MILESTONE! 🏆 I know it is not much to some of you big instructors out there, but I achieved a 5-figure number this month! Last Nov I came within a few dollars or reaching 5-figures but it feels good to reach it on an "off summer month" and not on a high sale month. This on top of the nice chunk of change I get from other sources/platforms monthly, teaching online is surpassing any prior expectations I had for income.
A few tips of how I got here:
✔️The first 12 months was spent getting my income to $1,000 a month with only 12 months after that spent getting it to $10,000. You will notice how it speeds up quite a bit once you get past that $1,000 monthly marker. Same goes for building your net worth. That first $100,000 is a beast, with future subsequent $100,000 milestones being easier and quicker to reach.
A few tips of how I got here:
✔️The first 12 months was spent getting my income to $1,000 a month with only 12 months after that spent getting it to $10,000. You will notice how it speeds up quite a bit once you get past that $1,000 monthly marker. Same goes for building your net worth. That first $100,000 is a beast, with future subsequent $100,000 milestones being easier and quicker to reach.
✔️You will notice that this month comprised of 20 percent instructor promotions. It can be higher, but it rarely has gotten that high and I think that helps a great deal in boosting you further past your prior numbers. I sent two promo e-mails this month along with a new course launch.
✔️Speaking of course launches I *try* to do one each month. That means most of the month I am focused on course production and editing with one hour a day for student engagement.
✔️This was built on zero prior audience. It took that first 12 months to build a small audience to then build a bigger one in the next 12 months afterwards to achieve this type of income. 2 and a half years in total to get here, not really an overnight success but one where it was worth the years of effort.
✔️I do not have a huge youtube following, instagram following or anything else for that matter. This has largely been built using the Udemy platform and a student facebook groups and a page. I have spent too much time with little return on social networks like youtube/instagram. If it ain't working after several months of posting GREAT content then focus your efforts on building new courses instead.
✔️I have focused more on producing new courses and less on boosting and editing older ones. BUT Every 4 courses I take a month off and focus on upgrading prior courses with new content/lessons.
✔️I have had a larger focus lately on creating additional "bonus content" or "downloadable resources" for my classes to add a more rich experience. Students love being able to study things "offline" and some have a hard time streaming in their countries and really prefer this mode of learning, coupled with videos. My first few classes did not include many downloadable extra learning items. It is a student preference I had to learn over time.
✔️I have been focusing a lot on student support. One hour of each day is spend helping students with feedback. I have slowly (and it has taken over a year) to build a 5,000-member facebook group that contains just paying students. Paying students convert very well when you send them new course coupons. It is also a place where you can earn your 5 star reviews without asking by being helpful.
✔️Reviews are a HUGE deal in ranking. Any negative review (3 stars or under) with a comment is addressed immediately, not matter how crazy that review sounds. I never write a review off as "ridiculous" or "unfair" unless they use bad language. There is some truth in all reviews, no matter how unfair it sounds. I address all items, it if is a problem with sound, it gets addressed THAT DAY.
✔️I have a Black Friday plan in place. I am producing a course I think would have the greatest student demand (based on a poll on my student facebook group). I plan to launch in early October to get ranked high enough for Nov sales.
✔️Speaking of black friday I am boosting my biggest money making class. I have one super large course that is selling over $3,000-$4,000 per month. You bet I pay very close attention to that course. I recently upgraded the audio on 5 lessons and totally replaced 4 of them. I am adding new downloadable worksheets to lessons and I hope to remove lessons I think are unnecessary. All this will keep my rating boosted (in theory!). There is a point when upgrading a successful class is more profitable than creating a new one. Make sure you know when that point is. Usually, when a current course is still outselling your new additional courses.
Anyways, just felt like sharing this milestone but also sharing a few tips as well! I hope you found some of this useful in your own teaching journeys!
Author:
@LawrenceMMiller: Congratulations! You have done a great job of building a business on Udemy and it is obvious that you have worked very hard at it. You also did a great job explaining how you got there, which I am sure will be helpful to many.
