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So let me ask you that online, course you've been thinking about creating, is it still sitting on the back burner? You
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know, maybe you've told yourself, I'll definitely start it next month, or I just need to find the right time to get it sorted. But somehow that perfect time never actually shows up, right?
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Don't worry, you're you're not alone in this. I have met many coaches and entrepreneurs who know they got amazing stuff to teach, but just keep pushing that course creation down their to do list. So here's the deal, putting together your course. It doesn't have to be this huge mountain to climb. The courses that really do well actually follow a pretty simple formula that you can start using today, but if you keep putting it off, you know sure that money is not going into your bank account. But more importantly, there's people out there still struggling with the problems that you could be helping them solve. So let's map out your course together in just three simple steps today, so stay tuned.
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Ready to break free from the solopreneur struggle. This is the ease and impact thriving as a solopreneur Podcast. I'm Frankie J a sofa, a mum and an eight year solopreneur myself. Join me as I peel back the layers to a thriving online business without the guru hype or the burnout. I'm going to show you the proven strategies and tools that I use so you can build a sustainable digital business without sacrificing your well being. Let's get you thriving as a solo preneur.
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Welcome to ease and impact thriving as a solopreneur. I'm excited you're joining me today because we're going to tackle a key challenge that faces digital entrepreneurs and coaches how to map out your first online course fast, but it's still effective in getting your students results. But before we do if you're enjoying these practical strategies that help you maximize that impact without sacrificing your well being. Be sure to follow or subscribe to this podcast wherever you're listening right now so you never missed an episode. I'm committed to bringing you actionable advice that you can implement right away in your solopreneur journey. And so today I'm going to walk you through a proven three step framework for mapping out your course, and by the end of your episode, you'll have the structure for your online course done, one that delivers a transformation, not only for your students, but makes the course creation process so much easier for you. Now before we dive into planning the content and the modules, I know you're probably excited. I have all this amazing knowledge that I want to share. You do need to get clear on what you're offering through your course, and this really includes two critical elements, your promise and your price. Now, if we start with your promise, this essentially is the foundation for your entire course, your program, membership, coaching package, whatever it is that you want to call it and create and it's made up of three key components. The first is probably something you're well aware of, is to identify the specific problem that you're addressing. So what pain point or challenge is your audience experiencing the course will solve. Now, the thing is to be specific. Here, vague problems lead to vague solutions, which often don't sell, or at least they make it so much harder to sell.
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So what specific problem are you addressing? And it's going to be one problem. The second is define the solution that you provide, or essentially the outcome for your students. So what transformation will they experience? What will their life or their business look like after completing your program? Write down as much detail as you can here.
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Then third, clarify who this course is for. So who is that ideal student, that ideal client? What level are they at? What specific characteristics do they have? Now, hopefully you can think of a lot of content under each of these areas, but we want to kind of boil it down into a formula that we can structure your promised into. Now, the purpose of this is not to negate all the other elements that are relevant to your audience. That's going to all that information you're writing down is going to be really helpful when you're actually marketing your course, but this is to have a key statement that we can always come back to to flesh out your course so that you know you're meeting the promise of your audience, kind of like a North Star. So let me share with you this formula, the structure,
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and you can fill in this template as you go, but write it down. My course helps, and then you want to write in your specific audience who struggle with their specific problem
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to finally achieve a specific outcome for and then the price that you're going to going to put together. So I'm going to put that template in the show notes as well, just so you can easily refer back to it and remember that people don't buy courses in.
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They honestly buy solutions to their problems, or, you know, pathways to some kind of desired outcome. No one says, and I think it actually my mentor, James Wedmore, says this is no one says, oh, I want to buy another course. I think that's actually his words. But what they do say is, I want to get more leads on Instagram, or I want to build an online course, or I want to lose 10 kgs. They want a solution to a problem that they have. But speaking of price being that last bit in your your little framework statement, here's sort of a quick guideline for you, because people often go, Well, what do I price my product? I don't want to price it too low and seem like it's cheap and crappy, but I don't want to price it too high and no one buys it. And you know, so this is just a rough guideline for you, but for DIY courses, so ones without sort of any kind of personal coaching or group element, that literally, it's just there. And they go at their own pace. They kind of start around $97 I mean, it could be even smaller, lower ticket offer, if it's dealing with a very small problem with only a kind of a couple of elements inside the course. But as a guide, you know, $97
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but for courses that include sort of coaching components or communities or access to you, they typically start at 997, and above. Now that said, the results that you promised also influence the pricing. So if your DIY course, you know consistently delivers exceptional results, then you can and you should charge more more accordingly. Now the next step is to map out your modules. So now that you have the clarity on you know what you're offering people, it's time to map it all out. So you can call these modules. You can call these categories, pillars, whatever you want to call them. We're going to stick to modules for the purpose of this, but think of these as the major milestones that your students need to achieve to fulfill the promise you made in step one. So you can start by answering these two questions before we already start your course. Where are they? You know, what specific situation are they in right now? And you know, be detailed, even if you're not using this detail inside your course modules. This kind of research work that you're doing now is going to be amazingly crucial when you come to market your course. And then the next question is, where will they be at the end of your program? Again, be be specific. Now, the
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modules that you're going to going to create will literally be the stepping stones to the bridge this gap, and most courses have between four to eight core modules. You know, this way your audience doesn't feel overwhelmed with the amount of content, but each module represents one clear milestone stepping stone on their journey. So for example, if you're teaching a course on, say, building an email list, your modules might look like. Module One, clarify your ideal subscriber. Module Two, create an irresistible lead magnet. Module Three, build your opt in page. Module Four, drive traffic to your opt in page. Number five. Module Five, nurture your new subscribers.
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Now, do you notice how each module is focused on a single outcome? This creates a clear learning path for your students, and prevents that overwhelming feeling that causes many online course customers to just kind of abandon ship and put it in the too hard basket.
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So when mapping out those modules, you want to make sure that they flow logically from one to the next.
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So you go back to those questions that you answered. Where are they at the beginning and where are they at the end?
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Each module should build upon the knowledge and skills those stepping stones in the previous ones, this journey that you're creating for them is what actually creates those aha moments for your students and delivers them the transformation the results that you promised. Step three, you know, with your modules outlined to find out, it's time to break them down into lessons, and we want to make these nice and, you know, bite sized, digestible as much as possible.
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Now, lessons are simply the specific steps that your students need to take to achieve each module, each milestone. So a good rule of thumb is to include no more than seven to eight per module, but you can have as little as two to four. It's whatever you need them to do in order to get the result. So let me show you how this might look for the email list building example I gave you so Module One was clarify your ideal subscriber. Lesson one might be why clarifying your audience or why being clear on your audience is the foundation of list building. Lesson Two might be identifying your audience, and Lesson three might be researching where that audience or your ideal subscribers are online. So you see how each lesson is a specific actionable step that's exactly what you want. When you're mapping out your lessons, you know, ask yourself, What does my student need to know or do to complete this milestone and keep each lesson focused on a single concept or action? So if you find yourself trying to pack too much into one lesson.
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Can it's getting too long and too much in there. It's probably a good sign that it should be two or three lessons. Remember, clarity and simplicity lead to completion, and completion leads to transformation. Now that you've got the core of your course really mapped out, here, I want to briefly touch on two additional elements that are going to enhance that, and those are using bonuses and naming your course. Now, when it comes to bonuses, really, they serve two important purposes, Jeff, addressing objections and creating more desire. So think about what might be standing the way of your audience, saying yes to your your course. Is it time? Concerning? Is it money? Is it a lack of a certain skill or a resource? You know, once you've identified these objections, your goal is to create bonuses that directly address them. For example, if this is a time issue, you might offer templates or swipe files that speed up implementation. And as for naming, your course, always choose clarity over being trying to be clever, trying to be funny. Your course name needs to clearly communicate the goal or result
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for what your course is about, who it's for, right? So, for instance, you could have a 30 day website launch plan for coaches. It tells potential students exactly what they'll get, how long it will take, and who is designed for. If you'd like to dive deeper into these topics, then feel free to check out my low cost product, which is the map out your online course workshop. It's a replay of some video lessons covering everything we discussed today, plus naming your course using bonuses effectively and the essential tools that you need to finish your course. You'll also receive a complete PDF for each training step, and giving you lifetime access to this program. It's just $11 and I'll include the link in the show notes below.
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Now if you have been busy scribbling while I've been talking to you, you will have your course outline. And if not, you might want to go back and listen to this again, or feel free just to buy the mini course. But by clarifying your offer, mapping out your modules, breaking those down into simple, digestible lessons, you've created a roadmap that will guide both you and your students. Now remember, your course doesn't need to be complicated to be effective. In fact, the simpler and, you know, more structured it is, the more likely your students will achieve the transformation you promise. Now, if you have any questions about mapping out your own course, I'd love to hear from you. Drop them in the comments, and I'll be sure to address them. Thank you so much for tuning into today's episode of ease and impact. I appreciate you spending this time with me. I look forward to supporting you on your solopreneur journey. So until next time, keep creating that impact with ease.
