How to Build an Online Course (part 2)

🌲 You can always find today’s edition (and past ones) here

So you want to create an online course that builds brand awareness and passive income…

In last week’s edition, you learned about the benefits of creating an online course. You also learned a simple, proven method to help you build the right course.

If you just joined or missed it, catch up here.

Today, you’ll learn how to build your online course.

I’ve assembled a massive playbook for you. And I do mean, massive…

Today’s post is over 3,100 words and took me 20 hours to write. I hope you appreciate it!

📌 Speaking of which…

To continue creating these weekly playbooks and keep the newsletter free for you, I could use your help growing it.

Use this link to access your unique referral link.

When 10 people subscribe, you get a 1-on-1 coaching session with me. It’s my extra way of saying thanks.

Inside the referral link is suggested text you can use when sharing the newsletter.

I appreciate you.

Alright then, let’s dig in!

P.S. At the end, you’ll learn about something I’m launching to help take your online course to the next level.

What we’re not covering today

Let me give you an overview of what you’ll be learning today by clarifying what we will not be covering and will be covered in a future issue:

• Course naming

• Pricing strategy

• Marketing strategy

• Building courses with AI

• Course landing pages (previously covered in this post)

• Mini-courses / email courses

💡 If you’d like to bump the priority on any of these topics for a future issue, reply with your vote.

I’m also not covering course building blocks — the components that make up the foundation of your course’s learning materials, such as:

• Worksheets

• Templates

• Instructional videos

• Written guides

• Supporting resources

You can learn everything you need to about course building blocks in this playbook. It includes a breakdown on each one and how to create them, with tools and best practices.

What we ARE covering

Today, you’ll learn how to define, organize, and assemble your online course within one of the major online learning platforms, Podia.

Online learning platforms are nothing like their ancestral Learning Management Systems (LMS).

Today’s platforms are simple and intuitive to use. They’re also powerful, with comprehensive tools that us creators are using to host and sell our courses and digital products.

Good news: What you learn about using Podia can be repurposed within several competing learning platforms, such as Teachable, Thinkific, and Kajabi.

To make sure you leave today’s post feeling prepared to build your online course, we’ll tackle these 3 pillars:

1. Adding a new course

2. Building your course modules

3. Structuring your course back-end

1. Adding a new course

After signing up for your Podia account, first thing you’ll do is create a new product and choose Online course.

💡 Podia is a comprehensive creator platform. In addition to online courses, you can also sell digital downloads (e.g. templates), webinars, and coaching. You can also bundle several products together to sell at a packaged price.

A bit further down, I’ll show you how to up-sell products within Podia.

Now that you have your newly minted online course, it’s time to build out your course modules.

2. Building your course modules

Your course modules are like the chapters of a book. They organize your student’s learning experience, helping them progress in a set order; i.e. once they complete module 1, they’re ready for module 2.

How to use learning arcs to define your curriculum

As the person building the course, your job is to think about how best to break your course down into easy-to-consume chunks.

Why?

Think about a course you’ve taken that was one 3-hour long lesson. Ugh. Three hours?!

That feels like a lifetime. It also feels like a ton to cram into your brain.

But what if that 3-hour course was chunked down into a collection of 5-minute lessons?

Smaller lessons are easier to complete. You’re better able to absorb the necessary bits and pieces from each lesson, and move on.

As you do, you feel a growing sense of accomplishment, chipping through the content until you’ve completed the course.

As your course’s instructor, student course completion rate is your north star metric. It’s the source of truth to know that you’ve:

1. Delivered on your course’s promise

2. Created a simple and enjoyable learning experience

There’s one method I rely on to hit those 2 goals: Learning Arcs.