2 Ways to Sell Your Online Course… Before You Create It

What if you could sell your online course before you actually finish creating it?

Did you know that you can market and create your course at the same time? In fact, you can actually sell your course before you finish creating it. Click To Tweet

You might ask, “Why in the world would I want to sell my course before it’s complete?” It might sound crazy, but it’s actually a great strategy for your business for two reasons:

1) You can generate revenue FAST.

You can get revenue flowing while you are completing your content. Plus, it’s a huge motivator to get your course finished when you already know you have excited (paying) clients waiting for your next piece of content to head their way.

2) You can refine your content while you create it.

When you have paying clients moving through your program, it’s like having a paid focus group.

You get real time feedback on what your clients love and ideas for improvement.

You can adjust in the moment and provide the exact experience your clients are looking for.

It’s a win all the way around.

What do you think? If the idea intrigues you, let’s look at how you can create and sell at the same time.

Two Ways to Sell Your Online Course Before You’re Finished Creating It

Option 1: Outline > Sell > Deliver Live

Step One: Outline

The first step to selling your online course is to outline your course content.

This should be one of the first things you do in developing your course. I teach a method called “Content Storyboarding” in our Create Six Figure Courses program.

By storyboarding your content, you are able to outline clear steps you’re moving your audience through. You will identify the transformation you create for your students step-by-step. You will also identify the tools and content you will provide to help them achieve the results they want.

Once your Content Storyboard is complete, you will be clear on what you are covering in your course. This is more than enough information to share with prospective students to walk them through the experience you will deliver in your course.

Step Two: Sell

Once you have your course outline, you’re ready to sell.

• You can sell low-tech or automated.
• You could do that by sharing a page with them with all the information.
• You could lead a webinar and walk them through it virtually.
• Or, you could go old school and (*gasp*) actually get on the phone to talk to somebody about what the experience is and invite them into your program with you.

Step Three: Deliver Live

Congratulations! Once they say “Yes, sign me up!”, you now have your first group of students. The fastest way to deliver your content the first time around is to deliver the course content live.

For example, you may have six modules that you deliver live over the span of six weeks. Every Monday at noon, you could lead a live webinar or conference call.

You record your live sessions. Once you have delivered all six weeks of content, you will have recordings for all your lessons. You can upload your recordings into a course hosting platform. You are now ready to scale your automation in your next launch.

If the idea of going live the first time launching gives you a little bit of anxiety, there’s a second way that you could do this.

Option 2: Outline > Sell > Record

Step One: Outline

Similar to the first option, you will outline your course content as your first step. Getting clear on your outline equips you to do the second step, which is to sell your course.

Step Two: Sell

Just as we outlined above in Option 1, there are multiple ways to sell your course before it’s complete. You can get on a webinar, get on the phone to sell, or send out a series of emails leading to a sales page.

Step Three: Record Your Content

In this option, instead of leading a live session with your customers, you will record yourself leading the teaching module for each week in advance. Next, you provide the recording to your students each week.  

While your students are consuming one week of  content, you will be a couple steps ahead of them recording the upcoming modules.

Step Four: Deliver

Think about your comfort level in dealing with content deadlines. Decide how big of a lead time you want to have between your student consuming content and you creating that content.

Some experts are fine with having their students consume week one’s content while they are working on week two. Some of us get hives at the thought of only being one week ahead and would prefer to have a couple weeks’ worth of content recorded in advance.

You can think about how much cushion you need to feel comfortable doing this and create a schedule that works for you.

Most Course Creators Create and Sell At the Same Time

I can tell you that many of the experts in our Create Six Figure Courses Virtual Bootcamp use this strategy and lead with selling first, then delivering later. It’s a huge advantage to have actual students experiencing your content and giving you feedback along the way.  

What’s your comfort level in doing this? Are you excited about moving faster? Does the thought of selling first give you anxiety? I would love to hear. Share below.