Imagine creating an online business that is manageable and profitable. A business that involves no initial investment, and only your skills. Skills that you can monetize.
If you think that you have no skill that you can monetize, then this blog is to solve exactly this pain point of yours.
Having coached hundreds of students, I know this for a fact that anyone can create a digital course, ANYONE. Also, everyone has a skill that can be monetized.
3 PRIOR KEY DECISIONS to Make Before Creating A DIGITAL BUSINESS.
Decision #1 : YOUR PROFITABLE BUSINESS IDEA
One of the most powerful steps at the beginning of your digital business journey is to get clear on your program topic or as everyone says “niche”. This one step will put everything into motion and you will start strong.
At this point, you might have a few ideas or too many ideas for your first course, or maybe you feel stuck because you don’t have any ideas that feel like they could be “the one.”
No matter where you are right now, the following creative strategies will help you choose the perfect topic for your program.
Before we jump into these strategies, there’s one concept you need to understand that will help you narrow down your topic quickly.
Your goal is to find the sweet spot: the intersection between your skills and know-how, a struggle or challenge your audience is facing (and will gladly pay for the solution), and a topic that truly lights you up.
Let’s Break This Down:
01 – Your Skills and Know-How
02- Your Audience’s Struggles and Challenges
03 – Your Profit Potential
01- Your Skills and Know-How:
This is the time to leverage your know-how, core competencies, background, and experience. We all have skills, so try to include YOUR SKILL in the business you are creating, how do YOU best add value?
As you think about this, it’s important to remember where you were before when you knew this skill of yours, which you are really great at.
It’s those areas that seem “too simple” and are second nature to you, but remember that is what your audience is looking for.
They’re looking to you for a simple step-by-step framework to get them from point A to point B, as fast as possible. Here’s the good news: you don’t have to be the foremost expert in your field, or have all the answers; you just need to be a few steps ahead of your audience.
02- Your Audience’s Struggles and Challenges:
Your ideal customer is going to buy from you when you offer a solution to a current struggle or desire that is important enough to them that they’re willing to put some money in the game to see results.
Always remember, people won’t pay for just any content; it has to be something that makes life easier and provides them with a shortcut or a true transformation.
You must have a clear idea of what your ideal customer considers a “nice to have” solution, as opposed to a “must-have” solution. The two best ways I’ve discovered to understand my audience’s struggles and challenges are by directly asking them and being a good listener (whether in-person or online).
03- Your Profit Potential:
A shortcut to find out if your program topic would be one that your ideal customer would purchase is to see what type of content, products, or services they already consider valuable enough to pay for.
Do they buy books, coaching, software, or apps on the topic? Search Amazon for books on your niche; which are the most popular, have the best reviews? Pay attention to what people are raving about on social media.
Let me give you an example:
I have a client, Julia. She is an expert in keeping the house organized. Every time she cleaned her cupboard or kitchen shelves, she would share it on Instagram stories. Casually, just how we all do to interact with our followers by showing them our life and some behind the scenes.
But with exactly that, her audience started to ask her questions about organizing shelves, what boxes she used, what mats she used, etc. Overtime the time she realized that this is a pain point for her audience that she is an expert in.
She created a 6-week program where she teaches her audience how to create more space in your home and be more organized with house arrangements.
She now has a profitable business that makes her consistent $30,000 per month, and often more.
Here are some strategies to choose the Perfect Program Topic:
A. THE “MAGIC WAND” QUESTION
A great way to get valuable feedback from your audience is to ask a question about something they struggle with or the desired result they would like to have. A fun and effective way to do this is by posing a “Magic Wand” question.
It looks something like this:
“If you could wave a magic wand and make your biggest (insert your niche here) challenge disappear, what would it be?”
So if your niche was weight loss coaching, the question could look like one of these:
“If you could wave a magic wand and be able to lose 10 pounds this month, what would that change in your life immediately?”
“If you could wave a magic wand and eliminate your biggest struggle around your attempts to lose weight, what would that be?”
The beauty of asking these types of questions is that when your ideal customer responds, you not only get great intel (in their own words!) on a course topic idea, but you can begin a conversation with them. This is your opportunity to build relationships, so whether you get one answer back or multiple answers, make sure to respond to each one.
HOW TO PUT THIS INTO ACTION?
In the next 48 hours, I want you to post on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram and ask your followers a variation (use my wording or your own) of the “Magic Wand” question. This one question can help you learn so much about where your audience is struggling the most, so pay close attention.
B. THE CROWD SOURCING EXPERIMENT
Create a simple poll on social media with your top three ideas to choose from. Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter all have easy polls to set up.
When you include your audience right from the start, they will become a part of your course creation journey. When they feel like they are a part of your journey, they’re more likely to buy when you’re ready to launch.
C. EXAMINE YOUR OWN TRANSFORMATION
A powerful way to come up with a course topic is to look at your own transformation in an area that was a painful struggle or a great desire for you at one point. Your ideal customer might be you, just a few years ago; and a framework to help your ideal customer get similar results to yours may be exactly what the target customer want and need.
There’s something about sharing your personal story of transformation with your audience, a story that is inspiring and makes the results they aspire feel doable.
Positioning yourself as the guide to a transformation your ideal customer wants and that you have personally experienced really allows you to put yourself in your students’ shoes, which is always a good thing.
HOW TO PUT THIS INTO ACTION?
Think about how you’ve overcome obstacles and struggles in all areas of your life. Also, consider the desires you had just a few years ago—we’ve all had goals, dreams, and things we wanted to happen in our lives, and so we got to work and made it happen.
Ask yourself, HOW did I make it happen?What did I do to get what I wanted? Your course topic just might be waiting in your answers to these simple questions!
Decision #2 : HOW WILL YOU PRICE YOUR PROGRAM?
You can decide the price of your program based on your program type.
The Two Types of Program: The Beginner’s Program and The Signature Program
I. Beginner’s Program: is the jumping-off point, where you help your students get started in your area of expertise. Your training will give them just enough information and support to help them begin moving forward. Think of it as your way to help them kick start their momentum.
With a Beginner’s Program, you’ll help your students produce small but valuable results that can lead to bigger results if they keep going. This type of program does not have a broad outlining but is really focused on a very niche topic.
For Example My client Em, she has a beginner’s program which teaches her students how to build an email list. Focusing on just one aspect of the business. This type of program range from anywhere between $500 to $1500 depending on the depth of training you are providing.
Ideally, if your program is under 3 weeks, it’s up to $500. If the program goes to 4 to 6 weeks, it goes from $1000 to $1500.
But note that, The pricing I’m giving you is of 1:1 or group coaching, which means that you hop on a call – audio/video with your students and give them live training of your program.
II. The Signature Program: A Signature Program is a complete, comprehensive system. It’s the most in-depth program. It is specific, detailed, and includes the entire framework (from start to finish) that leads to a total, often expansive transformation.
Signature program Example: My program, The Coach Lab, teaches the entire system, from start to finish, on how to create and launch a digital program.
The promise is a profitable digital program that you can promote again and again to see consistent revenue in your business. It includes everything to finding your niche, structuring your offer, building your email list, putting in high converting sales funnels, and selling.
My promise with The Coach lab is that you will learn how to generate consistent sales in your new business and sign more clients. You will learn my signature system to get more clients which is an absolutely transforming journey for everyone who enrolls in this program.
This type of program range from anywhere between $1500 to $20,000 depending on the depth of training you are providing.
Decision #3: WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO NAME YOUR PROGRAM?
Once you’ve chosen a name for your program, something starts to shift. Your whole digital program and the online business journey becomes more real, and things begin moving forward quickly. It’s magical.
But here’s an important thing to note – YOUR PROGRAM NAME positions you an expert and plays a vital role in positioning your offer and your program as an irresistible one. A program to which your ideal clients just can’t say “NO”.
The name of your program has the power to create a life-changing impact on your business and the people you serve.
Therefore, I have created a free guide for you, giving you 7 Points to remember while you are choosing your program’s name.
I’m also giving you a LIST OF 40+ POWER WORDS to help you choose the perfect course name for your business and your ideal customer avatar, experiment with a few of these course naming power words.
Struggling To Sell Your Program?
There are 90% chances that you haven’t positioned your offer as a go-to offer in your industry.
Did you know that name of your program itself describes if it’s an irresistible offer or not.
You got to make your program irresistible to get
BOOKED OUT 100%.
Grab this guide where I show you 7-points you need to consider while choosing a name for your program and a list of 40+ Power Words help you choose the perfect program name for your business
Position your program as high-ticket offer GIVE ME THE GUIDE
SAKSHI DHAMIJA
Creator of The Coach Lab
Known for : The Get More Client Method | www.sakshidhamija.com
P.S: Whenever you’re ready, here are four ways I can help you…
1. Work privately with me and my team to help you grow your online business : I help female entrepreneurs get clients quickly & consistently.
If you would like more details on how we can get you making money ASAP, message me here with the word “CLIENTS” and I’m will hook you up with the details.
2. Learn from me on Instagram.
I have a TON of helpful content daily showing you how to get clients online. Not only that, but I also share the REAL behind-the-scenes of running a successful online business. Let’s be IG besties.
3. Book an absolutely 30 minutes free strategy session with me to get my insights on your business and help you scale your business faster : BOOK A CALL
4. Join our free community of successful entrepreneurs.
I’ve created a supportive & inclusive Facebook Group of hundreds of awesome women. In the group, we all get together and brainstorm strategies to grow our businesses and support each other in this entrepreneurial journey! Come join us here!