It’s New Year’s Eve! I don’t know about you, but I’m super-excited about what’s ahead in the coming year. Chatting with Daria V (successful course creator, speaker, and expert on using LinkedIn in sales funnels) on today’s episode has given me some great ideas that I think will resonate with many other course creators, too. "Create the community… Many times we want to jump right into sales, but it can’t be done if people don’t trust you yet." - Daria V. Daria shared a wealth of insight during ou...
Dec 31, 2018•31 min
2018 is almost at an end, but I’m here with another episode of The Online Course Guy! This time around I had the pleasure of speaking with Karen Campbell, an online course enthusiast who’s taken what she’s learned over the years to create her own successful art courses. Karen’s entering a new phase of her business strategy, so it was really neat to catch a glimpse of what that looks like and what she’s planning. "Record everything and figure out how to edit it later." - Karen Campbell I really e...
Dec 24, 2018•29 min
I’m back with another episode of The Online Course Guy podcast! It was such a pleasure to chat with Kate Bee of The Sober School, and we got to cover some of my favorite topics on building an online course business. "Just doing it is probably the best thing, because you aren’t going to figure anything out just by thinking about it." – Kate Bee I really enjoyed speaking with Kate about what course creation and running an online business looks like for her. I hope you like what you hear! In This E...
Dec 17, 2018•39 min
All the way back on episode 29, I interviewed Helena Lui about how she had quit her job after developing her online course. Since then, she’s multiplied her income many, many times over with her course business. I had to have her back on to hear how her business has grown and what has or hasn’t changed for her over this past year. "Scale with ads. Keep at it. Be persistent with your goal. Every day try something new." -Helena Lui Helena and I delved into some very important insights on all thing...
Nov 19, 2018•43 min
Buckle up for another episode of The Online Course Guy – this time covering some topics that I’ve never discussed on my podcast before. Gina Horkey joined me recently for a fascinating discussion on the ups and downs of running an online course business. As a successful course creator, Gina has a wealth of ideas and perspective that is super-relevant to this industry "It’s not all about being the seller [or] all about being the buyer. It’s a relationship." -Gina Horkey It was awesome to hear Gin...
Nov 12, 2018•52 min
I’m back with another interview episode, this time with Heather Jones, a.k.a. The Brain Trainer. Heather’s built quite a following on Instagram and is teaching her students how to lose weight and much more. Like all the best teachers, she’s teaching topics she cares about and is enjoying sharing knowledge that she’s already applied in her own life. "We get stuck in “It’s not going be good enough, who am I to do this, I don’t have all the certificates, I’m not an expert.”… But there’s going to be...
Nov 05, 2018•29 min
I’m back with a brand new episode of The Online Course Guy! Paul Lipsky has had a whirlwind of a year with his course on drop-shipping: with no formal launch strategy, he’s still managed to enroll 1,000+ students since January! It was so cool to hear what he has learned along the way and about the new era he’s entering into as a business owner. "Create a way to connect with people… and do that before you ever try to sell them anything." - Paul Lipsky We covered a lot of ground in a relatively sh...
Oct 29, 2018•27 min
Welcome to another episode of The Online Course Guy! Today’s episode is the first of its kind, because I’m not only speaking with course creator – I’m letting you in on a coaching call. Now, that doesn’t mean my guest is an online course newbie. Quite the opposite: Jason Dion has already done over 6 figures in course sales so far. But he’s been looking to transition from Udemy to his own domain, and that’s what our conversation centered around. In This Episode, We Talked About: (2:57) Why Jason ...
Oct 03, 2018•35 min
Today’s guest is one-half of Social Brand School and an expert on building traffic and sales through Instagram. It was great to speak with Julie Cabezas and learn how she and her business partner have been able to create a successful online course in their niche of expertise. "You want to make the course simple and actionable, to drive a specific result… A course that delivers on its promise is going to be successful." - Julie Cabezas Julie shared some awesome tips not only about course creation...
Oct 01, 2018•35 min
On this short and sweet solo episode, I’m here to tell you about mastermind groups and why I am such a big fan of these types of groups. Not only that, I’ll tell you how to join a mastermind if you haven’t already (something which I used to be quite confused about myself). Enjoy! In This Episode, We Talked About: (1:54) What is a mastermind, anyway? (3:29) How to get involved in masterminds if you’ve never been in one before (4:53) The different masterminds I’m in today and how they motivate me ...
Sep 28, 2018•10 min
Welcome to the box! (Once you play the audio you’ll know what I mean.) Today’s episode is one of two that I’m recording as I do a whole bunch of online course brainstorming with some other awesome course creators. Lots of cool stuff is in the works, and for now I’m excited to share how I outsource course creation on today’s solo episode. Enjoy! In This Episode, We Talked About: (2:10) My experience with outsourcing entire courses so far (4:13) How a poll of my existing students led me to my thir...
Sep 26, 2018•17 min
Just about a year ago, fellow course creators Tim Geiss and Nate Dodson were on the podcast with me talking about a book I just finished: Profit First by Mike Michalowicz. It sparked a great discussion about handling some very important aspects of having your own business, and since I’ve now been using the profit first system for a year, I wanted to revisit this topic with you. "Sales are a vanity metric. They don’t mean anything unless you put them into context." -Tom Geiss As evidenced by my c...
Sep 24, 2018•1 hr 2 min
Welcome back to another episode of The Online Course Guy podcast! My guest today has over 20 courses – and I’ve even taken one of them. Scott Duffy is all over Udemy and his name has come up time and time again in the Facebook mastermind groups I’m a part of. So it was only natural that I’d want to have him on my podcast. The conversation that followed covered a lot of ground and it was great to hear Scott’s advice for course creators. "What is that these people are trying to become?… There is r...
Sep 21, 2018•45 min
If you’ve listened in one other TOCG episodes, you already know that a question I almost always ask during interviews is related to how different online course creators would handle getting started today if they didn’t already have a successful brand and business. I think this is a great experiment to work through not only for those of us who already have courses, but for new course creators to hear our thought process. "What kind of people do you help or want to help… and how are you going to h...
Sep 19, 2018•24 min
ClickFunnels – you’ve probably heard of this tool before if you’ve started or are interested in starting an online business. I am a huge fan of ClickFunnels, and I use it for both my piano course and here at The Online Course Guy. There are some big pros and cons that come into play with this popular marketing funnel tool, so get ready to hear what I love (and don’t love) about it! One more thing: this episode is not sponsored by ClickFunnels. So what you’re getting here is my unbiased opinion. ...
Sep 17, 2018•19 min
Continuing with the theme of peeking behind the scenes of my online course, today I’m sharing my recent chat with Caleb Ulku of Ulku Logistics, someone who’s been really helpful to my business on the SEO side of things. This episode went a bit long, simply because we covered so many relevant points when it comes to this important topic! "If your domain is less than 3-6 months old, it’s extremely hard to rank [high in Google search results]. As soon as you have a brand name, buy a domain and thro...
Sep 14, 2018•52 min
Today’s episode is quite different from those I’ve done before, but I think you’re going to find it helpful nonetheless! One of the questions I hear the most is about how I outsource a lot of my online course business emails, social comments, and more. So for this episode I’ve brought on Emily, a part-time contractor who’s been working for me on these and other kind of tasks for over a year now. "Clearly outline your expectations and provide a vision of what you think [the work] will look like l...
Sep 12, 2018•34 min
I’m back with another piano-related episode, this time with Tim Topham! Tim’s focused on the piano teacher niche, a departure from the other piano course creators I’ve spoken with so far. We had a great conversation that you’re sure to benefit from if you’re a new or aspiring course creator yourself. "Get yourself out there. If I’m going to follow you [online], I want to see your picture and know more about you." -Tim Topham Tim shared some great perspectives on creating online communities, buil...
Sep 10, 2018•38 min
Not too long ago I had the pleasure of having Arantxa Mateo come on the show to discuss her online course business. There are a lot of weight loss plans and diets out there, but she has a different approach to the concept of weight management. Arantxa is very invested in her students’ success, and it was great to speak with her about her online course. Along the way, we chatted about some challenges specific to her niche and some advice that will be useful no matter what you plan to teach in you...
Sep 07, 2018•29 min
Welcome to another TOCG episode! Today I’m here with me, myself, and I, because I wanted to take some time to walk you through a topic that comes up a lot when I coach new course creators. That topic is traffic: why you absolutely need to find ways to drive traffic to your course and how to make that happen. "Stay consistent." -Jacques Hopkins There are three main paths to build traffic that I’m covering in this episode, and as you listen through I want to you to choose just one to start with – ...
Sep 05, 2018•25 min
Happy Monday! I had a really interesting chat with Kerstin Cable recently, and I’m glad you’re here to listen in! Kerstin is a polyglot and online course creator who has a very unique main course – plus some more traditional ones as well. We talked about her rationale behind the language-learning approach she teaches, and what she shared gave me a lot of food for thought. "Make [your course] about half the size you think it should be." -Kerstin Cable I’m still mulling over what Kerstin shared in...
Sep 03, 2018•40 min
Recently I had the pleasure of speaking with Millette Jones: coach, speaker, and online course creator. As someone with plenty of experience on both sides of the podcast mic, Millette was able to share some great tips not only her course covering podcast guesting, but also sharing practical ways that anyone can get started pitching podcasters. "If you’re just getting started, remember that you’re always an expert on your own story… Share your story and that will bring value to your audience." -M...
Aug 31, 2018•35 min
What if you could start an online course with zero competition in your niche? That’s what Dr. Greg Bottaro has done, and it was so cool to speak with him and hear all about it. He also offered some great insights into starting online courses and how to find the niche that fits you best. "Find out how your passion and interests meets other people’s needs… Figure out what your experience and expertise can do to help the world." -Dr. Greg Bottaro It was great to get Dr. Greg’s perspective on what h...
Aug 29, 2018•33 min
Neil Napier was my guest for today’s episode, and having him on was definitely inspiring! He’s course creator whose mission is to help online entrepreneurs gain confidence and make sales, one tangible goal at a time. He’s also the co-founder of Kyvio, a tool for online entrepreneurs and course creators. "Simply get things done as best as you can, put it out live, and get some feedback [to] see what people think about it." -Neil Napier Neil has some great info and tips to share, especially for pe...
Aug 27, 2018•27 min
For today’s episode I brought on Marisa Meddin, a former marketer and e-commerce entrepreneur who’s now focused on her online course business teaching parents how to prep their children for college. We had a great chat and talked about a topic I haven’t really covered much in other interviews, so I hope you enjoy listening in! "Think about what you want your life to look like and work backwards from there." -Marisa Meddin I know I came away from our talk with lots of food for thought, and I thin...
Aug 24, 2018•41 min
Recently I had the chance to talk with Instagram influencer and online course creator Elise Darma. She had plenty of great tips not only for Instagram but for how to develop a personal brand and create a community around the knowledge we course creators are trying to share. "If you’re starting from absolute scratch, build your community first." -Elise Darma I’m still mulling over what I learned in today’s episode, and I think you’ll enjoy what you learn, too. Enjoy! In This Episode, We Talked Ab...
Aug 22, 2018•48 min
Today’s interview was jam-packed with inspiration, so I’m glad you’re here! Mike Goncalves is a life coach, podcaster, and successful course creator who is all about helping people live their best life. He’s learned some fascinating lessons while growing his business, and shared a lot of insight that any new course creators can learn from. "Create something even if you think it’s ugly and dumb and no one’s going to buy it. Create it anyway, and put it out there." -Mike Goncalves I really appreci...
Aug 20, 2018•36 min
If the title of today’s episode has you worried, join the club! When I was researching my guest Mark Lassoff and his online courses, I came across a popular article he wrote last year that could seem pretty controversial for those of us who are online course creators. Fortunately, I had the chance to chat with him and hear firsthand more of his perspective on how to provide great content and succeed in the online course space. "You have to differentiate yourself through your personality, through...
Aug 17, 2018•24 min
One of the things I love about doing this podcast has been learning from fellow course creators – some of whom are teaching topics that are super-different that mine and some who are actually my competitors. Recently I had the pleasure of speaking with Zach Evans, a fellow course creator focusing on teaching piano online. Hearing where our businesses are similar and different provided some interesting food for thought. "Here’s a video. Watch the video, do exactly what I say, and see if it works....
Aug 15, 2018•26 min
Happy Monday! Continuing on the recent theme of online courses with a musical emphasis, my guest today is David Walliman, guitarist and course creator. But that’s not to say that only the musically-inclined will benefit from what he had to share – on this episode he shared how he’s created a highly successful YouTube funnel, with some great ideas for any course creator no matter what your topic of choice is. "The more specific you are with your audience, the less competition there is and the bet...
Aug 13, 2018•43 min
