The Top Common Mistakes Course Creators Make and How To Overcome Them

online course online marketing Mar 26, 2024
The Top Common Mistakes Course Creators Make and How To Overcome Them

It is possible to overcome the common mistakes many course creators make to create a lasting impact with your course.

As I'm sure you are aware, the online learning industry has seen exponential growth in the last few years. It is currently the fastest-growing market within the education industry, having grown more than 900% since its launch in 2000.

Many coaches, speakers and business owners are seeing the benefits of using a powerful tool like online courses to share their knowledge and expertise with more than the clients they are able to offer 1-1 coaching to. Online courses can open the door to so many more opportunities, and so many more people, as it allows you to share your knowledge and inspire people worldwide.

Yet, the path to creating a lasting impact through an online course comes with its challenges. There is no course creator that has created and launched a course without encountering at least one hurdle along the way. And some seem to find easy success whilst others just can’t seem to leverage any interest in their course.

Today, we are going to take a closer look at three common mistakes many course creators make … because many do make one, two or all three of these mistakes. But I’m not going to leave it just there. I am also going to share with you three tips that you can take away today to help you overcome or avoid these mistakes.

3 common mistakes course creators make and how you can overcome them:

Mistake 1: Trying to Do Everything Themselves

You have put your heart and soul into creating this signature course, and it can be hard to not have your hand on every aspect of growing your business. While admirable, trying to do everything yourself can lead to burnout and failed attempts at growing your business due to a lack of expertise. There comes a time when you need to recognize your strengths and delegate the rest, whether it’s your marketing, content design, course setup, launch planning or … [fill-in-the-blank].

Our passion here at Tiel Virtual Solutions, is to come alongside coaches and course creators as partners and team members to help you stand out online, build authentic connections and create a lasting impact in this world – without the marketing or tech overwhelm. Let us take the burden off of your shoulders and enable you to focus on what you love – transforming lives.

Tip #1: Embrace collaboration - Are you ready to let go and focus on your passion? Isn’t it time to say goodbye to the burden of doing it all? We are ready and excited to handle your marketing and tech challenges. Take a look at our service offerings here to learn more about how we can partner together today.

Build a community that's as excited as you are about your course!

Mistake 2: Selling Before Building a Community

There are so many stories out there of coaches & course creators who have invested so much time and energy into creating an amazing course, only to fall flat on their faces with a disappointing response from their launch. Maybe you have a similar story of your own.

We get it – it’s disheartening.

This is a common pitfall when a key piece of the puzzle has been forgotten: building a community that is eagerly anticipating your course. Whether this is your first or fifth course, you can (and should) take the time to build that community before your next launch.

When you take the time to grow and nurture your audience, you are building a community that is engaged with your knowledge and expertise, who is excited to learn from you and who resonates with all you have to offer. When your course aligns with what you are already teaching them, you have an eager community who can’t wait to sign-up and engage with your course. It’s like inviting friends over before the party – they can’t wait to see what’s cooking!

Tip #2: Nurture your Community - Building and nurturing your community is key. Start by sharing educational nuggets through blogs, podcast episodes or even videos. Promote them across your social media platforms. Grow and nurture your email list with free resources and regular newsletters.

Check out our article 10 Ways to Repurpose One Piece of Marketing Content for inspiration.

Mistake 3: Neglecting a proper Course Foundation

One of the key aspects of creating a successful online course is building a solid course foundation. Far too often, eager course creators jump into content creation without laying out a clear road map for their learners. This lack of direction leads to disorganized content, confused students (and maybe even a confused course creator), and ultimately, a lower course completion rate.

At Tiel Virtual Solutions, we believe in the power of proper course planning. When working with course creators to get their course set up in Kajabi, one of our first steps is ensuring their course goals and objectives are clearly defined. By breaking down the course into well-defined modules, each with specific learning outcomes, we ensure that the content aligns seamlessly with the intended learning journey.

With a clear course foundation, your learners will know exactly what to expect and you, as the course creator, can stay focused on delivering valuable, concise content.

Tip #3: Roadmap for Success - Create a simple document or spreadsheet to plan out your course journey with clarity. Map out the modules, individual lessons, learning outcomes and any specific resources you will include.

Grab my free Google sheet template below to get you started!

To recap, three of the common mistakes course creators make are:

  • Mistake 1: Trying to Do Everything Themselves
  • Mistake 2: Selling Before Building a Community
  • Mistake 3: Neglecting a proper Course Foundation

Yet, I want you to remember that there are ways to overcome or minimize these mistakes for your new course or membership program.

Three ways to overcome these common mistakes are:

Tip #1: Embrace collaboration Invest in partnering with other like-minded businesses who can support you in the areas that you don’t have expertise in or are feeling overwhelmed at having to handle.

Tip #2: Nurture your Community Start to build and nurture a community by sharing your knowledge and expertise in the form of a blog post, podcast episode or video (remember vlogs?) and promote it along with educational tips on your social media channels.

Tip #3: Roadmap for Success Map out the layout of your course including the learning objectives and core essentials for each lesson within the modules. Remember, everyone stumbles in their course creation journey. As Louis Zamperini said,

“Don’t be afraid to make mistakes; they are just the stepping stones to success.”

By embracing collaboration, nurturing connections and building a strong course foundation, you’re poised to create a lasting impact.

Ready to make waves with your course? Book a quick teatime chat with Natashia to learn how we can help you stand out online, build authentic connections and create a lasting impact in this world – without the marketing or tech overwhelm.


Grab the Roadmap to Online Course Success Template and craft your course with confidence.

Roadmap to Online Course Success free template sneak peek

From defining your course's unique promise to outlining learning outcomes that stir emotions, this tool has you covered. Follow the steps within the template to simplify those complex ideas into actionable essentials that keep your learners engaged and excited to learn.

Fill in the form below to download the template now and start your journey toward creating a lasting impact!