If you are a podcaster and a content creator, or maybe you think of yourself as a blogger or someone that's trying to figure out content marketing in whatever way, shape or form that works for you I have a really special treat for you today. Welcome back for another bonus episode that I could not wait to share with you. So I asked my friend and mentor, amy Porterfield, who was recently on a bonus episode of the podcast, to share a little bit more about her journey with digital course creation and the origin stories of how she got to where she is today. Because if you've heard of Amy which I'm sure you have you know she is a rock star in the online business space and she has so much credibility people go to her like anytime, like immediately. When someone says digital course, I think Amy Porterfield, it's synonymous with who she is and her brand. But I wanted her to break down a little bit more of her story and that's what I'm sharing with you today. So it's not an interview episode. It is an episode that Amy created to share with creators just like you, to understand more of her story and share a special invitation. So let's get right to it. Welcome to the Profit podcast, where we teach you how to start, launch and market your content with confidence. I'm your host, fristal Profit, and I'm so excited that you're here. Thanks for hanging out with me today, because if you've been trying to figure out the world of content creation, this is the show that will help be your time saving shortcut. So let's get right to it, shall we?

Well, hey there. Thank you so much for having me. Friends, I'm so excited to jump in here and talk about digital courses because, probably like a lot of you listening today, for most of my career I'd never even heard of digital courses before. I'm talking many, many years ago and, for the sake of the rest of this episode, let's get super clear on what I mean when I say the term digital course. A digital course is an online training program that someone signs up for, typically paying for a spot in the program that teaches them how to get a result in a step-by-step format, and this could be on anything from something as simple as how to make a delicious vegan curry to something as complex as how to file your small business taxes or repair a broken marriage. But for most of my life, I knew none of that. I was just like you. I went to college, I got my degree and got a nice, normal job in marketing, and I can tell you exactly where I was maybe even down to what I was wearing when everything changed. One day, I was invited into a meeting with my boss. Now, this is humbling, because I was invited into this meeting to take notes yeah, I'm rolling my eyes too, and in this meeting I heard a man share about a digital course and what it made possible in his business. He had created this digital course and he was not only making a bunch of money from it, but making a really big impact in the world. I'm sure he was sharing some kind of revenue figure or conversion chart at the time, but all I heard come out of his mouth was freedom. He was serving his clients without having to be one-on-one with them, let's say like in an office chair, which is kind of like the only model I knew about how to create a business. You're a one-on-one coach or you do consulting, or you're a service-based business, but he wasn't talking about any of that. He was selling courses and making a ton of money when he was not working, like these courses were selling when he was on vacation or at his son's baseball game or working on another big project in his business. It literally removed the ceiling of how much money he could make, because it didn't depend on how many hours he worked or how many deliverables he turned in. One digital course meant time freedom and it meant financial freedom. It meant not having to worry about how your business would stay afloat or how your family would pay the bills, because it was a dependable, regular source of income. And not only that, he got to make a living teaching people what he already knew and loved. So I had a revelation that day. It was an entirely different type of business I never knew existed. I didn't know you could create an entire business around a digital course, but I also didn't really know that digital courses could be a side hustle or an extra stream of revenue. To be quite honest, I wasn't thinking about digital courses until that moment. Now, fast forward. Pretty soon after that, I worked up my courage and started a side hustle, then eventually left that corporate job and in the last 14 years, I've launched eight successful digital courses on my own. I've taught over 50,000 students and I've made over $85 million in my online business and I work a four day work week. Now, mind you, I started from scratch and it obviously didn't look like that from scratch. I wasn't an influencer. For the record, I don't even think that term existed. Back in 2009, when I officially started my business, instagram barely existed. I didn't have an ounce of online business experience. So if you're listening and you might have an aha moment yourself, like wait a second, I might be able to do this too. If you start to think that digital courses are something that you might want to explore, I want to just let you know right now. You don't need a big audience, you don't need a bunch of marketing experience or anything like that to get started. In fact, in just a minute, I want to explain what you do need to get started with the digital course, but first I really wanted to tell you about a few of the digital courses my actual students have created, because I think that would be kind of fun just to kind of hear what's possible. Okay, so first I wanted to tell you about my student, margarita. So Margarita was an Italian language teacher at her local university and she loved her students, but then traditional schooling was flipped on its head in 2020, as we all know, and this really made her question if a university setting was still right for her, I think in 2020, we all questioned a few things right. So she decided to explore online teaching by way of digital courses. Now, with my help, margarita launched her first digital course last January with the goal of enrolling 30 new students. That was her goal. I want 30 new students. Well, she smashed that goal with just a pre-sell, meaning she had students enrolling before her course was even finished. This is a model that I teach in my own program to pre-sell your course before you actually create it, to make sure that people will spend money on it, so you don't waste all your time. It's a whole strategy I teach. By the end of her first launch, margarita, remember her goal was 30, she had enrolled 136 new students and made over $45,000. But it's never just about the money, is it? So? Here's what she wrote to me in an email after her launch. She said "'Life as a course creator has allowed me so many more freedoms in my life, aside from my financial success. I can now visit my family in Italy whenever I want, and I'm no longer limited to only seeing them during school vacations. As I continue to grow my business as a course creator, I'm excited for my future. The possibilities are endless". I live for this stuff. It's not just about the money, but dang. The money's pretty good as well, right, but when I hear that she gets to spend more time with her family and that she has more freedoms than she ever thought possible, that's why I do what I do and why I teach what I teach. So remember, margarita was a local teacher, not a professional marketer, not a tech whiz, not a YouTube star, not an influencer. If she can do it, so can you. So here's another one. I love telling stories of my students. One day, I hope I get to tell a story about you and your huge success. You listening to this podcast right now. I hope I get to tell your success story, but until then, let me tell you about Sarah. So I love to tell Sarah's story because Sarah teaches how to make sourdough bread. It's why I've affectionately started calling her Sarah sourdough. But I love telling her story because about one search on YouTube will return about 10,000 videos on how to make sourdough bread. But listen to this. Sarah had been leading in-person workshops that taught people how to make sourdough bread Like in person you come to this kitchen, she's going to teach you what you need to know. And these workshops required a lot of prep and a lot of her time and attention, because Sarah was just a one woman show and needed to keep these workshops full and happening regularly in order to help bring in income for her family. But one morning her son came to her crying, begging her not to go to her workshop. As a parent, we all know that feeling right it's horrific. He said she's never home with him and when she is, she isn't really with him because she's anxious over the next workshop she has to do. This was a huge turning point for Sarah. She saw how her time and her mental load had been completely consumed by her work I think we can all relate and it was at the expense of her son, who she loved most in the world. But they couldn't afford for her not to do these workshops, not to work. She needed to bring in money. So Sarah put her thinking cap on and she decided to try and see if her in-person classes would possibly translate into something online. The question was could they compete with the thousands and thousands of free videos teaching how to make sourdough bread that you could easily find online? So Sarah linked up with me and we got to work on our first launch, and I love this. Sarah grew her email list from just eight people to 1,700 people on her email list and she sold 60 courses at $297 each, meaning she earned $17,820 in total during her first ever digital course launch. For you who's listening, I want you to really hear that, yes, plenty of people will opt for the YouTube route, but there are still plenty of people who don't want to hunt and peck online when they're serious about getting quick or proven results, or both quick and proven. Look at Sarah. It only took 60 people. 5.3 billion people use the internet every day and it only took 60 of them. What I'm saying is your market is not too saturated Deal. Now. Sarah understood this and knew her sourdough expertise could make home baking easy for her students. But again, it's not all about the money. Not even two months after her first launch, she wrote to me about her inbox full of love notes, people saying you change my family's life forever. Your course is just what I needed so clear and precise. I would YouTube sourdough all the time, but just got overwhelmed. You are the best teacher and I would recommend this course to anyone I talk to. And here's what Sarah told me. I get emotional every time someone sends in a review. This has changed my life and now, with the new school year, I get to be present with my kids every morning as I get them ready for their day. Yesterday, I was at the beach with my kids and I realized something powerful. This beach time would have normally included constant thoughts of OMG, we have to pack up and leave, I have a workshop to get to, and who knows how long it's going to take to get back on the road. But this time I got to enjoy it. I had nowhere to be, but right there, I feel like I could cry when I read her note. I just I love this. The money's great, but the freedom to do what you want when you want, how you want it that's the game changer. So I think you can see why I'm so passionate about spreading the word about digital courses. It allows families to have financial stability without sacrificing that precious time together. It allows business owners to stop burning the candle at both ends and enjoy their businesses again without constantly chasing new clients or worrying about how they're going to cover the bills at the end of the month and I know someone listening right now is desperate for that. You know, I kind of created my first digital course in the dark. There wasn't anyone to teach me what to do, so it was a lot of trial and error. My first course launch was not like Sarah's or Margaritas. I didn't know there were things I needed to do first and then next and then after that. I didn't know the roadmap. So I made a whopping $267 on my first digital course launch Disheartening, to say the least. But now I've been doing this for 14 years, so I know what things that you need to do first and next and after that, and I taught them to Margarita and I taught them to Sarah and I would love to teach them to you. So if you're listening and you want to know exactly what creating and selling a digital course entails. I have a live course creation boot camp. It's starting on Wednesday, september 13th, where I'm going to show up live, virtually, and I'm going to teach you and walk you through the four things to tackle. First, to set yourself up for digital course success, I'm going to teach you how to choose your course idea, like what you're going to teach in your course. I'm going to teach you how much to charge for your course. It depends on the type of course you're going to create. So I'm going to show you how to choose the type of course that matches your bandwidth, your knowledge and revenue goals. And then I'm going to teach you how to steadily grow an audience that's eager to buy. I'll teach all of this in five live trainings that happen inside of a private community. There will be replays for each training, so every statistic, strategy or story will be available to you, even if you have a busy calendar. And also, by the way, the whole boot camp is only $47. But here's the thing 14 years as a digital course creator has taught me that knowing the steps is important. I'm a step by step kind of teacher. I'll virtually hold your hand through this process, but most people need the accountability and focus to get the work done. It's not just the steps or the strategy, but the accountability Someone to make sure that they keep coming back and they actually do the work, because we're all busy, right. So a major element of this live boot camp is one-on-one or small group accountability pods, where you'll work in short spurts of highly productive time and really have someone to hold you to it. In fact, one of the first things we'll do is help you pair up with an accountability partner or an accountability group, whatever you choose. I hate when you sign up for something, something you're serious about, and then you have to rely on the Facebook algorithm to get your questions seen or answered. So the accountability groups and partners that's our solution to make sure you get the support you need. Some boot campers loved every minute of it last year. I'm reading a few of their comments now, and this one says that their small group not only aligned in terms of business model and goals, but they brainstormed together on individual next steps. One of the boot campers said that their accountability partner was their ideal client and had literally just become a paying customer. That's pretty cool, right. And this one boot camper said they finally connected with someone who understood their B2B offer and was really able to help. This is what I love. When people think about starting an online business or creating a course or taking on any big project for themselves, you kind of picture yourself in your office or at your kitchen table thinking in a silo, figuring it out with Google or some expensive consultant. It's easy to not want to move forward because how not fun does that sound right? Like no, thank you. So now you can start to create this really empowering tool in a virtual co-working space with people all over the world who are sharing their experiences and totally rooting you on. That's what the boot camp is about, but it also safeguards you from slipping quietly into the background or allowing overwhelm or intimidation to keep you from something that could genuinely change how you work and earn a living forever. So Amy Lee Silva, my boot camper from last year she summed it up pretty perfectly, so I wanted you to hear this. She said had you asked me a year ago if I'd ever considered being a course creator, I would have told you you were bonkers. It wasn't my plan. Then I signed up for Amy's course creation boot camp and found myself engaged in a community I'd never heard of or considered before. Showing up for lives, completing each step inspired and curious about course creation. Fast forward. Two months later, I launched my first course ever to 26 students. If you're considering Amy's boot camp, you've got nothing to lose, but you have a whole bunch of possibility and freedom to gain and a community where you can learn and be inspired and shout out to Amy Lee, because I loved what she shared with me. It really communicates something I never knew how to put into words, and it's that this boot camp was created for online business owners who are dead set on creating a digital course and just want the steps laid out in front of them. But it's also made for the course curious. It's a safe place to bring questions and doubts and hesitations and uncertainty, and I think you would agree with me. That's how all entrepreneurs start out. But you'll get the knowledge you need to know whether a digital course is realistic for you or would be profitable for you, or is there even an audience out there that would buy from you. And the thing is, all those doubts or hesitations won't have a leg to stand on anymore when you get in community. You ask your questions, you learn something new and you really find out if a digital course is right for you and your business. So, to kind of wrap this up, I hope it's okay with you, but I want you to close your eyes right now, if you're not driving. But if you can close your eyes, think about this. Your course title is written across your office whiteboard, circled with bright red marker. You know you can teach it, that your audience wants it, and you've started pairing your know-how into the steps your future students will follow. You count down the days till you launch, because you know what you'll charge and how many students you need to enroll to blow your nine to five paycheck or one-on-one hourly rate out of the water. You're clear on what your course promises. So too much content or too little content, it's not a concern of yours. You take 15 minutes to execute your audience growth game plan, the one you totally understand that doesn't overwhelm you and that grows your following in step with your future sales goals, and you're proud of yourself for doing what so few are willing to do. And while you still have the occasional moment of imposter syndrome, you know you're capable of eating this digital course elephant one well-guided bite at a time. Okay, open your eyes, it feels doable. Right, it is, it is, it is. It's so doable. If there's anything that I could leave you with right now, it's that you are so capable of doing this. You're capable of so much more than you know. Your dreams are worth pursuing, and if I can figure this out, I promise you you can too. If a digital course is part of that dream for you, whether it has been for a while or you're one of the course curious we talked about earlier, I hope that you'll join me in the boot camp. I know it's going to be so valuable for you. The thing is, it's only $47. It's one of the most inexpensive things I offer all year. We're going to get more done in a matter of days than most people get done in six months. Truthfully, thank you so much for having me and sharing this space with me. Whatever that dream is on your heart, just go for it. You are enough, you deserve it and I'm cheering you on every step of the way.

Do you get chills every time you hear Amy talk? Maybe you're brand new to her and you're like, oh my gosh, who is this person? I need to go follow her ASAP. Yes, you do. What are you even doing? Go to Instagram and follow Amy immediately. But listening to her message one, I'm just so encouraged and inspired anytime she shares success stories from her community. I'm actually one of them I'm gonna link to in the episode description for this episode. I recently submitted a testimonial for the awesome things that I've been able to do with a digital course for my business and the different things that it's allowed me to bring a community together to have passive income in my business, and it has just been so inspiring and so transformational for my journey, which is why I get so excited anytime their team brings around the bootcamp, because it is so much fun. So you heard Amy talk about the bootcamp and I want you to get in on this. If you're listening to it in real time, I want you to go to crystalprofitcom forward slash Amy dash bootcamp and when you get to this page, you're gonna see that, yes, you can enroll for the bootcamp and go straight there. But I'm also showcasing the three part training series that I created. For those of you that join with my partner link, yes, I'm an affiliate for Amy's programs and I love endorsing the things that she creates, but I wanted to create something specifically for creators this year, and what I did is I put together a three part training series about money mindset, because I think it's all well and good If you're ready to start creating a digital course, that's fantastic. But I know there's a handful of you out there that are listening to this and you have all those questions of, yeah, but I don't have that big of an audience or what am I supposed to charge? Like, what does that actually look like? Like, is this possible for me and my content? So I want you to go binge, listen to this three part training series and then get into the course confident bootcamp and start diving into the live trainings with Amy and her team and the community that you are going to find there, because, as she said and she shared about previous students that have gone through this, it is so powerful when you connect with other people that are on the same journey as you and you can share thoughts and ideas and creative just things that you're thinking about that maybe other people in your immediate life don't really get Right. My husband doesn't understand digital courses, he doesn't get excited about sales pages, or you know conversions and metrics and other things that I routinely want to talk to other people about. So if you're looking for those people, you want to connect with people that are on this same journey as you, go to crystalprofitcom forward slash Amy dash bootcamp and sign up for the bootcamp today, because course confident only comes around once a year and I do not want you to miss it. We have so much fun, but that's all I have for you today. So, again, go to crystalprofitcom forward slash Amy dash bootcamp to register for course confident, and once you're registered, you'll receive an email from me giving you all the instructions on how to get this private audio training, which you'll be able to add to your podcast player, which is so fun. I love that. It's very seamless, very easy for you to just binge. Listen to it on your next long drive, or maybe your next workout, or maybe when you're in your office dreaming about your digital course. I want you to have that money mindset that will help you take everything to the next level. But that's all I have for you today. So, as always, remember, keep it up. We all have to start somewhere.