Your First Course will probably fail to make money: 20 Years of Hard Lessons

In this video, I share the hard-earned lessons from 20 years of selling online courses. If you’ve ever wondered why your first course didn’t bring in the money you expected, you’re not alone. Many new course creators face the same challenges.

• (00:01 – 01:31): Courses are difficult to sell and often don’t meet financial expectations; selling courses requires a strategy beyond just course creation, including choosing the right digital platform.
• (03:10 – 06:28): The typical progression for an online education business starts with creating a single course, followed by adding more courses to generate income. However, this can become a cycle that feels like a hamster wheel.
• (07:01 – 10:35): A common next step is building a membership site to offer courses, ebooks, podcasts, and other content. However, this model demands significant ongoing effort, including regular content updates and personal involvement.
• (11:07 – 12:49): Transitioning to a community model can alleviate some pressures, as it involves user-generated content and allows members to interact and share experiences. However, building a community site, especially a paid one, is complex and still requires substantial work.
• (13:26 – 16:02): The ultimate goal is to create a “training site,” a comprehensive educational business that integrates courses, membership content, community engagement, and actionable activities, making it akin to a personal educational campus. This approach not only generates revenue but also provides emotional satisfaction by genuinely helping others.