Over the past 14 years, Bill has had over 1,500 short-term rental tenants. With all that experience, he’s considered a go-to resource for landlords in Canada.
(This isn’t uncommon. We all have something we’re good at that other people want to learn… it’s often tied to what you do for a living. Especially if you’re a consultant or coach).
A few years ago, Bill started promoting his real estate ventures online. After seeing some success, he started selling products as well and created an eviction guide for landlords. His long-term goal for his online business is to eventually replace his rental income:
“I really want to turn this into a business that replaces a lot of my rental income. I want to get to a position where I don’t have to be stuck where I am. I want to have a little more flexibility.”
After he sold over 400 copies of his eviction guides, Bill knew he was onto something.
He’d been answering landlords’ questions for years and thought online courses would be a great way to teach them the business. But first, he had to choose a course idea his customers wanted to buy…
What Type Of Online Courses Do People Actually Buy?
Bill was facing a common issue among online business owners: Figuring out what your customers want.
It takes research and persistence to uncover the pains and desires of your audience…
“That’s something that I struggled with, giving that information for what people really wanted. It’s not really what they’re saying, it’s what they should be saying, and I’ve tried to fill in some of the gaps there.”
Seven Figure Courses shows you how to read between the lines of what you’re customers are telling you. Using our proven method for customer research made all the difference for Bill and his course…
He did it the old-fashioned way with direct mail, online surveys, and he also talked directly to his potential customers — my favorite.
Here’s what Bill found:
“What do people want? They usually don’t want what they think they want. When you actually listen to them explain their problems, it’s suddenly, ‘Well that’s not what you want. You’re looking for this.’”
Following the Seven Figure Courses training step-by-step led Bill to an “A-Ha!” moment for his business…
“[I learned] I’ve got to target more of these people that are getting people to buy property, or the realtors that are huge investors, and go, ‘Listen, I will make your investor that much more successful. I’ll make their landlord role that much easier.'”
Having a clear view of who your customers are can be the difference between a successful product and one that launches to crickets. And knowing what your customers want enables you to pick a course idea that will resonate with them:
“[Seven Figure Courses] helped me with narrowing down some of my avenues. I’ve got a whole binder with a bunch of the notes that I’ve taken as I’ve gone through the course, including looking at some of the competition and everything.”
All of his initial work led to Bill’s first course being a big success!
35 Sales and A Roadmap For More Courses
Based on his notes, Bill built a paid course that taught landlords how to properly screen their tenants.
“I have a basic screening course, which is one of the handiest things that I discovered many of these landlords need because they just have no idea how to go through the process.”
Most people think you have to build a big, fancy flagship course to make money selling online courses, but this is just a myth.
The key to a profitable online course is that it delivers a valuable outcome for your customers. Bill told me that his course has a handful of lessons, nothing too crazy. It’s what I call an “Entry-Level Course.” But his customers love it because they walk away knowing how to screen for problem tenants, saving their rental properties hundreds of dollars a year.
Since releasing the course, Bill already has 35 sales, at a conversion rate of about 4%!
And that’s not all…
Previously, Bill had targeted what he calls the “Ma and Pa Landlord.” These are landlords that have one to three properties. But as he learned during his research, these types of landlords weren’t going to be the best customers:
“I’ve actually had people say to my face, in phone calls, that they didn’t feel that they needed to buy any of my stuff because they got so much great information for free.”
To change this, Bill used the content strategies in Seven Figure Courses to get articles published in multiple landlord publications. Getting in front of new audiences has led to a different type of customer coming to his site…
“Now, it’s starting to turn into some of the bigger clients, where maybe they own an apartment building. Maybe they own 10 or 20 properties.”
Some of these bigger clients are even hiring Bill as a consultant. Amazing!
Bill has also created a free introductory course on landlording to build trust with his audience and grow his email list, which has almost doubled in size from 700 to about 1500 subscribers.
“I’m suddenly up to about 180 people who have gone through that course, and I’ve probably had about 30 sign up in the last month.”
With a steadily growing audience, Bill was smart in creating a free course. He’s able to immediately establish his credibility and show them the value his courses provide.
And now that Bill has built a system for growing his audience, he’s already hard at work creating his next paid course!
“Build It Right From the Start”
Look, building a business on your own is tough. Most of the time you feel like you’re throwing spaghetti at the wall hoping it sticks.
Bill saw just how hard it can be without a proven system to teach you how to do it right.
“If you’re going to do this, don’t screw around. Jump in with both feet. And make sure that you get the right training. This is the kind of training that can be really beneficial. It can point you in the right direction rather than have you flounder around for two or three years.”
Seeing that Bill and I were on the same page, I asked him what he thought of Seven Figure Courses:
“You might as well learn from someone who’s making money at it and doing it right. I’ve been following Derek since he first appeared on the scene. I like how he explains things. It’s pretty no-nonsense.”
Bill definitely has me pegged, I love it!
Have you been pushing off the opportunity to start your online course business?
Now is the time to take the plunge.
Great man. His talent and hard working will make a better result for our nation.