338: Why I Spent $10k To Create A Free Online Course

As clinicians and entrepreneurs, we are always looking to use our skills more creatively and expand our offerings and services. We recently released the STC Online Course Creator Kit, which is a 7-day free email course. In today’s session, I want to share the framework and strategies we used and explain why we are giving them away for free. Curious? Join us!Our Featured GuestDaniel BustamanteDaniel Bustamante is an entrepreneur who helps content creators build high-converting sales funnels. He is the Head of Ops and Automation at Ship 30 for 30, a cohort-based writing course that teaches the fundamentals of online writing. Daniel and I met on Twitter, and he is the one I turned to for this online course project. We explore how an email course differs from a traditional email opt-in, how to visualize the purpose of the course and give you a behind-the-scenes look at the creative process. We also highlight the tech used in the course creation, along with why I take the unpopular approach that it’s better to give our best stuff away for free. You’ll Learn:How an email course functions as a hybrid of an opt-in and a course to deliver a lead magnetHow an email course uses an automated drip sequenceWhen it makes sense to create an email courseHow an email course helps you build an email list and generate leadsHow Daniel uses a “boats and islands” metaphor to illustrate the power of lead magnets (What are your “boats and islands”?)How Daniel began the process to build STC’s free email course as a precursor to the STC MastermindHow to avoid a common trap for course creators and realize that what you are selling are outcomesHighlights of the tech tools we used in building our email course: Kartra, Survey Monkey, and CalendlyThe #1 mistake people make in creating free email coursesHow the email course is a logical, sequential roadmapWhat the numbers are showing about the success of the STC course: almost 300 subscribers, 52% opt-in rate, and 67% open rateResources:Daniel on TwitterDaniel's Free Email Course (5 Proven Marketing Frameworks To Help You Sell More Digital Products On Autopilot)We'd LOVE To Partner With You! Want to launch your online course?Please check out our free 7-Day Course Creator Starter Kit For Therapists: https://sellingthecouch.com/coursekit Looking to launch a successful podcast?Please check out our free "Using Podcasting To Grow Your Business" workshop for therapists:https://sellingthecouch.com/podcastingworkshopMentioned in this episode:Try Alma!Building and managing the practice you truly want can feel overwhelming. That’s why Alma is here—to help you create not just any practice, but your private practice. With Alma, you’ll get the tools and resources you need to navigate insurance with ease, connect with referrals that are the right fit for your style, and streamline those time-consuming administrative tasks. That means less time buried in the details and more time focused on delivering exceptional care to your clients. You support your clients. Alma supports you. Learn more at sellingthecouch.com/alma and get 2 months FREE—an exclusive offer for STC listeners.