To sell an online course or leveraged offer, you need people to sell to.

[Read the full blog post here].

The problem? 

Those looking to build an online course business from scratch usually fall into one of two camps. 

1) They are existing content creators looking to leverage their extensive audiences by building a course based business around it; or

2) They are service providers seeking to take their skillset and build something more leveraged from it. 

My experience is that usually? 

In both cases, the founder hasn’t started or prioritised email list growth, and they are either starting from scratch or they are starting with a small email list that they haven’t nurtured. 

So, how do you start and build an email list so that you are able to successfully sell an online course, group coaching program or membership? 

Here’s two things to keep in mind first and foremost: 

Firstly, quality matters much more than quantity. 

The secret? A super aligned email list, and high quality nurture of the people on it. 

Alignment comes from making sure that the lead magnet you offer to people in exchange for their email address is very closely aligned to the topic of your core offer. 

High quality nurture means that your lead magnet is more than just a PDF. 

People need several touchpoints with you (the number is up for date, but it has increased with time – last time, it was around 17) before they are ready to buy from you. 

And secondly, your email list growth should be done WHILST you are building your business. 

It’s common to spend months and years spinning your wheels trying to hit a magical number BEFORE you start selling, but actually? 

The act of starting your course business and launching will be the thing that grows your list as you go. 

For both of those reasons, the strategy I recommend for people that want to build a successful course business in 2024 is to start by creating a mini-course and delivering it live over four or so weeks. 

Read more about it in my blogpost.

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