Are you a course creator or have a book that could become a course?
Here is a comprehensive publishing and marketing proposal to consider.
Executive Summary
This course creation and marketing approach is the Publishing Sales Machine starting with an online course or membership program.
The ideal subject for instruction is something you have good experience and you know that people are asking for insights you can provide.
Do you have a good idea of who the audience is?
Who is your ideal student? Your Ideal Client Avatar?
What are the most important things for them to know?
What problem does your program solve?
Design your course modules to create success for your students, and your course will have an audience—pure gold.
Often, less is more. Let’s focus on the essentials first and expand over time.
Publishing and Marketing Design Goals
- Create something that provides transformation or success for people or businesses.
- Begin the marketing and sales process early.
- Leverage posting, video, and presentations to get the word out and attract sales.
- Leverage the content with book and audio versions. A print book can have a link and a discount coupon for your multimedia course.
Online Course or Membership?
Is your course material something simple that can be done without any interaction with you or your team. Then a one-time payment or installments would work for the course.
Is the content something that could grow over time?
If your teaching includes a live component, such as teaching and discussion sessions, a membership model may work better for you and your students.
You would charge a monthly subscription and build out the course over time. Start with at least module one complete and in place.
A program with a live group coaching component will be perceived as being more valuable than a self-paced course alone.
One approach is to teach the content live and put the recordings and supporting materials in the membership portal.
Even modest monthly subscriptions can seem more affordable to students and generate more revenue over time than one-time payments.
Sales Landing Page
This will be the main place for people to learn about your program and sign up.
All marketing efforts will provide a link to this page.
The main comments of the sales page include:
- An overview of the program.
- An introductory video.
- The transformation and benefits if the course.
- An introduction to you and why you are the best person to teach the program.
- Testimonials.
- A description of how the program will be delivered once they join.
- A button to join the program.
- A button to download a free guide on the topic and join a mailing list (for people not ready to join yet).
- (optional) A button to discuss with you.
I use a hybrid of WordPress and Kartra to create the landing page with email and sales elements.
Online Profiles
It is essential that your website and all of your online profiles describe what you do attractively, with links to your sales landing page.
Bonnie Dixon is very good at tuning your online presence and will help if you work with me.
Leveraging Your Content for Magnetic Marketing
Everything you teach could be the subject for posts. You can teach something from your course in share everywhere to make you the dominant presence when people search for your topic.
Here are some places to consider:
- LinkedIn Newsletter articles
- Substack
- Alignable
- YouTube
- TicToc
- Syndicated podcasts for Apple, Amazon, iHeartRadio, Spotify, etc.
- …
Posts can be text only, text and splash images, video, and video with text.
Note: It is the text people find when searching, so please include appropriate phrases your ideal client could be searching for.
Tools like MeetEdgar can help put out to many channels at once.
We can help you with that.
Speak to Sell Presentation
A sales presentation you can use in person or online can be pure gold.
I will help you craft a presentation that you can use to get on podcasts, present at events, present to organizations, use in webinars, and more.
A concise version of your talk could be the main selling feature on your landing page.
Video for Training and Marketing
YouTube, especially, is a place where people search to learn how to do stuff.
Some of the video that you create for your course can go on YouTube. LinkedIn, and other platforms to give people a sample of how you can help them.
Each video post will include a call to dive deeper with you and a link to your landing page.
I use StreamYard to create training modules with an option to stream to YouTube and social media destinations.
The Book Connection
If you come to me with a non-fiction book, I will ask if the content could be taught in a program.
Your course content can also be published as a book.
Here are some reasons to create a companion book for your program.
- Help more people have success.
- Reach a different audience.
- Use as a lead magnet.
- Open doors to be a guest on podcasts and events.
- Another reason to do publicity and marketing campaigns.
- More sales revenue.
- The book can promote the program with a link to the sales page with a discount coupon.
My Special Offer
My publishing and marketing retainer includes:
- A Project Folder for content and planning assets.
- A platform for landing pages and blogging. I use a hybrid of WordPress and Kartra.
- Help with planning and creating the course content.
- Craft video introductions and course content.
- Help create a one-to-many presentation designed to make sales.
- Creating the program with all of the sales components.
- A marketing campaign, including copywriting and image assets.
- Help create a companion book and lead magnets.
- Ongoing marketing support.
There is an initial charge, plus a monthly retainer that can be cancelled at any time. The intention is to create, promote and sell your golden content continuously over time.
