Courses are passive and don’t need support, right?
This post is part of the Course Creation Myth busting series: Because courses rock… but there is plenty of bull out there, it’s time to share some truth.
Myth: You can offer a great course with no support (also known as; Courses are completely passive)
My frustration about this phrase comes from many sources.
Firstly, because I see so many people promoting that courses are passive income.
There so many reasons why courses aren’t completely passive.
You will need to support and guide people through the sales process, the learning process and even post course support. Sure, they can be a great way to leverage your income, but they aren’t completely passive.
Secondly, because I’ve seen so many sales pages, which allow people to pay a lower price to access just the content, or a higher price to get the support as well. If you know that they will need support through the process, then why would you offer it to them without that support. You are simply setting them up to fail.
So, let’s make this simple.
Your participants need great support every step of the way.
Even if your content is simple and straightforward… they need somewhere to go to ask questions.
Who do they ask when they can’t get their log on details to work?
Who do they ask when they can’t get the videos to play?
Who do they ask when they don’t understand something in one of the videos.
Your students need support.
They need support to guide them through the sales process, answering all their questions along the way, allaying their fears and sales objections and making the sale a “no brainer”
They need support to guide them through learning your content and implementing it to get great results. You want your students to implement everything they learn… because it they don’t implement, then they won’t achieve the outcome you have promised them… and if they don’t achieve the outcome they were promised, then they are unlikely to tell their friends about you course.
The more they learn, the better the results they get, the more likely they are to shout your name from the rooftops (and become a great referral source)
They need support to help with their log-in problems and tech frustrations. Because if they have a problem accessing your content, there is a high chance that they will tell others not to bother using your course, or that there is no value in it.
A course without support, is just content.
And we all know that content is freely available on the internet.
Be honest here… your audience can simply google the answer to their question, and likely find a plethora of videos and blogs posts that will help them along the way. From theory to practical, there are step by step guides to just about everything, available for free online.
So why would they buy your course?
Because your course is more than just content.
It’s a complete solution.
It’s a step by step package, to a very specific problem, with support to help them along the way.
The level of support that you offer could vary.
Maybe they simply have an email address they can contact for technical support.
Maybe they get access of a Facebook or Linkedin group, where they can talk to you and other participants
Maybe they get access to a private forum
Maybe they get access to group calls
Or even one on one calls
How you provide the support is up to you. It depends on how much help you think they will need with the content, what format you prefer to offer that help in, and the price of the course.
But if nothing else, at least provide them with a course support email address where they can reach out to be pointed in the right direction.
When planning your course, take the time to plan out the support that they will have access to.
Your students will thank you for it.