#218: 7 Steps to Pre-Selling Your Course

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:

1. 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.
2. 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)