Sooo… I was chatting with some fab-preneur friends a couple months back, and we were setting goals for ourselves. And one friend said:
What’s it on?
Making videos for your biz and gettin’ comfy on-camera, naturally. 😉
Fun stuff!
AND
Since I’m in the midst of the creation phase, I thought it would be handy to share a bit about what I’m learning along the way. So let’s dive in, shall we?
NUMBER ONE – RESEARCH
Yep, it ain’t sexy, but I’ve found that taking the guess work out of deciding what to teach to be invaluable. You want to start off by finding out what people want to learn from you. And some great ways of doing this include getting into some social media groups where your tribe hangs out… and listening.
Start paying attention to the questions that people are asking in the arena of your field.
Write that stuff down. It’s gold!
NUMBER TWO – IDENTIFY YOUR EXCUSES
For this one, you’ve got to take a hard look at your reasons why you haven’t officially started creating the course.
See if any of these sound familiar:
- I don’t know how to make the media stuff for the course (videos, audio, PDFs, etc).
- I don’t know what to teach.
- I don’t have the time.
- No one will buy it.
- I can’t afford to build a fancy course website.
- I don’t know where to start.
- There are already courses like it out there.
For me, I didn’t think I was ready in my biz infrastructure and I felt overwhelmed by all the do to’s on the list that is course creation.
NUMBER THREE – TAKE ACTION TO ALLEVIATE YOUR EXCUSES
I ended up hiring a VA team to come on board and help take away the tasks and clutter that was making the course feel like a giant mountain. And wow, did it ever free up space in my mind to be able to focus on what I do best, which is the creative, visual planning side of building content.
So here are some suggestions of ways you can take some pressure off and get rid of the excuses:
- Meditate, exercise, have fun! No really, it makes all the difference.
- Set a launch date (yes I have one marked in my calendar)!
- Decide what skills you Need to learn to make it happen and outsource the rest.
- Get clear on what kind of course is good enough to start with. Do you need all the bells and whistles now?
- Take a course on making courses, to delete some of your learning curve. (I took Creating Awesome Online Courses by David Siteman Garland – chock full of stuff you need to know)
- Get super clear on your goals with this course and the difference it will make in your life and in the lives of your tribe.
NUMBER FOUR – USE YOUR STRENGTHS
As I was working out the curriculum of the course, I started to feel a bit overwhelmed. Feeling like I was missing a piece.
Then I took a break and started working on the visual elements and branding of the course. And wow, did it ever open up the program and made it feel real to me.
I was using a strength, being a visual thinker. And doing design work opened up content/curriculum ideas. Now I do the two in tandem.
So if the way that you’re developing your course is feeling icky, mix it up and go with your strengths.
Another way to use your strengths is in figuring out the format of the course. Take a look at what you simply Rock. Ask these Q’s:
- Am I great with copy?
- Am I better in person?
- Do I love doing videos?
- Do I create great visuals?
- Do I work best with people over time or in quick bursts?
- How do I connect best with my tribe?
NUMBER FIVE – START NOW IN MANAGEABLE BITS
This may sound simplistic, but the best way to get s*%# done, is to roll up your sleeves and get to work.
Keep in mind that you don’t have to do everything at once. Take out a piece of paper and break down the course to-do list into different categories and then write down as many tasks as you can think of under each category.
Then accomplish your course goals one bit at a time.
#HAPPYDANCE!
Okie, that’s all she wrote for the goodies that I’m learning while making my first course.
Now I want to hear from YOU.
Join the convo below and tell me what’s been keeping you back from creating YOUR course.
And as always…
Dream up,
Sarah Michelle Brown
Your Virtual Video Director
