[Making Of… #12] Big Decision

I’m at the stage now where the entire course is outlined and planned, in fine detail. I’m very happy with it indeed.

This week is a first for me—I’m quickly filming a dry run of all the ‘in-browser’ screen teaching, to iron out the inevitable kinks before going all-in with the full production.

‘Measure twice, cut once’ is a lesson I’ve learned the hard way.

And at the same time, me and the team are also planning and creating the specifics of the launch sequence. We have a launch date too!

I’ll share all the details of all this with you very soon.

But before that… let’s rewind.

I’ve shared a lot of the insights and decision-making process with you so far (catch the series start here).

But I realised, I haven’t told you about the most important decision I had to make.

It was a big decision right at the start of this whole process, a couple of months ago.

It’s a crucial decision that as an online course creator you must get ultra-clear on upfront.

And that decision is:

Should you use Screenflow or Camtasia to make the videos?

Heh heh. I’m joking, of course.

(Ok, I’m not funny, I know. My daughter is never slow to inform me of this fact.)

No, here’s what’s important:

Digital consultants and freelancers get into making online tech-related courses (on topics like web design, web dev, and web marketing) for various reasons.

Like, a desire to help others, or an attempt to step off the client-work hamster wheel, better leveraging their time, skills and expertise instead of always trading time for money.

But also, digital experts often want to teach online precisely because they’re expert in a particular area. They love their work and want to share that enthusiasm with everyone.

Can you relate?

And in this case, it’s tempting to want to make a course telling your students everything you know about your area of expertise.

You want to download your brain into theirs, transfer ALL your knowledge of the subject to them!

And plenty of people do make courses exactly like this. It’s the “Here’s Everything I Know About XYZ Topic” model of course creation.

And I absolutely get this.

Honestly, it’s one of the earliest reasons I decided to make a course on Webflow in the first place.

I had ZERO intention of making a course on Webflow. In fact, according to plans I made at the start of 2021, I’m supposed to be stuck into helping people make and sell online tech-courses right now!

But once I’d figured out how to use Webflow for my own projects and created my own methodology, I just couldn’t wait to share with everyone just how brilliant it is, and help people see what they’re missing.

But WOAH THERE!

Not so fast cowboy.

There are loads of generic courses out there, of the “How To Use XYZ Tool” variety. And there’s nothing wrong with that, as such.

But the problem is, generally speaking:

Generic courses are much harder for you to make.

They’re much harder to promote and sell.

And they’re far less likely to get results for your students.

Why is this?

Because they’re not specific enough.

Getting ultra-specific on 3 key big decisions right at the start of the process will make your course easier to create, easier to promote and sell, and more likely to get results and lead to success for your students.

Decisions worth getting clear on, you might say.

So next time, we’ll have a look at those 3 big decisions and how they’ve informed every step of the thinking, planning and structure of the new course.