Mariah Althoff: Six-Figure Graphic Designer to Online Course Creator
Welcome to the Course Creator Series, where you can learn directly from experienced course creators on how you can monetize and grow your online business.
I’m your host, Dr. Destini Copp and I help entrepreneurs scale their digital product revenue with automated sales funnels and reduce their reliance on 1:1 services or freelance work. Today, I had the pleasure of interviewing Mariah Althoff.
Mariah Althoff is a design school reject turned 6-figure freelance graphic designer who now inspires and teaches creatives the tools, programs, and skills needed to turn graphic design into their full-time careers via Adobe Illustrator courses, portfolio building programs, and freelancing mentorships.
Please tell us about your business.
I started as a freelance graphic designer. I was laid off from my job about six years ago and knew I wanted to work for myself from that point forward. As a means of getting new clients, I started blogging to grow my online presence. While doing so, I not only grew an audience of potential clients, but I also unintentionally grew an audience of aspiring graphic designers who wanted to do what I did. Thus, my online courses were created! I've since transitioned fully into online courses and only take on a few design projects per year to focus all of my time on my students and improve my courses.
Start at the beginning of your journey. What were things like for you?
I was honestly so excited about all of the possibilities in the beginning. The fact that I could create a scalable offer and the ability to serve thousands of people around the world made me very optimistic about my business. However, I think the one thing that held me back though is throughout the process was imposter syndrome. Often I'd worry that my courses wouldn't be good enough, I wouldn't deliver enough content, or even that no one would enroll in the first place. But slowly, as the sales rolled in and I got student feedback, I felt more and more confident in my offers and getting my message out into the world.
At what point did things change for you? What was the pivotal moment? Specific details about moments in time are welcome here.
The biggest was enrolling in a program that helped me significantly with my messaging around the course. I changed the course name, niched down the audience I was talking to, got on market research calls with ideal students, and got super specific about the transformation I was providing for my students. I then was able to create a webinar that not only offered a ton of value but also inspired perspective students, which led to higher enrollment rates.
What are the top three mistakes you made in your entrepreneurial journey, and what would you do differently?
I was trying to talk to EVERYONE instead of niching down. I was worried about excluding people who wanted to work with me, but in reality, I was making it hard for the people who were the right fit to see how I could help them the most.
I did not conduct market research before launching my first program. Once I finally got on the phone with ideal clients and students, I was able to fully understand the transformations they were looking for and, therefore, could help them even more.
Over teaching during launch periods. I felt like I needed to prove my knowledge and teach a ton of information on my free webinars to show people the quality of content they would get if they enrolled. Instead, I needed to spend way more time shifting their limiting beliefs and explaining why they haven't achieved their desired results, so they realize that the transformation you're providing is possible for them too.
Please tell us about your marketing? What has worked for you? What hasn’t worked for you?
Having a free, on-demand webinar has worked wonders for my evergreen funnel! However, the most challenging part about my funnel is getting people to watch the webinar once they sign up. I've re-written my funnel emails several times to increase webinar watch rates because the more people who watch the webinar, the more people enroll in the program. I wouldn't say I like live launching and find it exhausting, so investing time and money into an evergreen funnel has been fantastic for my business.
What is your top traffic source, and why do you think it’s working for you?
Google is my top traffic source. I spent a lot of my early years ensuring I was creating blog posts with SEO in mind. I initially relied on Pinterest traffic to get new eyes on my content. Still, as my Pinterest traffic grew, my Google rankings grew, and now it accounts for over half of my website traffic (which is about 20k page views per month in total). It's excellent because blog posts I wrote years ago are still working for me and bringing in new leads every single day.
What are some of the best ways you’ve found students for your online course(s)?
TikTok! TikTok has changed the game for my business. Leads come in so much warmer from that platform because they've gotten to know me through my videos and have gotten small, bite-sized wins from the tips I give away.
What is your entrepreneurial life like today?
Entrepreneurial life looks like starting work between 10 am and noon every day, working for 4-6 hours, traveling almost monthly, and paying myself more than I made at my corporate job. I've been able to take better care of my health, which was necessary as I struggle with chronic Lyme disease and take rest days any time I need to.
Have you pivoted in your business?
Yes! A few years ago, I had a pretty broad audience – I talked to both aspiring graphic designers and business owners who wanted to DIY their graphics. After about a year of struggling to sell my programs, I decided to niche down to ONLY talk to aspiring graphic designers. This allowed me to triple the price of my course, sell it consistently, and give the biggest transformations to the people I help the best!
What are your best tips for growing your online course business organically?
I've learned that you need to be super clear on your messaging, going all-in on a signature offer, and finding an aligned marketing method that gets new leads into your evergreen funnel. For me, this is TikTok and Pinterest.
What’s your favorite launch strategy? Webinars, Challenges, Video Series, etc. Why do you like this approach?
So far, my best results have come from webinars! Then I turn those webinars into recorded trainings that I use as an opt-in for my evergreen funnel.
What working in your evergreen sales funnel? How do you have it set up?
My evergreen funnel is primarily based around a workshop recording that they get limited-time access to. I've placed the workshop recording at the top of my sales page so that people who watch the workshop will immediately become aware of how they can work with me further. I then use a timer at the top of the page to let them know when the workshop is expiring, along with a discount to the program.
If you had $1,000 to spend on marketing next month, what would you spend it on?
Facebook Ads. I'm currently working on getting more leads into my funnel without relying on new TikToks or blog post content to drive traffic there. I've been traveling so much that my work schedule varies quite a bit. Being able to acquire new leads is crucial in creating a consistent sales machine behind the scenes and impacting more people with my content.
How do you stay focused and productive in your business? What advice do you have for new entrepreneurs?
I work on things that light me up and that I'm excited about and outsource things that don't. It's not helpful to me or anyone I'm trying to help if I'm not excited about creating the content. Staying in my zone of genius is vital for a productive day!
What do you see as the next steps for your online course business?
My next step is to create a suite of offers that my audience can follow in chronological order. That way, when they've completed one program, they have another they can join to get support with the next step in their graphic design journey.
What is your favorite quote or business book?
Neither are strictly business books, but the books that have been most impactful for my business are mindset books. The Universe Has Your Back by Gabby Bernstein, and The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown have been some of the most transformative books I've read that changed how I show up in my business.
What are the top three tools you use in your online course business that you can’t live without and why?
ThriveCart: It's so much more robust than the Teachable checkout page and allows me to add up-sells and order bumps to my larger products.
Teachable: This is where I host all of my online course content!
Deadline Funnel: This adds urgency to my email funnel campaigns and allows me to give extra bonuses and incentives for those who buy quickly.
What advice do you have for other online course creators/entrepreneurs out there?
Do TONS of market research so that you can nail your messaging right away. Your messaging will make or break your launch, so make sure you know exactly who you're helping, how you're helping then, and why you're helping them.
How can people find you to learn more?
You can go to my website, mariahalthoff.com, to see all of my courses and offerings and find me on Instagram and TikTok @mariah_althoff.