Show Notes

Kayla: Welcome back to another episode of The Designer Practice Podcast. I’m your host, Kayla Das. Today, we have Natashia Tiel, Kajabi Virtual Specialist and owner of Tiel Virtual Solutions here with us today to share with us practical strategies for managing course creation overwhelm so that we can get our online courses out in the world and start transforming more lives.

Hi Natashia, welcome to the show. It’s so great to have you here today.

Natashia: Hi Kayla. Thank you so much for having me on the podcast.

Kayla: Funny story to all of our listeners, Natashia, you were actually my virtual assistant for about a year when I first started my business coaching practice, and since then, you’ve become hyper-focused on helping course and content creators to streamline their course creation through Kajabi, an online platform for teaching and selling digital products.

Natashia: Yes, we loved working with you, Kayla, and providing online marketing support for your practice. We do still focus on providing that marketing support to our clients. And over the last couple of years, we have added in Kajabi support. As I saw more and more coaches, therapists and private practice owners move towards creating and selling their own courses.

How Kajabi has Streamlined My Practice

Kayla: An interesting fact though, I not only use Kajabi for my digital courses, but also, I use it for hosting the Designer Practice Podcast. So, for those listening, who don’t know how podcasting works, when you have a podcast, it’s best to have a hosting platform that then distributes your episodes to major podcasting platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, all of those major platforms. And this helps streamline your episodes so you’re not uploading individually. And I use Kajabi for my digital courses, for my memberships, for my podcast, really for a lot of things.

Natashia: Mm-hmm. That is awesome. I know when we were working together previously, you hadn’t yet decided on the course platform you wanted to use, so I’m really excited to hear that you are using Kajabi.

Kayla: Yes, that’s right. I actually forgot about that. Yeah, so I did transfer to Kajabi. It’s changed my life. I would never, ever get rid of that as a platform and even the podcasting feature that’s new. So Kajabi is really keeping up with modern times and what online course creators or online business owners need.

Some of our listeners might be wondering, “I’m a therapist. I’m not an online course creator.” And what’s really interesting about being a therapist is when it comes to passive income, digital courses, memberships, monetizing a podcast, all of these things are potential passive income generators. So you don’t have to necessarily stop doing one-to-one therapy, but these are ways that you can open up your practice so that you can serve more people, reach more people, and make more income, and have the time and financial freedom that you had set out to achieve.

How Kajabi Can Streamline Your Practice

So, before we dive into today’s episode, Natasha, please tell us about yourself, where you’re from, and tell us a little bit about who you work with and how you’ve became a Kajabi Virtual Specialist.

Natashia: Yes, for sure. Again, my name is Natashia and I own Tiel Virtual Solutions. I am based in Alberta, Canada. Along with my team, our passion is to help course creators gain back their time and confidently grow their business online, through both effective marketing and providing Kajabi tech support. I kind of fell into the world of Kajabi as one of my clients decided to move their courses to Kajabi from another hosting platform. And as I began to learn the ins-and-outs of Kajabi, I began to understand the benefits that this all-in-one platform could offer to therapists and private practice owners looking to add online courses to their service offerings. There are lots of hosting options to choose from out there, and Kajabi isn’t going to be the right fit for everyone, but what I love about Kajabi is it’s one place for all your course related tools. You don’t have to worry about integrating multiple different programs or tools together, like your landing page with your payment system, with the automation set up to connect your email marketing and your course platform to give access to that course, once someone has paid for the course. Every part of your learner’s journey can all be housed within Kajabi. And this can also make Kajabi a more cost-effective option. I know that sometimes that upfront price can seem daunting and more expensive, but when you actually take the time to break down the cost of each individual tool or platform that you will need to set up every piece of creating, marketing, selling, and hosting your course, Kajabi may actually end up being one of the cheaper options available.

Kayla: I agree with that as well. Even though it is in US dollars, for any Canadian listeners, it houses everything, right? I could be paying at least five different platforms for the things that Kajabi does in one specific place.

Natashia: Yeah, for sure. And the third reason I love Kajabi is that it provides a great user experience for learners of your course. You’re able to offer an intuitively designed course on a very user-friendly platform that allows your learners to access all the products and courses that they have purchased from you with ease. And it just gives that great user experience as they work through your course content.

Kayla: Amazing. And now, obviously it sounds like we’re very much endorsing Kajabi and we are because we love it. But really what we’re here to share with listeners are the steps and strategies and ways to deal with overwhelm. And of course, having Kajabi can really help you with navigating a lot of that overwhelm.

First Steps for Creating and Selling a Digital Course

So, let’s bring it back a little bit though, Natashia. So, what would be the first step for any therapist or coach listening to this episode today, who aspires to create a course, what should they focus on when they plan to create and sell a digital course?

Build an Audience

Natashia: I think even before creating an online course, you need to really focus on growing and nurturing your audience. Even if you currently only offer services that are in person at a physical practice or office, or especially if you do only offer in-person services. If you’re considering the idea of creating a digital course to offer, you need to be growing an audience online.

You will not have a very successful launch of your new course if you do not have that potential group of people who already are interested in purchasing your course and who already know you. This is the primary reason why we at Tiel Virtual Solutions incorporate marketing support services with our Kajabi support services for our clients.

Offer Free Content

This in itself could be its own podcast episode, but some of the key ways to grow and nurture an audience online include having a free offer, which is something that people can get in exchange for giving you their name and email address. And that free offer provides a small win connected to that bigger winner transformation that your digital course will give. And you need to be consistently providing new pieces of valuable content, whether that’s in the form of a blog post or a podcast episode, as well as social media posts that gets you in front of potential clients, and it establishes you as an expert and a source of valuable information in your industry.

Choose an All-In-One Course Hosting Platform

Kajabi offers some of the great tools that can help you grow and nurture your audience, including email marketing. So, you can send out regular email newsletters to that email list and continue to nurture and share your valuable expertise. You can host your podcast through Kajabi, like Kayla does. And you can also set up your website through Kajabi, if you choose, including having those blog posts through Kajabi.

Kayla: I love that you said that building an audience is the very first step because when it comes to one-to-one therapy, not a lot of therapists, have an email list or start an email list. But when we start thinking about these passive incomes. This is really important because for any listener, whether you just found the episode today, or you’ve been on my email, you know that I funnel all of my free and paid content through my email list. So, when an episode drops, I share it so that people can actually listen to it, right? I have a lot of free opt-ins or freebies, whether it’s my passive income personality quiz or my private practice checklist, or my free social media templates.

So, all of these things help to encourage people to opt in to an email list, and then you can start warming them up and showing them that you are the expert in this particular area. And then when you are ready to sell this helps with course overwhelm because even if you haven’t started your course yet, having an email list can really help you. And you can house this all through Kajabi. So even if you’re not ready to start building your digital course, or your membership or your podcast, whatever your life goals are, you can still start creating that email list, you can start sending those emails and you can start warming people up so that you can sell to them eventually.

Test Out Your Course Content

Natashia: Yes. It’s a great way to also test out your potential course content. As you put out snippets of content and see what type of response you get, what type of engagement you get. If people are just waiting to absorb your information and are responding and engaging and asking more questions and wanting more information, that is also a good way for you to see, oh, people want to know this information. People want to learn how to move past this thing that they’re stuck on. How can I help them? And it not only grows that audience, but it is a good way for you to test out your content and to see is there a need? Is there a demand for that course?

Most Common Course Creation Overwhelm Roadblocks

Kayla: I love that you just talked about when people are stuck on something, and this goes into what causes overwhelm, right? I always say that we procrastinate things that, either overwhelm us, underwhelm us, or we experience fear in.

When we think of the course creation process, what have you seen as the most common causes for course creation overwhelm?

Fear

Natashia: Some of the most common causes of course creation overwhelm that I come across include fear, is definitely one of them. That fear of wandering, will this course sell? Will people want to buy it? Is it going to be a success after I put all of this time and effort into it? And that’s where testing out those pieces through online marketing can help overcome that fear.

Don’t know where to start

Another one is feeling like you have so many ideas of courses to create. You just don’t know where to start or what to focus on for that first or even second or third course that you want to create.

Time

Time is a big one. You still are having to run your practice and it can be hard to find the time you need to spend on creating that course as well as still meeting one-on-one with clients and making sure your practice is still running.

Tech

I would also say that tech overwhelm is a big cause of course creation overwhelm. You spent so much time planning out your course. You created all the materials. You’ve recorded all those videos. All the content that you want to provide. And then you get stuck in this tech headache and your momentum stops and it’s difficult to get past that roadblock.

Kayla: I agree with you there and a lot of therapists out there are likely resonating with what you are saying here. Because I’ve seen all of those reasons as well, and I’ve even experienced some of those reasons.

But when it comes to overwhelm, the number one reasons that stop people in their tracks is tech overwhelm. Therapists came therapists to help people not to navigate a website, not to set up a whole platform on how to create a course. All these ideas exist and creating content sometimes comes naturally. Because I know when I was in my undergrad and my masters, creating PowerPoints was easy, right?

But it’s what do I do after I create that? How do I record? How do I actually sell it? How do I make money? What is the easiest way, what’s the automated way? And this is all the tech stuff that you’re talking about, which we’re going to talk a little bit about that later in this episode. And you have a freebie that can also help therapists and coaches manage that piece as well.

So, when it comes to overwhelm, what are some strategies that can help therapists and coaches to take action and move towards their goals of getting their course out for sale?

Steps for Managing Course Creation Overwhelm

Natashia: Firstly, I want to say to any of your listeners that if you are feeling overwhelmed with the idea of creating a digital course, you are not alone. The process can feel daunting as it feels like there is so much you need to learn to do, to connect all together. So many different pieces to create a well-structured flowing course.

Simplify

So, the first thing I recommend is to simplify. Simplify down to one problem or pain point that you have experienced with your clients that have come to you for those one-on-one sessions and then one solution. And one audience. By narrowing your focus, you’ll be able to plan out and create a course that is more targeted and effective at focusing on the transformation that your learners will experience as they work through your course.

Think the Bigger Picture

Secondly, there are three questions that I recommend asking yourself to help you think through that big picture plan of your course before getting into the really nitty-gritty details of creating the actual content. These three questions will help you to create that overall layout or outline of your course so that you know what those learning outcomes should be for your learners and what type of content to include to make sure that you are moving your learners towards those outcomes.

The first question to ask yourself is, why am I creating this course? What is your motivation for taking all of your knowledge and expertise and turning it into an online course? What are you hoping the impact will be on the learners to go through your course, and what is the transformation or the benefit that they will walk away with once they have completed the course?

The second question to consider is, how will I deliver this course? And this is often where people get stuck. But really just think about what method do you want to use to deliver the content of your course? Do you want it to be a self-study course or a mix of self-study and group coaching? Are you going to deliver the content live or pre-recorded? It doesn’t have to be overly complicated.

The third question is to develop the WHAT of your course. And this is where you start to get into more the nitty-gritty details of the content and the structure or layout. How many modules? How many different sections do you want there to be? And even what types of supplementary materials do you want to provide to your learners?

Outsource

And lastly, it’s okay to outsource parts of the course creation process to reduce that overwhelm. As Kayla kind of already mentioned, that tech headache, that tech roadblock is a big piece of overwhelm and it’s okay to get help. So that you can keep moving towards that goal of getting your course out there. There are many course creation and Kajabi experts, like myself, whose passion is to remove those tech roadblocks and to bring your course to life all in a way that saved you time. It allows you to focus on what brings you joy in your business, and it gives you confidence that your message, that your course is being heard and getting out there in the world.

Develop Your Course Content from the Top-Down

Kayla: The way you framed how to simplify, is exactly how I teach therapists and coaches. Essentially, you’re reverse engineering the course from the top-down. Often, we think of doing it from the bottom-up. And what I mean by that is we need to start from the problem. What is the problem that someone is experiencing? And how can we simplify it downward that the content that we share connects directly back to the solution of that problem? What I’ve noticed that causes over overwhelm for therapists and coaches is, I have all these great ideas, I have all these solutions, I have all of these ways to get people to a specific end-point. And then I put them all in a course and it causes overwhelm for the actual client that you’re trying to sell to.

Also, when we think of the problem, we are getting hyper-specific. And there’s a couple things that I’ve noticed therapists and coaches start off with in that initial idea formulation of a course. Either one, they want to focus on a therapeutic modality versus a problem, or they focus on a very broad problem. And let me give you a couple examples.

People say to me, “Kayla, I want to create a course that’s focused on cognitive behavioral therapy.” Okay, so that’s great. So that is the methods you’re going to use in the course, but what problem or how are you going to help someone?

The way I also, and this is for like really any marketing, I always say that our therapeutic approaches are features. Our product or our services, therapy or digital course, in this case. Our therapeutic modality is a feature. And then there’s our process and strategy. So that is what we do in CBT or any other therapeutic approach. And then there’s a benefit, like what the client wants to see, that helps solve the problem specifically. Because as we know, therapeutic approaches can be used for so many different reasons. We need to come back to the problem.

And the same with being super broad, right? I’ve had people say to me, “Kayla, I want to help women with overwhelm.” Okay. Overwhelmed with what? Overwhelmed with work? Overwhelmed with childcare? Overwhelmed with potty training? I mean, there’s so many reasons because overwhelm sure it’s a problem, but it’s not specific enough to really help people know that they need to buy this course.

Natashia: And that right there is the key that you can make a course that answers that broad question or problem, but if it is too broad, people aren’t going to relate to what you’re trying to sell, because they’ll be like, “Oh. Well. I’m not overwhelmed. I’m fine.” But when you get down and simplify it to, “Are you overwhelmed with having to potty train your three-year-old?” Well, then yes, you have got mothers who are feeling that overwhelm. But if you just say, “Are you overwhelmed with life?” Well, of course everyone’s overwhelmed with life at times, right? So you’re not going to have that connection with your audience.

There’s this quote by Hans Hofmann that I love, and it’s “the ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.“

And I think that just speaks to that, you really need to simplify down to that one problem, that one solution that will transform people and that one specific audience even. Because when you really niche down that is when you actually open your course to more people.

How an All-in-One Course Hosting Platform Can Help with Overwhelm

Kayla: A hundred percent agree. So how does having a course hosting platform, such as Kajabi, help therapists and coaches with the overwhelm process and specifically that tech piece?

Natashia: Yes. So, to kind of tie back into what we’ve already been talking about and the strategies, Kajabi is a platform that allows you to simplify. You don’t have to worry about integrating individual platforms or software’s altogether to make every piece of selling your coursework together. When there’s something that is not working in that pipeline, you don’t have to spend hours trying to figure out, “Okay, which tool or which platform isn’t talking properly to the others.” Everything can be set up directly in Kajabi from your sales page to the checkout page and your payment integration to the confirmation emails that get sent out, the login page and access to your course content. It’s all in one spot. And it is a great tool that can reduce that overwhelm and simplify the course creation process so that you can start sharing your course with the world.

Kayla: So, all of this information is really helpful in helping listeners be able to decrease the overwhelm process. Do you have any additional insights or anything you would like to share with our listeners about managing course creation overwhelm that maybe you haven’t already touched on?

Avoid Perfection Instead Take Action

Natashia: There are two things that come to mind and we have already touched on them a bit, but I want to reiterate that you don’t have to try and figure out every part of this process by yourself. In one of my quick tea-time chats I do with potential clients, I recently had one that she said something that I think is important for all of us to learn. She had done a great job of growing and nurturing her audience through regular podcast episodes, and she was ready to move forward with launching an online course. Now, the reason she reached out to me was because, and I quote her, “It is time to launch, but I want to do it right.”

I think this is a great reminder to all of us, even myself, that we don’t have to figure everything out by, ourselves. Sometimes to do something right, we need to invest in those experts who can come alongside and support us so that we can do it right.

And lastly, there’s this quote by Walt Disney that I love. “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” So, I encourage all of you who are listening, don’t get too caught up in all of the details. Start with that one problem and that one solution, and go from there. Stop dreaming about that online course that you want to create and make a start today. What is one thing you can do today to move you closer to bringing that dream to life?

Kayla: That is the best insight that I have heard all day. And what’s actually so ironic about this, this is so timely, because I am now rerecording my course Mastering the Psychology Today Profile, and you said exactly what I did originally. I put my course out. It might have not have been that pretty. It might have not have been visually appealing. Looking back on it now, it might have been a little bit overwhelming. Maybe not so step-by-step process as I had hoped. So now I am re-recording but what’s so great about when you start selling courses as well is everyone who’s paid for your course previously gets all of the brand-new content. So, anyone who has previously paid for my course, they get all the great stuff, even if I increase my prices in the future, they paid the original founding member fee, and they will always get access to the new content. So, it does not have to be pretty to start making money. And I’ve had my course there for almost two years and this is the first time I’ve done Mastering the Psychology Today Profile 2.0. But now it’s going to be so much better. But it’s because at first, I had put it out.

I don’t want to say I didn’t worry because I think that’s a natural instinct. But in saying that, people had bought it, people had gotten results, people have given me testimonials saying how good it was. It was not pretty. I’m going to say that, the next version will be, but this is why when you start putting it out, you do not have to have perfection. Really what you want to have is results. Without all of the fluff and all of this stuff added in, if you can give the person the solution to a problem, no matter how pretty it is, no matter how great it is, it doesn’t mean that you’re not going to come in and you’re not going to hone in on that process moving forward. My process has really honed in from my first edition. But you can do it, and that should not be a block to preventing you from moving forward.

10 Steps for Confidently Setting Up Your Online Course in Kajabi

So, this is really important to help people, when it comes to setting up their course in Kajabi. So, you do have a free guide on how to do this. Am I right in saying that?

Natashia: Yes. I do have a free guide 10 Steps to Confidently Setting up your Online Course in Kajabi.

Kayla: Can you tell us a little bit about your free guide and how it can help therapists and coaches with their course creation?

Natashia: Of course, my desire is for everyone to be ready to launch their digital course with confidence. And so, in this guide I walk you through the 10 steps to get your course fully set up in Kajabi so you can get past that tech roadblock and you can start changing and transforming more lives today.

Within the guide, you will find a detailed checklist to follow for each of the steps. As well as tips and prompts to help you create an intuitive and engaging experience for your learners. Don’t let the overwhelm of those Kajabi tech challenges stop you from sharing your amazing course with the world.

Kayla: Perfect. So, if you’re interested in signing up for Natashia’s Free Guide, 10 Steps to Confidently Setting Up Your Online Course in Kajabi, check out kayladas.com/natashiafreeguide

That’s kayladas.com/natashiafreeguide. And Natashia is spelled with an I.

Natashia: Mm-hmm

Conclusion

Kayla: Natashia, thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to join us. It was great having you here and sharing these useful strategies for managing course creation overwhelm.

Natashia: Thank you Kayla, for having me on your podcast. I really enjoyed our conversation and having the opportunity to share some helpful strategies so your listeners can confidently share their amazing courses with the world and transform more lives.

Kayla: Thank you everyone for tuning in to today’s episode, and I hope you join me again soon on The Designer Practice Podcast.

Until next time, bye for now.

Credits & Disclaimers

Music by ItsWatR from Pixabay

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