Create a Lucrative Digital Course Using Your Expertise

Years ago, I heard a quote that said something like we often undervalue the things we’re good at and overvalue the things we’re not. 

When it comes to the things you know, you might think well everybody knows that. You would be wrong. 

I was recently visiting my sister, who lives in Texas, and I noticed her husband was building a playhouse for their daughter, my niece, in their backyard from leftover lumber pallets. 

She said the prices of lumber have gone up so much and these pallets were going unused. So, her husband decided to capitalize on the opportunity to use them to build a playhouse. I told her how amazing I think her husband is, and she told me he just shrugs it off as no big deal.

You might be doing the same. Did you know that US creators who have a side hustle selling digital courses might make $5,000 - $25,000 a year, and in the case of Amy Porterfield, millions per year?

If you’re not sure what a digital course is - it’s online education you can offer through a digital platform like Kajabi or Teachable.

These platforms allow you to upload video content as training modules and sell them as online courses. One of the most popular examples is Master Class.  Master class offers a membership program that gives you access to learning all kinds of skills from professionals. Such as: 

• Natalie Portman teaches acting
• Judy Blume teaches writing
• Chris Voss teaches the art of negotiation 

Master Class, well known celebrities, and industry experts aren’t the only ones capitalizing on turning what they know into paid education.

Last year, I helped a client in Australia turn his knowledge about investing in commercial real estate into a digital course. Another client turned their knowledge as a mortgage broker into a course. Most recently I’ve been working with a CPA to create a course for bookkeepers and CPAs about how to scale the growth of their business. 

One past client turned her experience in wedding planning into a digital course on how to plan weddings. She called it the “Big Wedding Planning Masterclass” which is a great pairing to her podcast The Big Wedding Planning Podcast.

We often think the only way to gain a new skill or knowledge is to go back to college. While that might be true for nursing or attorneys, there are many professions that don’t require medical degrees or passing the bar.

The best part is that people of all ages can learn through a digital course. You can turn any kind of knowledge into a course. It doesn’t have to be a profession. Do you know how to knit well or how to repurpose furniture? Yeah, there’s a class. 

In case you’re thinking, but there’s YouTube for that. YouTube content and digital courses are different. 

Youtube is free. It’s snippets of quality content that leads you into a bigger sales funnel for the YouTube creator such as: joining their coaching program, buying their furniture, or hiring them to remodel your house. 

In the case of a digital course, you are teaching people how to do something instead of hiring you to do it. You are charging them for the years of wisdom it’s taken you to learn it.

Why would you consider creating a digital course in the first place? Aren’t you busy enough running a business? You’re chasing new lead generation strategies, serving clients, and trying to keep up with your marketing. Now I’m telling you to deviate and create a digital course? How does that play into your big picture scheme of growing a business? 

A digital course gives you the opportunity to sell your knowledge and turn it into revenue. It’s content you create once that you can sell over and over again. Imagine waking up everyday to new sales for a course you created a year ago, two years ago? 

A digital course is also valuable because it allows you to share your expertise with a global audience. It positions you as an expert in something to an audience of people who might already know you as well as those who haven’t met you yet. You’re also not limited by location or the need to travel. I purchased a course earlier this year from someone (I’ve never met) in Australia. An ad came across my feed, I bought his book, and eventually I  bought his course.

Digital courses are a great way to make a meaningful impact while also building your personal brand and making others aware that your business exists.  

So here’s a few things you’ll want to consider: 

First, what do you know well that you can teach? 

Where have you experienced successful wins? What problems can you help solve based on what you know?

For example, let’s say you’ve been a real estate agent for 10 years. Could you create a course for new agents to help them launch their business? What if you’re a graphic designer? Could you create a course for aspiring designers or existing ones who maybe know how to do great design work, but don’t necessarily know how to run a profitable graphic design business?

Once you know what you want to teach and how it solves a problem in the marketplace - you’ve got to determine a before and after state. This will help you sell your course better. Where am I before I take your course and where am I after? 

In the example of a wedding planner - 

Before your class: I’m trying to plan my own wedding with no experience. 

After your class: I’ve learned everything I need to know about vendors, venues, timelines, and ultimately executing a beautiful wedding for a fraction of the cost of hiring a wedding planner.

Next, you need to outline the key learning points of your course. 

List common pain points your clients encounter to help you create your outline. 

In the example of a wedding planner what are the common pain points of someone planning a wedding? How much should I spend on the wedding? Where should we have it? When? Who should be a part of our wedding party and invitations for guests? How about scheduling the honeymoon?

Your course outline might start by creating learning points that include:

• Determining your budget
• Selecting your wedding party
• Finding your venue
• Negotiating with vendors
• And so on

If you're a real estate agent, are you going to teach new agents how to start their business? What problems do most agents have when they first get started? How do I get clients? 

You might decide to make lead generation or marketing one of your training modules, and then break it down into learning topics like:

• Where to start with effective real estate marketing
• What are the marketing platforms for real estate agents
• Determining a monthly marketing budget 
• Creating a content marketing plan 
• And so on

You need to think like a student.

How can you take a big concept like planning your own wedding or investing in your first commercial real estate property and break it into more snackable pieces of content so the big idea is met with smaller ideas and learning takeaways? What would you need to know as a student to achieve the desired outcome? 

Once you’ve created your outline, you’ll want to start outlining your video scripts. 

You might write each lesson module word for word, or you might write bullet points that help your teaching stay on track. A secret weapon I rely on are slide decks.  Slide decks allow me to present to students so they have something to look at, and they give me simple cues to remember what I’m teaching.

You’ll need to decide on the visual representation of your video teaching.

Will be you facing the camera directly and speaking for the majority of the videos?

Will you use voice over content with your visuals displayed? Your voice, not your face, is on the video.

Will you do a combination of both?

Will you do a Loom style video? Your visuals are presented on the main screen, and you are somewhere in the corner.

Next, you’ll want to determine the price range of the course. 

If you’re going to charge $8,000 for the course, your content had better deliver on some big promises! If you’re going to charge $297, you still have to deliver great value. But, don’t give away your highest level of knowledge. 

I’d highly recommend doing some research on courses similar to yours. Is someone already teaching what you’re teaching? If so, how are they doing it, and how much are they charging?

You’ll want to leverage an online learning platform like Kajabi. I love Kajabi because you can host the course and sell it - accept payment, build sales pages and other landing pages for the course -  all in one place.

While I’ve shared some of the big picture needs for creating a digital course, don’t forget to identify your target audience and their needs. Understanding who you're creating the course for will help you tailor your content to meet their specific challenges and goals.