5 Secrets to Start or Scale Your Business with a Digital Course

Links to stories and information mentioned in the show:

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Course Confident: a LIVE Course Creation Bootcamp

Enroll Now! Doors Closing Soon!

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Take the Quiz: Find Out Which Type of Digital Course Person You Are

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Digital Course Success Stories:

Adia's Story: She made over $26,000 in her first launch!

Mark's Story: As of August, 2023, he has earned one million dollars with his Reseller Tax Course!

Sarah's Story: She made almost $18,000 teaching how to make sourdough

Kari's Story: She has made $68,000 to date with her giraffe care program (you read that right)

Julie's Story: She made $21,000 from 32 sales on her first launch with her dog training course

Cheryl's Story: 47 couples and $47,000 teaching sex therapy as a solopreneur and NO TEAM

Sukaina's Story: $14,901, 31 students, first launch, teaching bloggers how to photograph food

Audrey's Story: $107,000, first launch, in the middle of COVID-19, teaching women how to be empowered in their style

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Transcript

Ep 003:  5 Secrets to Start or Scale Your Business with a Digital Course (with Amy Porterfield)

SPEAKERS

Amy Porterfield and Annie Bauer

Amy

Remember that you are very capable, and you are worthy of success. So if you want to be invited to speak on the stages, to get interviewed on podcasts, to be known for something, one of the things that a digital course will do is put you on the map to be known for something. 

So you start to get those calls, you get those invitations, you get those opportunities. So look at digital courses as your ticket to more freedom, your opportunity to be known for something as that go-to source, and an opportunity to make money in a new way that doesn't mean that you have to be on every minute while you're making that money, which gives you the freedom you deserve.

Annie

Real quick, my friends. A big goal of mine is to impact as many people as possible with this show. Your support helps me bring you incredible guests like the one we have today. I would forever be grateful to you if you listen and then share this episode with someone you know who needs to hear this. That way we can spread the word to more people and continue attracting valuable guests. Thanks so much and enjoy.

Annie

I am feeling incredibly grateful to bring you today’s guest. This interview is power-packed with so much information that it’s like a mini-course on business. You’re going to learn a lot about online marketing and more from someone whose business has earned over 82 million dollars in revenue. She has served more than 50,000 students in her programs, and her top-ranked podcast, Online Marketing Made Easy, gets over 1 million downloads every single month.

In addition to being a highly successful entrepreneur, she is also the New York Times Bestseller of the book, Two Weeks Notice, which I highly recommend. Through her bestselling courses, book and popular podcast, her action-by-action approach proves that even the newest online entrepreneurs can bypass the overwhelm, and instead generate exciting momentum as they build a business they love.

If you’ve been hanging around the world of digital courses and online marketing, then you may have guessed who it is. If you’re new to this space, then stick around because she explains everything in simple easy terms with examples and the step-by-step of how to start or grow your online business.

She is none other than Amy Porterfield, and you’re going to love today’s show!

Annie

Welcome to The Smart Better Life where we talk about how business owners can get more done, in less time, and sell more in a way that benefits both you and your customers. All of this so that you can grow your business while also enjoying your life. I want more people to have better businesses, so please share this and enjoy.

Annie  

Welcome, welcome, Amy, to the Smart, Better Life Podcast!

Amy  

Thanks so much for having me.

Annie  

We're so happy to have you here, and what a privilege. I can't wait to dive in and ask you all things “online marketing”, courses, and more. Are you ready to go?

Amy  

I am so ready.

Annie  

All right, let's go. So you are, basically in my world, the guru, the expert in online marketing, but specifically courses and list building.

So I want to go into why someone should have a course, who a course would be right for, and let our listeners know, "Is this right for me? Am I at the right place? And when would I decide if I need a course?” And also why, what is the reason we would want to have a course in a business, and what kind of business it would be best suited for. 

So a lot of listeners out there are doing one-on-one, or they might even have a brick and mortar. And they're looking at their business, and they're thinking, "This is just not scalable." Like how do I get past the income level I'm at? Because they're trading time for dollars. So can you explain to us why a course is a great fit for being able to scale your business and stop trading time for dollars and one-on-one work?

Amy  

Yes, this is why I got into courses in the first place. Today, 14 years later, I teach people how to create and launch courses. But my start was I created courses that I sold to my students. And the reason I got into digital courses is because I had a one-on-one service based business. I would do social media for small businesses. And I would coach and consult with those small businesses. 

And exactly what you said: I was trading time for dollars. And I was hitting a very real ceiling. There was one of me, I could only make so much money, there's only so many hours in a day. And to be quite honest, I was VERY burnt out. It was a lot to work one on one with clients, they have high expectations and are very demanding. And they expect a lot out of you. And there's only so much you can do. 

And so that's why I started to create digital courses. And to answer your question, I believe, to my core, that digital courses are the road to more freedom. And the reason for that is because they are one, you, to many, anyone in the entire world. Meaning you're going beyond location barriers, you're going beyond time barriers, so that you actually can serve as many people as you want in your digital course. Which means you're making a bigger impact, and you're no longer trading time for dollars. 

The way I teach digital courses is you create one digital course. And then you sell it over and over again. Whether it be through live launching, or automated launching, I teach both models. But the point here is that you do the bulk of the work once, and then you're going to refine and make it better and continue to excel. But you're never starting from scratch on that course, which is saving you so much time and so much money of reinventing the wheel every time you want to do something new in your business. 

And so that's where that freedom comes from. And you could do both. Have a one-on-one business and the digital course. Many of my students do.

Annie  

So is there a specific kind of person that a digital course is right for? A specific type of person or business? Can you kind of enlighten us on like, if someone's out there thinking, "Well Is this for me? Would I do this?"

Amy  

If you have a desire to have more freedom, to be able to step away from the business and not worry about the fact that you'll lose the client or the business won't make you money, then that's one of the reasons why you might want to explore a digital course.

You know, not to get too deep here, but recently, my mother-in-law unexpectedly died. And I had to step away from the business. My husband needed me. And in that moment, I was able to say, "I have to step away. I cannot do anything right now. Give me a moment to be with my family for a good week and a half, two weeks of being off the grid." 

My business did not stall. I didn't cancel a bunch of one-on-one meetings because I don't have any more. I don't have one on one clients anymore. And my courses continued to sell every single day while I was nowhere to be around in the business. That's the kind of freedom, God forbid we have to plan for things like that. 

But life happens. So having that freedom to step away when you need to, whether it be for fun vacation just time away, or a crisis in the family. That's where I think this kind of entrepreneurship conversation that we have matters. To be able to be in control of how you spend your time.

Annie  

Yeah, for sure, for sure. And I know that you have a quiz like if people are like, well what kind of person am I? Or, am I ready? Am I at the right stage? Can you tell us more about that?

Amy  

So when you're thinking about creating a digital course, there are three types of people that are making money with digital courses. Now, I'm not going to give it away, because I want you to answer honestly, in the quiz, the questions I asked you, it takes about two minutes to answer these questions. But I will then tell you . . .  if you are the type of person if you have the type of business, if you have the type of expertise that will lend itself well to a successful digital course.

And so you're going to answer these questions. And then if you are the type of person that could thrive with a digital course, I'll let you know how to get started. The first three steps to get started. If you're not, I'll give you an alternative to a business model that will help you grow the type of business you already have. It's worth taking the course. I know you have a special link for it, but it will only take two minutes, and it's full of value.

Annie

We'll make sure we link that up in the show notes for everyone so that they can get to the quiz. And so it's something that you said, and I've actually taken your, your course, Digital Course Academy. And something that you said really resonated with me: I'll give you the steps, I'll tell you exactly what, where you fit, what level you're at. If you're not quite ready yet, I'll actually tell you that as well and what to do then. So tell us more about your process, because I think this is what makes you stand out in the field of how you help every person at every level and give them a really clear direct path.

Amy  

So anytime you want to learn something, especially for your business, the best advice I could give you is make sure you find someone who has gone before you who has gotten results that you would want and is willing to lay out the roadmap step by step by step. 

So whether it's me or somebody else, make sure that they're willing to take you behind the scenes. And so what has been my unique gift over the last 14 years is that I don't assume that everyone knows what the heck I'm talking about when they come into my world. 

Let me give you an example. I have a student and she's a psychologist. Her name is Adia, and she is very successful in her field. And she meets with people one on one. But she wanted to create a digital course to give herself more freedom. So let's say she actually had a baby. So when she goes on maternity leave, she could be making money while not meeting people one on one in her office and have some more freedom. 

So she didn't want to stop her one on one work, but she wanted to supplement it. So she created a digital course specifically on how to find your worth how to foster your worth, and really stand in your worth. I think specifically for women, she was teaching, and she made $26,000 with her digital course. 

Now, the reason I share that example is she wasn't an expert in online marketing. She didn't initially know about webinars, funnels, email marketing, social media engagement, she had to learn all of that. And my job is to walk people through step by step, how to do these things, when they're not taught this stuff in school. They're not educated about funnels and email marketing. That's my job. 

And so I start people off with a roadmap at the very beginning. How to come up with your digital course idea, how to validate it, how to price it. So you could do some course math. So you can set some goals on how much money you want to make. And then I get into the specifics of launching: what it includes, how to do it. When I teach webinars, I teach slide by slide by slide so people know exactly what to do. No stone left unturned. And there's this virtual hand holding, because I don't assume people know this stuff if they've never been taught it before. So I think that's important when you're learning from someone, make sure they're willing to slow down and teach you exactly what you need to know.

Annie  

Right? I know that that's been so valuable for me–the step by step–and someone who really  lays it all out super clearly.

So if someone's out there. Like, you mentioned Adia. If someone's out there, and they're thinking about starting, or they're right at the very beginning, would you tell them to do some one on one teaching first? Or coaching first before they dive into building a course? Or is that really necessary?

Amy  

I don't think it's necessary. And it's actually not for everybody. Not everybody really wants to work one on one. And sometimes the challenge is, when you start out with trading time for dollars, it's hard to get out of it. And so if you've already done it, I think that is great. And you've learned a lot like getting in the trenches working with a student or a customer or client, it is really valuable to understand what they need, what they want, where you can actually step in and serve. So that type of work is valuable and can be used in determining what type of digital course you want to create. 

But it's not the only way to get to the place that you're ready for a digital course. When I teach people how to create a course, one of the first things we do is, we actually come up with a course topic. And the way to come up with a course topic is to ask yourself, "Where have I gotten results for myself? Or my customers? Or my clients or a family member? And where am I willing to share the roadmap and the step by step process to get the same results? "

Meaning you don't need to have worked with someone one on one, maybe you got the results for yourself. That's exactly what I did. When I first started teaching digital courses, I created digital courses for myself, I sold them successfully. Then I showed other people how I did it. I was my client. And so there's different ways to get into this. It doesn't always have to start out with one on one coaching or consulting.

Annie  

That's great to know. Because I think a lot of people think that they have to do one on one and then figure out how to book one on one. And a lot of people don't want to do one on one. Just like you said.

Amy  

Yes. Right. Exactly. 

Annie  

So that leads me to my next question, because when we think courses, for people who are kind of new to the online world, or maybe haven't taken a lot of courses online, some people might still think, "Oh, courses is like, do I have to put something together that's like a course that I took in a traditional school setting? And so can you talk to us for a bit about some of the many ways that ideas or knowledge have been turned into profitable courses by students?

Amy  

Yeah, so you might be surprised to know that there are courses on so many topics that you wouldn't even guess that there are courses on. And they really run the gamut from very simple. 

One of my students, Sarah, we call her Sarah Sourdough, "How To Make Sourdough Starters", and it was a hugely successful course. Now, I love to use that one as an example. Because you could say, Amy, if I go on YouTube, there's thousands and thousands of videos of how to make a sourdough starter. And that's not the only thing she did in her course. But it's a big part of it. 

And the answer is, yeah, so why did she make thousands and thousands of dollars with her sourdough course? And the reason for that is her audience wanted to learn from Sarah. She's a busy mom. She's got a lot going on. She's got systems and formulas to make this work. She's got specific techniques that they wanted to learn from, and they liked Sarah. 

And so there's something about finding your audience and building that loyalty. And they want to learn from you, no matter if they can hunt and peck all over the web and maybe get the answers they want. Maybe not. 

Another reason why people buy digital courses is, sure they might find the information free online if they hunt and peck everywhere, but people are paying for your roadmap. Show me exactly what to do from start to finish. That's what they're willing to put their cold hard cash down on, because that will get them the results faster. 

So I've helped students with courses around photography, how to get your toddlers to sleep, food prep, how to make caramel candy apples, how to do your taxes. The example how to have more self worth. There's a lot of coaches and consultants in my world that take what they're doing with their one on one clients and move that into a digital course. From dog training, to sex therapy, to how to clean out your closet, how to style yourself for your job. I mean, you name it, and my students have created successful digital courses on it.

Annie  

I love to hear that. And I'm just, I'm already thinking of my clients, and they're thinking, "I don't have anything to teach, or my niche would be really weird, or nobody's taught on that." But you just rolled off so many great ideas.

So Amy, can you give us an idea of what does “course profitability” look like? Because some people out there might be saying, "Yeah, but can I really make money at this? Like, can I make enough money to leave my job? Or is it just like a little bit of side hustle cash?"

Amy  

That's a great question. Okay. So the way you do Course Math is there's a few steps. Every time I teach something, I usually have a framework. And the framework with the Course Math is to first ask yourself, "Well, what would make you really happy in terms of how much money you can make with your digital course?" 

And let's look at this in terms of a launch. A launch is usually 10 days. So within 10 days, how much would you be really happy to earn with your digital course? Now, if it's your first time out, let's just keep the numbers really simple. Let's say if you said Amy, if I could earn $10,000 with a course launch for the first time, I'd be happy because, just a side note, I believe you can earn $10,000 with the course, you can earn $100,000 with the course as you make it better, and you get better. 

So let's start out with a simple number: $10,000. From there, you then need to decide okay, what am I going to price my course so I can figure out how many units I need to sell. So there's three different types of courses you can create: a Starter course, a Spotlight course, and a signature course.

So a starter course is a Basic 101 type; helping them jump into whatever topic it is that you're teaching. So it's just the basics, it's getting them the momentum, getting them started. And because it's the basics, you're not promising huge results. So typically, you charge anywhere from 100 to 200 dollars for a Starter course. So this is a lot of my students who are just starting out, they might start here. 

But there's another type of course, a Spotlight course, where you could take one area of your expertise and dive deep into that. One of my students is a photographer, and he teaches how to make flash photography look like natural light. He knows a lot about photography, but he took one area and he went deep.Because it's so detailed, and it gets great results, you can charge more. So a Spotlight course is anywhere from 200 to 500 dollars. 

And then the third type, of course, is a Signature course. This is the Mack Daddy of all courses where you promise really big results from start to finish. My program, Digital Course Academy. Start to finish. Everything you need to know to create and launch a profitable digital course. I promise bigger results. So I can charge more. So that's anywhere from 500 to 3,000 dollars for a Signature course. And that's usually where you're going to have some payment plans and make it easy for people to invest. 

So there's three types of courses. And let's say you wanted to charge $500 for your course. So you wanted to create a course, $500, and you want to make 10,000 bucks. That's 20 units. Twenty people need to raise their hand and say, "Yes, I want to know what you know. I want you to teach me how to get results."

Twenty people is very doable. And so once you get going, here's the secret. Once you start launching, your audience gets bigger, your email list gets bigger. So that's why my students, every time they launch, they make more money over and over again, as their audience grows and their experience grows.

Annie  

And it sounds like the launch is actually a great way to build your list for the next launch. Like even the people who don't buy.

Amy  

The best way. It's the exact way that I have a thriving email list today. I've been launching for many, many years. And, it's people that are signing up for your webinars, your freebies, whatever lead magnets that you give away during your launch. So they might not buy in this launch. But the next time you launch, they're more likely to buy.

Annie  

I love that. So you can list build . . .

Amy  

 yes

Annie  

. . . sell your course, and make money all at the same time. 

Amy  

All at the same time! It's so great!

Annie  

I love it! 

Do you have a financial success story that you want to share? And how someone's life has been really changed because they created a digital course?

Amy  

Yes. So I have a student His name is Mark. And I love this story because Mark was a service-based provider. He did taxes in a firm, so he was an employee. And he started to get questions from people that were resellers. So they sold on Etsy and eBay and Poshmark. And they had tax questions because there's tax implications when you sell online like that. 

So he was interviewed on a podcast. And it was all about this reselling. And he realized afterwards, he got flooded with questions about it once his podcast aired. And he thought, “This could be a course". But the first thought he had was, "Who's going to buy a boring tax course? Like who wants to learn about that?"

Well, luckily, a lot of people wanted to learn about that. So he never had created a course, never launched anything online and decided to put together this reseller tax course. And he made $37,000 for the first time he ever launched it. But he launched it during tax season. So he thought you know what, I'm not going to close down my course, I'm going to keep it open during tax season. He made another $25,000. And then he said in 2021, he did another launch, made $142,000 and then continued to sell it. Like this course is selling like hotcakes.

But the important thing here is that now he's able to have more time with his family. He said my wife and I had always wanted to live abroad. And when I launched, when I launched, I was able to live abroad for a year, which is such a big deal. And so he's able to have more freedom, more time with his family, and do the kind of work that he loves. But also have this income that's way beyond what he was making in his 9-5 job. So he could actually quit his job and do this full time.

Annie  

I love this. So to recap, just to make sure I heard this right. He launched the first time and made 37,000 . . . his very first time out. 

Amy  

Yes. 

Annie  

And then he relaunched right away and made 25 (thousand)?

Amy  

$25,000. He didn't relaunch right away. He just kept the course open, meaning he didn't close the cart. If anyone came to his sales page and wanted to buy throughout the tax season, so April/May, that they could actually buy. So he made an additional $25,000.

And he didn't even do any webinars! I love to tell stories of my students who didn't follow everything I taught them, which I love, I want you to make this your own. I'll show you everything you need to do. But if you can't do webinars the first time out, you don't have to. So I think that part is really important. So he was able to add more than he . . .and my motto is you create one course, and you launch it over and over again, maybe every other quarter. So that's when he launched it again in 2021. And he made $142,000.

Annie  

But for people who are listening out there, if they're like adding the numbers in their, in their minds, which is what I'm doing right now, 37 plus 25 is like $62,000, right out of the gates!

Amy  

Yeah.

Annie  

That can be life changing!

Amy  

Very much. 

Annie  

I love what you said, Amy. I think why I love this business the most is . . . yes, we can make money. And we can do a lot of great things for our families. But more than that, I love to see so many people creating courses, because they're changing the world. Like they're making an impact on people's lives. And they're creating something that solves problems and can help someone.

Amy  

It's so true. You know, it's not all about the money that you make. It also is about how you can serve other people. Exactly what you just said. And so that part is equally important. I have so many of my students who–they love the money, and they think it's fantastic–but they tell stories such as my mom was sick, and I wanted to be with her during a certain period of time. I went on maternity leave, and I didn't want to worry about the fact that no money would be coming in. So my course was on automation. I was able to do that. Or I'm now working only three days a week, so I could be with my family. That's the kind of stuff I live for. Hearing those stories.

Annie  

Yeah, me, too. I'm so glad that you mentioned all that, because that's what warms my heart, too.

So does it take a lot of time to build a course? If someone's like, "Well, I already have a full-time job, and I've got a family, or I've got obligations, I've got family members to take care of." If they're saying to themselves right now, "I just don't know if I have time," what would you say to them?

Amy  

First, I'll tell you this. Out of all my students, thousands and thousands of success stories. And they've made from $10,000 to $500,000. Like everywhere in between. Never once have I heard a student say, "That took me too long." Never. They always are celebrating their wins. But the time it took to create the course never feels too long once they see that success. So I just want to put that out there. 

I've had students create a course in two months. I've had students create a course, three months, four months, all the way up to six months, depending on how much time they're able to give to it. And so I think that allowing yourself to put together a schedule and figuring out how quickly you want to do this is something that is on your terms. Again, the freedom. I love that. 

Now in my program, Digital Course Academy, I'll give you a timeline. I'll suggest different ways to go through my course and how to implement your digital course. Whether you want to fast track it or go a little bit slower because you've got a nine to five job and kids at home and a busy life. Regardless, all that matters is you make a commitment to yourself that you're going to get it done, and you're going to get it out there. So you really can go as slow or as fast as you want.

Annie  

But it can be done if you're working full time? Like you don't need to stop your life and do this full time, right, to build a profitable course?

Amy  

Absolutely. The majority of my students, we actually recently did a study a survey, the majority of my students who create successful digital courses have nine to five jobs. They have not left their nine to five job yet. They're new to entrepreneurship, but they want to get something out there. I mean, Mark's a great example. Adia is a great example. Both of them have full time nine to five jobs. And they found the time to create the course. And the reason they were able to get the course done and launch is they followed a framework. 

That's what I think is so important, whether you want my framework or somebody else's, make sure that you learn from someone who has gone before you. So you can cut out all of the challenges that they had, the mistakes they made. sidestep those and get it done faster. My challenge when I first started is there weren't a lot of courses about courses 14 years ago. I literally had no instruction, and I made it up as I went. And I really struggled. I actually doubted myself and thought, "This is never going to work." I don't want those challenges for my students. So I think what I bring to the table is "here's how to troubleshoot". Here's how to sidestep the challenges. Here's how to totally avoid making the mistakes I made. That is valuable to someone's time and dollar.

Annie  

Right totally. And I want everybody out there if they didn't catch it: the word framework. You are the framework and system person. So whatever you're choosing to use to build your digital course, Amy said it herself: make sure there's a really good framework to follow. And that will save you so much time.

Amy  

So very true. 

Annie  

Just a short message if you’ve loved what you’ve heard so far. Do you have a hobby, skill, or something you’re really good at? It could be teaching someone how to paint, grow the perfect rose, speak on stage, or make to-die-for chocolate chip cookies.  You don’t even need to have a business started to investigate how you could turn your passion or expertise into cash by teaching it to others. You can get started by going to the links in the show notes below to find out more about Amy’s Course Confident Bootcamp or Digital Course Academy. And don’t worry. If you’re listening to this and the doors have closed, we’ve got you covered there as well.  Just click on the links and we’ll do the rest. Now, back to the show.

Annie  

You also have some other tools and strategies, I wanted to just talk about for just a minute. You give your students also some tools on how to protect their time, and how to build a schedule and block things. Can you just tell us two or three of those really quickly?

Amy  

So this is important, I don't want you creating a course and launching a course to literally overtake everything that you've done. It's just it's not feasible. And so when I teach people how to create courses, I give them an entire step by step roadmap. 

But then we block out the time in your calendar. So for example, I teach this thing called Tiger Time, where you put time in your calendar, let's say an hour a day, Monday through Thursday. And that is your Tiger Time. You are fierce about that time. Nobody's getting in. That's when you are creating your course and you're figuring out when you're going to launch it. So booking that time in your calendar, knowing, "I've got the time to do this, because I've scheduled it". That's everything. 

The secret to my success is that everything I want to do will be scheduled. Things in October, November, December . . . already scheduled. I can't work on it now. But I know there's time on my calendar when I get there. That's really important. 

Another thing that's important is setting clear expectations. So remember, I mentioned that Mark had made $37,000? He did not use webinars. Well, making the decision of what you're going to include and not include in your course, is really important . . . knowing your bandwidth. So I give options, you could go this route, or you could go that route. But make sure that you don't try to do too much, because then you'll become paralyzed and won't do any of it. So I'm a big fan of baby steps. Keep it simple. Get fancy later.

Annie  

I love that. And I love all those tools. And those tools are so helpful just to learn and for people to apply to courses . . .  and to life as well.

Amy  

Yes. So true.

Annie  

You know, one thing that I've found about my students is that when they have peer support, or they have a community, they get way more done, and they're way more successful. So can you tell us, have you baked that into Digital Course Academy and the way that you teach?

Amy  

You know, here's something really fun about Digital Course Academy. If you were to go through my program, you are learning how to create and launch a course. But you're also seeing an example of how it's done, in real time. And so why I say that is when you join Digital Course Academy, you will be part of a community. It's a nine-week community. It's a Facebook group. I've got an entire team in there and coaches supporting people, answering questions. I'm Live every single week doing a full hour-long Q&A every week. There's a lot of engagement. So you will absolutely get real time support. 

But I, as you know, I'm not here to sell my course. I'm here to encourage people to explore courses. So the reason I say all that is when you go through a program like that, you'll start to think, How would I do my course? Do I want a community? Do I want a personal aspect?”

And the trend we're seeing right now with digital courses is that that personal touch means something. Coming off of a COVID world, people want that connection. But I don't mean that they need to show up in your town, and you need to put on a big live event to supplement your course. I mean, in your course, maybe you do Voxer where you get on your phone, and there's Voxer hours, and they can ask you questions. Or you could do a Slack channel. Or you could do Zoom office hours. 

In one of my programs, once a month, I show up on Zoom. All of my students get to come, and they get to ask me questions. We do it every month. They get a whole year with me once a month. That makes a difference for them. They feel as though I'm on the journey with them. The last thing you want to do is create a course and make your students feel like you're not there in case they get stuck. So I flood people with all these different opportunities to get their questions answered. And then I teach you, if you're creating a course, how to do the same for your students.

Annie  

I love that. And I love all the different ideas that you gave. So if people don't want to do a Facebook group when they create their own course, there's so many different ways that you can support your students. And just knowing that you've got support, you meet other people who are going through the same thing as you are when you're building your course. I think is so valuable.

Amy  

Agree. A hundred percent.

Annie  

I think a lot of people, too, one of the things that maybe goes through their mind is, "Can I do this?" They start to doubt themselves, even if they're getting a little excited by now of “I think this is a good idea. I can put a digital course in my business." And then the next thing that our little monkey minds offer up–because I do a lot of mindset coaching for my own students–is "What if it doesn't work?” And “I can't do this."

And so what would you say to somebody out there right now, who maybe is doubting that they have what it takes to build a course?

Amy  

You know, I mentioned that we did a survey for my audience recently and my students, and for those who haven't created a course yet, I asked, “what is stopping you?” And so many people responded with "I'm afraid, because what if I do all this work? And nobody buys? What if it doesn't work?"

And I'm going to share some insight that is wildly different than what most people might say, especially because I have a course teaching you how to do all this. And that is “what if it doesn't, what if the first time you launch, you make $267?” which is what I made on my first course. That was my profit: $267. When the course was $297. But when you back out the expenses of a few thousand dollars, I made $267 and cried for an entire week. And then I told myself, I was not cut out to make courses. This was not my path. Thank God, I had a husband who kind of picked me up and shoved me back out and said, "Try it again". 

But what if it doesn't work the first time? We all know that there are so many lessons when we fall down. There are so many lessons of "what you liked, what you didn't like, what your audience wants, what they don't want". The learning, if you will allow it, will literally change your trajectory of how you do business. And so, worse case scenario, it doesn't work as planned. That doesn't mean we give up. That means we go back to the drawing board, we figure out what didn't work.

I do a lot of troubleshooting with my students. And we get back out there. So that's worse case scenario. But worse case scenario is very rare when you have a roadmap. So if you have a roadmap and you follow that roadmap, you're very unlikely to say, "That didn't work". 

What I want you to do is give yourself some grace, you might not make as much as you want the first time out. But believe me, launch after launch after launch, you won't even recognize yourself. I always tell my students, "The first launch is as much for you as the business owner/entrepreneur as it is for your students. You will grow, your competence will soar, you will become a different, stronger kind of entrepreneur.”

The reason I have 80 million dollars under my belt selling digital courses, and 14 years of success is because I've allowed myself to get better, year after year after year. Give yourself some grace, you will figure this out. You cannot lose as long as you stay in the game.

Annie  

I love this message so much. And it resonates with exactly how I teach my coaching students. Because you know, you always hear the euphemism "it's the journey, not the outcome". But what that really means is that if we're striving to change our identity and uplevel and learn something new, all kinds of magical things can happen if we just stay in the game and we keep trying. And I always tell people, I say that's not a “win or a lose”. And I don't even like to use the word failure. It's. . . it's an experiment. And then you do exactly what you said, "what worked, what didn't work, what would I do differently?" Everyone needs to hear that, like really let that sink in.

Amy  

Yeah, give yourself that opportunity to grow. And if you don't . .  how . . .okay. So if you think, "Well, what if it doesn't work?" How are you ever going to thrive in your business if you're afraid of things that might not work? You literally cut yourself off. So I think it's so important that you've got to just put yourself out there, you got to give it a shot.

Annie  

Yeah, I totally believe that. So do you have like one one line or one thought that if somebody just was like, "Okay, if I could just focus on one thought to believe about myself today. And just hold that thought so I could keep moving forward." Do you have something that you would tell people?

Amy

I want you to think about all the times in your life, a lot of personal stuff and business stuff, where you had no idea if you could figure it out, and you did. We all-if we look back at our lives-we all have things in our lives that at one point we're like, "What if this doesn't work? What if I can't do this?" Whether it be getting a really great job, or having the courage to quit your job and start your own business, or having a baby. I know a lot of my female friends are like, I don't know if I could ever do that. And now they're thriving and motherhood. 

We all have to start somewhere. There is proof in your life, that you have done things that you did not know if it was going to work or not, and you figured it out. That is your proof that you are capable. So now we're going to do it with digital courses. I think that is what I want people to focus on.

Annie  

So maybe they just said to themselves, "I'm capable. I'm capable of figuring things out".

Amy  

I've always figured it out. One for me is, "I always get back up." That's something I tell myself. I have had many setbacks in my business. But I tell myself, "I always get back up". 

I recently had one where I made a really big decision in my business to cut out a coaching program that would have made me millions. But it wasn't right for my business. And I knew I made a decision that was wrong. I had to backtrack. And so I took it all back. And it was embarrassing. And I had to tell people, "We're not doing this and I thought we were". But I always get back up. And then something amazing happened shortly after that I thought, "Okay, this is proof. This is going to be okay".

Look for proof that you are capable, and that it will all work out. Look for that proof, stop looking for proof that "what if it doesn't work". We're not going to look for that proof. Look for proof that it always works out for you.

Annie  

Okay, so full stop right there. Just let everybody let that sink in. Because we can direct our brains and tell our minds what we want to think and what we want to look for. So Amy, coming straight from Amy Porterfield: “Look for proof of how it will work out. Look for proof of what you are capable of”. And I think just that thought, holding that thought, until you can fully believe it is so powerful. 

Amy  

Absolutely. 

Annie  

Yeah. Yeah. So I know some people too, and they may be like, "Okay, well, I believe in myself, I think I can do this". But I don't know tech at all. How do I build a digital course when I don't know tech? What would you tell them?

Amy  

Okay, so this used to be, years ago, the number one reason why people wouldn't create a course. And what I love is this objection is that it has kind of gone down the list a bit. And here's why. So those of you who, it still is coming up for you: the technology that I recommend, specifically, I recommend it for beginners. Meaning, I don't know coding, I am not very techie, I can't figure out a lot of the behind-the-scenes kind of technology stuff that you need to figure out. 

So I always only recommend tools that are easy to use. Kind of plug and play. So that's the first thing. Make sure that when you're creating something, look for the simplest technology that will absolutely do what you need it to do. But also, there is always a tutorial, there's always a customer support person, or in my case, someone on my team that could walk you through it. Meaning there are resources, there is no reason why the tech should slow you down. I have women in my program, sixty, seventy years old, that have never worked on this technology who have figured it out. And it's because they've given themselves the space to do so. 

So it's just a mindset shift. Anybody in my program can figure out the tech. It's “you need to stop telling yourself that you're too old, too slow, you've never been taught this”. You can absolutely learn it. And the technology these days is way easier than it was just a few years ago.

Annie  

And I think what you said, too, it's really important to remember, there's always someone you can ask, there's always something you can go to. You don't have to figure it out, all of it, all by yourself, all the time.

Amy  

You can bet that I am always asking customer support or different software tools to help me. I am not shy about asking for help.

Annie  

I am not, either. I have to ask a lot of questions every single day. 

So you make this really simple. And you set people up for success as they're like thinking about starting a course or building a course. And you have a program called Bootcamp. Can you tell us more about that?

Amy  

Yeah, it's called the Course Confident Boot Camp. I do it once a year. It's one of the cheapest things I offer. It's only $47. And I'm going to do live trainings where I will teach you how to get started with a digital course. From how to come up with a thriving profitable digital course idea. How to validate it, how to get started with your content, how to choose what kind of course to create, how to price it . . .we're gonna go through all of it. 

And I'm also going to give some tips on how to use AI as a course creation assistant. So you can fast track this. This is the first time that I've done this Bootcamp where AI is on the scene. And a lot of my students have never used AI. So I like to teach it in a way, step by step, here's how to fast track to make this all easier. So we're going to get into all of it:  how to get started with the digital course inside my bootcamp, live trainings, just like I am here with you right now. I'm very excited about it.

Annie  

I'm excited about that, too. And for anyone out there who's listening, I'm figuring most people who are on podcasts know what AI is, but just in case you don't know and didn't catch that, it's artificial intelligence. And it's a way for us to generate ideas for a course material and all the related materials that go with your course. 

Annie  

How long is the bootcamp,  Amy?

Amy  

So it's about two weeks, and I do the trainings in the very beginning. And then we spend some time together so you can implement and ask me questions. And I do a lot of pep talk trainings as well, I just add those as extra so that when people feel stuck, or "I can't do this, or I don't know enough, or the tech is too hard", I've got a lot of great content to help get you over that hump. So if you've thought about creating courses, or if you feel stalled in your business, or you're looking for a new opportunity, but you feel scared--there's a lot of fear--get into this Bootcamp. Because I won't just teach strategy. I will teach you how to move forward in a way that gets you results.

Annie  

Okay, so I love that because I am--"how-to" is great, but if people are like really spinning out in their mind drama, and need to get out of that, you've got solutions for that, too. 

Amy  

I do. absolutely. 

Annie  

And if it’s two weeks long, is it two weeks, every day, a lot of hours? Or, explain to our listeners, when you say two weeks, how much time would they be devoting each day?

Amy  

So we start on September 13. So you want to grab your spot before that. And we actually go until the 26th, though, I guess that's. . . I guess, what is that? Is that? Almost . . . it is two weeks, right? 13th through the 26th . . . roughly. 

Annie  

Yes . . .

Amy  

But what we do is I do three live trainings near the beginning. So right out of the gate, like every other day, essentially. And then I do a bonus training that everyone's invited to as well. After that, you can just implement. Meaning you . . . and you also can see the replay. . . so if you can't show up on the date and time that I'm going to do that, you will get access to the replays and have those available to you as well. So in the beginning, starting the 13th, I'll do most of the trainings. And then we'll have time for you to ask questions, and get into the group, and get the support you need.

Annie  

Got it. So even with just a little bit of time every day, people could get through the Bootcamp.And they can do replays, so if they're in a different time zone or they can't get to the Lives, they can still work through it all on their own.

Amy  

Yes, a few hours, and you could get maximum benefits from the Bootcamp.

Annie  

That's great. And all of that for $47. 

Amy  

Yes.

Annie  

Right. And if they're listening to this, and Digital Course Academy has closed, and the Bootcamp is over. . . . I'm going to link that up below in our show notes.  . . . But if they're listening to this later on, can they still go to those links, and it will lead them somewhere to a resource that you can, that will help them that you're providing?

Amy  

Absolutely. So if you're listening to this, after like the end of September into October, and you click on one of those links, and the doors have closed to my program, we will give you some resources to look into.

Annie  

Okay. All right. Wonderful. Thank you so much, Amy, for being here. Is there anything else you'd like to say to our listeners?

Amy  

I think it's just, remember that you are very capable, and you are worthy of success. So if you want to be invited to speak on the stages, to get interviewed on podcasts, to be known for something, one of the things that a digital course will do is put you on the map to be known for something. So you start to get those calls, you get those invitations, you get those opportunities. 

So look at digital courses as your ticket to more freedom, your opportunity to be known for something as that go-to source, and an opportunity to make money in a new way that doesn't mean that you have to be on every minute while you're making that money, which gives you the freedom you deserve.

Annie  

I love that. And it opens doors to all kinds of other opportunities, too, as you said.

Amy  

Yes, so very true.

Annie  

Thank you so much for being here today, Amy, I so appreciate your time. I can't wait until all the listeners have a chance to hear all of your wisdom and knowledge, and just learn from you, and explore the world of digital courses. We really appreciate you.

Amy  

Thank you, my friend. I appreciate you having me.

Annie  

Thank you.