#109 - 3 unusual ways a course can help grow your business

When you're thinking about creating an online program of any kind, think about it like yes, it is building an asset, but what do you need that asset to then give you back? Like how is that asset then going to benefit you and your business?

This is the Doing It Online podcast with your host, serial entrepreneur, 6 and 7 figure funnel strategist and super nerd Kate McKibben. Where every week we're here talking nerdy and sharing the things that actually work to help you do what you do online line. But better, easier and with a ton more profit too. Are you ready? Let's do it.

Hey, hey guys, it is Kate here from hellofunnels and welcome to episode 109 of the Doing It Online podcast. Now today I want to talk about three kind of out of the box ways or kind of awesome but often overlooked ways would be another bit less catchy way of talking about it. But yeah, three unusual ways that a course can help you to grow your business. Three things you probably hadn't thought about. Now when most people, when they think about online courses, creating online programs, they generally have this image that comes up about this sort of influencer looking person with shiny hair who is. Is suddenly like they created a course, they put it out to the world. They were suddenly making millions of dollars. They never did one on ones again. It changed their life. Their, their whole business became about their online course and it just became this whole business of its own. Right. Like that's kind of what. Well if I'm wrong, let me know DM me. But that's usually what people seem to think. But the thing is that isn't the only path and to be honest, it's not even really a particularly common one. Like yes, the creating the online course and then it completely taking over your business and becoming a whole business of its own. Yes, that is like a very common path, but it's not like I said, it's not the only path and it's shouldn't be the only path because the thing is that online courses can actually help your business. It can help to grow your existing business. It can be this great extra asset for your business without completely overtaking your business. It can help you to, yes, earn more money. Yes, be out there and deliver, making a bigger impact and being discovered by more people and growing your list and all that stuff. It can, but it doesn't need to be that all in strategy. It can just be a. It can be something slightly different. I know I'm not being particularly clear, but it will all make Sense in a minute, I promise. The reason I want to talk about this is because a couple of conversations have come up inside Ecourse Empire program recently with some clients and it was almost like they hadn't realized that they didn't have to do that. Two things could be true, that they could have an online program that was making them money, but it didn't have to completely take over their business. In fact, it could be something that helped to improve their business in other ways. And you know, I think it's so important that we look at these different kind of models and these different avenues because the thing is, success doesn't and shouldn't look the same for everybody. Like, there's some people out there who love their one on one work and some people who like me, are crazy, introverted and avoid it like the plague because we pretty much have to have a nap after we do any anything one on one. This is why this is one of the very first things we do with people when they join us inside our program is we're okay, what do you actually want? What do you want your business to look like? What does crazy success look to you? Look like to you? Sorry. And then how do you need to set up your business and structure your business and what pieces do you need to put in place through your offers and your marketing and all of that good stuff that you're actually heading in that direction. And that direction does not have to be a hey, I'm an online course creator and that's what I do for 80% of my time is creating online courses, marketing online courses, and I don't do much else. Like the online course can come into your business, it can slot into your business in different ways. That in a very long, roundabout way is what I was trying to say in the title of this podcast and that's what I want to talk about today. Let's dive in. This is three sort of different ways that I see online programs can be super beneficial once they've been created. So again, I want to put like one of my cake caveats at the start here because I'm not here to chuck glitter on to some poop and serve it to you. Because creating an online course is hard. There's different ways of doing it. There are easier ways of doing it. Absolutely. Less time consuming ways of doing it, 100%. But it is hard. It takes a lot of energy, it takes effort, it takes you away from the other stuff. That's kind of why I want to talk about this episode. Like you need to when you're thinking about creating an online program of any kind of think about it like yes it is building an asset, but what do you need that asset to then give you back? Like how is that asset then going to benefit you and your business? There are ways that it can benefit your business, like I said, without it being the be all and end all number one. And this is one of my favorites because it can just make such a huge impact to somebody's business without them actually ever selling an online course is if you create and this is particularly for people who are doing like any one to one coaching, consulting, anything like that, like anything where you are taking people through a process or sharing your knowledge again and again and again, you take that, you put it into an online training hub and all of a sudden it is now making your one on one services even better. What it generally means is that obviously big benefit, less repetition for you because you can say okay, before our first session, please watch this video and then bring your questions. It also becomes this great resource for your client, a great value add. Like when you're selling your packages you can say hey, you get also you get access to my training hub which has XYZ in it. So it's not. People know that when they can't reach you or if they want to be able to do stuff in their own time or come back to things, they kind of have that resource. It also means that often you can sort of scale back the time you're spending with clients and still allow for them to get this, have the same result. You can kind of look at the way you're delivering your outcome, the way you're walking people through. And maybe one or two of your one to one sessions can get sort of subbed out for the fact that they are going to be able to access this information themselves. In between still get that great response, the results are still be able to connect with you and then suddenly you've got a bit more free time. You know the program, you still would charge the same for it. You would still potentially because it's now got this extra area in it, you can charge more for it. But just having that extra resource there, that's not just you, that's something that is now leveraged and reusable again and again can make a really, really big difference when you are doing one to one services. Number two is, and this really applies for people who have a more premium offering. Maybe you're a copywriter or web designer or like I said, a consultant or something like that. Maybe you do Facebook ads, maybe you are a health coach, but your packages are really high touch and high level and you still want to be able to have something for people who maybe they're not there yet in either their journey or their just income level, but they still, they follow you on social media, they love your method, they want to be able to get a little taste, a little starting point. Creating this accessible entry point can be an amazing way for like, for some people to have that first touch point and sort of see what it's like to work with you, see what it's like to be in your world and for other people who maybe they're just, they're not your dream clients. They probably, they're not ready for maybe the investment or the level of service that you offer, but they do, they are really, they do love what you do. It's a great downsell, a great way to still be able to help and serve them. That's number two is to create that accessible entry point or even downsell for people who are not ready to be your dream clients yet. And then number three is that it can actually help you grow your list, your platform, whatever you want to call it. Because once you have this asset that is something that doesn't take up any of your time to deliver, where and literally hundreds of people or thousands of people can go through is something that potentially you can look to do some, maybe some great joint ventures with like go find some people who have compatible services or compatible businesses or complimentary is probably a better word who you can team up with and maybe you guys do some cool bundle and promote around to each other where everyone puts in some kind of training or something like that. Or you go and do some joint venture webinars to get on to other people's lists and they get a percentage of the sales as commission. But you get obviously not just that that initial sale, but you also get a bunch of new people on your email list or following you on social media. People do giveaways on social where people, bunch of accounts get together and you've got to tag everyone and follow everyone or obviously please check what the rules are for that platform before doing any competitions. But all of a sudden you have this tool that and in the so many different ways that you can use it and beyond just like, hey, I've got a course, I'm going to launch it, I'm going to create a funnel for it. Oh my gosh, I forgot the word funnel. My brain is definitely broken. Those are my three sort of out of the box ways that a course can help you to grow your business. Like I said, it doesn't Creating an online course does not have to be the be all and end all. It doesn't have to take over your business. It shouldn't take over your business. If it is, then you have the wrong plan and I'd love you to help. I'd love to help you create a better one. If you think that an online course would help you to hit your business goals and you'd like some help to design it, build it, launch it, automate it, and hell, even scale it to whatever is going to be right for your business, then that is actually exactly what we do inside Ecourse Empire. And we would love to help you do it for your business as well. All you have to do is head on over to eCourseMmpire.com or grab the link from the show notes and apply now. But make sure you hurry because we are about to actually close the doors to to Ecourse Empire. We are almost at capacity and we do not want you to miss out. So head to ecoursempire.com, pop in your application. Make sure you keep your eye on your inbox for your you've been accepted email and then come and join us and we are going to get this course rocking and rolling and you're going to have so much fun. Alrighty guys, see you soon. Bye.

Thanks so much for listening to the Doing It Online podcast. If you love this episode, don't forget to subscribe and leave us a review. And if you're ready to take your online course sales the next level with your own six or seven figure funnel, let Kate show you exactly how today@Stealmyfunnel.com.