Introduction
Ever had that brilliant course idea pop into your head, the one that keeps you up at night with excitement? You envision sold-out launches, rave reviews, and a thriving community of students. But then… silence. You start to wonder, “Is this really something people want?”
I’ve been there. In fact, I once spent months building a course that I thought was a guaranteed hit, only to launch it to crickets.
It was a painful lesson, but it taught me something invaluable: Validation is the key.
And no, I’m not talking about asking your mom or your best friend if they think your idea is “cool.” I’m talking about a systematic, data-driven approach to validating your course idea before you invest countless hours and resources into building it. Because let’s face it, guessing is a risky business.
When it comes to validation we have to slow down to speed up and give ourselves the best chance at hearing those Stripe notifications chime on our phone when we go live.
The Importance of Validation
We all have that inner voice, that creative spark that ignites a passion project. But passion alone doesn’t guarantee a profitable course. Without validation, you’re essentially building a house on a foundation of sand. Even the slightest bit of wind can lead to a crumbling house when it isn’t built on a strong foundation.
That course I built that I launched to crickets? I was so convinced it was a winning idea. I spent hours crafting the perfect curriculum, designing beautiful slides, and recording engaging videos. I created email welcome sequences, planned out call times and days, integrated AddEvent into my course, built and delivered a webinar, and promoted it all, but I never stopped to ask my ideal audience if it was something they actually wanted. I knew they needed it and I had seen countless examples of that need, but I was so focused on creating that I forgot to listen.
What happens without validation?
- Wasted Time and Resources: Building a course that no one wants is a massive waste of time, money, and energy. You’ll end up with a product that sits on a virtual shelf, collecting dust.
- Emotional Rollercoaster: Launching a course that flops can be like riding a rollercoaster that flings you around and leaves you with whiplash as you exit. And in the case of launching a course to crickets, it isn’t just that whiplash, it is the self doubt that creeps in and that feeling that we might never crack the code.
- Missed Opportunities: By building the wrong course, we are also missing out on the opportunity to create a course that truly resonates with our audience and makes a real impact.
I do not want this to happen to you. It is why I include an entire section on my Course Creation Checklist about validating a course idea. It is why I have a full process in the Map My Course workbook for clients. This is not a nice to have, it is a must have if you want to set yourself up for the best possible chance of success.
Three Strategies for Validating Your Course Idea
Strategy 1: Tap into Industry Insights
Our industry peers are a wonderful wealth of information. Just like us, they are in the thick of what we are doing and can see the challenges, the things that are working, and the trends that are having an impact.
After my first course flopped, I decided to do things differently. I reached out to several colleagues and asked them about the biggest challenges they were seeing their clients face. I didn’t pitch my course idea; I simply asked questions. And what I learned shifted my thinking and my product ideas.
The truth here is that it is really uncomfortable to let go of what feels like your best ideas and be open to something that you would never have thought of. At least, it was for me as a recovering perfectionist.
So, how do you tap into the awesome brains of colleagues? In one word, intentionally. But if you want more than one word, let’s talk through the process.
First up,
- Network Purposefully: Attend industry events, join online communities, and schedule one-on-one conversations with people in your field. And if you need some pointers on networking, you can grab my networking handbook at https://digitalcourse.pro/networking
Next,
- Ask Open-Ended Questions: Don’t just ask, “Do you think this course idea is good?” Instead, ask, “What are the biggest gaps you see in our industry?” or “What are the most common challenges your clients face?” When we just provide our course ideas to colleagues, we are creating a closed question and a closed loop of thinking. By providing a possible answer and directing the thought process with our idea, we might lose out on something that is spectacular.
Finally, remember to always
- Listen Actively: Pay close attention to the responses you receive. Look for patterns and common themes. This will give you valuable insights into the needs of your target audience. It is easy to listen to just the tidbits that confirm what we already think. This is called confirmation bias. To avoid confirmation bias we have to take great care in making sure that we don’t have an opinion on what we hear. Our job is to simply be a sponge. Gather information and then we can sort it all out later.
By working with our colleagues to uncover and address problems and challenges, we are much more likely to create courses that are well-received. But this is just part of the process, we want to pair this with Strategy 2, which is to do a deep dive with our ideal clients and course students.
Strategy 2: Dive Deep with Your Idea Client
Our ideal client is another, and arguably best, source of information. They know firsthand what challenges they’re facing and what solutions they’re seeking.
Once I had a better understanding of the industry as a whole and not just my little viewpoint, I started talking to my ideal clients. I didn’t tell them about my course idea because, again, I didn’t want to get their biased or narrowed ideas. Instead, I asked them about their biggest frustrations, their goals, and their ultimate wishes in their business. I wanted to understand their world from their perspective.
Now this is something that takes time, but the best information is often gotten from:
- Conducting One-on-One Interviews: Schedule phone calls or video chats with potential students. Ask them about their challenges, their goals, and their current solutions.
Throughout this process, be sure that you are:
- Asking Open-Ended Questions: Avoid leading questions that suggest a specific answer. Instead, ask questions that encourage them to share their experiences and perspectives. For example, you might ask what is keeping them up at night in relation to your area of expertise. If you and I were talking, I might ask what is causing you the biggest hiccup in getting your course finished and ready to launch. I might also ask you what you’ve spent the most time on in the course creation process and what has gone the easiest for you.
As we ask open questions, the goal is to:
- Listen More Than You Talk: Our goal is to learn from our ideal client, not to sell them on your course idea or steer the conversation into what we want to hear. The easiest way to do this is to focus on listening actively and taking notes. While asking questions, we can prepare a few ahead of time using starters like, who, what, when, where, why, and how. All of these can lead to powerful open-ended questions that result in more than a yes or no response. Then as you listen you can ask follow-up questions that take the answer even deeper.
When we go into these conversations, much like the networking conversations, with an open mind and the goal to be unbiased in our questions and listening we end up with information that not only helps us to choose a course that will sell and be helpful, but we will also get marketing ideas and exact words to include as we talk about our course. Nothing, and I do mean nothing, is more powerful than capturing those actual words!
With all of this information from Strategy 1, talking with our colleagues, and Strategy 2, talking with potential course students, we can jump into Strategy 3, running a pilot or test program, with confidence.
Strategy 3: Run a Pilot Program
The pilot program is the ultimate test of our course ideas, but so many people skip over it in favor of just taking action. Now if you know anything about me, you know that I love taking action and I encourage you to take action each week, but there are times when we have to adjust the action we are taking to have long-term benefits. This is one of those times.
Having a pilot program allows us to experiment, get feedback, and refine our content and approach before launching to a wider audience. The truth is that we can be too close to our method and approach that we are teaching to see the holes that we take for granted because so much is automatic.
Based on the insights I gathered from my colleagues and ideal clients, I created a smaller pilot program. I offered it at a discounted price to a select group of people, and I was shocked by the response. The feedback I received was invaluable, and it helped me to create a much better program for my clients that was so different from what I imagined.
If pilot programs are new to you, let me quickly run through how they work.
- Offer a Limited-Time Opportunity: We can create a sense of urgency by offering the pilot program at a discounted price for a limited time. This means that the risk for our students is lower due to the lower price point and makes it an easier “yes”.
- Gather Feedback Regularly: As we are teaching our course content, we get to ask for feedback each step of the way. In fact, part of the marketing for the pilot program is that we are offering it at such a low price because we are going to be asking for feedback and our students will have the chance to shape the course that others will go through. We can get feedback in a lot of different ways. We can use surveys, questionnaires, and even one-on-one conversations to gather insights.
- Iterate and Improve: Then, as we get feedback we can use it to refine your course content, delivery, and marketing. The beauty is that we can gather feedback each week and make real time adjustments to the course, add in examples, provide additional resources, schedule another call to answer questions and work through something that is particularly tricky for our students. We aren’t stuck with anything because we started the pilot process with iteration at the forefront.
This iterative process helps us to create a much stronger course or program that we ever can create inside the vacuum of our brain. We are better able to identify challenges and account for them. We create better marketing because we’ve have in-depth conversations with our students. And we can generate more change because the course we’ve created is simply stronger.
Action Item
When we take all three strategies together we are in a great place to validate our course ideas and minimize the risk of crickets at launch. But, these strategies only work if they are implemented. This week, I challenge you to take one step towards validating your course idea.
I know it can be tempting to jump right into building your course. But trust me, taking the time to validate your idea will save you a lot of time and heartache in the long run.
Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Reach out to at least three people in your industry and ask them about the challenges they’re seeing.
- Schedule one-on-one interviews with at least two of your ideal clients.
- Brainstorm ideas for a small pilot program.
Once you’ve chosen which action to take, let me know. And if you are feeling stuck, let me know that too so that we can find the next right step for you to take. Send me a DM on Facebook or Instagram at DigitalCourseCreatorGuide.
I’ve Been Thinking About This…
Now, here’s something I’ve been thinking about. Often, pilot programs sell well, even if the topic is only somewhat desirable. This is because we’re likely selling to people who already know and trust us. It is ok for the course topic to be a little off because we’ve already earned their trust and they want to offer support and get a great price on our course.
I want to remind you of this because second, third, and fourth launches can be a little harder. I want to encourage you to keep going. Don’t get discouraged if your next round of sales to a colder audience is more challenging. Remember, each time you sell your course, you’re reaching a slightly less warm audience. THey might require a little more of our time to build trust and help them see that we can help them. The world, rightfully so, is skeptical right now and we have to be prepared for that in our subsequent launches. It might also mean that we still need some tweaks to our course topic or marketing materials.
Both of these reasons are why consistent nurturing of your list and being active in your community is crucial. Show up regularly, provide value, and build relationships.
Where to Go Next?
Validating your course idea before you build is the key to creating a profitable and impactful online course. By tapping into industry insights, diving deep with your ideal client, and running a pilot program, you can ensure that you’re building a course that people actually want.
As you think about the strategies that I talked about today and are ready to dig in further, check out Episode 211 with Tracy Beavers as she shares how to build your visibility without paid ads. The ideas that she discusses will help you with Strategies 1 AND 2.
And if you want to make the most of the free and paid groups that you are in on social media as you contemplate validating your course idea, check out Episode 205.
As always, thank you so much for listening in. If you found this episode helpful, please share with your entrepreneur friends and colleagues who are building a digital course in their business and be sure to subscribe to the Digital Course Creator Podcast wherever you are watching or listening to this episode.
Until next time, happy creating!
