5 Reasons Your Course Flopped

A prospective client came to me after her course launch was a big ol’ flopper. 

And after brainstorming what may have gone wrong, she asked if I could quickly change the name of her webinar to make it sound “more enticing.”

Short answer: No. 

Long answer: Read on.

There are lots of reasons her course may have flopped. And just changing the webinar name to something else out of thin air – without the research to back it up – wouldn’t have been the right move. 

PSA: Don’t be a Debbie.** 

Surface level changes won’t work if you haven’t done the in-depth research and hammered down your overall marketing strategy. 

So let’s dig into things a little further – below are some possible scenarios that may have contributed to Debbie’s mediocre launch. 

But you, my friend, are one step ahead. Roll through these lessons below and put the tips towards improving your next launch, too. 

**Names changed. Apologies if your name is Debbie 😉

1. Your Not Attracting the *Right* Audience

You don’t need to have a *big* audience, but you do need the right audience to sell a course. And by “audience,” I mean more than just a few Facebook followers → Zuckerburg can snatch those suckers right out from under you at any given moment. But that email list? Those lovely people are all yours. 

“An email list is critical because you can’t build your content on rented land. So many brands and companies build their audiences on Facebook and Google+, which is fine, but we don’t own those names – Facebook and Google do…If our goal is to drive sales or keep customers happy in some way, we first need to get them as part of our audience.” – Campaign Monitor.

So while you build your audience for your next launch, make sure you’re curating the correct people. #VanityNumbersDon’tSell. Pull back the curtain on who you’re inviting to the party… 

Is your freebie and messaging attracting the right avatar?

How about adding a simple order bump to your freebie? ← Getting micro-conversions off the get-go allows you to be certain your audience is filled with people willing to purchase. It also gives them solid insight into your brand, and immediate respect for you if they’re happy with the product. (A returning customer is always simpler to convert than a new one!)

You don’t have to have a massive list to make a profit from your course. Case in point: According to Convert Kit, one woman recently profited $5,000 from a list of 140 people. ONE-HUNDRED-AND FORTY PEOPLE. 

If you’re steadily inviting in the correct audience, you can expect much better results next time around.

2. Your Pre-launch Fell Flat

Truthfully, any time that you are *not* in open-cart mode, means you’re in pre-launch mode. 

What you do during close-cart time will significantly affect your sales during open-cart time. ← Don’t take this advice lightly! 

Every podcast you’re on, email you send, and post you publish, is a stronger push towards your visibility and expert status. Think of your subscribers as you would an in-person friendship – calling up a buddy only when you need something is not setting you up for any BFF love… So don’t go knocking on your list when you only have something to sell. 

So as you put out helpful content during your pre-launch phase, you can begin to unearth the pains and desires your audience is feeling. Tackle common FAQ’s, hone in on limiting beliefs and objections, and deliver VALUABLE CONTENT during this precious time frame. This technique will build anticipation and followers, while setting your course up for the next logical step towards deeper training and guidance. 

3. Your Emails Were Flavorless

Email marketing brings you a beast of potential in the online world. Stats from Lyke Marketing show that email marketing has an ROI of 4400% and can see around $44 for every dollar spent. 

And so you may already know your email list is precious, but did you make good use of it?

Here’s my big caveat with email marketing during your launch: Don’t fall prey to every other marketing email that comes your way – dare to be different and stand out in your reader’s inbox. How can you uplevel what they are so prone to seeing? 

• Can you create a personal video for them? 
• Can you provide a storyline through your string of emails? 
• Can you have an email ‘takeover’ and get an advocate of your course to write the email and explain their fresh view and personal transformation? 
• How about the standard FAQ email – what can you do to create smiles, respect, and more clicks? 

NEED SOME HELP WRITING YOUR EMAILS? – Giddy up on over to the Sales Email Templates – and write your next sales campaign with ease and personality!

Lean into what you can do to set yourself apart from mediocrity and take your emails to next-level status. 

4. Your Sales Page Missed the Mark

Launches have a lot of moving parts. The design of your landing page, your webinar pitch, Facebook ads – the list goes on. But there’s one piece of the puzzle whose importance trumps: your long-form sales page.

Because you don’t have the opportunity to meet your prospect at the local cafe to chat about your course, your sales page needs to do the heavy lifting. It should crush every possible objection that comes their way. And if it isn’t pulling its weight, this could be an area to fine-tune. If you want a conversion copywriter’s eyes on your page – pick up the Sales Page BOOST! 

The three most visited sections on your sales page are as follows: the price, the FAQs, and the course introduction section… so be sure to truly crush objections and bolster up these areas on your page. 

>>> And above all, remember that the goal isn’t for them to understand you, the goal is for them to feel understood.  

5. You didn’t Validate & Pre-Sell Your Offer

Sorry to break it to you, but your offer *might* not be the right one (true Canadian apologizing over here). The truth is – what you think they want isn’t always what will sell. 

One of the biggest mistakes I see is spending so much time creating a course, without having any validation that it’s a winner yet. The key is validating your offer first, so you can understand what your audience truly wants.

Here’s the thing – everything is a test in business. And the best way to test and get that validation is by pre-selling your offer. 

And nothing validates your offer like a paying customer. No, not freebie beta testers – we want real people with real credit cards.

So what does a pre-sale look like? 

In essence, it means selling your course before you’ve built out. You’ll want to communicate beforehand that students won’t receive the course until a specific future date. (this will give  you time to put alllll the assets together… once you know people want them!)

Shoot for 5-10 sales for your validation beta launch. 

And if you only get one sale? 

Great! Now you know that the offer wasn’t irresistible enough. It’s best to be authentic throughout this process – refund your one sale and get back to the drawing board. 

And once you have a handful of paid and eager students, you’ll be able to build out your course, while gaining their feedback and insights along the way. 

If you’d like this strategy explained in more detail – hippity-hop on over here.

Essentially, you will have gotten paid to go and create your course. Score! 

Testing and tweaking (no twerking, please) are core components to every successful launch. Slide these tips into your back pocket as you set your sights on your next launch. 

Onward and upward!