Introduction
You are an expert in what you do, so why would you buy courses that are related to your course topic? There are 3 reasons you should be buying online courses as a Digital Course Creator.
The reality is that we all have our own perspectives, our own perspectives, and our own preferences, but our students might benefit from a wider range of approaches than we feel comfortable with.
This is where buying online courses can help immensely. Now, you don’t have to spend thousands of dollars checking out other courses, but you do need to include research and development in your business budget.
Without this line item in your business strategy and budget you will fall behind in what is working, and you might miss out on some really great approaches.
Today I’m going to highlight for you the 3 top reasons I still invest in courses as an expert in digital course creation and why you should do the same.
Taking Courses
Most of my listeners know that I’m a college professor with over 15 years of experience in designing and implementing digital courses. I’ve had the privilege of creating online certification programs for private sector organizations in addition to my normal college classes, and help clients to create their own online courses to build new revenue streams in their business models.
One would think that I wouldn’t still collect courses the way some people collect Lego sets. Well, actually, I also collect Lego sets, but you get the point. I am constantly on the lookout for new courses both in creating courses and in topics that interest me.
And today we are talking about the top 3 reasons I have a line item in my business R&D budget for this exact thing.
#1 Reason: We Get Stuck and Stale!
One of the biggest reasons that I buy courses and recommend that my clients also continue to buy courses and learn from others is that we get stuck and stale. Let’s face it, entrepreneurship is hard, it is tiring and if something feels comfortable we aren’t inclined to upset the apple cart.
You’ve created your course and then you start launching. You get into a cycle of launching and re-launching, maybe 3-4 times a year. But how often do you try out new things in your courses?
How often do you feel inspired to re-record a module differently or with a different outcome in mind?
Probably not very often because we get into a groove and if the course ain’t broke, don’t fix it as the saying goes. Right?
Wrong.
We need to get inspired and make adjustments long before our course is broken or stale. We need to make sure we are on the cutting edge of things. This doesn’t mean that you have to be an early adopter of tech, but it does mean that you have to try new things often.
Remember that course creation is an experiment. You have to test early and often to make adjustments.
Recently I was on a call with a fellow professor and I mentioned that I was testing out several new things in my courses to help students have better outcomes and retention. She wanted to hear more about it and why I was implementing what I was implementing. She was already thinking about what she might want to implement in her courses and what she could test.
With 15 years of offering this particular course, it would be easy to just sit back, put my feet up and relax, but that would not be serving my students.
It is our job as course creators to make sure we are consistently sharing new ways of thinking through the concepts that are at the heart and soul of our courses.
This is what sets us apart. We have to keep things simple but at the same time fresh.
It can feel pretty tiring, so when you are thinking about going through a course and implementing changes in your own course I would like to encourage you to choose something that fits your schedule. If you are tight on time, check out a short 1-2 hour workshop and see what inspiration you get.
If you are ready for a major overhaul, check out a lengthier course where you can find more things to inspire you in your overhaul.
There isn’t a right and wrong answer as to what to pursue and if you are looking for a resource on where to find resources that would be a good fit for your R&D budget, you’ll want to stick around for the Sixty-Second Solution at the end of today’s episode. I’ll share one of my favorite resources.
#2 Reason: New Ideas for Own Models
It is critical to take courses, just as we ask our course students to take our own courses.
One thing that comes up in the course of conversation is should we purchase our competitors’ courses.
And as course creators we sometimes shy away from buying our competitor’s courses. It feels strange and maybe a little like spying, but I’m still going to recommend that you do it at least once in awhile.
Why?
Because it might provide us with inspiration for updating our own models, spark ideas for new stories or examples.
Let me be very clear, I am NOT advocating that you steal any ideas. That is unethical and will earn my disdain every single time I hear of that.
I AM suggesting that you use the opportunity to really hear and think about your own content from a variety of perspectives. This will help you build a more complete experience for your students.
Let me give you an example. I teach General Psychology every year to almost 400 students. I’ve been doing this for over 15 years and there is a chapter that always trips up my students. As I was listening to the lectures in my own kiddo’s first college course I suddenly had new insights into how I was teaching a concept. I knew what adjustments I needed to make to the examples I was using. I didn’t take anything from that course, not even the brilliant, publicly available YouTube video on the concept. I DID use that inspiration to shift my model of teaching the concept and I’m testing it out this semester.
We need to learn and hear our competitors’ thoughts. We can find the pieces that are missing and be sure that we include them in our models and teachings. We can incorporate examples that are crystal clear where we see a potential for confusion. We can solidify our own models and the order we teach things in because we’ve seen it differently.
Are you seeing the power here?
I have a client who habitually purchases her competitors’ courses to learn from her. FInd the gaps and fill the gaps with her own teachings and offers.
Never once has she taken that person’s content and used it as her own. Think of it like ice cream after lunch that fills in the cracks.
#3 Reason: Empathy
Taking courses should be in every entrepreneur’s budget for R&D. Not only do we need to keep learning to stay ahead of the curve and be a true asset to our students, but for another often overlooked reason and that is empathy.
We are the experts in what we teach. It comes easily to us and that means we can forget what it feels like to be new at a course’s concepts and content and feel lost, bewildered, and overwhelmed. To feel like it will never be easy peasy.
When we take courses that get us outside our comfort zone or teach us something new, we can experience what our students are experiencing when they go through our course. You will be better able to understand their questions, their concerns, and their frustrations.
You will also be better able to anticipate those things and make adjustments in your course with the addition of resources, calls, or announcements.
So, while this is the third reason I’ve shared with you, it is one of the most important because when your students know that you are committed to understanding what they are experiencing you will create fans who will talk about you and your amazing course. They will become your evangelists and you will become a better course creator.
And if you are feeling that pressure building to find tiem in your busy schedule for learning and diving into new courses or you are wondering where you will find the budget for something like this, I’ve got you covered. We are going to talk about that in today’s Sixty-Second Solution, but first, let’s talk about how you can take action with these ideas.
Action Item
Learning is a lifelong endeavor. We’ve heard that time and again, but we don’t just have to relegate learning for the category of “for learning’s sake”. We can absolutely put learning to the test and use it as a way to better our businesses and our online courses. As a digital course creator, it is a non-negotiable that we are consistently learning and growing so that we can be of better service to our students through our offers.
That means that we have to take action. You know that I’m a stickler for not just listening to a podcast, but to implement what you’ve learned. My action item for you this week, then, is to choose one of the three reasons as your guiding force this month and find something you can learn. Choose a workshop or a course that fits your budget and time needs and jump in.
Sixty-Second Solution
And, as promised in today’s Sixty-Second Solution, let’s talk about where you can find courses and workshops that won’t break the bank and will help you make progress quickly. As a college professor, I’m constantly on the lookout for great resources, particularly resources that are a melting pot of resources all in one place. It cuts down on the amount of time I have to search and leaves me with more time to implement, to take action.
I also love an incredible deal and the resource I’m about to share with you checks all the boxes. You can find any number of opportunities to learn and each resource in this bag of tricks is less than $100.
You heard that right, no $2000 courses. Everything is under $100.
Ready for the details? Go to worldofshortcuts.com and check out all of the shortcuts and categories of information there. You will find templates, which can be great for getting ideas on course resources you might want to include and how to format them. You will find recorded workshops that will be instant access. No waiting to learn until a specific day and time when your child magically gets sick and so you miss it. You will find all sorts of learning opportunities.
Where to Go Next?
Now that you are thinking about learning, and really, what could be better. Yes, I know I’m biased. I love to learn and love to see others learning. There are worse things in life.
If you are ready to update your course or get started on your first course, check out Episode 175: 3 Critical Steps to Getting Started on Your First (or Next) Digital Course without Having to Backtrack. You’ll also want to check out Episode 174: How to Get Students to Finish Your Digital Course.
I’d love to hear from you as you start taking action and learning. Send me a DM on Instagram or Facebook at Digital Course Creator Guide.
Until next time, happy creating!
