Fast & actionable tips for your first 5-figure course launch
Over the past 3 years, I’ve launched somewhere around 40 different offers. To date, about half of them have been 5-figure, or multiple 5-figure launches. My life has transformed in more ways than I can count as a result of the financial overhaul that my coaching business has afforded me. Now, I’m on a mission to help as many others as possible, do the same.
When people are getting started with putting together their first offer, a theme I see is one of overwhelm. Of not knowing what to prioritize and what not to. Of feeling like you have to build out an entire membership platform, complex ad campaign and marketing funnel, and email list in order to have your launch be a success. Let me be clear here-- creating an offer and making 5-figures from it (and I mean SOON) is not complicated. You don’t need much to pull it off, and you certainly don’t need a big audience to sell to. My first 5-figure launch was marketed to a niche that I’d never spoken to or created content for before. The real secret to a successful launch is the energy behind the offer itself, and a genuine belief that both you and your course or coaching program is of high value to others. Today, I'm going to share 5 quick, actionable tips on developing ideas into sell-out courses and programs that will propel you into 6- and multiple 6-figures in as little time as possible.
Tip #1: look to your OWN personal experience when creating course & program objectives.
When I started my business, I wanted desperately to teach mindset & manifestation to entrepreneurs, and my first few courses (that pretty much completely flopped) were centred around that desire. The only problem was that within that niche, I didn't feel qualified (yet). I questioned myself, I doubted whether people would sign up, and marketing my offers felt emotionally exhausting as a I battled with my ego's attempt at convincing me I was crazy to think anyone would buy.
When I switched over to developing courses and programs within niches that I already felt like an expert in however, everything changed--- and quickly, too.
So, when sitting down to develop your next sell-out course or program, don't look at what you think you should offer, or what you think people will buy. Instead, ask yourself-- "What do I feel incredibly passionate about that I can speak to for days?", "What have I overcome or accomplished in the past that others are looking for help with overcoming, too?", "Where do I excel in life and how can I use my experience to help others to do the same?".
No skill or transformation is too small. In fact, it's often in the things we've accomplished that we deem as being "no big deal", that we're best able to show up for others from a place of value, authority, and impact.
Tip #2: NICHE DOWN. By that, I don't mean that you have to be in a super specific niche, I mean that when you're developing your course or program, you do NOT need to give your participants 6 months worth of information and the full-blown encyclopedia version of every last thing you know & have learned on the topic you're centring your offer around.
In fact, the offers of mine that have most resonated with and been purchased by my audience, are the ones that served a very specific purpose within a larger intention.
For example--
--> Rather than creating an extensive course on how to manifest (which is an incredibly broad topic), create a course that helps people master one aspect of becoming great manifestors-- self-talk, visualization, scripting, inner child work, etc.
--> Rather than a program on helping business owners scale from $0 - 7-figures, focus in on helping your participants make their first sale.
--> Rather than teaching the start-to-finish process of writing, editing, publishing and marketing a book, focus in instead on how to begin the book-writing process by helping your participants to map out the layout & key topics the book will be covering, first.
A mistake I so often see people make (and one I DEFINITELY made myself in the early days of my business) is thinking that a course or program needs to be super in-depth, with hours of video content every week and a 200-page workbook.
This approach is overwhelming to people, it will leave them feeling hesitant to buy due to time constraints, & truth be told, it's more about you feeling the need to over-deliver out of a scarcity, "not enough" mindset, rather than actually setting your participants up for success by creating a curriculum plan they can easily work through.
So instead, develop your offerings to be just one piece of the bigger puzzle.
Tip #3: In your development process, messaging and marketing material, focus on the outcome, not the process.
One of the BIGGEST mistakes people make in not only creating, but marketing their courses too, is that they centre their messaging and marketing around all the things their participants will ‘get’ inside the course. They focus on the process.
The thing is, that this isn’t what will motivate your people to sign up. What they want are the RESULTS that are available to them once they go 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 the process you walk them through during your time together.
So, get superrr clear on the OUTCOMES your target audience is identifying with wanting, and then communicate CLEARLY with them how and why your offering makes that possible for them.
From a marketing perspective, this is 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴. Your people need to know why they’re choosing to invet in your teachings, and how it will give them the results they want.
From an energy perspective, getting super clear for yourself just how transformational your course or program will be for its participants, will have a dramatic effect on the place from which you market it.
When YOU believe in it and know the life-changing results it will bring to those who choose to sign up, others will, too.
Tip # 4: GET EXCITED.
This is probably the most important, yet underrated tip there is when it comes to making big money through your online offerings.
This one really should go without saying, but it’s all too easy to forget how important it is to put FUN & excitement at the forefront of what we’re offering in our businesses.
The way you 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 about your courses and programs is the key determiner of how others will feel about them too, and thus, the money you’ll make.
What do you 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 want to be offering?
What difference do you desperately desire to help others create in their lives?
How do you need to structure your courses so that they feel fun, creative & manageable for you, the mentor?
How can you launch them out into the world from an energy of not only service, but of “I can’t believe I get to do this!” vibes too?
When you believe in and are excited about the value of your offerings, others will be too.
When you believe in and are excited about the value of your offerings, you’ll speak to them with next-level conviction.
When you believe in and are excited about the value of your offerings, your energy will be contagious, and will draw in those who you’re really meant to serve.
So— above all else, get excited. Develop your ideas from an intention of fun; both for you and for your people.
And lastly, let GO of the significance around how many people sign up (easier said than done, I know), and instead, make it your mission to help as many people as possible in the way that feels the most authentically YOU, and when you do that, you simply can’t fail.
Tip #5: Stop over complicating and just LAUNCH!
KEEP IT SIMPLE!
The truth is, you could come up with an idea for a course and make $20K from launching it, all within the next week or two. You don’t actually need a super fancy funnel or a polished mile-long sales page (they help, but are not necessary).
Furthermore, you shouldn’t give your participants anything that they don’t 100% NEED in order to create the desired change in their life/learn the skill you’re teaching.
Ask yourself this question when developing your curriculum: “how can I help my students to get the transformation my offer provides, in as little time as possible?” Cut out anything that isn’t that, and give yourself permission to launch registration BEFORE you’ve built the modules. Stay 1-2 weeks ahead of your students in terms of creating the course content.
I’ve actually LOVED the courses and programs I’ve been in that were minimalist in their content and in their hosting/support level.
They felt doable, they felt relatable, and they felt like something I could fit into my schedule without overwhelm.
If you have a desire to make great money sharing what you’re most passionate about with those it can really help, then the way there already exists for you. Follow the steps above and dive into your first 5-figure online course or program launch!
To your inevitable success,
XX
-The Aligned Entrepreneur