AMY PORTERFIELD: “The beauty of digital courses and why I say freedom is a big factor is that when you create the course once, all the hard work is done. Now it's refining, tweaking, making it better so you never have to start from scratch. And so that is where that freedom comes in. And plus, now you're moving away from one-to-one work to one-to-many, hello, freedom, right there. But before you can feel that freedom, we've got to get you over the hump of thinking you don't have enough time to learn how to create a course and then actually create it, implementing it, and launching it.”
INTRO: I’m Amy Porterfield, ex-corporate girl turned CEO of a multi-seven-figure business. But it wasn't all that long ago that I lacked the confidence, the budget, and the time to focus on growing my small-but-mighty business. Fast forward past many failed attempts and lessons learned, and you'll see the business I have today, one that changes lives and gives me more freedom than I ever thought possible, one that used to only exist as a daydream. I created the Online Marketing Made Easy podcast to give you simple, actionable, step-by-step strategies to help you do the same. If you're an ambitious entrepreneur, or one in the making, who's looking to create a business that makes an impact and a life you love, you're in the right place, friend. Let's get started.
AMY: Hey, there, friend. Welcome back to Online Marketing Made Easy.
Because we are continuing our Myth Busters Series, where we are busting the most-common objections people have around diving into creating and launching a digital-course business, I am thrilled that today is all about tackling that most-common objection that often holds people back from creating their own digital course, which is the lack of time. And I’ve got the perfect inspiring story to bust that myth.
But before we dive in, let me ask you, how's everything going over there? Are you feeling good? Are you filling in the flow? Are you feeling overwhelmed and scattered? Just remember, no matter what you're feeling, you are exactly where you're meant to be. I know that's not always fun to hear, especially if you're deep in the trenches and struggling. However, you are exactly where you are meant to be. And if you allow yourself to have all the feelings—the good, bad, and ugly kind of feelings—and be present with them, knowing that this is a season that will pass, I think that is so important to get through. And, you know, it's kind of funny because I use that “this too shall pass,” I use it for the good stuff as well. So when I'm in the flow, when things are working well, I appreciate it, and I love it, knowing it's not always going to be around. So this too shall pass, meaning really be present, love every minute of this, get the most out of it. And then when things are really hard for me, which they are often, I tell myself, “This too shall pass, will not always feel this way.” So I don't know who needed to hear that, but I just wanted to remind you.
Also, today it was announced in our company’s Slack channel, that my niece, Ava, Ava Rose, who is almost twenty-two—in one week, she'll be twenty-two years old—she is coming to work for my company, and she's going to be a content coordinator, and I'm really excited about it. She's very nervous because she doesn't want the team to feel like she's a nepo baby and that she only got the job because she's my favorite niece in the whole world. For the record, she’s my only niece. But if you’ve ever seen pictures of us on Instagram, she looks just like me. Every time I go anywhere with her, people always think she's my daughter versus my sister, which I secretly love. But she was the editor in chief at Baylor, in Texas, and she is a writer and loves content creation. And I think she's going to be incredible. And this is her first real, real, real job. And so I'm just excited. And she's moving to Nashville. She's going to live with my mom for a year and then decide if she wants to stay and get her own place. So we're just really excited over here. And for years and years I've told her I wanted her to work with me. So anyway, that's the latest over here. She starts in about a week, so we're excited for her to dive in.
Okay. So, let's get back to courses. It's no secret that I believe in the power of digital courses, and I believe that when you create a digital course, you as the course creator and business owner, you are adding more freedom to your business life and to your personal life. However, one thing that really stops people in their tracks, you know, there's a lot of things that I hear. You know, I've heard all the reasons. Sometimes I want to say excuses, but I know that word is a little triggering. Like “Amy, this is not an excuse. This is my real life. This is how I feel.” So I get that. So there's common reasons, like “I don't have enough time. It's too expensive to learn how to create a course. I don't have the expertise. I have a small audience. I don't have an email list,” or “I feel like I don't have enough content yet,” or “I need more time or experience.” All of that comes up, and I'm busting through many of those myths on these podcast episodes. And today I want to show you how time shouldn't be a barrier to creating a successful digital course, especially one that can make you money again and again and again.
And the beauty of digital courses and why I say freedom is a big factor is that when you create the course once, all the hard work is done. Now it's refining, tweaking, making it better so you never have to start from scratch. And so that is where that freedom comes in. And plus, now you're moving away from one-to-one work to one-to-many, hello, freedom, right there. But before you can feel that freedom, we've got to get you over the hump of thinking you don't have enough time to learn how to create a course and then actually create it, implementing it, and launching it.
So today I want to inspire you with a story from one of my students, Mallory Rose, who proved that even with a fourteen-month-old son, she could create and launch her digital course, with incredible results. So Mallory's course is called Smudge Circle, and it's all about teaching indigenous people and allies the fundamentals of indigenous culture and how to use these teachings to transform their resiliency. And boy, has she achieved some fantastic results.
First of all, just think of that topic, right there. That is not a common topic. So I like to use examples of courses that you might think, “Wait, what? That's a course? That has a big enough audience? That can be successful? Uh, yes. You would be amazed by how many different diverse topics my students create with their courses and see amazing results.
So, she had three live launches of her starter course, and each of them brought in five figures, like, around nineteen, twenty thousand dollars each launch. How impressive is that? Now, the course consists of five modules, and enrollment is a hundred ninety-seven dollars, which is a low price point, and, still, she was able to make almost twenty thousand dollars each launch. So don't think that you have to have an expensive course and a huge email list in order to make great money.
Mallory managed to grow her email list significantly between each launch because I always say, “If you are struggling to grow your email list, start launching digital courses,” because when you launch digital courses, you automatically grow your email list during those launches. So every time you launch again, you have a bigger email list. It's so powerful. So if you're struggling with growing your email list, start launching your digital course over and over again.
So, she grew her email list, and she attracted five thousand webinar registrants over four different webinars. So if you ever join me in Digital Course Academy, I teach you how to do the same webinar several times to offer different dates and times to your audience, but also so that you get really good at webinars. And so she did four live webinars all the same and had about five thousand people across four webinars sign up, which is incredible.
If you ever get into my program Digital Course Academy, you'll know that I teach you to do the same webinar several times so that you get better at it, but you give your audience different dates and times to choose from. So she had over five thousand people register across those webinars. That's an incredible number.
Now, here's the remarkable part. Despite being a single mom with a fourteen-month-old son at the time, she made it happen. It took Mallory over six months to create her course, and the reason why that took so long is that she needed to go slower than normal because she had a child, she was a single mom, and she had to do other things in between all of this. But during that time, she utilized a copywriter, a virtual assistant, and poured a lot of her own time and effort into it as well.
So, when her son turned seven months old, Mallory decided to hire a babysitter for four hours a day, five days a week, and from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., she dedicated her time to creating her course and launching it. So after her son's nap, from 12:30 to 2:30, she spent quality time with him until he went to bed at 7:00. And then, like the dedicated entrepreneur she is, she worked from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. So was she hustling? Yes. Did she make sacrifices? She absolutely did. However, what was so important here is that she had the time with her family, but she also made the time to do this because she believed that this was an opportunity to create some amazing revenue.
So this story shows that time should never be an obstacle to creating a successful digital course. Mallory's example is proof that with focus, determination, and a bit of support, you can achieve your entrepreneurial dreams, even in the face of time constraints. If you want it bad enough, you will figure it out. And to want it bad enough, you need to believe that a digital course is your ticket to more recurring revenue, more freedom, and your ability to reach more people beyond, let's say, your local community or your one-on-one work.
Now, I also want to mention that working from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. every night is not something you need to do forever in order to create a successful digital-course business. However, remember I mentioned in the beginning that we are always in a season? Whether it be a thriving season or a struggling season, seasons pass. And so I remember being in my hustling season in the very beginning of starting my business, and I think that was necessary. Hustling to get your course done so that you can be done with creating it from scratch and you can reap the benefits of launching it over and over again, that is a necessary season that is 1,000,000 percent worth it, especially if you start to see, let's say, five figures in your first few launches.
So let's say you're making ten, fifteen thousand dollars with each launch and the first few launches. I can guarantee that if you can make, let's say, fifteen thousand dollars in your first launch, you can make a hundred thousand dollars in a launch with your course. It will mean growing your email list and really dialing in your paid ads and your organic strategy. There’s things you need to learn, getting better at your webinars.
But I was recently in a podcast. Someone was interviewing me on their podcast about digital courses. She asked, “What does it take to have a hundred-thousand-dollar digital-course launch?” And I told her, “It takes exactly what you're doing to have five-figure launches. However, your email list becomes larger, your copy becomes stronger, your competence in a webinar becomes bigger.” So it's the foundational pieces. You're just getting better. That truly is the difference between a five-figure and a six-figure launch. My goal is to get you all to six-figure launches. That's what I want for you. But I'm not going to not highlight five-figure launches, because they are the stepping stones.
I mean, heck, you all know I made two hundred sixty-seven dollars in profit with my first launch. Nowhere near five figures. Imagine if I stopped there because I thought, “Well, I should be making six figures.” They're stepping stones.
Now, for your first launch, I want you to make way more than two hundred sixty-seven dollars. I didn't have the DCA model at the time. Now that's what I teach. So you're going to do way better than I did.
However, allow yourself to have the milestones and the stepping stones to get to where you want to go. Stop rushing yourself and expecting to have these huge success stories when you've never done it before. That's the difference between an entrepreneur that has staying power versus one that doesn't. When you make five figures with your first launch and you wanted to make six figures, if you can make it mean, “This is my stepping stone. I've learned a lot. I'm ready for the next level,” you cannot lose. So remember, 80 percent of being a successful entrepreneur is what you think. It's what's between your two years. It's not the strategy. So be careful what you believe. Don't believe everything you think. Deal?
Okay. So I’m going to get off my soapbox. Let's jump in. And I want you to hear from Mallory.
So imagine what you can do with your digital course if you had a similar rhythm and balance. Even with a small list, which she had a small list, you can attract dedicated students who resonate with your message, and you will see significant results. So I wanted Mallory's journey—the fact that she had a little one. She was a single mom. She got a babysitter. She dedicated her time. She stayed up later than she had wanted for a season in order to get it done. And I believe that can be true for you as well. It won't look the same. There will be sacrifices. It will not be easy. But will it be worth it? More than you even know yet. You've got to trust me on this one. More than you even know.
So, if you've been using the “lack of time” excuse, let's bust that myth together. I'd love for you to take a moment and think about your own journey. Can you find pockets of time—I'm not saying it's easy—but can you find pockets of time to work on your digital course, just like Mallory did? Remember, your passion and expertise are valuable, and there are people out there waiting to learn from you the way you will teach them.
And I'd love to hear from you. So on Instagram, I'm just @amyporterfield. Will you DM me and tell me the pocket of time you're going to commit to creating your course? I will freak out if I get to hear from a bunch of you, where you say, “Okay, Amy. Tuesdays, Thursdays, I've got two hours. I'm getting a babysitter, or I've asked my spouse to watch the kids.” Or at this time that I'm recording this, in Nashville, every kid has gone back to school. They go to school way earlier here in Nashville than in California. And so a lot of the parents that I coach, their time has been freed up once again. Like, they're like, “Hallelujah. I love my kids, but I love my time to work as well.” And so maybe you're getting into a season that that pocket of time is going to open up for you because the kids are going back to school.
I don't know. But you've got to have that tiger time, that fierce time on your calendar that nobody gets in, and you do your most important work. I can promise you that creating a digital course can be the most important work you do in your business.
All right, my friend. As always, thanks for hanging out with me. If you've loved this episode and found value in it, do me a favor and invite your entrepreneurial friends to come join me. So all you need to do is grab the link, send this to a friend, and say, “I know you're super busy, and you've been struggling to find the time. Maybe this story could inspire you.”
Mallory, thanks so much for letting us showcase your story here. Congratulations on your huge success, and I know it's going to inspire more and more to find those pockets of time to do what they truly want to do in their business.
All right, my friend. I'll see you on Thursday for more entrepreneurial goodness. Bye for now.
