These five common course creator barriers keep emerging course creators from experiencing launch success.
If you have found yourself working on a course launch for three or more months but don’t seem to be making the progress you want, it may be that you are experiencing one of these course creator barriers.
Barriers that Keep You from Course Launch Success
Perfectionistic Procrastination
If you’re a course creator who waits for “perfection” in everything you do, including the perfect time to launch, you are experiencing perfectionist procrastination.
Behaviors:
You constantly rewrite copy and recreate content. You redo your course videos until they look perfect. You’re waiting for your website to be up and running. You’ve changed your course content 2 or more times. You are never happy with your work. You tell yourself you will launch when everything is perfect.
Results:
You’ve been on a course journey for 3 or more months but you haven’t launched because “it’s not good enough yet.”
Course Creator Confusion
If you feel more confused and overwhelmed about creating and marketing your course the more you learn, you are encountering course creator confusion.
Behaviors:
You spend hours googling for answers and trying out different strategies, looking for “the one.” You keep attending webinars and challenges but conflicting information creates more confusion, and you don’t commit to implementing a strategy. You aren’t sure exactly what you should do first, what will work for your audience, or how to put it all together.
Results:
While you’re learning and trying out ALL the things, you aren’t actually moving your business forward and you still haven’t launched your course. The mix of ideas create a hodge-podge brand and marketing campaign that is unclear to your audience.
Decision Paralysis
If you can’t make up your mind about your niche, course topic, marketing plan or launch strategy and have trouble sticking to one plan you may be suffering from decision paralysis.
Behaviors:
You’re afraid of making the “wrong” decision so you’ve started, stopped, and changed gears on your online course three or more times and still aren’t clear on what you should do to actually make sales. You constantly rewrite your copy because you aren’t sure what sounds best or what will resonate with your audience. You are afraid to actually launch because they aren’t sure if they are “doing it right.”
Results:
You tell yourself that because you’re busy you are creating momentum, but if you’re honest with yourself, you know you’re stuck on the course creator hamster wheel.
Shiny Object Syndrome
If you are frequently distracted by new ideas and feel the need to stop what you are doing and pursue them, you are most likely facing shiny object syndrome.
Behaviors:
You lose focus of the overall goal and fixate on a small aspect that often isn’t that important in the big picture of your business. You’re often looking for the newest and latest fad. You have lots of projects started but move on to an new idea before you complete them. You have so many social media accounts you can’t keep up with them all. You subscribe to lots of courses and tech apps for your business but haven’t used most of them.
Results:
You are spending a lot of time and money, but in your pursuit of the next “great thing” you don’t have follow-through and aren’t actually accomplishing your goals.
Self-Doubt Syndrome
If you feel like you aren’t enough of an expert, aren’t a good writer, or don’t have what it takes to be a course creator, you are probably suffering from self-doubt syndrome.
Behaviors:
You sit and stare at a blank computer screen, constantly hit the delete button. You freeze when it’s time to record your lessons. You have more unfinished projects than finished. You are afraid of being judged by what others will think so you play it safe.
Results:
Your fear is keeping you from helping the very people you created your course to help. You’re blending in with everyone else because you aren’t producing content that reflects who you really are and what you are all about. That makes you feel bad about what you are sending out into the word because it doesn’t feel authentic to who you are and feels out of alignment.
If you mentally checked any of these characteristics, then you are in the majority of emerging course creators. While it these are very common symptoms, and we’ve all been there at one time or another, you don’t have to stay there!
Ways to Overcome Course Creator Barriers That Can Hold You Back from Course Success
Counter Perfectionism Procrastination
The best way to counter perfectionism procrastination is to adjust your expectations. I recommend that course creators adopt the 70% rule. Because an online course is continually evolving, there isn’t a definitive end. That means there is never going to be perfection, so to expect it is unobtainable.
Accept that, and instead set daily and weekly goals that accept 70% as being your perfect for now. To create momentum and move forward, it is more important to get your content, your course, your copy, and your marketing out into the world so you can test and then refine. The only way to know what works is to actually try it.
When perfectionistic tendencies rear their head and you see yourself procrastinating on reaching your goals, remind yourself that 70% is the new perfect.
Overcome Course Creator Confusion
To overcome course creator confusion stop the noise. If you put 30 course creator ninjas in a room, you’d leave with 30 different ideas about the best way to create and market your course. All those different opinions and options create more confusion, not less.
The bottom line is that any number of strategies actually work (otherwise there wouldn’t be so many course creator ninjas, right?). The way to overcome confusion and overwhelm is to stop learning about all of the possible strategies, choose one that feels right for you, and stick with it.
Once you’ve made that decision, you can follow a roadmap and tackle the process one small step at a time. When you have a roadmap, the journey becomes less overwhelming and you will start to feel more in control.
Banish Decision Paralysis
Decision paralysis often comes about because we tend to overthink options and are afraid of making mistakes. It’s important to remember that as an emerging course creator, you will make mistakes, but all of them are correctable.
Simply realizing that you can switch gears and aren’t making a lifetime commitment with a business decision can be very freeing. If you choose the wrong niche, you can change your mind. If you try a launch strategy that doesn’t work for you, you can try another. If you decide you don’t like your course and want to create a membership, you can.
To make decisions easier:
- Create a pro/con list and go with the one with the most pros
- Limit the number of options to no more than 3 before you try to make a decision
- Set a deadline to limit the time you have to overthink and make decisions faster
- If something intuitively doesn’t feel right for you, no matter what an expert tells you, listen to your gut
Overcome Shiny Object Syndrome
If you suffer from shiny object syndrome, it’s time to put on your blinders. Blinders are put on horses to keep their eyes on what is ahead so they are not distracted by their surroundings. In this case, your eyes should be focused on your goals and ignoring the rabbit holes that slow you down.
One way to overcome shiny object syndrome is to limit the amount of time you spend trying every new trend. Keep an eye on your goals and continually ask yourself “Will this help me meet my goal better, faster, or less expensively?”
Just because something is new or you see someone else doing it, doesn’t mean it’s right for you.
By limiting your exposure to multiple ideas and focusing on the few things that will actually move your business forward you can avoid shiny object syndrome. And keep in mind a saying my grandma used to say, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”
Release Self-Doubt Syndrome
The instinct to compare ourselves to others is strong, however, it can also be debilitating. To release your self-doubt keep in mind that your goal is to help others solve a problem.
You aren’t solving the world’s problems or even solving all of your audience’s problems. You are teaching them something that you know works because they worked for you or someone else that you’ve helped. They have entered your world for a reason. Remember, you know more than your audience and that makes you the expert for them.
When you remove the focus from yourself and your competitors and focus instead on your audience, it is much easier to limit self-doubt. By concentrating on how you can help others rather than on your fear of judgment or not knowing enough, you will be able to authentically put yourself out there and attract your ideal clients.
Conclusion
Although these barriers are common, you don’t have to continue to experience them. When you find yourself stuck on the course creator hamster wheel and not moving forward consider these 5 common course creator barriers so you can refocus your energy and be on your way to course launch success.
Other articles you may find helpful:
Creating a Positive Business Mindset
3 Essential Launch Ingredients for Successful Course Conversions
Top 5 Copywriting SECRETS to Turbocharge Your Launch and Make More Sales
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