What Type of Course Should You Create? (and the best one to start with)
You know that you’re ready to create a course so you can add an additional revenue stream in your business. But you’re not sure what type of course you should create!
There are so many options out there from a mini-course to a subject matter course to a full blown signature program.
In this post I’ll outline the different types of course and why you should start with one versus another.
What Type of Course Should I Create?
The first question you may ask yourself, should I start with a mini course (aka tiny product), a signature course or something in between?
To answer this question, let’s discuss the differences between all options.
Option 1: Mini Course (aka tiny offer)
A mini course (aka tiny product or starter course) is something that would be considered a no brainer type offer.
An offer than you could sell immediately from a Facebook ad and your target market would see the ad and think “I can’t live without this” and click to buy.
These offers are generally quite low in price and are usually between $27-$47 for the business market and $7 - $17 for the consumer market.
How a Mini-Course Can Be Successful
Once someone clicks to buy, there’s an order bump offered that may be priced even a little higher like a workshop at $97.
And then “wait!” before they finish the checkout process another offer is presented than may even be a little higher like another course at $197.
In this scenario, the total purchase price may end up being around $321, depending upon how many products the customer purchased.
For this to work, you need to have several products to offer, and a top-notch marketing system with strong Facebook ad knowledge. This system requires you to run Facebook ads to continue to find people (a cold audience) that would be interested in your mini course (aka tiny offer).
Additionally, when you run a Facebook ad campaign for an offer such as this, you’ll likely see a higher ROI initially in the ad campaign and, after time, you’ll start to see lower conversion rates as you saturate the market.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I love what I call self-liquidating type funnels where I run Facebook ads either directly to a low-cost digital product or a free offer with a tripwire to a low-cost digital product.
They help pay or even fully fund my Facebook ads, but most importantly I have an instant customer.
One that I can upsell to my higher end services or products.
Here’s why I love a mini course (or tiny offer):
They allow you to gain the momentum to get started. So many course creators get stuck in analysis paralysis mode.
It’s easier to create than a high-end premium offer.
When used as a tripwire, you can gain an instant customer with a mini course.
With a mini course, you can use it to help fund or even cover your ad costs.
A mini course can be used as a gateway so you can upsell your services or future courses.
Serves as a starting point for the buyer’s journey and gives them just a taste of what it’s like to work with you.
But don’t stop with creating just a mini course and here’s why.
You want to be able to take your students on a journey and allow them the opportunity to continue to learn and work with you.
Here are some other options and courses to consider as you continue to build out your product portfolio:
A Signature Course
A Subject Matter Course
Let’s talk about the differences between these two options.
Option 2: A Signature Course
A Signature Course is more like a degree program like getting your MBA.
It’s a premium course that may even have some coaching or other support options bundled in with it.
It’s a comprehensive, end-to-end framework so that when your students complete it, they’ve experienced a complete transformation.
Option 3: A Subject Matter Course
A subject matter course, on the other hand, would be like taking a course in a degree program. You delve deep in that subject matter to help your students master that specific content whether it is learning a software or mastering a part of what you may touch upon in your signature program.
Let’s take some specific examples from my business.
An example of a tiny offer that I have is my Ad Starter Kit. This mini course is used as a tripwire and leads into my “Subject Matter Course”, the Funnel Fill-Up where I help online course business owners fill-up their funnel using Facebook and Instagram ads.
An example of a signature course would be a program where I help entrepreneurs both create + launch their online course into the market including setting up their online course sales funnels and launching with a webinar or 5-day challenge.
As you can see, this type of signature course would be a total transformation for my students.
You may be asking, which one should I start with?
Personally, I’m a big fan of mini courses. They can be used as tripwires for when you start running Facebook ads which is a tool to gain an instant customer and self-fund your ads at the same time.
It’s also easier to get started with a mini course so if you’re just dipping your toes into creating your first online course, consider creating a mini course.
However, you need to have realistic expectations when it comes to the revenue that can be generated with a mini course.
In my online course business and some of my peers, mini courses are used to grow your email list with your perfect students while at the same time recovering some (or all) ad costs.
It’s not a product that most entrepreneurs will use to generate $10K or even $5K per month consistently throughout the year.
And even if you start with a mini course just know that in order to serve your audience and sustain your business long term, you will need future courses in your portfolio.
Create Your Mini-Course (aka tiny offer)
Ready to start creating your mini course (aka tiny offer)?
Step 1: Discover Your Profitable (Mini) Course Idea
Mini courses help your students get started. For example, in my own business, I focus on helping online course business owners sell their online course using online sales funnels and Facebook and Instagram ads.
However, I found that many people who were coming to me to run Facebook ads needed help with creating a lead magnet that was worthy of a Facebook ad.
So, I decided to create a mini course to help them with this step.
Another example in my business is my Ad Starter Kit.
This is a mini course (I also use it as a tripwire) that walks you through creating your first ad campaign with some templates to help you get started. This feeds into my Funnel Fill Up program which is an in-depth course designed for online course creators in filling up their funnel with Facebook and Instagram Ads to sell their online course.
To discover your profitable mini course idea, think about what you could offer to kick start your students’ momentum. What is keeping them from moving forward?
In the two examples I provided above, because my clients wanted to run a list building Facebook ad, but didn’t have a lead magnet that would work for an ad campaign, my Magic Attraction mini course was a perfect tiny offer.
In my other example, my students want to dip their toes in Facebook ads, but didn’t know where to start. My Ad Starter Kit is perfect for them to walk through exactly how to create their first ad campaign.
If you’re stuck on your topic for your mini course, answer this question:
What’s keeping my students from moving forward?
Once you’ve determined this, you have your course idea for your mini course.
Step 2: Create your Mini-Course Outline
This step is action oriented so get a piece of paper and a pen or a Google docs before you start!
At the top of your paper, outline your promised transformation. This is the result that your students will accomplish after completing your course.
For example, in Magic Attraction the promised transformation is that my students will create a lead magnet that’s worthy of a Facebook ad so they can attract action takers and not freebie seekers.
Next, I want you to brainstorm content ideas for your course.
It’s important to keep in mind that this is a mini course. You should be laser focused on one topic and your promised transformation.
This is not the time to teach them everything you know. It’ll overwhelm your students and affect their success.
For instance, most of my mini courses are only three to five lessons.
In addition to the lessons, I have supplemental resources like workbooks, checklists or cheatsheets.
I may also have sections that include a tech library or how to resources.
I also recommend you brainstorm what bonus material you can include to help sell your mini course.
Bonuses are great selling features, but keep in mind bonuses should not be required to achieve your promised transformation. They are above and beyond resources that helps your audience take their learning to the next level.
For example, in my Magic Attraction mini course, I have two main bonuses.
How to Create a Tripwire (so you can gain instant customers and fund your Facebook ads)
7 Proven Ways to Grow Your Email List (without spending a dime)
Both bonuses help my students achieve some awesome results, but if I didn’t include this content in the mini course, they would still achieve the transformation I promised them.
A simple way to create your course outline for a mini course looks like this:
Mini Course Outline
Promised Transformation: List your promised transformation here
Course Outline
Lesson 1: Topic
Supplemental resource (e.g. workbook, cheat sheet or checklist)
Lesson 2: Topic
Supplemental resource (e.g. workbook, cheat sheet or checklist)
Lesson 3: Topic
Supplemental resource (e.g. workbook, cheat sheet or checklist)
Lesson 4: Topic
Supplemental resource (e.g. workbook, cheat sheet or checklist)
Lesson 5: Topic
Supplemental resource (e.g. workbook, cheat sheet or checklist)
Additional Resources (if applicable)
List any additional resources here
List any additional resources here
Bonuses!
List Bonus #1 here
List Bonus #2 here
List Bonus #3 here
Step 3: Build Your Mini-Course Slides
The next step is to build your presentation slides. For beginners, I recommend that you create a presentation in either Canva, PowerPoint or Keynote and use this to record your course videos with your voice over.
If you’re teaching how to use a software or app, in this step, you will outline exactly what you will cover in your screen share when you record.
If you’re new to building presentations, I recommend that you start with Canva. You can make a beautiful and engaging presentation in Canva with their free account.
You don’t have to be a designer to use Canva for your course slides. In fact, with the template I’ve provided you can just plug in your content, modify for your branding and you’re good to go!
Here are some tips for creating your slides for your lessons:
When you’re adding text, be short and to the point. You don’t want paragraphs of information on your slides. That’ll make it hard to follow.
On some of my slides, I use bullet points. On others, I include one main point on the slide.
Engaging photos are great to use in your course lessons. It keeps your audience focused on what you’re teaching and they’re visually appealing.
On my slides, I also combine text and images. This is a great way to convey your point and to keep your presentation visually engaging.
Step 4: Record Your Mini-Course Videos
When you’re ready to record your course videos, here are the tools you’ll need:
Your presentation slides
Microphone
Webcam (if you want to record a face to camera video)
Zoom
For your microphone, I recommend a Blue Snowball. You can get studio quality audio and I even use it for my podcast recordings.
Zoom is my favorite tool for recording my course videos. In fact, I use it for my client meetings, group coaching sessions, and recording my podcast episodes!
Zoom has a free version that you can to record your slides.
Step 5: Host Your Mini-Course Content
Before I begin here, I want to mention that the success of your online course is not dependent upon your online course platform.
Now, a lot of entrepreneurs believe this is the most important decision they will make and may get stuck in decision paralysis.
The online course platform market is saturated and there are many providers to choose form so it’s no wonder that someone may get overwhelmed.
Let me keep it simple for you.
You have two main options for delivering your online course content:
Your own website
Course platform
Your Wordpress Site
One option is to host on your own Wordpress site. Some pros of this approach – It’s cheaper and you have more control over the customization (although sometimes this is a bad thing!). However, you need to have some technical expertise or be prepared to outsource.
I would suggest that you use a Wordpress plug-in if you’re a do-it-yourself type of person and you want to save money and have control.
Also, for this option, you’ll need other integration tools such as a place to host your videos (e.g. Vimeo) and course files (e.g. Amazon S3).
Course Platform
There are many benefits to using a course platform. Using their platform, you can simply upload your course content including videos, workbooks, cheat sheets and any supplemental material that you’ve created for your online course.
They also have built in payment processing so once someone purchases your course, they have access immediately or at the date you designate.
Some of them offer affiliate marketing capabilities which makes it super easy to run an affiliate program to sell your online course.
There are also options in the market to host your entire website presence including your blog, sales funnel landing pages, and email marketing.
It’s easy to get stuck on this decision and you can get sidetracked by analysis paralysis.
While this is an important decision – it’s not a final decision.
For some reason, if you aren’t happy with your decision or you outgrow your online course platform, you can always migrate to a different platform in the future. I’ve seen major online course owners with thousands of students successfully migrate their courses with ease.
Final thoughts:
The online learning industry is expected to grow to $235 billion by 2025. If you want to take advantage of this growing market and help your future students achieve their transformation, get started in creating your first online course today.
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