Are you thinking about creating an online course but not sure where to start? One of the key factors to consider when developing a course is selecting a topic that truly captivates your audience.
When you create a course on a subject both you and your potential students care about, you’ll most likely find such courses are already out there. How do you know it’s going to be worth your while to add your version to the throng? And how will you know it’s worth investing your time in creating?
The secret lies on choosing a specific topic that thrills your fans and followers – one they’ll be happy to pay for. In this blog post, we will explore the significance of picking a course topic that wows your followers and how understanding your audience’s psychographics can help you create a successful online course.
Going Beyond Demographics
When it comes to understanding your target audience, demographics only scratch the surface. While demographics provide basic information such as age, gender, and location, psychographics delve deeper into individuals’ interests, values, attitudes, and lifestyles.
To identify a paying audience, however, you need to invest in two other practices: Creating a research system that you can apply to find the right audience for any product or program… and researching your audience’s psychographics.
By going beyond demographics and tapping into psychographics, you can gain a more profound understanding of what motivates your audience and tailor your course content accordingly.
Psychographics tell you what she will pay for – even if it hurts to open her wallet.
What is Psychographics?
Psychographics is a form of emotional demographics. It refers to the study of individuals’ personalities, values, opinions, attitudes, interests, and lifestyles. This information provides insights into why people make certain decisions, what drives their behaviors, and how they perceive the world around them. In other words, it encompasses the hopes, fears, habits, interests, passions, and challenges, as well as the conscious and unconscious decision-making behind cold, hard demographics. By understanding the psychographics of your target audience, you can create content that resonates with them on a deeper level, fostering a strong connection and loyalty.
Understanding the psychology of your ideal buyer is crucial if you want to present a course she pays for and takes. Plus, you don’t just want her to pay for your course: You want her to complete it, stay engaged with you, buy your other products and programs, and recommend you too.
Psychographics Help You Attract Lifetime Fans
By incorporating psychographics into your course creation process, you can attract not just students, but lifetime fans. When your course aligns with the values and interests of your audience, they are more likely to engage with your content, recommend it to others, and become loyal followers. Building a community of passionate supporters can significantly impact the success and longevity of your online course.
Lifetime fans are your repeat buyers – they’re the ones who will click on most of your offers just because you are the person presenting them – your own plus affiliate offers you recommend.
You probably have a few favorite experts of your own that fit in this category – people whose offers you always check out because you like and trust them. Number one reason: Your first experience with those particular experts was a good one. Their sales page or post struck an emotional chord with you, so powerfully that you took a chance, purchased what was being offered – and got the help you needed. These favorite influencers delivered what they had promised
Defining What Value Means to your Ideal Student is Key to Choosing a Course Topic
People respond well to value, but psychographics also involve defining what value means to your ideal student. To create a course that wows your followers, you need to understand what value means to your ideal student. Value can take various forms, such as knowledge acquisition, skill development, personal growth, or entertainment. By identifying what value proposition resonates most with your target audience, you can tailor your course content to meet their specific needs and expectations, increasing the likelihood of success.
For example, someone hoping to impress her new Italian mother-in-law who is seeking a recipe for Pecorino Ravioli with Walnuts and Figs is going to perceive a recipe for that dish as virtually priceless, whereas she’s going to reject a recipe for Fig Newton cookies because that is not what she was looking for and not what she urgently needs. (That’s what people mean when they talk about ‘perceived value’. It’s all in the eye of the beholder.)
Your demographics will only show that your ambitious cook is 29-35 years old, University education, married, no children. It will not show you that she has an Italian mother-in-law and has only recently become interested in cooking.
How to Collect Psychographic Information.
There are several methods you can use to collect psychographic information about your target audience. Surveys, interviews, social media analytics, and online research are effective tools for gathering insights into your audience’s preferences, behaviors, and attitudes. By analyzing this data, you can create detailed buyer personas and tailor your course content to match the psychographic profiles of your ideal students.
SurveyMonkey offers powerful tools and templates for creating all of the above types of market research – and offers multiple options for using these. If you want to collect polls via your blog, a WordPress plugin is the easiest way to go. And, of course, you shouldn’t neglect Facebook’s group polling capacity!
You can also set up your own sliding-scale polls by asking a comparison question in your Facebook poll such as “On a scale of one to five, how much do you need a course on marketing your online course – one being not at all and five being “I’m desperate for it”? (Your poll options would be 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.)
Pay attention to any comments people add: Often if they feel an area of your course is lacking – or that there’s a better course idea you could be creating – people will comment on what they think you missed.
Polls and questions get people going. They can start a conversation that you can then glean for clues. And if they do start a discussion, you’ve got a viable seed for a market.
Psychographics give you data about your audience’s inner needs and secrets that you can’t afford to ignore. You can get started by asking yourself the right questions about your ideal student and follower so you can research the answers.
- What does she think about [your topic – e.g. working at home, learning new skills, budgeting, et cetera]
- What does she believe about [your topic]?
- What does she value about [your topic]?
- What does she want when it comes to [your topic]?
No matter what mix of psychographics and demographics you use, it’s all about supplying what your ideal student needs to solve an immediate and pressing problem.
The key to creating a successful online course lies in picking a topic that resonates with your audience on a deeper level. By understanding the psychographics of your ideal students, you can create content that not only attracts them but also fosters long-term engagement and loyalty. So, before you embark on your course creation journey, take the time to delve into the minds of your followers and pick a topic that wows them. Your course’s success may very well depend on it!
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