How do you create a digital version of your coaching program for scale, without losing touch with your clients?
To answer this question, we talked to Jeanine Blackwell, creator of the Create 6 Figure Courses Virtual Bootcamp, as part of our Coach to Course series.
Jeanine has helped hundreds of experts, business owners and professionals unlock their brilliance and bring it to the world through online courses. In our interview, she shared strategies for how to take content from a one-on-one coaching program and put it into an online format.
Watch the video below to hear all of Jeanine’s insights on how to take your one on one coaching program online!
Narrow your course focus
As a coach, you know the kind of transformation you can create when working one-on-one with your clients. But how do you create that same transformation when using a one-to-many training model, like an online course?
One of the biggest barriers coaches face to having a wildly successful online course is going too broad with their course content. This often happens as a result of wanting to help a lot of people, and a desire to share everything they know.
But going too broad inevitably means your course will get lost in the noise. Similarly, creating a course that is all-encompassing will likely leave you with a course that’s too long and difficult for any student to finish.
To combat this challenge, here are two things to consider when narrowing your audience.
Narrow by your audience. Ask yourself who can you serve extremely well, and be as specific as you can.
Narrow by your result. Next start to think about what that audience needs to know, do, and how can you coach them towards a specific result.
Based on the answers to these questions, create an offer that speaks specifically to these two angles. This will draw the attention of the right people much faster.
Want to know how to succeed with #onlinecourses as a coach? Great interview with Jeanine Blackwell @jeanineob on how to put your one on one coaching program online! Click To TweetCreating a results-driven online coaching program
To ensure that your online course continues to create transformation for your clients, you need to zone in on the end result that you want them to achieve.
When you sit down to create your course, it’s easy to get caught up in listing all your ideas for content that will help them in their journey. But more content doesn’t necessarily mean a better course.
In fact, the quicker you can get your client to their desired result, the better. To help you decide whether to include a specific piece of content in your course, ask yourself, is this essential to equipping them to achieve the result they’re looking for?
Stay focused on this result, break down the key skills they need, and create your content around those elements.
Content formats for great online learning experiences
It’s no secret that people have different learning styles. As you craft your online coaching course, it’s ideal to use a combination of content types to keep virtual students engaged.
To create transformative learning experiences, your course must include components that push students beyond passive consumption into action. By including activities or exercises to engage with, you’ll be able to connect with every type of learner in your program.
One exercise that helps narrow down what approach to take in building your content is to imagine yourself teaching at a seminar. If there are over a thousand people in the audience, how would you structure your course to teach them all simultaneously? What would you do to animate the concepts you’re teaching?
Whatever came to mind in the seminar scenario, you can do in an online course. Online learning is so much more than just watching videos and doing worksheets. Don’t be afraid to be innovative and get creative. Here are some different ways you can work
- Have your students write down their findings and action steps in a workbook.
- Start community discussion threads. Have your students share what they’ve learned, and jump in to help facilitate the discussions.
- Create touch points within your course for reflection, and identifying key learnings.
To hear examples of how Jeanine walks her clients through the process of narrowing their focus and identifying the right content types, watch the video above!
Pitfalls to avoid in creating your course
Being too broad
We touched on this in the beginning, but it bears repeating as it is the number one mistake course creators make. The more generic your content is, the harder it will be to get people to buy into your program.
”Do not fall into the trap of thinking that the wider you cast your net, the more people will join the conversation. People are drawn to what speaks to them directly. Not generic advertisements, but things that they personally relate to.”
– Jeanine Blackwell
No launch or marketing plan
Having no launch plan is a surefire way to be disappointed in the results of your online coaching program. Creating a course and putting it up on your site is not going to do much if no one knows it exists. To get traction, you need a launch plan that communicates why people should engage with you right away.
“Make sure you create a launch that focuses on the triggers that make people take action.”
– Jeanine Blackwell
Related blog: Want to know about how to market your online course? Check out this post where we’ve outlined 55 Ways To Market Your Online Course & Increase Sales in 2019.
Once and done mindset
Finally, do not approach your course launch like a pass/fail on your course right then and there. Every part of creating your first online course, from the beginning until launch should be viewed as an experiment. Aim to get feedback from your audience every step of the way, and you’ll learn what you can improve to hone the content in for your audience.
“You don’t have to have all the answers when you launch. Your audience is going to tell you what they need. When you get helpful feedback, you can add it into your course the same day! So don’t stress about getting it perfect the first time around.”
– Jeanine Blackwell
Connect with Jeanine at www.jeanineblackwell.com.
Want to learn more about how to grow your coaching business through online courses?
Download the Online Coach Blueprint below for a step by step roadmap to creating your first online coaching course.
