5 Commonly Found Mistakes made by Course Creators and How to Overcome Them

Has it ever hit you why online courses lie at the extremes of the spectrum? - Some catch everyone’s eye and some launch to crickets…

There’s lots of effort and hard work that goes into creating an online course.

And all this doesn’t come naturally to everyone, as we’ve never done it before.

I am here to help you AVOID certain common MISTAKES.

You need not panic, EVERYONE makes mistakes. And mostly when everyone is starting off, the mistakes are also of a similar kind. You’re not alone :) 

Here are the mistakes that you should avoid:

#1 Not Validating your Course Idea

You’re in big trouble if you didn’t VALIDATE your course idea before creating it.

Your target audience will tell you what they need and what they don't want.

Get on calls with them to find out about their most pressing problem, and then design your course to provide a solution to that problem.

You need to understand their problem first, to devise a solution for it.

In the end, it’s THEIR need and THEY are the ones investing money in it. So their opinion matters.

You can’t just create a course based on your assumption that people need it. Analyze HOW MUCH they need it first.

I had to warn you against this big mistake because a research conducted by Fortune showed that 42% of the times a business fails because there wasn't that much NEED for it.

Remember, your audience’s insight is gold.

#2 Waiting Too Long To Launch

I know you’ve worked really hard to ensure your course is perfect. And now you’re waiting for “the perfect moment” to launch.

When you wait to make sure ALL IS PERFECT to launch, that can do more harm then good, as you might as well launch imperfectly, get feedback and improve your product and work on improving your 2nd launch. 

Don’t wait for the perfect moment, take the moment and make it perfect :) 

#3 Insufficient Promotion

Here’s one important piece of advice from my side- use ALL forms of content to promote your course.

Don’t miss any opportunity to get in front of them.

You should be seen EVERYWHERE. That is how you make sure you are on top of mind.

Make sure you show up using a mix of content types.

Cross-promoting across platforms will increase your visibility.

#4 Trying to do ALL by yourself/ Trying to Do EVERYTHING on your own

You can’t master everything. And if you try to do everything all by yourself, you’ll end up in a big mess where every task is half-done.

Planning, organizing resources, executing the plan, deciding course content, designing sales page, writing sales page copy, editing, finalizing… arrghhh

Are you telling me this is possible for ONE little human being? No way.

For once you can be Mr. know it all, but can’t be Mr. do it all…

So you must learn to delegate some work to dependable sources.

Hire an assistant for as little as 5 hours a week.

 #5 Inappropriate Pricing

There’s no right or wrong when we talk of pricing. 

Nevertheless, we should be mindful enough and not price our course too high or too low.

One must play safe and be somewhere in between…

The problem with a price too low is that obviously, you’re limiting your scope of making profits. And the other is that when your target audience spots a price that low, it gives them a feeling that the course may not be worth it, and is cheap.

And of course, if it’s too expensive, everyone will think a million times before investing in it. This will result in fewer sales.

If you ever realise later on that your course is priced too low, then you can increase a bit- but ensure that you also add some value to the existing course. 

There is no mantra on how you can avoid making these mistakes. In such an age where everything is technology-driven, do your bit and do proper in-depth research before you embark on this journey.

Be mindful of taking every step when you’re creating an online course, and you’ll be good.

Some things you’ll definitely learn through experience, and some you have learned through mine :) 

I can’t ensure that you don’t make these (I wish I could), but I sure can warn you against them.

There are innumerable mistakes that we can make in anything that we plan to do. The first experience is always more of a learning experience.

So don’t be hard on yourself at all.

Trust me, I know because I have helped many clients launch their online courses.

Know that I am always available in case you get stuck anywhere or have any queries :)

We can fix a strategy call and clarify all doubts!