Pre-selling a course

[Gem8]

Hi,

I'm thinking of pre-selling a course in the field in which I'm a small business owner. I have the course structure laid out and around 5 of the tutorials written. I just can't decide which is the best approach, to set a start date and deliver this with weekly live Zoom or to pre-record a video for each tutorial so I can sell the course as a package.

If I do live Zooms each week, I can record them as I go along and create the content for a package this way, but the downside to this and the challenge is knowing when to plan the start date and hence knowing how long it might take me to launch and sell it, which I've never done before and could take me a couple of months (I'm autistic and not great at the time planning part of business anyway; I can rarely get things out and ready on time due to this and the fact I have three kids to look after).

If I pre-create the videos, this could take ages because I hope to have at least 18 tutorials in the course and I would probably only be able to create 2 per week max. I guess this would take 9 weeks, so I would then have to tell the customers the course will be ready in 9 weeks whilst selling it. However, I still have no idea how long the launch and run-up to the launch is going to take, as I have videos to watch from the course I purchased on launching and selling.

I do have something of an audience and can get people into my Facebook group through advertising to join in on a free 2/ 3-day challenge, which will be the run-up to the launch and sale, which is what the course teaches.

There will be a pdf hand-out and a presentation made with each tutorial. I'm just finding it hard to structure also, without knowing exactly how long each tutorial will take. I guess it doesn't matter how long each video will be, as long as I declare how many there are.

Any help will be greatly appreciated. Just unsure how to go about deciding what to promise to customers and how. How to move forwards!

 

[HFE Signs]

You've identified your main concern yourself regarding your time management and family commitments, that is a strength in itself so well done for doing that. It is vital that you deliver as expected, you can't afford to risk not delivering on time. I would say the best approach would be to have everything in place before you launch, focus on getting it as good as it can be - don't rush and it will pay dividends in the future. Good luck

 

[estwig]

A course about what?

 

[Gem8]

You've identified your main concern yourself regarding your time management and family commitments, that is a strength in itself so well done for doing that. It is vital that you deliver as expected, you can't afford to risk not delivering on time. I would say the best approach would be to have everything in place before you launch, focus on getting it as good as it can be - don't rush and it will pay dividends in the future. Good luck

Thank you for your answer. There are so many people saying pre-selling a course is the best way to go, in case you spend ages on it and then it doesn't sell. How do they go about it do you think? By setting a date for weekly zooms or by creating the videos after they've sold it. It's not easy or a quick task to create a load of video content, whether you have good time management skills or not. I need ot at least consider a pre-sale, as I do like to push myself forwards. I need this, also.

 

[Shopclicks]

Have you considered a monthly subscription based on for example, two sessions per month? You can set a registration fee which shows how much interest there is in the course substance and delay the first subscription payment until an appropriate date in the future.

 

[Gem8]

A course about what?

Astrology

 

[Gem8]

Have you considered a monthly subscription based on for example, two sessions per month? You can set a registration fee which shows how much interest there is in the course substance and delay the first subscription payment until an appropriate date in the future.

Hi thanks for answering. This sounds quite complex. You mean to market this by saying, no need to pay until xyz date? I would worry about the amount of sales that don't follow through after people change their minds etc

 

[Shopclicks]

Hi thanks for answering. This sounds quite complex. You mean to market this by saying, no need to pay until xyz date? I would worry about the amount of sales that don't follow through after people change their minds etc

If you've sold the course well enough, people won't cancel. When they sign up they are committing to the subscription payments and you'll already have their registration fee.

If they cancel you refund.

I think you have a better chance of getting people to commit to a subscription with a set start date, rather than preselling.

 

[HFE Signs]

Thank you for your answer. There are so many people saying pre-selling a course is the best way to go, in case you spend ages on it and then it doesn't sell. How do they go about it do you think? By setting a date for weekly zooms or by creating the videos after they've sold it. It's not easy or a quick task to create a load of video content, whether you have good time management skills or not. I need ot at least consider a pre-sale, as I do like to push myself forwards. I need this, also.

You could schedule the delivery but if you do this I would recommend you work a month in hand so you have a good buffer - i.e. you would ensure you complete the June deliveries by the beginning of May and so on.

 

[fisicx]

Astrology

Can’t you predict which method would be best? ?

 

[Mark T Jones]

Some of the basics apply (which may have been covered - I haven't read it through:


Why you? What are your credentials, credibility experience?

WIIFM? What is the positive outcome for them?

More general - why not just hook into your Zooms?

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

1. Decide whether you want to go live or pre-recorded (pro's/con's to each)
2. Set a start date bearing in mind the work you will have to do to achieve it
3. Work to launching on that date.

If you have any doubts about this, go back and ask why you are doing it? What is the demand? What do other people do?

 

[Gem8]

If you've sold the course well enough, people won't cancel. When they sign up they are committing to the subscription payments and you'll already have their registration fee.

If they cancel you refund.

I think you have a better chance of getting people to commit to a subscription with a set start date, rather than preselling.

Thank you!

 

[Gem8]

You could schedule the delivery but if you do this I would recommend you work a month in hand so you have a good buffer - i.e. you would ensure you complete the June deliveries by the beginning of May and so on.

Thank you, this idea may work well for me. I have the first 6 weeks ready (apart from the videos) and could create the videos for these. I could work through the launching course and begin as soon as I can, working on the next 6 at the same time. I could probably trust myself with this. I guess I needed help thinking, as creative thinking space gets lost with the kids to look after!

 

[Gem8]

Can’t you predict which method would be best? ?

Not with astrology, but I can channel information from my guides through writing in a conversational style. I don't want to do this though. Predicting the future isn't as great as it seems. When you have all of these methods to hand, you realize over time that the best way is to get yourself unstuck and just get moving. Anyway is great as long as you are confident and you can get into the flow. This is my thing right now.

 

[Gem8]

Some of the basics apply (which may have been covered - I haven't read it through:


Why you? What are your credentials, credibility experience?

WIIFM? What is the positive outcome for them?

More general - why not just hook into your Zooms?

So what you are saying is I need to sell my course via telling people my credentials and what my experience is? I have an audience I already provide free education to and I am going to create some fun challenges as a lead-up to launch.

Learning astrology.

Sorry, I don't understand the third question. As an autist, I read questions very literally.

 

[Gem8]

1. Decide whether you want to go live or pre-recorded (pro's/con's to each)
2. Set a start date bearing in mind the work you will have to do to achieve it
3. Work to launching on that date.

If you have any doubts about this, go back and ask why you are doing it? What is the demand? What do other people do?

Thank you! These are important points to consider.