Exclusive Offer For Mike Vestil's Subscribers
Exclusive Offer For Mike Vestil's Subscribers
Finally Revealed: The Complete System
for Building a Highly Profitable Online
Course Business
Finally Revealed: The Complete System for Building a Highly Profitable Online Course Business
What if you could turn your knowledge into high-value online courses & tap
into a rapidly growing market?
What if you could turn your knowledge into high-value online courses & tap
into a rapidly growing market?
Included: the Thrive Themes Membership
WordPress Plugin Suite ($228 yearly value)
Included: the Thrive Themes Membership WordPress Plugin Suite ($228 yearly value)
Barbie F,
Course Craft Student
“
"The whole time I was watching Shane's latest YouTube uploads about course creating I kept thinking, I HOPE HE IS SELLING A COURSE! Love Shane's Teaching Style and I'm super excited to learn from him so that I can take this part of my business to the next level. Thank You Shane!!! This is the exact kind of information I was looking for."
Do you want to create an online business that gives you income and freedom?
A business that you can be proud of, that gives you satisfaction and brings value to the world?
Then this message is for you.
I’m Shane Melaugh,
the CEO of Thrive Themes
I’m Shane Melaugh, the CEO of Thrive Themes
I’ve created and launched several 6- and 7-figure businesses over the last 10 years, from scratch, on a shoestring budget.
I’m going to reveal to you what is hands down the best online business model for creating income and personal freedom, in 2020 and beyond:
Creating and selling online courses.
If you want a real, value-based, sustainable business - if you want to escape the frustrations of chasing from one online marketing fad to the next - then creating an online course is the way to go.
In fact, let’s get more specific: I want to show you how you can create an online course that sells for $200… and sell on average, 1 of them per day.
You can sell 1 thing per day, right? It’s doable. It doesn’t require a massive audience or floods of traffic.
That’s the beauty of selling an online course at this price point. It’s the sweet spot. And it’s something you can do, even in a tiny niche and still be successful.
If that thing you sell is a $200 course that you created yourself and that you’re selling on your own platform (no predatory fees from 3rd-party platforms involved) then that 1 sale per day becomes your ticket to freedom.
Why is a Software Guy Talking
About Online Courses?
Why is a Software Guy Talking
About Online Courses?
It may surprise you to hear me say that online courses are the ultimate online business model. After all, I’m best known for founding Thrive Themes - a software company.
But here’s the thing: Thrive Themes would have never happened if I didn’t have experience selling online courses, first. I sold online courses to make the money that I used to launch Thrive Themes. I built up my marketing and sales experience through my online course business. Without that, Thrive Themes would have been a guaranteed failure.
And even today, a software business represents far more blood, sweat, tears and complications per $ earned than an online course business.
Unless you’re a veteran of online marketing, I don’t recommend starting a software business.
Speaking of which: most online entrepreneurs keep making the same mistakes…
It may surprise you to hear me say that online courses are the ultimate online business model. After all, I’m best known for founding Thrive Themes - a software company.
But here’s the thing: Thrive Themes would have never happened if I didn’t have experience selling online courses, first. I sold online courses to make the money that I used to launch Thrive Themes. I built up my marketing and sales experience through my online course business. Without that, Thrive Themes would have been a guaranteed failure.
And even today, a software business represents far more blood, sweat, tears and complications per $ earned than an online course business.
Unless you’re a veteran of online marketing, I don’t recommend starting a software business.
Speaking of which: most online entrepreneurs keep making the same mistakes…
Stop Working Your Butt Off
for Pennies…
We all get into this online marketing game because we want to escape the 9-to-5 and gain freedom for ourselves, right?
But how come so many of us end up chasing one fad after another? Constantly following the next bright shiny object, the next “opportunity”. The next promise of a shortcut to easy money.
It’s okay to admit it, we’re all guilty of doing this.
The reality of those “opportunities” isn’t so glorious, is it?
The truth is that we always end up working our butts off for pennies.
For example: we spend time churning out keyword optimized articles to try and grow our niche sites. We hope to get some traffic, so we can get some clicks on our ads… only to earn something like $0.14 for a click?
Or what about referring sales to Amazon, building out review sites, using all kinds of plugins and tools… to earn 6% on the sale of a toothbrush and some toilet paper?!
Or maybe we’re spamming cheaply generated Kindle books all over Amazon for $2 a pop… or drop-shipping some stuff from a Chinese factory via FBA, competing against the 327 other people trying to sell the same product, in the same category, made by the same factory…
Or maybe do all this work to build an audience and a blog and get some traffic and build a mailing list and then… recommend some affiliate product for maybe $20-$50 per sale.
Stop Working Your Butt Off
for Pennies…
We all get into this online marketing game because we want to escape the 9-to-5 and gain freedom for ourselves, right?
But how come so many of us end up chasing one fad after another? Constantly following the next bright shiny object, the next “opportunity”. The next promise of a shortcut to easy money.
It’s okay to admit it, we’re all guilty of doing this.
The reality of those “opportunities” isn’t so glorious, is it?
The truth is that we always end up working our butts off for pennies.
For example: we spend time churning out keyword optimized articles to try and grow our niche sites. We hope to get some traffic, so we can get some clicks on our ads… only to earn something like $0.14 for a click?
Or what about referring sales to Amazon, building out review sites, using all kinds of plugins and tools… to earn 6% on the sale of a toothbrush and some toilet paper?!
Or maybe we’re spamming cheaply generated Kindle books all over Amazon for $2 a pop… or drop-shipping some stuff from a Chinese factory via FBA, competing against the 327 other people trying to sell the same product, in the same category, made by the same factory…
Or maybe do all this work to build an audience and a blog and get some traffic and build a mailing list and then… recommend some affiliate product for maybe $20-$50 per sale.
I don’t know about you, but I feel exhausted just from typing that out.
And it gets worse…
I don’t know about you, but I feel exhausted just from typing that out.
And it gets worse…
The "Easy" Opportunities
Turn Out to Be Hard AND
Risky!
Look, everything I described above: that was me, at one point. I figured out how to game the system. I knew how to get traffic, how to get clicks, how to send people off through ads and links and make some money.
Quite a lot of money, at one point.
But eventually, I lost most of my sites and earnings in a Google Slap™... and really, I wasn’t sad about it. I’m glad those websites don’t exist anymore. Because they were trash. There was nothing about them I could be proud of. If anything, I feel like apologizing to people who found my sites when searching for answers, instead of a real, trustworthy source.
And think of how much of this “anything to make money” crap is out there. YouTubers desperately stirring up drama and controversy and doing awful fake “pranks”, just to get views. “Influencers” showing off their (fake) lifestyles and posing with brand products to make some cash. Has anyone ever gotten an ounce of real value from scrolling past this vapid stuff?
And trust me, I’m not being holier-than-thou, here. I created shallow, just-for-the-money, valueless content as well, at one point.
The "Easy" Opportunities Turn Out to Be Hard AND Risky!
Look, everything I described above: that was me, at one point. I figured out how to game the system. I knew how to get traffic, how to get clicks, how to send people off through ads and links and make some money.
Quite a lot of money, at one point.
But eventually, I lost most of my sites and earnings in a Google Slap™... and really, I wasn’t sad about it. I’m glad those websites don’t exist anymore. Because they were trash. There was nothing about them I could be proud of. If anything, I feel like apologizing to people who found my sites when searching for answers, instead of a real, trustworthy source.
And think of how much of this “anything to make money” crap is out there. YouTubers desperately stirring up drama and controversy and doing awful fake “pranks”, just to get views. “Influencers” showing off their (fake) lifestyles and posing with brand products to make some cash. Has anyone ever gotten an ounce of real value from scrolling past this vapid stuff?
And trust me, I’m not being holier-than-thou, here. I created shallow, just-for-the-money, valueless content as well, at one point.
What It Feels Like to Finally
Do Something REAL
Luckily, I also decided to try my hand at creating ebooks and online courses. I put my knowledge out there, packaged it up as a product and made it available for sale.
And let me tell you: the difference between selling online courses and other business models I’d tried was like night and day!
I quickly learnt that it’s WAY easier to sell your own product to your audience than to get ad clicks or sell someone else’s product (as an affiliate). I was making more money, pretty much right away.
But not only that: I got to know my customers. They actually liked me and thanked me for the product I’d created! They told me about how they learnt something new and useful and how it made a difference for them. AND… they wanted me to create more products - they wanted to learn more from me.
They were literally asking me for more opportunities to buy things from me.That is a FAR CRY from “tricking” people into clicking on ads on my crappy niche sites.
I never looked back. From that moment on, all I wanted to do was create valuable products for people. I sold online courses and later SaaS and WordPress software products. But the principle was always the same:
Create something of real value and sell it to people for whom it makes a positive difference.
It’s an honest, fair value exchange. And I love it!
And don't just take my word for it. I'm not the only one who thinks online courses are the best.
What It Feels Like to Finally Do Something REAL
Luckily, I also decided to try my hand at creating ebooks and online courses. I put my knowledge out there, packaged it up as a product and made it available for sale.
And let me tell you: the difference between selling online courses and other business models I’d tried was like night and day!
I quickly learnt that it’s WAY easier to sell your own product to your audience than to get ad clicks or sell someone else’s product (as an affiliate). I was making more money, pretty much right away.
But not only that: I got to know my customers. They actually liked me and thanked me for the product I’d created! They told me about how they learnt something new and useful and how it made a difference for them. AND… they wanted me to create more products - they wanted to learn more from me.
They were literally asking me for more opportunities to buy things from me.That is a FAR CRY from “tricking” people into clicking on ads on my crappy niche sites.
I never looked back. From that moment on, all I wanted to do was create valuable products for people. I sold online courses and later SaaS and WordPress software products. But the principle was always the same:
Create something of real value and sell it to people for whom it makes a positive difference.
It’s an honest, fair value exchange. And I love it!
And don't just take my word for it. I'm not the only one who thinks online courses are the best.
Online courses are incredibly powerful. They’re one of the few businesses you could
start tomorrow — on a super-tight budget — and do incredibly well with.
If you have a few dollars for a domain name, and the right systems to get traffic and
sales, you can share your knowledge, skills, and passions with the world.
- Ramit Sethi
Online courses are incredibly powerful. They’re one of the few businesses you could
start tomorrow — on a super-tight budget — and do incredibly well with.
If you have a few dollars for a domain name, and the right systems to get traffic and
sales, you can share your knowledge, skills, and passions with the world.
- Ramit Sethi
But maybe this isn't news to you. Maybe, right now, you're thinking:
“Shane, I’m trying to do what you’re describing. I’m creating real value, trying to sell my expertise… and it’s not working.”
Maybe you’ve been reading so far and rolling your eyes. “Tell me something I don’t know yet.”
Maybe you’ve been creating real value already. You insist on only creating original, useful content. Maybe you’re already selling your expertise in some form like ebooks, coaching, online courses… and you’re still struggling to get anywhere.
Many coaches also have the “chasing pennies” problem because they undervalue themselves and end up working too much, for little reward. You leave your job only to find yourself on a different exchanging-hours-for-dollars treadmill.
Maybe you feel like what you do as a coach has to be done in person. You can’t translate that into a course. You’re right: coaching isn’t the same as a course. But the knowledge and expertise you have as a coach can be turned into a useful, valuable online course.
Don’t know how to do that? Well, what if you had an exact system for turning knowledge into a course?
That's what you get with the Course Craft system!
But maybe this isn't news to you. Maybe, right now, you're thinking:
“Shane, I’m trying to do what you’re describing. I’m creating real value, trying to sell my expertise… and it’s not working.”
Maybe you’ve been reading so far and rolling your eyes. “Tell me something I don’t know yet.”
Maybe you’ve been creating real value already. You insist on only creating original, useful content. Maybe you’re already selling your expertise in some form like ebooks, coaching, online courses… and you’re still struggling to get anywhere.
Many coaches also have the “chasing pennies” problem because they undervalue themselves and end up working too much, for little reward. You leave your job only to find yourself on a different exchanging-hours-for-dollars treadmill.
Maybe you feel like what you do as a coach has to be done in person. You can’t translate that into a course. You’re right: coaching isn’t the same as a course. But the knowledge and expertise you have as a coach can be turned into a useful, valuable online course.
Don’t know how to do that? Well, what if you had an exact system for turning knowledge into a course?
That's what you get with the Course Craft system!
Mohamed,
Course Craft Student
“
I've taken so many premium online courses [...] and I assure you can't get this great information and practical action steps anywhere else in the market at this price level. Course Craft is the best data-driven course you can get if you want to create your online course in any field of study.
Tried Your Hand at
Information Products Already?
Simply creating an online course doesn’t magically lead to success, of course. There are thousands of course creators on platforms like Udemy who struggle to make more than a pittance.
What I’m talking about here isn’t just the principle of turning your expertise into a business and income stream. It’s not even just about creating online courses.
It’s creating online courses based on a very specific formula. One that involves “The 3 Pillars” I’ll describe below. And one that has built in “value leverage”, so you can sell your course for $200 on your own platform (instead of $19 on Udemy, for example).
I’ve developed a blueprint process which melds marketing and course creation. This is the key difference: you don’t just create a course and hope for the best. That’s never going to work. But if you understand your target market, build a highly marketable course and then set up some automated selling systems, you’ve got a winner.
Read on to discover the components of my online course success formula.
Tried Your Hand at Information Products Already?
Simply creating an online course doesn’t magically lead to success, of course. There are thousands of course creators on platforms like Udemy who struggle to make more than a pittance.
What I’m talking about here isn’t just the principle of turning your expertise into a business and income stream. It’s not even just about creating online courses.
It’s creating online courses based on a very specific formula. One that involves “The 3 Pillars” I’ll describe below. And one that has built in “value leverage”, so you can sell your course for $200 on your own platform (instead of $19 on Udemy, for example).
I’ve developed a blueprint process which melds marketing and course creation. This is the key difference: you don’t just create a course and hope for the best. That’s never going to work. But if you understand your target market, build a highly marketable course and then set up some automated selling systems, you’ve got a winner.
Read on to discover the components of my online course success formula.
Why Online Courses Are
THE BEST Business Model
Okay, so online courses are a way to take your knowledge and expertise and turn it into something valuable. That’s a great thing to do, highly profitable and highly satisfying. But that’s not the only advantage to this business model.
Here’s why else creating online courses kicks absolute ass:
Why Online Courses AreTHE BEST Business Model
Okay, so online courses are a way to take your knowledge and expertise and turn it into something valuable. That’s a great thing to do, highly profitable and highly satisfying. But that’s not the only advantage to this business model.
Here’s why else creating online courses kicks absolute ass:
The Suitcase Business
Following my online course formula results in a business that literally fits into a single suitcase. This is a business you can fully run from a laptop. You don’t need office space, you aren’t tied to a specific location. And because the course is delivered online and available to your customers 24/7 you can make your own hours and take time off.
That means: lower costs, fewer complications and most importantly… freedom.
The Suitcase Business
Following my online course formula results in a business that literally fits into a single suitcase. This is a business you can fully run from a laptop. You don’t need office space, you aren’t tied to a specific location. And because the course is delivered online and available to your customers 24/7 you can make your own hours and take time off.
That means: lower costs, fewer complications and most importantly… freedom.
The Shoestring Budget Business
I LOVE bootstrapping. Meaning: starting up a business at minimal cost. And keeping my risk at a minimum. Online courses are fantastic for this. You can create a valuable, professionally presented and overall awesome online course on a shoestring budget.
And you can scale to 6 figures before you have to spend anything more than a few hundred dollars on it.
The Shoestring Budget Business
I LOVE bootstrapping. Meaning: starting up a business at minimal cost. And keeping my risk at a minimum. Online courses are fantastic for this. You can create a valuable, professionally presented and overall awesome online course on a shoestring budget.
And you can scale to 6 figures before you have to spend anything more than a few hundred dollars on it.
The Highly Scalable Business
An online course business is so scalable and SO profitable. What I mean is: once the course is created, selling 1,000 or 10,000 copies of it costs only marginally more than selling 1 copy of it. Online courses can be turned into an awesome income source without weighing you down with overhead costs and cumbersome processes.
The Highly Scalable Business
An online course business is so scalable and SO profitable. What I mean is: once the course is created, selling 1,000 or 10,000 copies of it costs only marginally more than selling 1 copy of it. Online courses can be turned into an awesome income source without weighing you down with overhead costs and cumbersome processes.
The Little Known
“Marketing Skills” Effect
Marketing skills - especially online marketing skills - are extremely valuable. I can’t tell you how many people want to hire me as a copywriter, marketer or coach, once they find out I know how to do actual, performance-focused marketing. Well, here’s the thing: selling your own online course is deep, intense, real-world marketing. You will learn more about practical online marketing in 3 months of working on your online course than you do in 3 years of reading marketing blogs and books. It’s learning-by-doing to the max!
The Little Known “Marketing Skills” Effect
Marketing skills - especially online marketing skills - are extremely valuable. I can’t tell you how many people want to hire me as a copywriter, marketer or coach, once they find out I know how to do actual, performance-focused marketing. Well, here’s the thing: selling your own online course is deep, intense, real-world marketing. You will learn more about practical online marketing in 3 months of working on your online course than you do in 3 years of reading marketing blogs and books. It’s learning-by-doing to the max!
The Better Known
Learning-by-Teaching Effect
Your online course is going to be about a topic you are interested in - even passionate about. It’s you, turning your knowledge into a product. But in the course of doing that, you also increase your knowledge. You deepen your learning and insight by the very process of teaching. In other words, if you’re an expert, creating an online course makes you more of an expert. If you’re an amateur, creating an online course turns you into an expert.
The Better Known Learning-by-Teaching Effect
Your online course is going to be about a topic you are interested in - even passionate about. It’s you, turning your knowledge into a product. But in the course of doing that, you also increase your knowledge. You deepen your learning and insight by the very process of teaching. In other words, if you’re an expert, creating an online course makes you more of an expert. If you’re an amateur, creating an online course turns you into an expert.
The Authority Effect
Think about any recognizable authority in any niche, any market, any topic. You don't need a magic 8 ball to guess that they've published at least one book.
An online course is not a book, but it has much of the same effect: people see you as an authority, when you’ve created a product. And this authority pays dividends in more ways than you’d expect. You won’t believe how much easier that makes it to get interviewed for shows, appear as a guest on podcasts, get invited to give talks at events…
The Authority Effect
Think about any recognizable authority in any niche, any market, any topic. You don't need a magic 8 ball to guess that they've published at least one book.
An online course is not a book, but it has much of the same effect: people see you as an authority, when you’ve created a product. And this authority pays dividends in more ways than you’d expect. You won’t believe how much easier that makes it to get interviewed for shows, appear as a guest on podcasts, get invited to give talks at events…
“E-Learning is the future.” - Forbes
Not only is the online course business model excellent right now, it may also be one of the best, future-proof business models around.
According to Global Industry Analysts, the e-learning industry crossed $100 billion (that’s billion, with a B) in 2015… and is predicted to rise to over $300 billion by 2025.
In other words: this is a growth market. We are living in the information age and learning via online courses is spreading and set to grow for a long time to come.
If you are tired of getting on board with a new fad or opportunity only to find out it’s already on the way out - get into the e-learning business and ride a wave that’s still going UP.
Not only is the online course business model excellent right now, it may also be one of the best, future-proof business models around.
According to Global Industry Analysts, the e-learning industry crossed $100 billion (that’s billion, with a B) in 2015… and is predicted to rise to over $300 billion by 2025.
In other words: this is a growth market. We are living in the information age and learning via online courses is spreading and set to grow for a long time to come.
If you are tired of getting on board with a new fad or opportunity only to find out it’s already on the way out - get into the e-learning business and ride a wave that’s still going UP.
Duke,
Course Craft Student
“
Course Craft covers every aspect of course creation from technical to content to marketing and more. Everything is explained to the smallest detail and PDFs are given for customizing work. Also, advice is given for each budget level which was really helpful as a beginner with a low budget. I was expecting to pay five or six times the price for what is offered, and it would have been worth it.
The Online Course
Business is Awesome… Unless…
So, online courses are probably the most awesome, bootstrappable, freedom-lifestyle business model available. But that doesn’t mean creating just any old course is a sure-fire ticket to success.
Of course you can easily find people who’ve tried their hands at building an online course business and came out bitterly disappointed.
That’s because, quite frankly, most entrepreneurs who try this are going about it dead wrong and ass-backwards.
Let me break it down for you - let’s look at the typical mistakes that lead to online course business failure.
The Online Course Business is Awesome… Unless…
So, online courses are probably the most awesome, bootstrappable, freedom-lifestyle business model available. But that doesn’t mean creating just any old course is a sure-fire ticket to success.
Of course you can easily find people who’ve tried their hands at building an online course business and came out bitterly disappointed.
That’s because, quite frankly, most entrepreneurs who try this are going about it dead wrong and ass-backwards.
Let me break it down for you - let’s look at the typical mistakes that lead to online course business failure.
The Tech Troubles
An online course business has many moving parts. When you start getting into it, you quickly find more questions than answers.
It’s an endless rabbit hole of trying to make stuff work and uncovering 2 problems every time you solve 1.
The Tech Troubles
An online course business has many moving parts. When you start getting into it, you quickly find more questions than answers.
It’s an endless rabbit hole of trying to make stuff work and uncovering 2 problems every time you solve 1.
The Platform Trap
Okay, let’s avoid the tech problems completely. That’s what online platforms like Udemy are for, right?
Unfortunately, while it is easier to start on a platform, once you’re in, you quickly realize that it’s a trap.
Platforms generally come in 2 different flavours: the marketplace and the “tech only” platform.
The marketplace is Udemy and anything like it. You get to create your course on someone else’s platform and all the payment processing, content restriction, course delivery and so on is taken care of. All you need to do is create the content. Sounds great, right?
The Platform Trap
Okay, let’s avoid the tech problems completely. That’s what online platforms like Udemy are for, right?
Unfortunately, while it is easier to start on a platform, once you’re in, you quickly realize that it’s a trap.
Platforms generally come in 2 different flavours: the marketplace and the “tech only” platform.
The marketplace is Udemy and anything like it. You get to create your course on someone else’s platform and all the payment processing, content restriction, course delivery and so on is taken care of. All you need to do is create the content. Sounds great, right?
Trap #1 : The Marketplace
As it turns out, one of the most common concerns for sellers on Udemy is: how do I get off of Udemy?
Why is that?
Because Udemy keeps most of the money made from sales that you don’t personally and directly refer. Theoretically, the Udemy marketplace is a great advantage for sellers. The marketing is supposed to be “built in” and you get access to millions of users.
But in reality, only the top 1% of sellers really benefit from that. For the rest, it’s a battle to try and stand out in a marketplace flooded with products, all sold at dumping-prices. And what choice do you have but compete on price? After all everyone’s course looks the same, everyone’s sales page looks the same. And worst of all: other courses are being advertised as alternatives whenever someone looks at your course’s sales page!
And speaking of prices: on Udemy, you don’t have much control over the price of your course. Courses typically sell for around $10, no matter how extensive or valuable they are. And Udemy have the right to run discounts and special offers without your consent. You can end up selling 1,000 or more copies of your course without having made much money at all…
Trap #1 : The Marketplace
As it turns out, one of the most common concerns for sellers on Udemy is: how do I get off of Udemy?
Why is that?
Because Udemy keeps most of the money made from sales that you don’t personally and directly refer. Theoretically, the Udemy marketplace is a great advantage for sellers. The marketing is supposed to be “built in” and you get access to millions of users.
But in reality, only the top 1% of sellers really benefit from that. For the rest, it’s a battle to try and stand out in a marketplace flooded with products, all sold at dumping-prices. And what choice do you have but compete on price? After all everyone’s course looks the same, everyone’s sales page looks the same. And worst of all: other courses are being advertised as alternatives whenever someone looks at your course’s sales page!
And speaking of prices: on Udemy, you don’t have much control over the price of your course. Courses typically sell for around $10, no matter how extensive or valuable they are. And Udemy have the right to run discounts and special offers without your consent. You can end up selling 1,000 or more copies of your course without having made much money at all…
Trap #2 : The Hostage Situation
The second flavor of platform is the “tech only” platform. No marketplace. You just get an all-in-one system to host your course on someone else’s platform. You still have to do all the marketing and advertising yourself. But of course, you have to pay a hefty, monthly fee. This can quickly cause a problem, especially if you aren’t getting sales right away. And inevitably, by having your course on a 3rd-party platform, you’ll often find that you want to do something and the answer is: sorry, we can’t do that. You can’t install a plugin to fix it, you can’t hire someone to custom-code a solution for you. You’re simply stuck. On a platform. That’s costing you $100/month or more. Oh, and if you stop paying, your course, your customers, everything you’ve built - it all disappears from one moment to the next. It’s like they’re holding your work hostage.
See, I’m calling it a trap, because it is, in fact, a trap.
Trap #2 : The Hostage Situation
The second flavor of platform is the “tech only” platform. No marketplace. You just get an all-in-one system to host your course on someone else’s platform. You still have to do all the marketing and advertising yourself. But of course, you have to pay a hefty, monthly fee. This can quickly cause a problem, especially if you aren’t getting sales right away. And inevitably, by having your course on a 3rd-party platform, you’ll often find that you want to do something and the answer is: sorry, we can’t do that. You can’t install a plugin to fix it, you can’t hire someone to custom-code a solution for you. You’re simply stuck. On a platform. That’s costing you $100/month or more. Oh, and if you stop paying, your course, your customers, everything you’ve built - it all disappears from one moment to the next. It’s like they’re holding your work hostage.
See, I’m calling it a trap, because it is, in fact, a trap.
The Greedy Money Grab
Some online marketing types look at the e-learning market and think: “this is a great opportunity to make a quick buck!”
They throw together some half-assed, unoriginal content and then spend all of their time creating overly hyped, promise-the-world sales copy and marketing material. They try to trick people into giving them as much money as possible, for a shallow, useless product.
This might even work out. Once.
But then, instead of having laid the foundation of a strong, long-term business, they find that the bridges have been burned and they have to find some other loophole to try and squeeze money out of.
A valuable online course is such an amazing business because your customers are hungry to learn. When they find a good teacher, they want more. There’s no faster way to build a loyal fan-base than to create high quality products.
Thinking “all marketing, no substance” doesn’t lead to e-learning business success.
The Greedy Money Grab
Some online marketing types look at the e-learning market and think: “this is a great opportunity to make a quick buck!”
They throw together some half-assed, unoriginal content and then spend all of their time creating overly hyped, promise-the-world sales copy and marketing material. They try to trick people into giving them as much money as possible, for a shallow, useless product.
This might even work out. Once.
But then, instead of having laid the foundation of a strong, long-term business, they find that the bridges have been burned and they have to find some other loophole to try and squeeze money out of.
A valuable online course is such an amazing business because your customers are hungry to learn. When they find a good teacher, they want more. There’s no faster way to build a loyal fan-base than to create high quality products.
Thinking “all marketing, no substance” doesn’t lead to e-learning business success.
The “Diamond in the Rough” Course
Creating a course thinking only about the content that you — the expert — think people ought to learn is the exact opposite of the previous problem. It’s the equivalent of a boring, rambling lecture by a professor. A professor who’s surely brilliant - if we could only understand anything they're saying.
To create a successful online course, you need to understand how people think, what they want and what they need. You need to address their issues, concerns and fears and you need to build some marketing into your products.
This is a crucial lesson for creators and experts: you have to build a product that people will want to buy, not just a product that contains a lot of information.
People don’t want information, they want solutions. And that’s why thinking “all substance, no marketing” is also a recipe for failure.
The “Diamond in the Rough” Course
Creating a course thinking only about the content that you — the expert — think people ought to learn is the exact opposite of the previous problem. It’s the equivalent of a boring, rambling lecture by a professor. A professor who’s surely brilliant - if we could only understand anything they're saying.
To create a successful online course, you need to understand how people think, what they want and what they need. You need to address their issues, concerns and fears and you need to build some marketing into your products.
This is a crucial lesson for creators and experts: you have to build a product that people will want to buy, not just a product that contains a lot of information.
People don’t want information, they want solutions. And that’s why thinking “all substance, no marketing” is also a recipe for failure.
With Course Craft the Winning Formula
is Finally Revealed
With Course Craft the Winning Formula is Finally Revealed
Exclusive Offer for Mike Vestil's
Subscribers
Included with Course Craft: the Thrive Membership WordPress Plugin Suite ($228 yearly value)
Included with Course Craft: the Thrive Membership WordPress Plugin Suite ($228 yearly value)
Mary Jaksch,
Course Creator
“
I've created 8 courses in the past. This is the first time I've come across a system that is bullet-proof [...] Brilliant! This is the best course I have ever been part of. It was not only practical --with step-by-step instructions all the way, it was also inspiring. I have come away with new insight into how a central, customer-focused message must shape not only a course and the marketing materials but also the whole website.
Daphne C,
Course Craft student
“
Oh my gosh, this is EXACTLY what I needed! I was dreading how in the world I would figure out the tech stuff, but Shane to the rescue! Whew, what a sigh of relief. Best investment already!
Liz P,
Course Craft student
“
I have long wanted to create my own course but felt blocked because I didn't know anything about how or where to begin. It is obvious you have saved me potentially years of tears, frustrating trial-and-error, and disheartening failure. I love a simple methodology and a logical, rational approach, and this is exactly what you have offered and delivered.
With Course Craft, I’m teaching my entire system for creating and marketing online courses successfully.
That means we cover everything you need to get it right and avoid all of the pitfalls listed above. We cover all 3 pillars:
With Course Craft, I’m teaching my entire system for creating and marketing online courses successfully.
That means we cover everything you need to get it right and avoid all of the pitfalls listed above. We cover all 3 pillars:
1.
The Complete Tech Stack
Everything you need to create, deliver, sell and protect your online course, build your website, sales pages, landing pages, and grow your email list on your own platform that you control, without needing to hire any developers.
1.
The Complete Tech Stack
Everything you need to create, deliver, sell and protect your online course, build your website, sales pages, landing pages, and grow your email list on your own platform that you control, without needing to hire any developers.
2.
The Magnetic Course Creation Plan
Everything you need to find and validate the perfect product idea and how to turn your knowledge into a practical, highly valuable online course.
2.
The Magnetic Course Creation Plan
Everything you need to find and validate the perfect product idea and how to turn your knowledge into a practical, highly valuable online course.
3.
The Magnetic Marketing Funnel
Everything you need to pre-launch your product, create a successful product launch, create upsells and other revenue engines, recruit affiliates to promote your product for you and set up the system you need to sell 1 copy per day of your $200 course.
3.
The Magnetic Marketing Funnel
Everything you need to pre-launch your product, create a successful product launch, create upsells and other revenue engines, recruit affiliates to promote your product for you and set up the system you need to sell 1 copy per day of your $200 course.
This is not a half baked course. We don’t explain how to create a course and then leave you high-and-dry when it comes to delivering or marketing that course. This is the entire, workable system that I have used over and over again, to sell online courses successfully.
I’ll tell you more about exactly what you’ll get, but first let me be clear about some things…
This is not a half baked course. We don’t explain how to create a course and then leave you high-and-dry when it comes to delivering or marketing that course. This is the entire, workable system that I have used over and over again, to sell online courses successfully.
I’ll tell you more about exactly what you’ll get, but first let me be clear about some things…
"Online courses allow you to serve your market in a powerful, impactful, and
time-leveraged way."
- Amy Porterfield
"Online courses allow you to serve your market in a powerful, impactful, and
time-leveraged way."
- Amy Porterfield
What Course Craft is NOT...
I want to set the right expectations, here. Course Craft is not what you expect from your typical, average online course.
What Course Craft is NOT...
I want to set the right expectations, here. Course Craft is not what you expect from your typical, average online course.
Course Craft is Not a Passive
“Information Download”
This course is not about just sitting back, learning a bunch of theory and then doing nothing with it. This is an implementation-focused course. The purpose isn’t to download a bunch of information, it’s to guide you through a system of exercises and actions to take, that lead you to the result.
Don’t sign up for this if you don’t want to do the real work. This product is not for “info product tourists”.
Course Craft is Not a Passive
“Information Download”
This course is not about just sitting back, learning a bunch of theory and then doing nothing with it. This is an implementation-focused course. The purpose isn’t to download a bunch of information, it’s to guide you through a system of exercises and actions to take, that lead you to the result.
Don’t sign up for this if you don’t want to do the real work. This product is not for “info product tourists”.
Course Craft is Not a Quick
Cash Grab System
As you’ve probably guessed by now, this is not about exploiting some “opportunity” to make money with as little work as possible. It’s not about throwing together some crappy copy-pasted content into a pretend “product” and then tricking people into buying it. If you aren’t excited about creating a real, valuable, high-quality product, then Course Craft isn’t for you.
Course Craft is Not a Quick
Cash Grab System
As you’ve probably guessed by now, this is not about exploiting some “opportunity” to make money with as little work as possible. It’s not about throwing together some crappy copy-pasted content into a pretend “product” and then tricking people into buying it. If you aren’t excited about creating a real, valuable, high-quality product, then Course Craft isn’t for you.
Course Craft is Not Just About
Creating a Course
Creating an online course, in isolation, is a waste of time. If you only focus on “how do I structure a bunch of lessons into a course?” and “how do I take payments and deliver the course?” - you end up with a course, yes. But you also end up with a problem: no one will buy your course. Course Craft is about building a marketable, sellable course and then actually selling it.
Course Craft is Not Just About
Creating a Course
Creating an online course, in isolation, is a waste of time. If you only focus on “how do I structure a bunch of lessons into a course?” and “how do I take payments and deliver the course?” - you end up with a course, yes. But you also end up with a problem: no one will buy your course. Course Craft is about building a marketable, sellable course and then actually selling it.
The Online Course Success Formula:
Marketing + Course Creation + Marketing
Yep, that’s right. Marketing is in there twice. That’s how important it is.
If all you do is the “course creation” part, you’re making an age old mistake of thinking “build it and they will come”. You’ll build your course, open it for sale and then… crickets.
Here’s why the formula is
This is what a magnetically sellable course is about: it has marketing and sellability “baked in” - which makes all the marketing you do for it 100x easier. And at the same time, it’s a high-quality, value delivering product that helps people achieve the result they want.
The Online Course Success Formula: Marketing + Course Creation + Marketing
Yep, that’s right. Marketing is in there twice. That’s how important it is.
If all you do is the “course creation” part, you’re making an age old mistake of thinking “build it and they will come”. You’ll build your course, open it for sale and then… crickets.
Here’s why the formula is
This is what a magnetically sellable course is about: it has marketing and sellability “baked in” - which makes all the marketing you do for it 100x easier. And at the same time, it’s a high-quality, value delivering product that helps people achieve the result they want.
What You Get When You Sign Up for
Course Craft Today
What You Get When You Sign Up for Course Craft Today
Course Craft is an online course consisting of video lessons, worksheets and exercises. The course contains step-by-step, proven, no-nonsense advice to walk you through my entire process for going from zero to a $200 product that sells an average of once per day.
The course modules include everything you need to know in the 3 key areas of online course success:
- 1The Tech Stuff
- 2Building a High Quality, High Value Course
- 3Launching and Marketing the Course Long Term
Course Craft is an online course consisting of video lessons, worksheets and exercises. The course contains step-by-step, proven, no-nonsense advice to walk you through my entire process for going from zero to a $200 product that sells an average of once per day.
The course modules include everything you need to know in the 3 key areas of online course success:
- 1The Tech Stuff
- 2Building a High Quality, High Value Course
- 3Launching and Marketing the Course Long Term
Included: the Thrive Membership
WordPress Plugin Suite ($228 yearly value)
Create beautiful online courses right inside your own
WordPress website
To make course delivery a breeze, without having to be locked into an expensive 3rd-party platform, we created a WordPress plugin. We call it Thrive Apprentice and it gives you all the tools you need to create a beautifully presented, well structured online course, right inside your own WordPress website.
We have built and optimized this plugin to be the perfect tool to create and deliver an online course without bogging you down with endless screens of options and settings and without having to deal with expensive and cumbersome membership plugins.
And here’s the kicker: the Thrive Themes Membership plugin suite is included in your purchase of Course Craft. That’s right: you get the course and the software to build your entire online business along with it.
Included: the Thrive Membership WordPress Plugin Suite ($228 yearly value)
Create beautiful online courses right inside your own WordPress website
To make course delivery a breeze, without having to be locked into an expensive 3rd-party platform, we created a WordPress plugin. We call it Thrive Apprentice and it gives you all the tools you need to create a beautifully presented, well structured online course, right inside your own WordPress website.
We have built and optimized this plugin to be the perfect tool to create and deliver an online course without bogging you down with endless screens of options and settings and without having to deal with expensive and cumbersome membership plugins.
And here’s the kicker: the Thrive Themes Membership plugin suite is included in your purchase of Course Craft. That’s right: you get the course and the software to build your entire online business along with it.
What You’ll Discover
in the Course Craft Course Modules
1.
Get Paid, Give Access
The simplest way to set up a system that gets you paid and gives your customers access to your course, automatically.
What You’ll Discover in the Course Craft Course Modules
Get Paid, Give Access
The simplest way to set up a system that gets you paid and gives your customers access to your course, automatically.
2.
Pirates Begone
How to make sure only paying customers can access your content & how to protect your content from being illegally downloaded and shared.
Pirates Begone
How to make sure only paying customers can access your content & how to protect your content from being illegally downloaded and shared.
3.
The Video Lesson Formula
How you can create well produced, professional looking, highly informative video lessons and publish them in your course - without needing expensive software or hardware!
4.
Build Your Customer List
Every step to set up your email marketing system and make sure new customers are added to your mailing list, automatically.
5.
The Product Idea Filter
Use our system to find a true winner of a product idea - or to refine and improve your own idea for a course, if you already have one.
6.
Competition Judo
Learn why it’s actually great to have loads of competition and our Judo system for using all the hard work your competitors have done, to your advantage.
7.
The Marketing “Cheat Code”
This method makes finding the perfect idea, getting customers and creating highly persuasive sales copy for your product so easy, it almost feels like cheating.
8.
The “Sales Page First” Approach
In Course Craft, we use a system that starts with your sales message. As soon as you put our system into place, you’ll realize how starting with product creation is a recipe for pain, frustration and failure and you’ll wonder why you ever did it otherwise.
9.
The EPOC Method for Creating Unique Products
How can you make a product that truly differentiates itself from your competition? How can you stand out from the crowd? How can you create a product that will make your customers love you and ask for more? The EPOC method, that’s how.
10.
The 5 Components of High Value Courses
We’ll deconstruct exactly what makes the difference between a $5 course that still feels like a waste of money and a $200 course that feels like a steal. Creating highly valuable, well-presented and truly useful online courses is a matter of using the right system.
11.
The Visual Design Shortcut
Typical entrepreneur newbie mistake: worrying about brand design, visuals, logo etc. and wasting endless time and money on it. Using the Visual Design Shortcut in Course Craft, we cut this entire process down to 10 minutes, max. (also: it costs $0)
12.
The Online Course Pre-Launch Method
Learn how you can get paid to create your online course first and then start working on the content. This approach will even help you create a better product, than if you create first and sell second.
13.
The Stealth/Bootstrap Launch Sequence
Discover the simple way to create a fully fledged, sales-generating product launch sequence - all without needing any special tools and without coming across as salesy or pushy.
14.
The Revenue Machine
Discover the 5 components you can add to your online course, to turn it from a lukewarm seller into a reliable, long-term revenue machine.
The Video Lesson Formula
How you can create well produced, professional looking, highly informative video lessons and publish them in your course - without needing expensive software or hardware!
Build Your Customer List
Every step to set up your email marketing system and make sure new customers are added to your mailing list, automatically.
The Product Idea Filter
Use our system to find a true winner of a product idea - or to refine and improve your own idea for a course, if you already have one.
Competition Judo
Learn why it’s actually great to have loads of competition and our Judo system for using all the hard work your competitors have done, to your advantage.
The Marketing “Cheat Code”
This method makes finding the perfect idea, getting customers and creating highly persuasive sales copy for your product so easy, it almost feels like cheating.
The “Sales Page First” Approach
In Course Craft, we use a system that starts with your sales message. As soon as you put our system into place, you’ll realize how starting with product creation is a recipe for pain, frustration and failure and you’ll wonder why you ever did it otherwise.
The EPOC Method for Creating Unique Products
How can you make a product that truly differentiates itself from your competition? How can you stand out from the crowd? How can you create a product that will make your customers love you and ask for more? The EPOC method, that’s how.
The 5 Components of High Value Courses
We’ll deconstruct exactly what makes the difference between a $5 course that still feels like a waste of money and a $200 course that feels like a steal. Creating highly valuable, well-presented and truly useful online courses is a matter of using the right system.
The Visual Design Shortcut
Typical entrepreneur newbie mistake: worrying about brand design, visuals, logo etc. and wasting endless time and money on it. Using the Visual Design Shortcut in Course Craft, we cut this entire process down to 10 minutes, max. (also: it costs $0)
The Online Course Pre-Launch Method
Learn how you can get paid to create your online course first and then start working on the content. This approach will even help you create a better product, than if you create first and sell second.
The Stealth/Bootstrap Launch Sequence
Discover the simple way to create a fully fledged, sales-generating product launch sequence - all without needing any special tools and without coming across as salesy or pushy.
The Revenue Machine
Discover the 5 components you can add to your online course, to turn it from a lukewarm seller into a reliable, long-term revenue machine.
Bonus
The Zero -Audience Product Launch
Want to start building an online course business, but don't have any mailing list or audience to sell it to yet? Don't worry, neither did I when I sold my first online course. In the Course Craft system, we'll cover exactly how you can do a zero-audience product launch and the exact steps to take, to "borrow" other people's audience for your own course.
The Zero -Audience Product Launch
Want to start building an online course business, but don't have any mailing list or audience to sell it to yet? Don't worry, neither did I when I sold my first online course. In the Course Craft system, we'll cover exactly how you can do a zero-audience product launch and the exact steps to take, to "borrow" other people's audience for your own course.
Who’s This Shane Melaugh Guy Anyway?
Okay, so I claim to be some kind of expert and I claim to be able to teach you how to create and sell a $200 online course. But can you really trust me? After all, how many fake gurus and online marketing “experts” are all over the place, making all kinds of promises and claims?
I totally agree with your skepticism, here. In the online marketing space, there are too many “experts” who don’t really know what they’re talking about. People who have only ever made any income by promising to teach other people how to make money…
There are 2 things about me, that might ease your mind:
1. I love teaching and creating online courses and
2. I’m not a one-trick pony.
Creating online courses is my favorite business model and one of my favorite things to do, hands down. But it’s not the only thing I do. Over the last 10 years, I’ve successfully built up e-commerce, SaaS, WordPress software, information product and service-based businesses. I’ve built businesses solo and worked with 50+ person teams.
It’s not my job to teach people how to build online businesses. Most of the time, I’m too busy building businesses myself, to do that. I’m not one of those one-trick-pony guys who’s only source of income is teaching other people how to make money.Out of all the business building experience I have, I keep coming back to online courses as my favorite and now, for the first time in a very long time, I’m revealing my exact blueprint.
Who’s This Shane Melaugh Guy Anyway?
Okay, so I claim to be some kind of expert and I claim to be able to teach you how to create and sell a $200 online course. But can you really trust me? After all, how many fake gurus and online marketing “experts” are all over the place, making all kinds of promises and claims?
I totally agree with your skepticism, here. In the online marketing space, there are too many “experts” who don’t really know what they’re talking about. People who have only ever made any income by promising to teach other people how to make money…
There are 2 things about me, that might ease your mind:
1. I love teaching and creating online courses and
2. I’m not a one-trick pony.
Creating online courses is my favorite business model and one of my favorite things to do, hands down. But it’s not the only thing I do. Over the last 10 years, I’ve successfully built up e-commerce, SaaS, WordPress software, information product and service-based businesses. I’ve built businesses solo and worked with 50+ person teams.
It’s not my job to teach people how to build online businesses. Most of the time, I’m too busy building businesses myself, to do that. I’m not one of those one-trick-pony guys who’s only source of income is teaching other people how to make money.Out of all the business building experience I have, I keep coming back to online courses as my favorite and now, for the first time in a very long time, I’m revealing my exact blueprint.
Adam R,
Business Owner
“
Hi Shane: Just want to tell you that you do a great job in teaching. Straight to the point and step by step. Awesome stuff!
Conny,
Business Owner
“
Course Craft is different from other online course creation systems for many reasons [...] To have Shane walk me through all the moving parts step by step was extremely helpful and that sets this course apart from others that I have purchased before where Tech is either not mentioned or not taught in detail. Now I have the tech in place, and because Shane walked me through it I saved tons of time, stress and prevented pulling out my hair.
John F,
Course Craft student
“
Outstanding content! Throughout the course, it´s been fun to follow your clear and easy to follow instructions. It feels great to finally receive proper guidance! I appreciate your work and effort to make this a highly supportive and practical course that helps us create real results.
John F,
Course Craft student
“
Outstanding content! Throughout the course, it´s been fun to follow your clear and easy to follow instructions. It feels great to finally receive proper guidance! I appreciate your work and effort to make this a highly supportive and practical course that helps us create real results.
Ready for A Change?
If you’ve been itching to create an information product, but you felt that your knowledge is too scattered or you’re not expert enough or you just don’t know how to go about it, Course Craft will get you to a clear, well structured, high-value online course.
If you’ve been chasing “opportunities” and working your butt off for pennies (or nothing)... Course Craft is the path forward for you, to finally having a real business, based on a real product, that brings real value to real people.
If you’ve been struggling to get traffic or any kind of traction, apply the Course Craft strategy to turn yourself into a recognizable expert and you’ll suddenly find that it’s so much easier to reach more people, get invited to podcasts and give talks…
If you’ve been feeling pressured to create products and sell them at dumping-prices and you just aren’t getting paid what you’re worth, after Course Craft, you’ll have a clear system for creating products that customers will gladly pay $200 for and then send you thank-you notes about.
Ready for A Change?
If you’ve been itching to create an information product, but you felt that your knowledge is too scattered or you’re not expert enough or you just don’t know how to go about it, Course Craft will get you to a clear, well structured, high-value online course.
If you’ve been chasing “opportunities” and working your butt off for pennies (or nothing)... Course Craft is the path forward for you, to finally having a real business, based on a real product, that brings real value to real people.
If you’ve been struggling to get traffic or any kind of traction, apply the Course Craft strategy to turn yourself into a recognizable expert and you’ll suddenly find that it’s so much easier to reach more people, get invited to podcasts and give talks…
If you’ve been feeling pressured to create products and sell them at dumping-prices and you just aren’t getting paid what you’re worth, after Course Craft, you’ll have a clear system for creating products that customers will gladly pay $200 for and then send you thank-you notes about.
But Does This Really Work?
I hate making any kind of claim I can’t back up. So, before starting work on this course, I launched a different course, just to prove my system works. I created a productivity course, which sold more than 400 copies during the pre-launch (that is, before it was built) and I used the Course Craft system and Thrive Apprentice to deliver the course.
How long did it take me to go from decision (“I’m going to make this course”), through the launch and to the release of the course?
2 weeks.
That’s the power of a system.
I’m not saying that you can launch your first course in only 2 weeks. It will take you a bit longer, because you have to learn the system first. But my point is: once you have this system, you can go from idea, to launch, to product in only 2 weeks.
Does that seem like it’s something worth learning? How would you feel if, at any point in time, you knew you were only about 2 weeks away from delivering a brand new course, to hundreds of happy customers?
“ But Shane, you’ve got a huge audience! Of course you can launch a product successfully! I can’t do that, because I don’t have an audience…”
But Does This Really Work?
I hate making any kind of claim I can’t back up. So, before starting work on this course, I launched a different course, just to prove my system works. I created a productivity course, which sold more than 400 copies during the pre-launch (that is, before it was built) and I used the Course Craft system and Thrive Apprentice to deliver the course.
How long did it take me to go from decision (“I’m going to make this course”), through the launch and to the release of the course?
2 weeks.
That’s the power of a system.
I’m not saying that you can launch your first course in only 2 weeks. It will take you a bit longer, because you have to learn the system first. But my point is: once you have this system, you can go from idea, to launch, to product in only 2 weeks.
Does that seem like it’s something worth learning? How would you feel if, at any point in time, you knew you were only about 2 weeks away from delivering a brand new course, to hundreds of happy customers?
“ But Shane, you’ve got a huge audience! Of course you can launch a product successfully! I can’t do that, because I don’t have an audience…”
Fair point, yes. But first of all: where do you think that audience comes from? Why do I have this audience?
It’s because I started selling online courses years ago.
That doesn’t mean you have to invest years into creating a successful online course business, though. Just to even the playing field a bit, I launched this product under my ActiveGrowth brand (which you've probably never heard about), where my audience is much smaller than here on Thrive Themes.
Let’s look at the sales graph timeline from my recent online course product launch:
The first part of that graph (orange highlight) is the product launch. That part depends on your launch audience.
Most likely, you will not get as many sales as I did on your first product launch. However, even if you start from zero, following the Course Craft system, your results here won’t be zero. Part of the system is about how to get a launch audience, even if you don’t have one yourself (that's what our Zero Audience Launch module is about). And you’ll also learn how to get a “spike” in sales like you see on the graph.
But the really important part, the thing we’re mostly focusing on in the Course Craft course is the one highlighted in green.
This is after the launch. This is once everyone in my audience who’s interested in my course has already bought it.
Notice how the graph is much lower… but it’s not zero.
On average, one or more people are still buying this course, even weeks after the launch. That’s not based on my existing audience. That’s the result of the evergreen marketing system I’m going to show you.
And that’s the real goal: long-term, evergreen sales.
So, Was This Course Complete Rubbish?
Did I just rush a crappy course out the door, to try and make a point? Did my customers come after me with pitchforks, once they got access to my lessons and saw what a dumpster-fire it really was?
Remember how part of the Course Craft system includes creating a high value, well-structured, and well-taught course?
Not at all.
I had customers praising the course, saying:
Fair point, yes. But first of all: where do you think that audience comes from? Why do I have this audience?
It’s because I started selling online courses years ago.
That doesn’t mean you have to invest years into creating a successful online course business, though. Just to even the playing field a bit, I launched this product under my ActiveGrowth brand (which you've probably never heard about), where my audience is much smaller than here on Thrive Themes.
Let’s look at the sales graph timeline from my recent online course product launch:
The first part of that graph (orange highlight) is the product launch. That part depends on your launch audience.
Most likely, you will not get as many sales as I did on your first product launch. However, even if you start from zero, following the Course Craft system, your results here won’t be zero. Part of the system is about how to get a launch audience, even if you don’t have one yourself (that's what our Zero Audience Launch module is about). And you’ll also learn how to get a “spike” in sales like you see on the graph.
But the really important part, the thing we’re mostly focusing on in the Course Craft course is the one highlighted in green.
This is after the launch. This is once everyone in my audience who’s interested in my course has already bought it.
Notice how the graph is much lower… but it’s not zero.
On average, one or more people are still buying this course, even weeks after the launch. That’s not based on my existing audience. That’s the result of the evergreen marketing system I’m going to show you.
And that’s the real goal: long-term, evergreen sales.
So, Was This Course Complete Rubbish?
Did I just rush a crappy course out the door, to try and make a point? Did my customers come after me with pitchforks, once they got access to my lessons and saw what a dumpster-fire it really was?
Remember how part of the Course Craft system includes creating a high value, well-structured, and well-taught course?
Not at all.
I had customers praising the course, saying:
I think it's fair to say that my course delivered what I promised. One of my favorite messages I got about the course was:
"I took your productivity course and it has no cracks. It’s perfect."
This is the power of having a system. If you try to wing it or do it off-the-cuff, you won't be able to create a course in just a few weeks that people will describe as "perfect". But with a system...
I think it's fair to say that my course delivered what I promised. One of my favorite messages I got about the course was:
"I took your productivity course and it has no cracks. It’s perfect."
This is the power of having a system. If you try to wing it or do it off-the-cuff, you won't be able to create a course in just a few weeks that people will describe as "perfect". But with a system...
"It’s going to take some work. Because there’s no such thing as 100% passive income.
However, online courses come prrretty close: you see, you only have to create the course
once…
…but you get paid over and over again. With each and every student."
- Derek Halpern
"It’s going to take some work. Because there’s no such thing as 100% passive income.
However, online courses come prrretty close: you see, you only have to create the course
once…
…but you get paid over and over again. With each and every student."
- Derek Halpern
Finally End Your Traffic Troubles
Visionary Kevin Kelly was right: the business model for creatives and solopreneurs revolves around 1,000 true fans.
Forget trying to build a following of hundreds of thousands or millions on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter,...
Forget the endless struggle of trying to get more traffic to your website, only to find that A) it’s super hard to get traffic and B) when you get it, you’re still not making much money.
Instead of chasing these empty numbers, focus on building a small tribe of true fans. Stop thinking about anonymous “visitors”. Think about people. Customers. Your tribe.
If you can build up a tribe of 1,000 true fans, you’re set. 1,000 true fans means a highly profitable business. A business in which you do the fulfilling work of creating something valuable for your tribe. And you spend time interacting with your fans, who you care about and who care about you, not mass-messaging the blank-faced crowds on some social platform.
Kevin Kelly was right all those years ago and most of us still aren’t paying attention.
And here’s where it gets even better: 1,000 true fans is based on the idea of making a living as an artist. Selling paintings or musical albums. And that may have gotten a bit more difficult in past years. But the online course business is the opposite of that.
If 1,000 true fans is a shortcut to success as a creative, online courses are a shortcut to that shortcut. Selling $200 online courses, you can make a good living long before you’ve reached your 1,000th fan.
And about the difficulties of getting traffic, check out what happened to my blog the first time I launched a course:
That’s right, all of a sudden, I started getting way more traffic.
This was mostly a side-effect of launching a product. A side-effect to people seeing me as an authority and taking me more seriously. My blog wasn’t worse before the traffic increase. It’s just that people started actually paying attention, because I was no longer just “some blogger”.
Finally End Your Traffic Troubles
Visionary Kevin Kelly was right: the business model for creatives and solopreneurs revolves around 1,000 true fans.
Forget trying to build a following of hundreds of thousands or millions on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter,...
Forget the endless struggle of trying to get more traffic to your website, only to find that A) it’s super hard to get traffic and B) when you get it, you’re still not making much money.
Instead of chasing these empty numbers, focus on building a small tribe of true fans. Stop thinking about anonymous “visitors”. Think about people. Customers. Your tribe.
If you can build up a tribe of 1,000 true fans, you’re set. 1,000 true fans means a highly profitable business. A business in which you do the fulfilling work of creating something valuable for your tribe. And you spend time interacting with your fans, who you care about and who care about you, not mass-messaging the blank-faced crowds on some social platform.
Kevin Kelly was right all those years ago and most of us still aren’t paying attention.
And here’s where it gets even better: 1,000 true fans is based on the idea of making a living as an artist. Selling paintings or musical albums. And that may have gotten a bit more difficult in past years. But the online course business is the opposite of that.
If 1,000 true fans is a shortcut to success as a creative, online courses are a shortcut to that shortcut. Selling $200 online courses, you can make a good living long before you’ve reached your 1,000th fan.
And about the difficulties of getting traffic, check out what happened to my blog the first time I launched a course:
That’s right, all of a sudden, I started getting way more traffic.
This was mostly a side-effect of launching a product. A side-effect to people seeing me as an authority and taking me more seriously. My blog wasn’t worse before the traffic increase. It’s just that people started actually paying attention, because I was no longer just “some blogger”.
Get Access to Course Craft + The Thrive Membership Today!
Only $797
$497
Get Access to Course Craft + The Thrive Membership Today!
Only $797
$497
Our 100% Satisfaction Guarantee
If you don’t like Course Craft for any reason, if you feel it wasn’t worth your investment or even if you just want your money back for no reason at all, we’ve got you covered. Purchase today and you can simply ask for a refund anytime within the next 30 days. Our support team will process your refund, no questions asked.
Our 100% Satisfaction Guarantee
If you don’t like Course Craft for any reason, if you feel it wasn’t worth your investment or even if you just want your money back for no reason at all, we’ve got you covered. Purchase today and you can simply ask for a refund anytime within the next 30 days. Our support team will process your refund, no questions asked.
What Current Course Craft Students Are Saying...
“
OMG…this is the course of the century. This module 1 is exactly what I get hooked up on…technology! I’m soooo looking forward to finishing my implementation of the next modules. Thanks Shane!
Michele W.
“
Hi Shane,
Finished and implemented all steps of module 1.
Not only the content was essential, but let me just say something.
The fact that your START this course with this tech module is as brilliant as it is efficient.
Clearing all the technical/logistical steps first is great to get rid of them quickly and focus on the most important later, as long as needed (content + marketing).
I just never thought of it this way.
In fact, it just makes so much sense. Instead of philosophy-ing about course content and sales first but not being able to ACT, not being able to TRANSFORM all principle because of a potential lack of technical steps, you’ve just turned the table entirely.
Now of course, we have the skeleton, we have a “test/virtual” course built, on which I am delighted to really create great content and make sales thanks to your oncoming course about
– course structure
– sales and marketing.
Keep on with the quality work, you and your fellow team deserve our bucks.
Merci !
Antoine M.
“
Frankly, in the beginning I doubted if the training would be able to teach much after Shane’s videos. They were already so valuable.
I have now done the first 6 lessons and I must say that this is really valuable. All these steps to set up the technical side. I could never have done it in so little time.
I am really looking forward to the next lessons! I have absolutely no regrets that I bought this training!
Peter W
“
OMG, Shane!
I just watched the “About the Course” and am more excited than ever! (Is that possible?)
Again, I’m stunned at the quality and depth of information you’re providing…
To me, the marketing information alone is worth more than 5x the course price!
(I think you could easily have priced this course close to “4 figures” and still made a bunch of sales! But, now I know that’s not in your formula… Still…just sayin’… ;-) )
Peter W.
“
I have to say I'm very impressed. This is an excellent course, focusing on what's important and giving clear doable instructions. The tech part was fun and easy to set up.
It was a no-brainer for me to buy this course and I agreed to myself right from the beginning to follow the instructions despite my urge to "do more", search for an even more complicated solution, plugins, shop and so on.
Everything is set up and working, recording hardware is on standby and I'm excited for the next lessons
Philipp H.
What Current Course Craft Students Are Saying...
“
OMG…this is the course of the century. This module 1 is exactly what I get hooked up on…technology! I’m soooo looking forward to finishing my implementation of the next modules. Thanks Shane!
Michele W.
“
Hi Shane,
Finished and implemented all steps of module 1.
Not only the content was essential, but let me just say something.
The fact that your START this course with this tech module is as brilliant as it is efficient.
Clearing all the technical/logistical steps first is great to get rid of them quickly and focus on the most important later, as long as needed (content + marketing).
I just never thought of it this way.
In fact, it just makes so much sense. Instead of philosophy-ing about course content and sales first but not being able to ACT, not being able to TRANSFORM all principle because of a potential lack of technical steps, you’ve just turned the table entirely.
Now of course, we have the skeleton, we have a “test/virtual” course built, on which I am delighted to really create great content and make sales thanks to your oncoming course about
– course structure
– sales and marketing.
Keep on with the quality work, you and your fellow team deserve our bucks.
Merci !
Antoine M.
“
Frankly, in the beginning I doubted if the training would be able to teach much after Shane’s videos. They were already so valuable.
I have now done the first 6 lessons and I must say that this is really valuable. All these steps to set up the technical side. I could never have done it in so little time.
I am really looking forward to the next lessons! I have absolutely no regrets that I bought this training!
Peter W
“
OMG, Shane!
I just watched the “About the Course” and am more excited than ever! (Is that possible?)
Again, I’m stunned at the quality and depth of information you’re providing…
To me, the marketing information alone is worth more than 5x the course price!
(I think you could easily have priced this course close to “4 figures” and still made a bunch of sales! But, now I know that’s not in your formula… Still…just sayin’… ;-) )
Peter W.
“
I have to say I'm very impressed. This is an excellent course, focusing on what's important and giving clear doable instructions. The tech part was fun and easy to set up.
It was a no-brainer for me to buy this course and I agreed to myself right from the beginning to follow the instructions despite my urge to "do more", search for an even more complicated solution, plugins, shop and so on.
Everything is set up and working, recording hardware is on standby and I'm excited for the next lessons
Philipp H.
Scott P,
Course Craft student
“
Module One alone was well worth the cost of the course. Finally got all my systems "hooked up" and "tied together". That was a big impediment. Now on to the fun stuff. [...] Thank you for putting out such a high quality, actionable program!
Disclaimer:
This is Not a “Business Opportunity”
Disclaimer: This is Not a “Business Opportunity”
I’ve defined a very clear goal for the Course Craft course: to create an online course and sell an average of 1 copy a day, at a $200 price point. It’s useful to have a clear, specific goal to aim for. And it’s important that you understand this is about creating a $200 course, not a $7 ebook or a $3,000 coaching program.
But nothing on this page is to be construed as an income guarantee. There’s absolutely no guarantee that you can make this kind of income, or any income, for that matter. Remember, you’re an entrepreneur, not an employee. There are no guarantees for entrepreneurs.
I know that 90% of people reading this get it and you can skip this part. But I want to be crystal clear for the other 10%. This is not a “business opportunity”. This is not a special money making “trick”. This is not an alternative to some bullshit MLM scheme.
I’m going to teach you a craft. The craft of creating valuable courses. Like any craft, it’s all in the doing. You can’t read a book about carpentry and expect a chair to materialize in your life. You can’t consume this course and expect income to happen.
Buy this course if you want to learn a skill. Don’t buy it if you just want another shiny object in your life.
I’ve defined a very clear goal for the Course Craft course: to create an online course and sell an average of 1 copy a day, at a $200 price point. It’s useful to have a clear, specific goal to aim for. And it’s important that you understand this is about creating a $200 course, not a $7 ebook or a $3,000 coaching program.
But nothing on this page is to be construed as an income guarantee. There’s absolutely no guarantee that you can make this kind of income, or any income, for that matter. Remember, you’re an entrepreneur, not an employee. There are no guarantees for entrepreneurs.
I know that 90% of people reading this get it and you can skip this part. But I want to be crystal clear for the other 10%. This is not a “business opportunity”. This is not a special money making “trick”. This is not an alternative to some bullshit MLM scheme.
I’m going to teach you a craft. The craft of creating valuable courses. Like any craft, it’s all in the doing. You can’t read a book about carpentry and expect a chair to materialize in your life. You can’t consume this course and expect income to happen.
Buy this course if you want to learn a skill. Don’t buy it if you just want another shiny object in your life.
FAQ
What if I don’t use WordPress?
What if I want to sell my course on Udemy, Teachable or some other platform?
Why is Course Craft more than $200?
How many courses can we create with this?
Is there a place where we can ask questions about setting up our course?
What if I don't have an audience or mailing list?
What if I don't know what to make a course about?
Will we get future updates to the included Thrive Apprentice WordPress Plugin
Are there any OTOs, upsells or extras that we need to purchase? If so, how much are they?
Can I take the course at my own pace?
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