There are 4 essential elements you must know about your audience before you launch your course
Let’s face it, in the ideal world we’d create an amazing course, tell people about it, and they’d throw us their credit card yelling, “Sign me up now!” Right?
But if you’ve been in the course creation business for any length of time, you know it’s not that simple. And if you are an emerging course creator, now is the time to acknowledge there is more to it.
First, we must realize that no one is out looking for a course.
Does this mean they won’t buy one? Absolutely not.
What it means is they are out looking for a solution to a problem they have. It isn’t a minor annoyance problem; it’s an I-can’t-live-with-this-anymore problem.
Think about the difference between a light headache and an excruciating migraine. We might ignore a light headache, but we’ll seek relief from a migraine. Our audience has a migraine and they are seeking a solution from us!
However, we can’t just hand over a course and tell them it will solve their problem. Audiences are way too cautious to hand over their hard-earned money, and they should be. There is a lot of dishonesty and sleazy sales tactics out there and that has made all of us more cautious.
If you want to connect with your audience and clearly show that your offer is the solution to their problem, we have to read their minds. Not literally, but by understanding them completely and articulating that in our messaging.
There are 4 essential elements you must know about your audience before you launch your course
- Pain points
- False Beliefs
- Mistakes
- Outcomes
Identify Your Audience’s Pain Points
Course creators must understand the pain points their audience is facing. That’s how you address their needs and show how you can solve their problems. It’s how your course will resonate with them.
The key to identifying pain points is not to guess. Research and talking with your audience will help you pinpoint the real struggles they are having.
The biggest mistake that most emerging course creators make is not digging deep enough. Surface problems like overwhelm, fear, stress, lack of energy, financial struggles, or lack of results are too broad and can be applied to too many situations.
Instead, ask yourself what those surface problems look like. How is your audience feeling? How would they describe their day with this problem? What is it keeping them from doing? If you took a picture of them dealing with this problem what would it look like?
When you can give specific examples of their pain and describe it in a way that makes them say, “That is exactly how I feel!” you know you’ve dug deep enough.
Now, before you say, “But I don’t want to make my audience feel bad,” you don’t have to. But you must understand where they are and be able to empathize with them.
Here’s a quick example. Let’s say you are a coach who helps your audience deal with overwhelm. You know there are days they bury themselves under the covers and don’t get out of bed and as a result they are getting behind on tasks which only makes them more overwhelmed. You don’t have to say, “Are you tired of hiding under the covers and ignoring the world while your task list grows?” You can frame it to identify their problem, but focus on their desires: “Imagine jumping out of bed with excitement and energy, eager to knock out your to-do list.”
Overcome False Beliefs
Every industry has myths and false beliefs that guide the thinking and action of that audience.
The problem with this is that when these myths and beliefs prohibit them from taking the actions they need to overcome their problems, they aren’t going to believe your offer can be the solution.
No one likes to be told their wrong, so trying to prove that to them is ineffective. Rather, it falls upon you to help them come to that realization on their own. One way to do this is to use real-life examples that they know are true.
For example, if my audience believes “If a course is good it will sell” and they don’t believe a marketing strategy, strong messaging or good copy is important, it won’t do me any good to simply tell them they need a marketing strategy, strong messaging or good copy to sell their course.
Instead, I can discredit that belief by applying it to a 100% scenario such as: “If just having a good course guaranteed you’d be able to sell it, then everyone who has a good course would be selling out, but we all know that’s not the case.” This is a statement that they know is not 100% the case so they will intuitively begin to question their own belief.
Identifying the false beliefs and myths that your audience holds is key to being able to help overcome their objections.
Understand the Mistakes Your Audience Is Making
In the search for a solution, your audience has no doubt already tried many things. They haven’t worked or they wouldn’t still be working.
As humans, we are driven to avoid the pain our mistakes have caused. That’s why making people aware of the mistakes that have caused the problems or mistakes they made to fix the problem is powerful. It helps raise awareness and shows them things they need to avoid.
When you can identify and describe the mistakes they have made, you will automatically relate to them in an important way. Your audience will be thinking, “How did they know that about me?” They are then more ready to listen to your solution for those mistakes.
Emphasize Outcomes
When we are searching for a solution, we have a specific outcome in mind. When you can articulate your solution as giving the outcomes your audience desires, you are on your way to launch gold.
That means you must clearly understand what they truly desire. For example, someone who is seeking a solution to losing weight isn’t just looking for a lower number on the scale. What are they really hoping for? Do they want to slip back into their skinny jeans? Finally have the energy to keep up with their two-year-old. Feel better than they did at 25? Get an all-clear from their doctor and stop taking medication. Wear a bikini on the beach with confidence. The desired outcomes aren’t the same for everyone.
There are many outcomes possible in every niche. Understanding the true (deep) outcome your specific audience wants will help you appeal to that specific audience and also make them say, “I want that!”
The 4 essential elements you must know about your audience before you launch your course will set you up for greater success. You will use them in your messaging and copy, in your webinars, and on your sales page.
If you want help with your next launch I can provide Done-For-You, Done-With-You, and a Do-It-Yourself Course.
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- 5 Common Barriers That Keep Emerging Course Creators From Online Success
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- 3 Essential Launch Ingredients for Successful Course Conversions
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