Writers tend to be entertainers, informers, and educators. Have you ever thought about creating a course to share your expertise, as well as your passion?
On a recent episode of GoalChatLive, I spoke about creating courses with Course Creation Expert Nancy Giere and Business Growth & Marketing Strategist Jason Van Orden. Nancy and Jason shared the why and how of creating courses, what stops people from taking and creating courses, and more.
According to Jason, people create courses to take their intellectual property farther. He also believes it's helpful to have a course idea in mind when writing a book, since the content supports each other. Adds Nancy, having a course and a book enables you to "bundle your brilliance." Plus, she says, the more ways you engage, the more people you can serve.
The First Steps of Course Creation
- Jason: Know who your course is for and what is the outcome? Be specific.
- Nancy: Identify what are they going to be able to do/know/feel after they complete your course – what’s the transformation? It will give you, the creator, focus
- Jason: Break it down into meaningful milestones. Milestones = lessons
- Nancy: Also decide if it’s a course or courses
Course Creation Goals
- Jason: Do customer discovery interviews. When you have that information, it makes your course-creation process so much easier
- Nancy: Take a look at your content to see what information you already have for your course. You can also look at AI for content ideas. Think of AI as you assistant; a starting point.
Watch our conversation:
Final Thoughts
- Jason: You are someone’s playlist. There’s something about you and what you provide that will draw the right people toward you
- Nancy: Often times with music, fans start by loving a single song and then see what else the musician offers. Think about what individual course you can create that will bring your audience to you and get everything started
No matter your expertise, if you have knowledge to impart, consider creating a course. It's yet another way to reach your audience of readers, prospects, and fans!
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For more inspiration and motivation, follow @TheDEBMethod on Facebook, Instagram, and Linkedin!
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What are your tips for creating courses? Please share in the comments.
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Debra Eckerling is the award-winning author of Your Goal Guide: A Roadmap for Setting, Planning and Achieving Your Goals and founder of the D*E*B METHOD, which is her system for goal-setting simplified. A goal-strategist, corporate consultant, and project catalyst, Debra offers personal and professional planning, event strategy, and team building for individuals, businesses, and teams. She is also the author of Write On Blogging and Purple Pencil Adventures; founder of Write On Online; host of #GoalChatLive aka The DEB Show podcast and Taste Buds with Deb. She speaks on the subjects of writing, networking, goal-setting, and social media.
9 comments:
Debra,
I like what Jason said about how writers can extend their intellectual property through creation of a course. It's what I did with my online course, Write A Book Proposal. I have plans to do other courses--one of these days--which means it may or may not happen. You have valuable insights in this article.
Grateful,
Terry
author of Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success (Revised Edition) [Follow the Link for a FREE copy]
This is so interesting Debra, I am going to bookmark this for some time later.
I've wondered about this, and how to go about doing it. Your insights and information are very much appreciated!
Nina
When I was teaching at UCLA they offered a certificate in teaching at the college level and they required their instructors to take a certain number of them each year. I loved them so much I went ahead and got the certificate. I am mentioning this because the course included at least 35 credit hours--can't remember. But there was just so much to learn. One I enjoyed the most was an ethics course and I took Pam Kelly's class on speaking three times! Of course, I still figure that reading carefully selected free or nearly free (like books) are the most frugal way to go, but "being there" with fellow writers/teachers is invaluable.
Sending hugs, Deb.
Carolyn
PS: Terry, I love your book on writing book proposals. I can see how it would make a great one-day seminar, too!
Best,
Carolyn
Thanks for your comment, Terry! Way to go! And best of luck on your future courses.
Carolyn, I so agree on the value of courses. That's why I LOVE leading workshops so much! I always say, "You can't reach your goals on your own; you need your peeps!" Workshops and courses offer the added bonus of meeting new people and expanding your community. Hugs back. Deb
Debra, I agree with Terry. Jason's thoughts on extending your work (blog posts, newsletters, books...) through the creation of a course is a great way to move forward. I've created several courses over the years. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for your comment, Karen! As writers, we have so many things to say ... fortunately, there are a ton of ways to say it!
Thanks for your comment, Nina. This conversation was a mini-course on creating a course. Hope you find it helpful! - Deb
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