#280 - Amy Porterfield Just Shut Down Her $60M Program—Here's What It Means for Your Course

The online coaching and course industry just had a major moment, and I think we need to talk about it. Hi, I'm Kate from HelloFinals Co and welcome to the Doing It Online podcast. Last week, Amy Porterfield, one of the biggest names in the online course space, announced that she's no longer selling Digital Course Academy, her signature program, the one that's made her over $60 million. And whether you're a fan of Amy's or not, although to be fair, even if you're not, you've got to respect what she's done. I think this announcement is a really important signal about what's happening in the industry right now. Because here's the thing. Amy isn't shutting down Digital Course Academy because she's bored or because she wants a new challenge. At least that's not the only reason she's shutting it down. She's shutting it down because the model has changed. And if you're sitting there with an online course that's not selling the way you thought it would, or, or if you're struggling to get the results you were promised, or if you're blaming yourself for not being able to make it work, I want you to hear this. It's not you. The model shifted and most people just didn't tell you. So today I'm going to walk you through exactly what's changed, what's working now, and most importantly, what you should be doing with your course business in 2026. So let's dive on in. Okay, let's talk about what just happened. Amy Porterfield announced she's walking away from Digital Course Academy. And in her announcement, she talked a lot about evolution, about wanting new challenges, about stepping into her next chapter. And I'm sure all of that is true. But I also think there is a bigger story here, because if you've been watching the online course space over the last couple of years, you've probably noticed that things have gotten harder. Courses that used to sell easily aren't selling the same way anymore. Webinars that used to have 40% shop up rates and 10% conversion rates are now getting a handful of people online. People are launching to crickets. And a lot of course creators are quietly struggling, wondering what they're doing wrong, wondering if they just need to post more or show up more or launch more. But the reality is it's not about working harder. The model has fundamentally changed, and Amy's announcement is just one very public example of what's been happening behind the scenes for a while now. So what actually changed here's the reality. The market shifted in about five different ways all at once, and it created a perfect storm that made the old course model a lot harder to execute. Buyer behavior completely changed. People are making buyer decisions faster than ever. Their attention spans are short, sometimes within hours of discovering you. But they're also more skeptical, more distracted, and way less patient with long nurture sequences. Then AI came in and suddenly everyone has access to information and how to content for free. Which means the value proposition of a DIY course just isn't that compelling anymore when you've got all that and more personalized and for free in your pocket. Add to that the fact that the market is completely saturated now. People have bought courses before, they've been burned, and they're skeptical of promises that sound too good to be true. On top of all of that, the algorithm's changed. Facebook ads used to love lead magnets and email nurture sequences. Now they want fast conversions and direct sales. They don't want to wait weeks to see if your funnel works. And the price points that worked before that mid tier DIY course sweet spot of between 500 to $1,500 is getting squeezed out because it's too expensive to be an impulse buy and not expensive enough to justify the lack of support. People either want something quick and cheap or they want high touch and premium. The middle is disappearing. So if you're wondering why your course that would have absolutely crushed it or maybe did Crush it in 2020 is struggling now, the this is why it's not you. The entire landscape shifted. So here's why Amy's announcement matters. Digital Course Academy was teaching people two core things. Number one, how to create an online course and use it to make a lot of money really simply and easily. And number two, how to sell it using both live and evergreen webinars. And both of those strategies, that mid tier DIY course model and the webinar as your primary sales vehicle model, those are two of the strategies that have been hit the hardest over the last couple of years. Now, I want to be clear. I have tremendous respect for Amy and everything that she's built. She's super smart. She's helped thousands of people create successful course businesses. She's been a leader in this space for over a decade. But I also think the fact she's shutting down the program that teaches this model is a really important signal. Because if the person who built a $60 million business teaching this model is walking away from it, that should tell you something about where the industry is right now. So does this mean courses are dead? No, absolutely not. Online courses are not dead, but their role has changed. And if you're trying to use your course the way you would have used it five years ago, even three years ago, you're going to struggle. Here's what I mean. Five years ago, your online course could be the center of your business. You could build your entire business model around selling a 500 to $2,000 DIY course and make really good money doing it. That's a lot harder now. But that doesn't mean courses don't have a place. It just means their place is different. So what's actually working in 2026? Well, here's what I'm seeing and I'm not guessing here. I'm watching what big players are doing. I'm looking at the data from our own business and from our clients businesses. So here is what is working. Strategy number one, small specific courses. As front end engines, the big players are shifting to smaller, more specific courses, often low ticket, but sometimes in that 200 to even up to $400 range. They're designed to build an audience and break even on ads. Some might be profitable, but it's not the goal. They're using these courses to grow their list, cover their ads costs and warm people up for what's coming next. These courses are narrow, they're focused, they solve one specific problem really well and they're designed to get people a quick win and build trust, not be the main profit driver. Strategy number two, premium group coaching and masterminds on the back end. So on the back end, behind these small specific courses, we are now seeing people selling more premium group coaching and masterminds. Amy even alluded to this is what she's going to be doing in 2026. It's all about serving fewer people, but more deeply and yes, being able to charge a lot more for it. Because what people actually want right now isn't another course they have to figure out on their own, isn't another whole bunch of information to read or hundreds of hours of videos to listen to. They want the solution. They want the support. They want community. They want access to you. And they're willing to pay a premium price for it. Well, some people are, but it's enough to make the model work. Strategy number three, live regular touch points. So now instead of relying on evergreen webinars or a long totally hands off email sequence to do all your sales selling, people are adding in live layers, showing up regularly, whether it's a live weekly training, live Q&As live workshops, yes, even live weekly webinars. That's one of my hot predictions. I think you're going to be seeing people talk a lot more about this because that's what builds trust right now. That's what converts doesn't have to be a perfectly polished four week long email sequence. The smart money is moving towards adding in live, regular, repeatable connection. And this is exactly what we've been teaching for years. We call this the two part funnel stack. So part one is the content engine. This is your front end. This is your list builder. This is your ad cost coverer. This is usually a smaller, more specific course or low ticket offer that's designed to get people in the front door and prove that you can help them. The goal here is not to make a ton of profit, although with recent ad updates it is possible. But to break even on your ads, the benefit is it allows you to build your list faster and with buyers, not just freebie seekers. Stack on the back of that. The profit engine. This is your back end, your high touch, high ticket offer. This is where you're actually making your profit. This is your group coaching program, or as we like to call it, a leverage live experience, your mastermind, your premium membership. This is where you're serving fewer people, you're able to charge a lot more and you're going to be able to deliver a lot more value. And this is the model that's working right now. Layer on top of that some regular repeatable live experiences. And 2026 looks very exciting indeed. Your front end covers your costs and builds your audience. Your back end delivers profit and your live experiences add trust. Now, I don't know Amy personally, I can't speak for her, but based on what I'm seeing, I've got a couple of predictions about what we're going to see coming up next. So I think Amy will absolutely still have online courses as part of her business, but they're not going to be the big comprehensive programs anymore. I think they're going to be smaller, more specific courses that serve as front end engines. And I think on the back end she's going to go all in on masterminds and high touch group coaching. We're already seeing that. And to be fair, this is a super smart move because that is what's working. And look, I'm not here criticizing her for this pivot, I'm just pointing it out because I think it's important that we don't just listen to what the gurus are saying. We look at what they're doing and we look at the really clear signals they are giving off through their actions of what is actually working. And here's the most important thing I want you to hear. If your course isn't selling the way you thought it would, it's not because you're not good enough or you're not posting enough or you're not in alignment. It's because the model shifted. And unfortunately, a lot of people are still teaching the old model and even though it stopped working long ago. So if you've been following a strategy that, to be fair, is past its prime, the good news is you can pivot. You can take what you've built and reposition it. You can adapt to what's working now, and you can still build a really successful, really profitable course business in 2026. You just have to be willing to see your course differently. Now, if you're inside one of our coaching programs right now, you already know we talk about this all the time, and you know we're here to help you make the shift if you're not. And if you want help figuring out what means for your business, drop me a DM over on Instagram @hellofunnels and let's chat about how we can help you. Because the market has changed, but the opportunity hasn't gone anywhere. You've just got to be willing to see it. So thanks for listening. I'll catch you next week.