking about creating an online course, but you also feel like it's very competitive out there...you're not imagining things. The online space has definitely gotten noisier. 

However the online education industry is booming. And there are projections that it will continue to grow on a large scale. So there is space for you, there is space for what you teach, and there are people out there who need to hear from you. 

It's all about strategically standing out. And that's what I dive into in this episode. 

You will learn: 

• Why what you are seeing online is not a true representation of what your customers are seeing, so it's not as crowded as you think.
• Specific ways you can become the obvious choice for your ideal customer in a crowded market. 
• Using the tiny details to your advantage.

You can join the bootcamp here:
https://www.loublakely.co/bootcamp

View the shownotes here:
https://www.louiseblakely.com/54

Enjoy the episode, 
Lou xx 

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome to the online course creator show. This is episode 54. And in today's episode, I'm talking about how you can stand out in a busy market with your online course. Now, I think this is a really important topic because it's no secret that the online education industry is growing and it is so much bigger than what it was say just like three or four years ago, right, and I think if you're online and you're looking at creating a course, it actually feels a lot busier than it used to, and so that feeling is not wrong. And when we look at the stats and how this industry is actually growing, there's a lot of data to actually back this up. So back in 2019, the online education industry was worth $36 billion, and that sounds like quite a lot, right, and that's globally. But last year, in 2022, it was worth $198.2 billion globally. So that is a massive increase from 2019 to 2022. Last year, it was worth $9.1 billion just in Australia alone. The online education industry is estimated to reach $602 billion by 2030. And that's US dollars, which is massive. Like that is massive and that is a big increase from where we are now. Like it definitely shows that the growth is not quite at the same level as it has been the past few years, but I actually think that, but it's still massive growth. But I think that growth that we've seen from 2019 to now really was due to their pandemic right. Like it normalized online education, even for people who aren't online, who aren't like us and have online businesses. So I think that had a big part to do with why now it's become so popular.

Speaker 1: 2:07

So, if you're one of those people that's thinking, well, I'd love to create a course, but there are already enough courses on my topic Like, how could I stand out and sometimes this is where imposter syndrome comes from, or this is imposter syndrome in action and thinking there's too many competitors and I'll never stand out yes, it's valid, but there's also a mindset thing going on there. Right, but that's not what I'm talking about today. I'm actually talking about how you can actually stand out, because I do not want you to hold yourself back from creating an online course just because you know of other people who already have an online course on your topic and thinking that there's no room for you, because it's absolutely not true. In fact, if there are people that already have a course on your topic and they're successful, they're making money, they're making a livelihood out of your business, then it's actually proof of concept, right? We're as entrepreneurs. I think there's this misconception that you have to reinvent the wheel, right? And that's absolutely not the case.

Speaker 1: 3:17

I used to work for a tech company that, and I was one of their first employees. It was a role that really changed my career. However, they didn't invent something new and they sold that company for hundreds of millions of dollars, right? So it's not always about inventing something new. It's actually sometimes it's about taking what already exists and improving on it and making it way better, which is the case with that software system. So that's just an example, right, but I really want you to understand that just because there are people already teaching courses on what you want to teach on, does not mean that there's no room for you. In fact, there is more room than ever, because you can see that the industry is growing, and so are the number of people who are now willing to invest in online education. So this is why I have created today's episode, because Competition it shouldn't hold you back. In fact, this growth means that you should absolutely make your claim in your industry and start with your online course now, because this industry is only getting bigger and, to be honest, the earlier you start, the better off you'll be. So right now is, in fact, a great time to create a course, but how do you stand out? That's what I'm gonna share with you today.

Speaker 1: 4:42

Now, before I get into today's episode, I wanted to ask have you checked out my five day bootcamp yet? It's called the create your dream online course offer, and it's actually started already. Today was day two, so there's still plenty of time to jump in. You can jump in and you get access to everything straight away, and there are five days. We're only on day two, so it is absolutely not too late to join Now. This is for you if you want to create an online course, but you're not sure what your topic should be, what should be in it and if people will even buy it. So it's about creating an offer that people really want to buy Now.

Speaker 1: 5:19

If you're a service provider or a freelancer and you want to shift to more of that freedom based business model, this is definitely for you Now. I'd love to see you there. You can sign up at loublacleyco forward slash bootcamp. Jump in now and join us for the rest of the week and just a little bit of context, if you're listening to this later, today's date is Tuesday, the first of August. Okay, 2023. I just thought I'd throw that in there, right?

Speaker 1: 5:46

So let's dive in to the three main things that I want to share with you today. Around standing out in a busy online world and actually, before I get started, I also want to point out to you that algorithms, or your algorithm when you're on social media, is not a real representation of the world. We all know that the way algorithms work is that you start liking stuff related to a certain interest area, and then Facebook and Instagram and all of that they pick up on that and then they will show you more of that content because they think that you like it. So you're getting showed your competitors way more than the average person or your customer is. Okay, so that's something I really want you to understand is what you're seeing is not a true representation of the world, and sometimes it can get quite cloudy when we're on social media and we're just getting shown the same thing again and again. Okay, so bear that in mind.

Speaker 1: 6:50

Now the first way to stand out is to get very specific with who you're helping and what you're helping them with. Now, this is vital if you're in a busy market without already quite a few different courses, particularly if there are well-known courses like kind of famous courses in your niche. So let's get specific about who your course is for. So say, you're a Facebook ads manager and you want to create a course on Facebook ads. So are you going to create a course that's going to teach someone Facebook ads, like anyone Facebook ads or are you going to create a course to teach small local businesses how to use Facebook ads to grow their business? What course do you think the local business owner would be most compelled to buy if they were to pick between those two? Of course it's a no brainer they're going to pick the second one because it's specifically for them.

Speaker 1: 7:46

So another example of this in action could be that you want to teach people how to land their dream career. It's quite broad right. We could be talking to so many people within that. Instead, you could create a course on how to help millennials land a whole new career without having to go back to university or college. Now can you see how much more compelling that is, and it's way more specific. The beauty of this is. It's actually way easier to create too, because you don't have to cater to everyone.

Speaker 1: 8:15

Now let's look at another example. Say you are a life coach and you want to create a course on mindset. Your idea is to help people create a dream life by developing an unstoppable mindset. Now, this is quite broad and I would say if you're well known, you could get away with this, but if you don't already have an existing audience or a large audience you're just quite new to the industry then I would actually drill down a lot further and I would drill down to exactly what problems people are experiencing, who are actually look at who are most likely to want to buy something like this in the first place. It could be that you like working with people between their 20s and 30s and you've noticed that a reoccurring theme is that these people are all experiencing anxiety and it's a problem they're aware of. So you, instead of creating that course that's about living your dream life through an unstoppable mindset, you could actually go towards the kind of course promise of I help 20 year olds overcome anxiety so that they can live the life they deserve, or something like that. You could potentially get a lot more specific on the second part of that, but zoning in on the problem, which is that anxiety is much more likely to connect with people and make your course, then no brand it, because if someone is in there, say, they're 25 and they're experiencing anxiety and they see your course, that is that. But then they see another course which is just general mindset. Again, which one do you think they're going to choose? So you can see how getting that specific is really going to help you sell a course, because it makes you stand out like instantly it differentiates you from the next course. So that specificity could be around the ideal customer, it could be around the problem and or it could actually be about a particular part of the process. So maybe you're not going to do a huge course that covers it all, but you're going to zone in on one skill and help people get better. So getting very specific with who you're helping and what you're helping them with is a very quick way that you can actually start to stand out.

Speaker 1: 10:43

Now the next step is to get very specific in your messaging and in your copy.

Speaker 1: 10:48

So you've already gotten specific with who your course is right. Then it's time to get specific on how you communicate with these people. You want your customers to read your content and then feel completely understood. One of the ways you can do this is by getting really specific on the details like the tiny, tiny details and when you write your copy, actually take out the generic terms and replace them with that very specific, tiny detail. So, for example, if you want to teach a course to females in their 30s on how to create an online business so that they can leave their nine to five within three months, you could go for that created dream business, go for the freedom angle and all of that kind of thing. However, it is quite commonly used and I feel like a lot of these words or phrases are so common now that are they just going over people's heads, right? So instead you could use copy like pop down to the coffee shop in your yoga pants at 10 AM while making a sale or while money's hitting your account, or something similar. So what are the specific details of what they're experiencing right now, what they want, where they want to go and how you're actually going to help them get there? So use all of that in your copy as much as possible. I think generic is no longer going to work if you're trying to stand out Now, this is super important if you're in the life coaching niche, although I believe it's important for everyone, honestly.

Speaker 1: 12:24

So I find a lot of life coaches. Courses, though, do promise to live a better life and things like that. That's generally the tone and the messaging in the copy. It could be like be more confident, have more confidence, have a better relationship, be more content Like these kind of promises. But let's get specific on what that actually looks like for the person that you want by this course. Like what is the big problem they're experiencing and how can you talk about that in my new details? So they're like share my head. Like how does she know that? Like you only know that because it probably used to be you right. So we want people to know that we've actually been exactly where they are.

Speaker 1: 13:16

The other thing to think about is that everyone wants a better life, so if you're using like create a dream life, you're not really being specific about who that's for. So get really specific when it comes to the way you're sharing your message. So what is the outcome that they want? What does their dream life look like? You know, you could even get your customers to do. I don't know if you've ever heard of that dream life exercise where you map out what your dream day, like, your dream workday, looks like. You could potentially ask some people to go through that with you and take those tiny details and use them in your copy, and that is going to help people actually trust you, and that is massive, which brings me to the next point.

Speaker 1: 14:00

So you are the differentiator. When it comes to online education, you differentiate yourself from your competitors in a bunch of different ways, right, which we've discussed, which is really getting super specific about who you're targeting, what they want, what you're promising and actually what problems they're experiencing as well. Now you can differentiate yourself in other ways, too, so it could be that you get the results faster, or that you have a really unique way of doing things that avoids certain things that your customers don't enjoy about your topic, for example or it could be that you have more support available. Now, sometimes people compete on price as well, and you know, if you're just starting out, it's understandable that maybe you do start at a lower price point than what you want to be at in the long term, but I don't recommend competing on price because it's not really a winning strategy. So there's all these ways to differentiate and I think all of them have merit, except for the pricing one. Ok, but the most effective way to differentiate yourself is actually by being you.

Speaker 1: 15:10

Online education is about showing up and teaching you. As the person delivering what you're teaching, you are actually the special source People are going to be attracted to you, so showcase that. Don't try and hide and share like who you actually are. What are your values? Why are you doing what you do? What do you love about what you do? Yes, we can educate and we can share value posts and all that kind of thing, but you should also start sharing this kind of thing and do it often, like regularly, once a week. Start building up trust with your audience, because as people get to know you, you will become the obvious choice.

Speaker 1: 15:53

I think using yourself is a differentiator in a way to stand out Like if you like, you will attract your people to you. And while we can use all of those different ways to stand out, like it could be a method or how fast we do things, that kind of thing, that's great, but at the end of the day, they are buying the course to work with you and to learn your specific knowledge. So make sure that you are utilizing that and really stepping into the role as the leader of your online education business. So, to sum it all up, the three ways to stand out with your online course is to, firstly, get very specific on who you're helping, how you're helping them and what you're helping them with. Then, get really specific, like tiny tiny detail level, with your messaging and your copy, so that your audience they just hear you talk or read your posts and they're just like she gets me. And lastly, I want you to remember that you are the magic, you are the special source in this business. It's their connection to you that they are actually paying for. So thanks so much for listening today. I hope you love this episode.

Speaker 1: 17:08

If you want to create your very own online course offer that's in high demand, head on over to loublaclietco forward slash bootcamp to sign up for my free five day bootcamp. As I mentioned at the start of this episode, it has already started. It started yesterday, on Monday, the 31st of July. Today is the 1st of August, so we are only on day two and you have plenty of time to join and catch up on the training so far, and by the end of the week you will have your new amazing offer all mapped out and ready to go. I'd love to see you there and if you want to sign up again, that URL is loublaclietco. Forward slash bootcamp. Have a great rest of the week and I hope to see you in the 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, head across to loublaclietcom. See you next time.