My main point though was not everyone will be able to keep up with the work load though, some people just haven’t got the mentality. They may start out and complete the first week, but after that not put as much work in or just stop all together. It’s just human nature (Not for everyone of course).

I do think this is a good way of doing things (Can save time and money as well as get your product more tailored to your customers need) but it’s not for everyone.

Music Business Help,

This is EXACTLY why, as I found out with my 6-Book Course, that it’s pretty much imperative that you give away a decent amount of free “review” copies….to trustworthy, established and semi-established, people/blogger who can essentially speak for your name and for your product…..

Depending on the product, I look at a product as having a bit of a “life”….when it starts out young, no matter how good the product, ESPECIALLY if the person isn’t established, it does take a bit of time to get the product “traction”….

Like Seth Godin said though, if you create something truly “remarkable”, people will begin to flock to it, and they WILL tell their friends….before you know it, you’ll have a bit of a “tribe”….

“But too many people many not be able to supply what the customer wants when they ask, whether it’s because they can’t keep up with the demands or because they haven’t got the knowledge to answer the questions being asked.”

It takes time, but the easiest solution to NOT having knowledge, IMHO, is to go out and get the knowledge. Before I began writing my course, I knew little about SEO and Social Media, but, I went to Barnes and Nobles….bought hundreds in books….read each one…and really taught myself. I admit, it takes time…but, if people want it bad enough, you can effectively guage the needs of your chosen audience AND do the research needed to provide them with a superior product.

One thing I had learned from a book I had read was that there is GREAT value in simply aggregating things and concepts, into a form that is valuable for readers. People will pay a premium for a product if it saves them having to look in a 100 different locations for the information. Remember the “Chicken Soup for the Soul” hit sensation books?….Anyway could have found such inspirational stories if they just went outside their house and began speaking to people, however, people liked the idea of having those inspirational stories aggregated, and within reach. It was ingenious…and, that franchise made millions.

Thank you so much for the great idea! We’ve implemented this into our website flipping coaching program and it is going great!

Thank you so much!
Ian

Well that’s what I would do to make the perfect course, at least based upon what I see from the IT Professionals that I teach and what they usually ask for. I don’t know that it would fit so nicely into the “passive income” model though. So I guess the work to be done then is to test how to make it less repetitive work / more passive while still allowing individual students to get a tailor fit “customized” feel from course. I really think that is what differentiates a amazing course from well just a course.
Anyways this was going to just be a two-line response… so I think I’ve said enough for now. ? Hope it is at least thought provoking.

great article. i followed pretty much this exact formula when i did a course on finding your life purpose (http://blog.reemer.com/post/187767736/).

the only difference was that i didn’t charge. this was a mistake, for two reasons:

1- the incentive to create content was lower than if i had charged. i took my deadlines super seriously. at the same, i was doing this for feedback alone. making some $ would have made it tolerable when students didn’t provide timely feedback (see next reason)

2- the people who took the course would assign more value to it and thus take it more seriously. they would also be true customers, not just friends or people interested in seeing what i was up to.

but, we’re just wrapping it up now and i’ve got great feedback and a good start on the material, along with some good testimonials.

cheers,

kareem

He made a believer out of me with the exact system you just described. I’ll be doing the same.

Oh and I just became familiar with you and your blog from Darren’s interview with you. Great stuff!

Another great post and the one that I’m gonna use for my project. I’ve been wanting to create an Online Dog Training Course, but still not sure of how to do it. I already have my course outline as I’m a dog trainer : ) It’s just a matter of making a video out of it. I decided to launch my course soon. But I guess like your said in your other post we need to create a buzz about it right? : )

Thanks Pat.

Best Regards,
Chetz Yusof

This was a seriously good article. I’ve been following your monthly income reports for some time and love the openness that you demonstrate. I think that’s key to this article’s topic as well.

I have a mentor that I’m working with who does almost exactly what you’re describing in your article. She creates a special group that wants to learn a specific topic. She’s very up front with them that the training, Q&As and tools will be released later as a product at a much higher price then they will be expected to pay. The very cool thing about this is that this woman knows her stuff inside out. She’s got years of experience and data to back up what she’s teaching. So she’s not “making it up as she goes along”. People who follow her, scramble to be included in these “prelaunch” classes.

What I love the most is that this is a totally new business model custom made to fit the times that we live in. I run a group for self-employed professionals and helping them understand that old-style overhead-laden business models are a thing of the past is sometimes a challenge because they’re so ingrained. I just love learning from innovators like you and others in this tread because it opens up so many awesome possibilities – and are great examples.

Thanks for putting it out there. BTW: Love the pics of you and the baby. Thanks for sharing.

I hope to get to the level of developing a fuel online course soonest but for now, i am on the selling-e-books-to-the-Local-Nigerian-Audience-Level

How I would do it is release a weekly course. Creating each course one week in advanced, getting feedback and making changes. At the end of it all you have a full fledged product that you could either sell up front for a discounted price, or as installments. Just market the installments as “subscription”.

I like your perspective on course development- 1. develop a course around what your clients want in “real time” , and 2. just jump in an do it!

Certainly as you’ve suggested, you need to really know your subject matter if you take this approach. What I’m also getting from your post is that you do need to do some prep work in advance. I don’t think that you are advocating walking into this blindfolded, but that one should have a strong sense of the topics to be covered and then tailor the course based on feedback obtained from the particpants before rolling out the first module, and based on feedback obtained during the process.

The thought of taking a risk like this is very scary, but very exciting. I’ll let you know if I take the leap!

Teach Yourself Copywriting: http://bit.ly/cpkUgL

Of, course, I punt at the end to the real experts because it’s such an important skill.

That being said, for some people that have enough authority, even knowing what the program is about isn’t necessary. For example, if Seth Godin offered 10 spots for a coaching course he would run, I wouldn’t even ask about what it was, I’d just try and be a part of it because he’s a marketing genius and I know whatever he taught would be incredible.

First things first, why am I paying for something I, or you for that matter, know very little about up front?