Create a Better Course

Do you love an honest look behind the scenes? That's exactly what this year in review is. I'm really excited about today's episode because I'm sharing the highs (and lows) of 2023. I'm sharing what worked well in my life and business, as well as things that did not work. I'm also going to be sharing how much money I made this year, the best investments I made this year, and the WORST investments I made this year. My goal was to have this episode be candid and unscripted, just like friends chatting over coffee. If that's what you're into, take a listen! Episode Highlights:

• How much money I made in 2023
• The best things that happened in my life and business this year
• The challenges I faced this year
• My best investments and what felt like a waste of money
• A sneak peek at some of the things I'm planning for 2024!

Links Mentioned:

• Read the full show notes and blog post at https://marakucirek.com/30
• Tune into Episode 2 to Hear Exactly How My Business Make Money: https://marakucirek.com/how-my-business-makes-money/
• Read my 2022 Year in Review to compare this year vs. last year: https://marakucirek.com/my-year-in-review-2022/
• Try out the Template Club Canva Templates: https://marakucirek.com/your-social-team-templates
• Sign up for Liz Wilcox's Email Marketing Membership: https://marakucirek.com/liz
• Connect with Mara on Instagram: https://instagram.com/mara

Who else loves productivity tips and weekly planning? In this week's episode, I'm sharing all about how I plan my week (and how you can plan your week) to maximize productivity and efficiency while minimizing stress, because like you, I don't like feeling stressed out and overwhelmed every week!

I'm going to walk you through my weekly planning routine (that I do every single week to make sure my week runs smoothly!) to make sure I accomplish as much as possible in the hours I have.

Episode Highlights:

• Exactly how I plan my week each week to maximize productivity
• My favorite planning tools (planners, calendars and project management tools)
• Why I don't plan my week on Sunday and what I do instead
• How I use the Bullet Journal method to stay on top of all of my work
• The methods my husband and I use to stay on top of chores, parenting and more!

Links Mentioned:

• Get the full show notes and read the blog post at https://marakucirek.com/29
• Sign up for Asana: https://marakucirek.com/asana
• Dynalist: https://marakucirek.com/dynalist
• My favorite planner, the full focus planner: https://marakucirek.com/fullfocus
• Connect with Mara on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marakucirek/

Let's get a little bit controversial. Over the last 5 years, I've worked on over 150 online courses and in that time I've learned a lot about what I think works and doesn't work so today we're exploring 4 of my most unpopular opinions about the online course world.

Episode Highlights:

• My honest opinions on what makes a good teacher in an online course
• Why course software doesn't matter nearly as much as you think it does
• The #1 thing most course creators skip
• My least favorite way to record lessons

Links Mentioned:

• Read the full show notes and blog post: https://marakucirek.com/28
• Connect with Mara on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marakucirek/
• Take my free quiz to uncover the right online course software: https://marakucirek.com/quiz
• Blog post: How to Choose the Best Online Course Creation Platform for Your Business: https://marakucirek.com/online-course-creation-platform/
• Blog post: 5 Big Course Creation Mistakes Holding You Back from Making More Sales: https://marakucirek.com/course-creation-mistakes/

Confession time: I am a HUGE procrastinator. Most people don't know this about me, since on the surface it can seem like I have everything figured out in my business, but I've battled procrastination for years and worked to find the right strategies that help me overcome procrastination.

In this episode I share eight of my biggest hacks to overcome procrastination and be more productive. Episode Highlights

• Why I sometimes give into procrastination and how it can help
• How to use your friends as accountability buddies
• My hack for never starting tasks from scratch
• How I make work more fun
• My secret youtube hack for being more productive

Links Mentioned

• Read the full show notes and blog post at: https://marakucirek.com/27
• Follow Mara on Instagram: https://marakucirek.com/instagram
• My favorite planner: https://marakucirek.com/fullfocus
• My favorite Planner: Full Focus
• Ambient worlds Youtube channel to help with focus: https://www.youtube.com/@AmbientWorlds

Online courses and money - if you're in the online or digital marketing world you may have wondered if it's truly possible to make money from an online course. Today I'm breaking down how much money course creators earn, the different income levels, and the results you can expect to see when you launch an online course.

Episode Highlights:

• The different types of money course creators make
• Why income varies and what you should focus on to make more
• Reasons people sometimes don't make any money with their online course and how to fix it

Links Mentioned:

• Read the full show notes and blog post: https://marakucirek.com/26
• Connect with Mara on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marakucirek/
• Listen to episode 4: How to Choose the Best Online Course Creation Software: https://marakucirek.com/online-course-creation-platform/
• Listen to episode 23: 5 Reasons No One is Buying Your Online Course
• Take my free quiz to find your perfect online course software: https://marakucirek.com/course-creation-platform-quiz

Making six figures is one of THE big goals everyone wants to hit in online business, and getting there feels pretty dang incredible (though it's not all sunshine and rainbows all the time)! Today I'm sharing the biggest things that helped me grow and sustain my business at the six-figure mark.

Episode Highlights:

• A full recap of starting my business, how much money I make and how long it took to get to six figures
• How I got my very first clients
• Time management strategies that helped me grow my income
• Turning my business into a referral machine so past clients referred me instead of having to spend a lot of time on marketing
• Why focusing on your money mindset is KEY to growing a business
• How to spend less money in your business so you can make MORE

Links Mentioned:

• Read the full blog post and show notes at: https://marakucirek.com/25
• Profit First: https://marakucirek.com/profitfirst
• Blog Post: 5 Time Management Tools that Help Me Find More Time & Energy to Pursue My Goals: https://marakucirek.com/time-management-tools/

Looking to get more testimonials for your online course? Brittany Herzberg is here to make it easier to gather customer testimonials and turn them into case studies that people love to read. If you've ever wanted to get more testimonials for your products or you're feeling unsure of what to do with the current testimonials that you have this episode is for you!

Episode Highlights

• The differences between testimonials and case studies
• Simple ways to gather testimonials from your clients
• Questions you can ask to get great testimonials
• How to use case studies in your marketing
• Gathering testimonials for a brand new course

Links Mentioned

• Get the full show notes and read the blog post that goes along with this episode: https://marakucirek.com/24
• Visit Brittany's website: https://brittanyherzberg.com/
• Follow Brittany on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brittany_herzberg/
• Download the Profitable Case Study Roadmap: https://brittanyherzberg.com/case-study-roadmap
• Listen and subscribe to the Smart and Simple SEO podcast: https://brittanyherzberg.com/seo-podcast

The economy is super weird right now. I know personally I have been extra stressed out about money and it's something a lot of business owners are feeling right now too.

I've had a lot of people ask me if online courses aren't worth selling right now and if people just aren't buying right now. The answer is people are STILL buying, but their purchasing habits have changed. If you're seeing a dip in sales it's probably time to rethink your strategy and change up some of your offers.

This episode is all about how to pivot your strategy and make sure you have an online course or digital product that people actually want to buy!

Episode Highlights

• How customer shopping habits have changed with the economy
• If it's worth your time to sell an online course right now (spoiler alert YES!)
• Common tech issues that keep people from buying
• How you might be confusing your customers with inconsistent language and long sales pages
• How to grow your email list and launch to NEW people
• Why your course might be boring and how to fix it

Links Mentioned

• Get the full show notes and read the blog post that goes along with this episode: https://marakucirek.com/23
• Connect with Mara on Instagram: https://instagram.com/marakucirek
• Listen to "Episode 3: 5 Big Course Creation Mistakes Holding You Back from Making More Sales: https://marakucirek.com/3"
• Listen to "Episode 21: Mastering the Art of Sales Page Copywriting: Tips and Tricks for Converting Visitors into Customers with Emily Conley" to learn how to write better sales pages: https://marakucirek.com/21

In this episode, I sat down with one of the few people who was there alllll the way at the beginning of my business... Before there even really was a business! Meg Smidt of Your Coach Meg has worked with so many different business owners, moms, and creatives from every industry and niche, and she's here to share some of her wisdom and experience on achieving your goals and creating a strong lifetime vision. Episode Highlights:

• My coaching experience with Meg
• How we worked together to set my lifetime vision
• Practical life goals planning tips from Meg
• How to find your core values
• Aligning your life with what matters to you most
• When it's time to hire a coach

Links Mentioned:

• Get the full show notes and read the blog post that goes along with this episode: https://marakucirek.com/22
• Meg's website: https://www.yourcoachmeg.com/
• Follow Meg on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yourcoachmeg/
• Shop Meg's store "Less Bitter, More Glitter": https://lessbittermoreglitter.shop
• Check out Meg's "Business as Unusual" Mastermind: https://www.yourcoachmeg.com/business-as-unusual-mastermind-waitlist

Sales page copy can be one of the most frustrating and overwhelming parts of online course creation. Today I'm chatting with Emily Conley, an incredible copywriter and business friend who knows the ins and outs of writing a sales page that leaves people clicking that "buy" button!

Episode Highlights:

• The biggest mistakes business owners and course creators make on their sales pages
• Tips for DIY copy
• Finding your brand voice
• Brand voice vs. your personal voice
• Writing a sales page that converts
• Writing killer headlines
• How to use and edit testimonials for your sales page

Links Mentioned:

• Get the show notes and the blog post that goes along with this episode: https://marakucirek.com/21
• Visit Emily's website: https://emilywriteswell.com/
• Connect with Emily on Instagram: https://instagram.com/emilywriteswell
• Emily's course, The Copy Party: https://emilywriteswell.com/the-copy-party
• Download one of Emily's free resources: https://emilywriteswell.com/resources