Online Marketing Made Easy with Amy Porterfield

#218: 7 Steps to Pre-Selling Your Course

07.05.2018 - By Amy PorterfieldPlay

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play

As an entrepreneur, your business is constantly changing—that’s the beauty of being an entrepreneur. 

And here’s the thing: YOU change too. You change your mind about things you used to be adamant about.

I’ve experienced this myself. For example, when it came to creating courses, five years ago I would have said: Concentrate on building your course, don’t worry about the selling.

But since then I have had a change of heart.

I’ve watched my students inside of my training program Courses That Convert, and I’ve seen a need that I did not see years ago. That need is around launching their course before they have 100% completed it.

Now I talk about the benefits of pre-selling your course, or selling it in advance of the course being done, then delivering your content each week via a LIVE workshop to a group of founding members who have already paid.

So this episode is going to walk you through the exact steps that go into pre-selling a course. I am going to walk you through the pieces you’ll need to make your offer, get your first students through the door, and deliver your content.

There are a few reasons I like this strategy:

#1: Pre-selling is a big validator of your course idea.

#2: Pre-selling helps you build confidence about your training. Nothing builds confidence more than getting a few PAYING students through the door.

#3: Pre-selling helps with cash flow! I know that building a course and getting your online course up and running can sometimes be a bit of a pinch on your finances. That’s why pre-selling is great—to bring in a bit of money to help you pay for some of those expenses.

#4: Pre-selling helps you build momentum and accountability. By selling before your content has been created, you have no choice but to deliver! This helps you avoid the “it’s been a year and my course is still languishing” syndrome!

#5: Lastly, you get immediate feedback from actual students when you pre-sell. Since it’s more of a live interaction, you can tweak your content based on the feedback before you launch again.

By the way, this episode was brought to you by Courses that Convert…I teach a much more robust version of this process in that course, with step-by-step plans and templates. Learn more by attending my free masterclass “How to Confidently Create Your First Profitable Course in 60 Days.”

So if you’re as excited as I am about pre-selling your course, here are seven steps to get you started.

The 7 Steps to Pre-Selling Your Course

Step 1: Determine Your Course Offer

Step 2: Set Up Your Early Interest Page.

Step 3: Create Your 30-Day Content Blitz

Step 4: Set Up Your Checkout Page

Step 5: Set Up Your Live Workshop Components

Step 6: Promote a 48-Hour Flash Sale Offer

Your 48-hour flash sale offer will include two emails:

The first is sent to your Early Interest list and informs them of your limited time offer, what’s included in the program, the number of spots available, and a link to your checkout page.

Your second email gives them one more chance to sign up.

In this step, you also have the option to include a webinar training as part of your pre-sell strategy.

Step 7: Deliver Your Content

Links mentioned in this episode:

SamCart 90-Day Trial

LeadPages Pro Trial

Kajabi Free Trial

Course Creation Resources:

Episode #49: How to Know if Your Idea is ProfitableEpisode #107: How Do I Price My Online Course?Episode #133: How to Get Unstuck in Your Course Creation ProcessEpisode #206: The Post-It Content Creation Mini Training

Webinar Resources:

Episode #130: How to Sell on a Webinar (Without Being Overly Salesy)Episode #145: 13 Questions to Nail Down Your Winning Webinar Topic and TitleEpisode #211: 5 Things I Said Yes to In The Early Years (But Say No to Now)

More episodes from Online Marketing Made Easy with Amy Porterfield