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Six Tips And Three Easy Steps To Success In The Digital Landscape

This article is more than 3 years old.

Amy Porterfield is an online marketing expert and the host of the top-ranked podcast, Online Marketing Made Easy. Before building a multi-million-dollar digital course business, Amy worked with mega brands like Harley-Davidson and Peak Performance Coach, Tony Robbins, where she oversaw the content team and collaborated on ground-breaking online marketing campaigns. Through her bestselling courses and popular podcast, Amy’s action-by-action approach proves that even the newest online entrepreneurs can bypass the overwhelm, and generate exciting momentum as they build a business they love.

I had the opportunity to interview Amy recently. Here are some of the highlights of that interview:

Jill Griffin: What are your tips for transitioning to a digital landscape?

Amy Porterfield:

Tip One: Right now is the best time to do so! You can experiment. No one is looking for polished and perfectly executed videos. Businesses have a little wiggle room to ease into the online space. And, people are more patient and recognize we are all doing the best we can to serve our customers virtually.

Tip Two: Ask yourself, “Where have I gotten results for myself and where have I gotten results for somebody else?”

Tip Three: When your acquaintances ask you, “How did you do that?,” take note of your answer. That’s a surefire sign that you know something that others would pay to learn.

Griffin: What are the steps someone should take to create an online course for business?

Porterfield:

Step 1:  Understand who you want to serve: Identify your niche and identify your ideal customer.

 Step 2:  Create your content. You can record some short videos, do a Facebook Live, start posting on Instagram, etc. You want to start putting out free content. It allows you to start experimenting and seeing people’s responses to your ideas.

 Step 3: Ponder what customers ask you. They will inspire ideas for new content.

 

Griffin: Not everyone is used to being on camera. What are some tips for someone willing to create a course but nervous about it?

Porterfield: Know this: it’s always going to be awkward your first time on video.

Tip One: Look at your camera…. an instant connection with your audience. Putting a little post-it or a sticker at the top of your monitor is extremely helpful to draw your attention there.

Tip Two: Stand up Straight.. You will not only look better, but also breathe easier. This makes you come off as more natural.

Tip Three: Smile When You Speak. It makes you look more inviting and friendlier, allowing people to resonate with you.

 

Griffin: Explain how someone can launch one course “again and again?” 

Porterfield: I teach my students to create one signature digital course for their business. My students launch their webinars using social media and email marketing. They do one launch for 10 days to enroll students. After 10 days, enrollment is closed. This creates an urgency and scarcity for the course. People will sit on the fence forever procrastinating signing up, thinking they can join whenever they want.

From there, they deliver their course and help their students get results. Three to six months down the road, they launch again. The exact same course is launched with the exact same marketing. No need to reinvent the wheel. The only difference is making slight improvements with what you learned from the previous launch. You can change your messaging, improve on your webinars, change your emails around, but it's the same course that you're launching. You now have this really profitable asset that you can watch make money over and over again.

 

Griffin: What did your early career look like and when did you realize your sweet spot was online business?

Porterfield: Truthfully, I never thought online business was my sweet spot. I worked in corporate for 10 years. I’ve always had a boss. I was always creating for somebody else. It got to a point where I didn't want a boss anymore. I wanted to create for myself.

I started to watch what other people were doing online - creating courses and selling them. I knew I had a lot of knowledge around online marketing. So, I decided to branch out and do my own thing. Since I didn’t really know how to create a digital course in the beginning, my first two years of having an online business were dedicated to doing social media for other people. Finally, I was my own boss but still working to create for others. But I was good at it. It showed me I could create a course about online marketing and sell it.

The Moral to Porterfield’s Story? Identify a subject you love and follow her tips and steps to build an online course. It’s your time to bloom!

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