Should I Create an Online Course When There is Already Tons of Free Content Available?
You have a great idea for an online course. Suddenly, you start noticing lots of free content out there on the same topic. Ugh, right?
Does this mean your course won’t be successful? Should you create your online course if your ideal clients can find free alternatives?
I get this question a lot. And here’s what I want you to know: Seeing free content around your course topic can be a really great sign. It means that people are interested in and spending time learning about this subject.
The problem with free content is that it isn’t exactly free. Your audience has to spend a ton of time sifting through a bunch of free content to figure out what they want to know.
3 Reasons Why Your Audience Will Invest, Even When There is Free Content Out There
At the end of the day, your audience simply wants to know how to create results. So even though they can find lots of information out there, it doesn’t mean they’re only interested in free content. They could be looking for exactly what you can deliver, in a way that only you can deliver it.
Your clients will invest because you help them get results in three ways:
1. SYNTHESIS
Your audience wants somebody like you to go through all this stuff out there and figure out: What are the essential things I need to know so that I can get the results I want?
They want a clear action plan. You can help them by distilling information and sharing it in a way they can easily digest and put to use.
Think about checklists, guides, resource directories, reviews, and recommendations. These are all ways you help sift through content.
2. SYSTEM
People don’t just want information; they want a system for getting results. They want to know exactly what you do and how you do it.
How did you get the results that you create in your area of expertise? How have you helped other people create those results?
Creating a step-by-step system to share with your audience is how you’ll stand out. Think about your system, share the system, and talk about your system. Because this is what people are looking for: a guide that can walk them through exactly how to do this.
Now, it’s very important not to skip this part by thinking: Well, that’s just how I do what I do. I really want to encourage you to stop and think through how you get results in your area of expertise. Break it down and codify your method. Create a system. When your audience can see that you have step-by-instructions for getting results, they’re more likely to follow you, consume your content, and purchase your course.
3. SPEED
Speed is another way your course can add real value. Your people want results, and they want them to show up quickly. Share all of your best hacks, tips and strategies. When you offer proven ways to accelerate the process and get results faster, people will be quick to hop aboard.
Standing Out in the “Sea of Free”
Information overload is a real thing. We’ve all had that feeling of drowning in so much free content that you don’t know how to keep your head above water. A course that provides a lifeboat to someone drowning in the Sea of Free content can be a life changer. Your expertise and everything you do to make your content so valuable—aggregate, filter, curate, customize, package—are the things that will help your audience see that their results really are achievable, and that your course is the way to get those results.
By synthesizing all of the free content out there, creating your own step-by-step system, and helping your people go faster in achieving results—your course will stand out from all the free content and become the go-to solution for your audience.
Tell me: How can your system help people get results? How can you help them move faster? Share in the comments, because this is the key to really standing out.