Single Problem, Single Solution: The Benefits of Keeping It Simple
Tell me if this sounds familiar. You begin to read a blog post, and before you know it, your quest for a “quick answer” to your problem has you reading a rambling, 3,000 word novelette that covers everything from where to find a graphic designer to how to design a business card.
Now, a 3,000-word blog post can be great for traffic, but only if it’s tightly focused. But what happens all too often (in blog posts and in course development) is that every point covered brings up a new point to be addressed.
- Logo design leads to business card formatting.
- Business cards lead to taglines.
- Taglines lead to ideal client avatars.
Avatars lead to…well, you get the idea. The point is, when you strive to provide the very best information for your audience, it’s easy to want to include one more important detail. Soon, you’ve outlined an encyclopedia’s worth of content that overwhelms not only you, but your clients as well.
Create a Course Focused on One Problem, One Solution
Most people don’t need or want an all-inclusive answer. If your course helps your clients identify their ideal client, then including information about choosing a domain name might seem relevant, when it’s really just a distraction.
Worse, if you try to branch out too much, you run the risk of overwhelming your customer. Too much of that, and she’ll log out and never return—for this or any other course you create. Not because you’re a bad teacher, but because she’ll be convinced she’s a bad student. As a virtual assistant, I’ve seen this happen over and over with my client’s courses.
Here’s another issue with trying to include too much info in a single course: Depth of knowledge. When you try to include too much information, what you end up with is very thin coverage of a lot of different topics.
Instead, when you focus your course on a single problem and a single solution, you can dig deeper and present ideas and information that won’t be found just anywhere, such as:
- Case studies
- Worksheets
- Planning documents
- Checklists
- Multi-media content
These are the types of things that your audience will happily pay a premium for, because they cannot find them elsewhere. When you focus your course on a single problem, you’ll have the leeway to create these and other resources. Take a broader approach, though, and you’ll be forced to scrimp on the “extras.”
But make no mistake—there is still room for that all-inclusive, massive e-Course. One look at powerhouse coaches such as Marie Forleo and her massively popular B-School will tell you that.
Keep in mind, though, that if you decide to go ahead with an eCourse of this magnitude, you will (by necessity) have to:
- Expand the length of the course to accommodate all the extra information. Each week (or module) becomes its own “mini” course, focused on a single issue/solution.
- Increase the cost of the course. If your market will bear a high-ticket, multi-module course, then, by all means, you should produce one. But do keep in mind that the more information you provide, the higher the price point.
Remember, too, that a large course is a much more difficult sell—and we’re not just talking about the price. You should consider how it will fit in your current sales funnel. Do you have other items that allow your audience to develop the ‘know, like and trust factor” before committing to an in-depth course? A bigger commitment on the part of the buyer is something she’s going to have to carefully consider before she takes the plunge. A smaller, single-problem course is easier to commit to and easier to complete and be successful.
Are you ready to build your course? From picking a topic to creating valuable lessons, How to Create and Launch a Profitable Course that Your Buyers Devour in Record Time will teach you how to craft a transformative online course so it’s highly desirable, highly memorable and highly-likely to gain you repeat clients, referrals & more business over the long term. Learn more here.
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