Jo Lott shares her journey of creating and earning £160,000 from her digital course over the last two years. This episode is not just a success story; it’s a reflection of how you can take fast messy action to create and leverage digital courses so you scale your business and impact.

Here's what you'll uncover in Episode 48:

Introduction: The Journey Begins

• [00:00:00] Jo warmly welcomes her listeners, emphasizing the podcast's commitment to sharing practical and emotional tools for coaches. She introduces the episode's theme, focusing on the honest, not-hyped reality of creating a profitable digital course.

The Launching Point

• [00:01:00] Jo discusses her decision to openly share her earnings, a rare move designed to provide a transparent look at what it truly takes to create and profit from an online course or group coaching program.

Pre-Sale Announcement

• [00:02:00] Exciting news about Jo’s upcoming course on creating digital courses or group coaching programs, including a special pre-sale offer for podcast listeners.

My £160K Course Journey

• [00:03:00] Jo narrates her initial plunge into the digital course realm, highlighting the common misconceptions and the reality of building a foundation for success.

Building and Launching the Course

• [00:06:00] Insights into the creation process, the challenges of prioritization, and the strategy of pre-selling to ensure commitment and accountability.

Marketing Strategies and Launching Lessons

• [00:08:00] Jo shares her experience with launching her course through a five-day challenge, underscoring the importance of organisation and preparation in marketing.

Key Lessons Learned

• [00:11:00] Jo distills her journey into essential lessons, including the importance of value over volume, authentic marketing, constant feedback and iteration, and strategic scaling.

Actionable Tips for Aspiring Course Creators

• [00:17:00] Practical advice for those looking to create and market their own group programs, emphasizing the need for a solid niche, compelling content, and a robust launch plan.

Summary and Invitation

• [00:19:00] Jo summarises the key points discussed, reiterates the special offer for her upcoming course, and extends an invitation to listeners seeking guidance in creating their digital courses.

Closing Thoughts

• [00:20:00] A heartfelt message from Jo about her mission to empower women to build successful businesses, making a significant impact while managing their busy lives.

Join the Movement

Interested in creating your own digital course? Contact Jo today at joanna@joannalottcoaching.com for exclusive access to her course with a 30% pre-sale discount. This offer is only available for the first 10 people who purchase by Thursday 8 February.

Useful Links

FREE 5 Day Challenge: Online Course and Group Mastery Challenge - sign up now - starts 26 Feb

How to secure more coaching clients' free training

Download the 12 ways to get clients now

Learn about The Business of Coaching programme

Connect with Jo on LinkedIn

Rate and Review the Podcast

If you found this episode of Women in the Coaching Arena helpful, please do rate and review it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

If you’re kind enough to leave a review, please do let Jo know so she can say thank you. You can always reach her at: joanna@joannalottcoaching.com

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Hello and welcome to Women in

the Coaching Arena podcast.

2

I'm so glad you are here.

3

I'm Jo Lott, a business mentor

and ICF accredited coach

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Microphone (Samson Q2U Microphone):

and I help coaches to

5

build brilliant businesses.

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I know that when you prepare to enter

the arena, there is fear, self doubt,

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comparison, anxiety, uncertainty.

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You can tend to armor up and

protect yourself from vulnerability.

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In this podcast, I'll be sharing

honest, not hype, practical and

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emotional tools to support you to make

the difference that you are here for.

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Dare greatly.

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You belong in this arena.

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Hello, welcome to the 48th episode

of women in the coaching arena.

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I am so glad you are here.

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Today, I've done something which I

very rarely do, because I think this

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industry is drowning with people

shouting about how much their earning.

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It's something I very rarely do.

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But I'm wanting to share an

honest version of events.

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Cause again, I think that this topic

is kind of sold like it's so easy and

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anyone can just step right out the

gate and create an online course or

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group coaching program without really

understanding what you really need

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in place to make that successful?

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So I'm excited to share

that with you today.

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I am also launching a course about how to

create a course or group coaching program.

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So I had a presale deadline of the

7th of February which was yesterday.

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So if you miss that, because I didn't

give very much notice at all, then if

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you want to join today only the podcast

release date of 8th of February you

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can retain that 30% pre-sale discount.

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The course will be launched

on the 13th of March.

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So I'll be launching it later on in

February, but if you want to jump in

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now, I would love to have your feedback

in return for that 30% discount.

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As I create the course this month,

because it's really important as I'll talk

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about today to really take into account

your ideal client's feedback throughout

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your entire business building journey.

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So if you're interested,

do drop me an email.

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joanna@joannalottcoaching.com.

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That's Joanna with an a and Lott with

two T's joanna@joannalottcoaching.com.

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And I will get back to you with

the details and you can let

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me know if you want to join.

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So let's talk about my journey

to earning 160,000 from my

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course over the last two years.

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And it starts where most new coaches

start, which was coming into this

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world of coaching and then seeing

someone have this big launch into

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their digital course and me thinking.

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Wow.

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I could do that.

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So I'm going to be earning millions

of pounds and laying on the beach

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and having a wonderful time.

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And I see this a lot in nearly every

single coach that I talk to, especially

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if they're earlier on in their journey.

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I want to launch a course

or a group coaching program.

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And, most of the time, they haven't

really got the foundations that

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are needed to make that successful.

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That isn't to say it's not worth joining

something though, because I joined

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something four and a half years ago

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a program on how to launch a course.

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And miraculously two and a half

years later, I actually got my

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course over the line and now have,

earned 160,000 from that course.

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So do I regret buying the course.

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No, because I've had a

huge return on investment.

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So it doesn't mean that that won't

be useful to you at some time in

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the future and where you are at

in your business building journey.

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I always knew that I wanted

to do group coaching.

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Like I always preferred it, which

is unusual because I speak to

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most of my clients and bearing

in mind, I am an ICF ACC coach.

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So I, I do know how to.

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coach.

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But I've always absolutely

adored group coaching.

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right from the very beginning

that was where I got my energy.

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So I have created several

courses in my business, including

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in lots of different niches.

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So I do think depending on where

you are at, who you're selling to.

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It can also be useful in

selling to organizations.

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I have sold LinkedIn training, for

example, into organizations, career

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change program into organizations.

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I also created a career clarity

course for mums when I first started.

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Cause again, that was

where I was at the time.

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And obviously now I have my course,

which is the business of coaching.

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I have offered to market.

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I also have a new program, which I

haven't actually announced yet called

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signature solution, because I know so many

people just want to nail their niche and

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create their signature coaching program

without committing to a big program.

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So I have created tons of courses in a

way that you've actually thought through

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to be able to get the best results.

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Like, I honestly think a lot of the time

people get more from being part of my

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group program than they would if I were

talking it through one-on-one because

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when I have created the group program,

I have methodically thought about

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starting with why they need to know this.

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Leading into how they can do this.

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Leading into what they need to do next.

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Whereas if I'm talking to

someone one-on-one, it's not

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so easy to be that structured.

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So actually it really does support

that one-on-one and the feedback.

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So for example, in my program, people

would watch that module and then

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they send me their thing and I give

them feedback via video so they can

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really actively nail that thing.

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And then move on to the next step.

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So that's why I decided to create

my course, because there are

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huge knowledge gaps that it would

take a really long time to fill.

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So let's move on to actually

building the course and how you

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can get that thing over the line.

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So the challenges that I faced

were actually prioritizing it.

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And so with this course,

I'm launching in March.

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Why I'm pre-selling it is.

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So I actually create it.

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So it's really hard as an entrepreneur

and you may be experiencing this

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without any real accountability of

like, no one's going to sack you.

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If you don't meet your targets this month.

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So what often really helps is

that external accountability.

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Sell a thing and then create it.

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And I think that is my strongest

character trait, which is how I

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have built a successful business.

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I did exactly the same when I

was launching a career book.

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I was nowhere near ready, but I

put out this is launching on the

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29th of April and therefore it

launched on the 29th of April.

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The same with my business

of coaching program.

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I sold seven spaces before

I even had a portal.

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So that was two years ago now.

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I'd already mapped out

roughly what we'd be doing.

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And I shared with those who were joining,

that the modules would be released week

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on week, so they didn't get overwhelmed.

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And then each week I created the content

because I knew that there were seven

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people, the other end waiting for the

content to unlock on the Sunday morning.

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So yes, for 12 weeks I was slogging

it out every Saturday, creating the

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content for them and Doing that work and

putting that time in has now generated

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160,000 and, made my life so much easier.

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By being able to transfer my knowledge

to so many people without me repeating

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the same thing again, and again.

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You are also presenting that

knowledge in a way that is I thought

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through with stories, with examples.

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You can spend years getting the

perfect videos and the perfect course.

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And then putting out there and

realizing that no one's bought it.

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So there's something extremely

exciting about my Lott last

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minute method, which I call it to

literally get that thing out there.

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So let's move on to marketing

strategies for launching the course.

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I launched my course with a five

day challenge two and a half years

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ago, it was an amazing experience,

but it was also really intense.

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I took four months off social media

and all marketing after launching

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my program for the first time.

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Because it was a lot.

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There was so many emails.

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That was showing up live every single day.

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There is so much involved in a launch.

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And I obviously at the time had no idea.

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Now I do know, and I'm super, super

excited to be running my five day

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challenge to help you to get started

with your group program at the end of

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this month so do look out for that.

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Because people made huge, huge

progress in that five day challenge.

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And what I learned from the

experience is to be so organized.

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To have all of the emails

scheduled for those days.

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Rather than what I was doing at the time.

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Going live while it's then trying to

type an email afterwards and before.

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And I just wasn't organized enough

to make it manageable for me.

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So my lesson is to allow a lot of time

and a lot of prep for your promotion.

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So usually you are going to need

something like a five day challenge.

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Or you might get away with a webinar.

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Essentially you need something

that helps people to take a

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step forward, gain an insight.

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Get excited about what you're

going to help them to do.

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And then they can either take these

learnings and go off and do it on their

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own, or they know that they need more help

to really, really get this thing over the

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line and then they will sign up with you.

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What events do is build huge trust

and huge connection with you.

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So it's really hard to launch something

without having some way of people stepping

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towards you and getting to know you.

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And that is why most coaches don't

successfully launch their group

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program because they have a lot of

moving pieces and it's really easy to

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underestimate the amount of work involved

and the amount of fear that comes up.

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So allow yourself lots and lots of

time and plan it out and that is

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what we're going to be doing in the

program is really setting those dates.

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So you can effectively use that six

week to two month window of like,

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this is when I'm launching my thing.

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And these are the steps I'm going to take.

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And even if you aren't ready to

launch right away, you can follow

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those steps at any point at all, just

like I did, when I brought a program

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and I go back into it every single

time I do another launch as well.

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So I've already talked about some lessons

when I was reflecting about my journey.

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But here are the key lessons I learned.

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So lesson one is value over volume.

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So focusing on one core course

is way better than selling

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as many courses as possible.

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I have brought in all of that

income from one digital course.

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So you don't need to

create a course on this.

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And of course on that.

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The more you try and create

the less you'll sell because

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you're so busy in creation mode.

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And you'll probably underestimating

how much time and energy it

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takes to sell that thing.

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Lesson two is to focus

on authentic marketing.

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So people might not be ready

to buy your thing right now.

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And.

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The more you can embrace that.

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The more your business will grow.

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I had somebody who joined my program

in the last few months who did my five

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day challenge two and a half years ago.

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So rather than think, oh, that

failed, no one signed up, or

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like one person signed up.

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Just focus on.

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You showed up and you feeding

into that value bank will

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come back to you in the end.

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So just keep focusing on giving value.

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Being the most amazing person you

can and know that every single time,

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that will come back to you, you need

to trust in that as an entrepreneur

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that needs to be your biggest skill.

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To trust.

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So we need to learn to yes.

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Give a deadline.

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Yes.

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Try and encourage them to take

action if that's right for them.

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But also know that everyone has

their own internal deadlines.

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And that's been a great lesson to me in

running an evergreen group program which

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is the type of program I run currently.

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And that we don't always

need hard deadlines.

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Sometimes people will just buy.

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So it's going to be interesting

for me after having a.

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Less launch based program to

launch this new program in March.

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To see how that feels, because I

think that launch is really intense

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when it's a closed program and you

either join then or you don't join

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at all, which is the type of program

I'm going to be launching in March.

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And so therefore it can feel really

stressful because currently I can

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think that's fine if they're not

ready now they can join next month.

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Whereas with this type of program

that I'm going to be trialing because

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I think it might be too much to have

two ongoing evergreen group programs.

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It will be interesting to

see how that balance works.

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And I'm really, really excited

to try a different way.

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And just test it just

to see if I enjoy it.

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And what I learn from the experience.

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Lesson three is feedback and iteration.

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I am changing my program all the time.

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As you'll know if you're

inside the program.

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We have just taken on a coach

mentor, who I'm so excited to

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work with to really support me

in that more strategic overview.

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because I'm a very understanding loving

type of person, especially for my clients,

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because I really do know where they're at.

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And, so I'm excited that Jacqui,

my new coach mentor, is a very

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challenging and direct type of person.

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So I'm super excited that I can provide

the love and the care that I get it

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and I know where they're at and she can

provide the challenge and the support,

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cause don't get me wrong she's an

amazingly supportive person and coach.

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But to really think, okay, what

was difficult about doing this.

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That different dimension of targets

for each person of like, this is

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your target for nailing your niche.

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This is your target for your offer.

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So that real strong accountability.

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Which is something that I've learned

because I think what we all do as coaches

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is create exactly what I wish I had.

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I am constantly seeking that loving

nurturing yet challenging space.

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And I don't know if I've really

found it yet, to be honest, which

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is why I am so obsessed by creating

for people what I wish I had myself.

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So lesson four scaling the business.

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So how can you hold more

people in that container?

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So I started the program initially

when it wasn't a digital course, I was

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presenting live each week with two people.

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And, then the next time when I did create

as a digital course, I had seven people.

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Now,

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I probably have 25 current

clients in my program to date.

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So it's taking a different approach.

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But knowing that that has added to the

experience and it's not something to fear.

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And it's something to just get

more strategic with, which is

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exactly what I've done by ensuring

that each person has goals.

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Each person is spoken to personally

every single week to see where they're

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at, to see what their challenges are.

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To really put those systems and

processes in place so you can scale.

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And so I now know that I can still

deeply serve in a container and that

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they will get an amazing experience.

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So I think when it comes to scaling,

it's about checking on your systems,

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checking if you've got that right

support and hiring it if not,

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making sure that you have as many

processes in place as possible.

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So people get the best experience.

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We have moved to slack

this week from Facebook.

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So again, that's another change in

me scaling and growing my program.

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So now someone can say,

here's what my plan is.

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In an accountability channel.

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And then it's really easy for

me and my mentor coach to say,

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how did you get on with that?

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It also allows voice messaging

with me sharing documents with me.

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So versus emailing people back and forth.

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This way we actually get to chat back

and forth as, and when they need it.

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So I'm so excited at the

deepened relationships is

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created for me and my clients.

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And I can't wait to continue to make

this the best program out there.

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Okay, moving on to actionable

tips so you can do this.

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So without sounding like a broken record,

niching is even more important in group

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programs because to get that bond, people

need to be with people the same as them.

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With that same shared goal to

create your content you need to

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have people with that shared goal.

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Creating compelling content.

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I've looked at some people's

courses who have asked for my help.

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And they've had.

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So many hours worth of content.

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And like an hour long video, for example.

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And people just won't

watch an hour long video.

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I'm aiming for three to

four minutes per video.

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And really breaking down those topics to

help people, to actually do something so

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they implement again, which is why I love

the setup that I have, where they have

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to send me their niche or send me their

offer so every single step of the way.

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They are getting feedback,

which then helps them be excited

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to go on to the next lesson.

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So how can you build in

that accountability and that

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excitement to take the next step?

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Marketing your course.

302

Like I mentioned earlier, it takes

more than just a few social media

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posts to launch a group program.

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It takes an actual launch, like

a six week process to really

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get that thing off the ground.

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Again, there are other ways, depending

on how warm your audience is.

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And in the program I'm launching,

I'm going to be encouraging people to

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launch that program within the first

four weeks of us working together.

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Again, you don't have to do that.

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But it is a really, really good option.

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So there will be a way of getting that.

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thing out there really quickly

and then going on to bigger

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launches later down the line.

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So let me summarize today's episode.

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First I talked about my journey to

160 K creating my own group program.

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The key lessons I shared were

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1.

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Value over volume.

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So focus on one course rather

than create many courses.

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Lesson 2 two authentic

marketing and patience.

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Don't beat yourself up if your

first launch isn't successful.

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Know, that those people may come

back and you will have made a massive

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difference in their life, whether

they bought your program or not.

324

Lesson three feedback and iteration.

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Always be prepared to

listen, to keep improving.

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To notice where people are getting

stuck and to provide accountability,

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if possible, depending on how

you are creating your program.

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And Lesson four.

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Scaling the business, how you can

get to that place where you can

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safely know that you can take on

more clients and still give an

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amazing service and amazing results.

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I hope this podcast was helpful if

you have been thinking about creating

333

an online course or group program.

334

And if you would like my guidance

to do that, do jump in today.

335

If you want the pre-launch rates

at 30% off and I will be officially

336

launching it later in March.

337

I am so excited to help more women in

particular to make more money in less

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time, because most of us women are

busy caring for children or parents

339

or someone else other than themselves.

340

And I I'm so grateful for the opportunity

to have created my own digital

341

course that I run as a group program.

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And change a lot of people's lives.

343

Like I have a massive, massive goal of

helping a million people be happier.

344

And, my best way of achieving that

is to help as many coaches as I can,

345

to help as many people as they can.

346

So thank you for listening.

347

If you want to join to email me

joanna@joannalottcoaching.com or I

348

will put a link in the show notes.

349

And like I say, at the end of every

episode, trust yourself, believe

350

in yourself and be the wise Gardner

who keeps on watering the seed.

351

Thank you so much for listening to this

episode of Women in the Coaching Arena.

352

I have a mess of free resources on

my website joannalottcoaching.com.

353

That's Joanna with an A

and Lott with two T's.

354

joannalottcoaching.com.

355

And I'll also put links in the show notes.

356

Let me know if you found

this episode useful.

357

Share it with a friend and

leave me a review, and I will

358

personally thank you for that.

359

Remember to trust yourself, believe

in yourself and be the wise Gardner

360

who keeps on watering the seed.

361

Get into the arena dare, greatly and try.