The Art of Online Course Creation | Helping Experts Build Impactful Courses That Get Real Results

Reorganized your course outline three times? Keep adding lessons because your students "might need it"? In this episode, Shannon Boyer explains why spinning in circles on your course is not a discipline problem -  it's a boundaries problem.

Drawing on her 25+ years as a curriculum designer, Shannon shares what professional course designers do before they build anything: set the parameters. You'll learn why expertise itself is what makes an unbounded course impossible to finish, the three questions that give your course edges, and the simple test that reveals whether your answers are real parameters or just hopes.

In this episode, you'll hear about:

- Why capable experts are the most likely to get stuck spinning, and why it's not their fault
- What course parameters are, and how they turn week-long content decisions into five-second ones
- The "who is this for" answer that feels specific but isn't (and the test that exposes it)
- The overlooked third question that quietly doubles the size of your course

A one-page exercise to try this week before you build anything else

Ready to set your parameters properly? Download the free Course Clarity Blueprint - the first exercise Shannon gives every paying client. It walks you through answering all three questions before you design, create, or sell your course.

Get started on your course creation journey in the Course and Community Build Lab, Shannon's interactive and supportive online community. 

Get started on your own course creation journey or learn how to make your existing course even better at The "Your Best Course" Build Lab, my interactive and supportive online community.

To get started creating your own online course, check out my new freebie that will take you through the steps of choosing a topic that will be profitable for YOU.

To book a call to discuss your options and see if working together makes sense.  Click here. 😊

What if the thing missing from your course launch isn't another email sequence but something your student can hold in their hands? 

In this episode, Shannon sits down with merch strategist Barbara Hobart, whose accidental invention of the world's first no-rewire decorative light switch cover (yes, really) launched a career that's since taken her from Hollywood writers' rooms to helping course creators, coaches, and membership owners turn branded products into real business tools.

Barbara breaks down why "merch" doesn't mean cheap pens and mugs from a trade show tote bag — it means a physical brand touchpoint that welcomes new clients, reinforces your method, rewards milestones, and keeps your name on someone's desk long after your last email got buried in their inbox. If you've ever wondered whether a $27 course or a $3,000 program actually needs merch, whether international shipping kills the idea before it starts, or how to ask for a student's mailing address without it feeling weird — this conversation covers it.

Whether your course is a standalone business or a small offer inside something bigger, this episode will change how you think about the physical side of your brand.

What You'll Learn in This Episode

• Why "merch" isn't a category of objects — it's a strategy, and how that shift changes what you create
• The real business problems merch solves that most course creators don't realize are merch problems
• Whether your price point should actually change what kind of merch you send (a $27 course vs. a $3,000 cohort program)
• How to ask a student or client for their mailing address without it feeling awkward
• Why physical products can outlast and out-remember a digital lead magnet or PDF

About Barbara Hobart

Barbara Hobart spent 25 years as a television writer and producer in Hollywood before an accident with a can of sponge paint led her to invent the world's first decorative light switch plate cover that required no rewiring — launching a product company in England before she even knew the term "injection molding." Today, Barbara helps course creators, coaches, and businesses of every budget turn branded merchandise into strategic brand assets, guiding clients from concept through sourcing, production, and delivery.

Connect with Barbara

• Website: barbarahobart.com
• Skool Community: Get Your Merch Made
• Complimentary 15-minute discovery call
• Barbara on LinkedIn

Get started on your own course creation journey or learn how to make your existing course even better at The "Your Best Course" Build Lab, my interactive and supportive online community.

To get started creating your own online course, check out my new freebie that will take you through the steps of choosing a topic that will be profitable for YOU.

To book a call to discuss your options and see if working together makes sense.  Click here. 😊

There's a survey sitting in a draft folder right now that could tell someone exactly whether their course idea has legs. It's written. It's ready. And it's been sitting there for weeks because hitting send feels terrifying.

If that's ever been you, this episode is for you.

In this one, Shannon steps away from strategy and into the thing that actually decides whether your course ever sees the light of day: fear. The judgment, the criticism, the plain vulnerability of putting your work (and yourself) out into the online world. It's the reason so many capable, genuinely expert people freeze at the exact moment they need to be seen.

Here's the part almost nobody tells you: not all of that fear means the same thing. There are two very different kinds, they come from two very different places, and if you treat them the same way, you'll stay stuck. One kind you push through. The other you should actually listen to — because it's trying to tell you something. Shannon shares the single question that reveals which one you're feeling, and how to keep moving forward without pretending the fear isn't there.

In this episode, you'll get clarity on:

• Why the smartest, most qualified creators freeze right before they launch
• The two hidden shapes this fear takes — and why they call for opposite responses
• The one question that tells you whether to push through or pause
• How to keep moving when being seen feels scary, without faking your way past it

If you've ever caught yourself thinking "it's ready, I just haven't sent it yet," press play. You're not broken, and you're closer than you think.

Get started on your own course creation journey or learn how to make your existing course even better at The "Your Best Course" Build Lab, my interactive and supportive online community.

To get started creating your own online course, check out my new freebie that will take you through the steps of choosing a topic that will be profitable for YOU.

To book a call to discuss your options and see if working together makes sense.  Click here. 😊

You were told you could just record a live session, chop it into pieces, and sell it as a course. It's faster. It's efficient. You get two things out of one effort. So why does the finished "course" feel flat — and why do your students quietly stop showing up?

In this episode, Shannon breaks down one of the most misunderstood decisions in online course creation: live vs. prerecorded. They're not two versions of the same thing. They're two different formats, built for two different purposes — and when you treat them as interchangeable, your students feel the difference before you do.

But there's a second layer here that most creators never consider, and it might change how you build your next course entirely: what if teaching live on purpose is the smartest way to create your best prerecorded course? Shannon shares the exact question a client brought to a recent coaching call — and the shift that turned a "good enough" membership into something far stronger.

In this episode, you'll get clarity on:

• Why a recorded live session isn't actually a course (and what your students sense that you don't)
• The real structural difference between live and prerecorded teaching
• How to decide which format your content actually needs
• The counterintuitive way to use live teaching to build a dramatically better prerecorded course

If you've ever been talked into "just repurposing" your live workshop, masterclass, or program into a course because it's easier, this is the more honest — and more effective — way to think about it.

Press play, and rethink what you thought you knew about building a course your students actually finish.

Free Resource to Get Your Course Started With Purpose: Course Clarity Blueprint

Get started on your own course creation journey or learn how to make your existing course even better at The "Your Best Course" Build Lab, my interactive and supportive online community.

To get started creating your own online course, check out my new freebie that will take you through the steps of choosing a topic that will be profitable for YOU.

To book a call to discuss your options and see if working together makes sense.  Click here. 😊

Think LinkedIn is just for job hunters and corporate types? Think again. In this episode, I sit down with Sam Rathling, the queen of LinkedIn, to break down exactly how course creators can use the platform to build visibility, establish authority, and sell more courses without ever feeling salesy.

Sam joined LinkedIn in 2005 and used it to land clients like Amazon before becoming a full-time LinkedIn expert. Today she helps businesses of all sizes turn the platform into a client-generating machine, and in this conversation, she makes the case for why course creators can't afford to ignore it.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Who LinkedIn is really for (hint: with 1.3 billion users, your audience is probably there)
• Why your profile (not your content) is the first thing to fix, and how to make it convert like a mini landing page
• Connections vs. followers explained, and why second-degree connections are where your next client is hiding
• What social selling actually means, and why pitching in the DMs is the fastest way to fail
• How LinkedIn's new AI algorithm (360 Brew) changed the game, and why smaller accounts are now getting more reach than big ones
• What to post: carousels, video, storytelling, polls, and why your comments might get more impressions than your posts
• The one metric to track (your SSI score), what it measures, and how to raise it in 90 days
• Sam's exact 20-minutes-a-day LinkedIn routine for busy course creators

Memorable moments:

• Sam's VA had just 20 connections when a single post reached 250,000 impressions - proof you don't need a big following to make an impact
• Only about 5% of LinkedIn's 1.3 billion users post consistently, which means the field is wide open for course creators
• "You're not going to go from being connected to someone today to selling them a course tomorrow." The nurture-first approach that actually works

Resources mentioned:

• Sam's free community (100+ videos, weekly masterclasses, her best-selling book)
• LinkedIn SSI score checker
• Sam's LinkedIn tracking sheet (available in her free community)
• Sam on LinkedIn

Get started on your own course creation journey or learn how to make your existing course even better at The "Your Best Course" Build Lab, my interactive and supportive online community.

To get started creating your own online course, check out my new freebie that will take you through the steps of choosing a topic that will be profitable for YOU.

To book a call to discuss your options and see if working together makes sense.  Click here. 😊

Online summits can do far more than grow your email list. Done well, they can help you build authority, create meaningful collaborations, and give potential clients a firsthand experience of your expertise.

In this episode, Shannon speaks with intuitive business coach and experienced summit host Katya McEwen about what makes a summit valuable for the host, the speakers, and the audience. Katya shares what she has learned from organizing large online events, how speakers can stand out without over promoting themselves, and why the strongest summits focus on connection rather than information overload.

They also discuss how to find speaking opportunities, what hosts are really looking for, and the planning decisions that can make or break the experience.

Listen to learn how online summits can become a powerful part of your audience-building strategy, even if you are not ready to host one yourself.

Katya's Skool Community - click here

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Freebie: $8K experiment: How I Generated $8580 on Skool in six weeks 

Get started on your own course creation journey or learn how to make your existing course even better at The "Your Best Course" Build Lab, my interactive and supportive online community.

To get started creating your own online course, check out my new freebie that will take you through the steps of choosing a topic that will be profitable for YOU.

To book a call to discuss your options and see if working together makes sense.  Click here. 😊

Why do so many teachers, former teachers, and education specialists still seek support when creating an online course?

At first, it might seem surprising. After all, if anyone knows how to teach, it should be a teacher. But in this episode, Shannon explores why people with teaching backgrounds often understand something the online course world tends to overlook: good teaching, strong curriculum, and effective online course design are not the same thing.

A course is not just a collection of lessons. It is not simply your expertise divided into modules. And it is definitely not just content placed on a platform.

In this episode, Shannon unpacks the difference between sharing information and designing a learning experience someone can actually move through. She also shares why thoughtful course creators often feel stuck, not because they lack expertise, but because they can sense their course needs a clearer path, stronger structure, and more intentional decisions behind it.

If course creation has felt harder than expected, this episode will help you see that the issue may not be overthinking. It may be that you care about creating something that works.

Before you outline, record, or sell your course, download Shannon’s free Course Clarity Blueprint. This resource walks you through the three decisions every course creator needs to make before designing their course, so you can stop building from the middle and start with the clarity your course actually needs.

Download the Course Clarity Blueprint HERE.

Get started on your own course creation journey or learn how to make your existing course even better at The "Your Best Course" Build Lab, my interactive and supportive online community.

To get started creating your own online course, check out my new freebie that will take you through the steps of choosing a topic that will be profitable for YOU.

To book a call to discuss your options and see if working together makes sense.  Click here. 😊

Podcast guesting can be one of the most strategic ways for online course creators to grow their visibility, build authority, and get in front of the right people without relying only on social media or paid ads.

In this episode of The ART of Online Course Creation, I’m joined by Alex Sanfilippo, founder of PodMatch and a leading voice in the independent podcasting space, to talk about how course creators can use podcast guesting as a relationship-driven marketing strategy.

If you’ve ever thought, “I’m not famous enough to be a guest on someone’s podcast,” this conversation will shift how you think about it.

Alex breaks down why podcast guesting is not reserved for celebrities, authors, or people with massive audiences. Instead, it can be one of the most accessible ways to borrow someone else’s audience, build trust faster, and share your expertise in a setting where listeners are already paying attention.

We talk about what makes podcasting different from other visibility strategies, why the right podcast appearance can create a powerful sense of borrowed credibility, and how to choose shows that actually align with your course, your audience, and your business goals.

Alex also shares practical advice on how to pitch yourself in a way that feels human, respectful, and relevant, without sounding like every other generic pitch sitting in a podcast host’s inbox. He gives a clear framework for reaching out to hosts, preparing for an interview, showing up as a strong guest, and creating a call to action that feels like a natural next step rather than a forced sales pitch.

This episode is especially valuable if you want to grow your authority, reach new potential students, and market your online course in a way that feels generous, relational, and grounded in real value.

Alex Sanfilippo is a podcaster and the founder of PodMatch.com, a platform that automatically matches podcast hosts and guests for interviews. Through PodMatch and his podcast titled Podcasting Made Simple, Alex helps independent podcasters grow their influence and revenue so they can better serve their listeners!

Freebie: www.podmatch.com/free

Get started on your own course creation journey or learn how to make your existing course even better at The "Your Best Course" Build Lab, my interactive and supportive online community.

To get started creating your own online course, check out my new freebie that will take you through the steps of choosing a topic that will be profitable for YOU.

To book a call to discuss your options and see if working together makes sense.  Click here. 😊

Your customers are already learning about your product, service, method, or brand — the question is whether you are intentionally shaping that learning experience or leaving it to chance.

In this episode of The ART of Online Course Creation, Shannon Boyer expands on a presentation she recently gave at H&H Americas and explores why customer education is much more than support content, tutorials, or social media marketing. When designed strategically, education can become a powerful part of the customer experience, helping businesses build authority, improve retention, deepen loyalty, and create more meaningful connections with the people they serve.

Shannon shares why tutorials may solve immediate problems, but learning pathways build long-term confidence, capability, and trust. Whether you sell a physical product, digital product, service, membership, software, creative tool, or body of expertise, this episode will help you think differently about how education supports your customers after the sale — and why that matters for the growth of your business.

Get started on your own course creation journey or learn how to make your existing course even better at The "Your Best Course" Build Lab, my interactive and supportive online community.

To get started creating your own online course, check out my new freebie that will take you through the steps of choosing a topic that will be profitable for YOU.

To book a call to discuss your options and see if working together makes sense.  Click here. 😊

What makes an online course feel clear, easy to follow, and worth completing?

It is not just the amount of information inside it.

In this episode of The ART of Online Course Creation, Shannon explores why many well-intentioned course creators accidentally make their courses harder to learn from by adding too much content, too many options, and too much explanation without enough structure.

You will hear why cognitive load matters in online course design, how confusion quietly leads students to disengage, and why strong teaching often looks deceptively simple from the outside.

This episode is for course creators who want their students to move through their course with more clarity, confidence, and momentum, without dumbing down the material or stripping away its value.

Inside this episode, you will hear about:

•  Why “more content” does not always create a better course 
•  How cognitive load affects student learning and follow-through 
•  The difference between deep learning and unnecessary mental strain 
•  Why students need a clear learning path, not just access to your expertise 
•  The invisible structure that makes good teaching feel simple 

If you want to create an online course that does more than deliver information, this episode will help you think more carefully about the clarity, structure, and learner experience behind your content.

Get started on your own course creation journey or learn how to make your existing course even better at The "Your Best Course" Build Lab, my interactive and supportive online community.

To get started creating your own online course, check out my new freebie that will take you through the steps of choosing a topic that will be profitable for YOU.

To book a call to discuss your options and see if working together makes sense.  Click here. 😊