Have expertise? Get asked the same questions over and over again? Wish you could monetize your experience? You may want to beta launch an online course. Learning cool information from the comfort of our homes, whether it’s a hobby we’ve been wanting to try, a language to learn or a skill to increase our effectiveness at work has never been a more popular way to learn.
Online courses have become the norm and using them as a way to generate income is a huge market. The trick is to only sell a course you know there’s a market for – enter the beta launch. Beta launching is a great way to save yourself a whole lot of time, heartache and expense by selling a course before it’s created. Sound a bit sketchy? Stay with me here…
What is a Beta Launch?
Creating a course is a lot of work. Not only is there content to figure out, but there can be a lot of moving pieces as well. And if you do all that hard work, you definitely want a course that is going to sell, right? And your new customers definitely want a course that is going to meet their needs. How better to meet their needs than to poll your new buyers and ask exactly what they want to know?
Also called a Seed Launch by members of Jeff Walker’s Product Launch Formula, a beta launch works on the premise of selling the idea of a course without getting into too much detail during the sales process. For example, if you’re a dog trainer, you could sell people on the idea of purchasing a course that will help them socialize their new puppy, teaching it how to walk on a leash and become a friendly member of your household. You mention that there will be live Q&A calls, group coaching and weekly teaching videos.
Best of all, because it’s a beta, you’ll be creating exactly the content the members want. You have a plan for your weekly content, but after each call, you poll your members and see if they have any other questions. You also ask them what they’d most like to know about the content you plan to teach next week. The questions they give you provide an outline for the content you most need to cover. Once the beta launch is over, you take all of the material you created and becomes your program to be sold during your next launch. Sound a little sketchy? Take a listen to this week’s video and I’ll explain exactly what I mean and how it all works. Trust me, it’s not only legit, it’s also the best way to create something that your clients will rave about.
Let your customers help you with creation
The bottom line is, as much as you think you know exactly what your customers want, you may not be right. The best way to know how to answer their greatest pain points is to ask them as they’re going through the course which questions they are getting answered, and which questions they still have. If your course is already created, it can be a lot harder to add in content as you go. AND, you’re likely to fall so in love with what you’ve created that you’ll feel like you know better than your customers. And that’s always a dangerous place to find yourself. Want more information about launching online? What does it all mean, anyway? Check out this blog post: Launching a Business Online. Need help with your launch? Want to talk strategy? I bet I can help! Find out here.
