Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey there, friends,
welcome back to another episode
of Teaching Mastery Academy.
I'm your host, francesca Hudson, and today we're talking about
a topic that gets right to theheart of why we do what we do as
course creators.
You want to know what it is.
Here it is your knowledge is aluxury, but packaging it into a
(00:21):
premium course transforms itinto a legacy.
I'm going to show you how.
Today, this isn't just aboutcreating another course or
boosting your revenue.
This is about creatingsomething that lasts, something
that impacts lives, grows beyondyou and becomes a true
cornerstone of your legacy.
We are going to look atactionable insights, strategies
(00:44):
and fresh perspectives that gofar beyond the usual tips you
hear about course creation.
It's such an exciting episode.
I have been wanting to recordthis episode for a long time, so
grab your favourite drink, finda comfy spot and let's unlock
the potential of turning yourexpertise into something truly
extraordinary.
Let's start by breaking thisidea down, this legacy idea.
(01:06):
Your knowledge is valuable.
We know this.
It's the culmination of yourexperiences, your skills and
your unique perspective.
But here's the thing Knowledgeon its own is fleeting.
It lives in conversations, blogposts, social media captions or
even free webinars.
A legacy, on the other hand, isintentional.
(01:29):
It's about taking thatknowledge and structuring it in
a way that not only deliversvalue, but also creates
transformation for your students.
A legacy is built when yourwork becomes timeless, when it
becomes scalable and impactful.
Most course creators start withone question what can I teach?
(01:56):
And while that's important, Iwant you to flip the script.
Instead, I want you to askyourself what transformation do
I want to create?
What will people remember aboutmy work years from now, and how
can my course solve a problemin a way no one else has done
before?
These three questions push youto think about the bigger
(02:16):
picture.
And when you focus on thetransformation, not just the
transaction, you're building acourse that has the power to
outlive trends, outlivealgorithms and even you.
So let's talk about whyknowledge, as powerful as it is,
has its limitations.
I want you to think about this.
(02:40):
You've probably scrolledthrough social media or watched
a YouTube tutorial and thought,wow, that's great information.
That's very generous of thecourse creator to share this
with me, but did you act on it?
Did it change your life?
The reality is free floatingknowledge often doesn't lead to
action.
Why?
Because it's not packaged fortransformation.
Knowledge without applicationcan be overwhelming or even
(03:01):
paralyzing for your audience.
We are in a world ofinformation overload.
We are bombarded withinformation wherever we turn
throughout our day.
Now, your audience might thinkthat's great that you're sharing
this information with me, butwhere do I start with it?
How do I use it?
So here's my little insight foryou.
When you package your knowledgeinto a premium course, you're
(03:23):
creating a roadmap.
You're giving your studentsstructure, clarity and the
confidence to take action, andthe key word in this is premium.
We're not just talking aboutany old course.
We're looking at how do youtake your existing course.
If you've got one, or you'rethinking about getting into
course creation and you'd liketo create a course how do we
create that premium?
How do we create a course thatyour students are actually going
(03:46):
to take action on?
So this leads us to legacy, andlegacy, in contrast to knowledge
, is all about creatingsomething that stands the test
of time.
It's about building areputation.
It's about building a communityand a system that continues to
deliver value long after thecourse ends.
And here's an example to showyou what I mean.
(04:08):
I want you to imagine creatinga course that becomes the go-to
resource in your niche.
People recommend it to theirpeers, it's referenced in blog
posts, it's mentioned inpodcasts and it's shared in
communities.
Now, that is a legacy.
That is what we are allaspiring to as course creators.
(04:29):
So let me share a story aboutone of my students, emma.
Now, emma started with a simplecourse teaching women how to
start their first freelancebusiness, and she quickly
realised that, while theknowledge she shared was helpful
, it wasn't enough for herstudents.
Her students needed support toactually implement what they
were learning.
So Emma shifted her focus andshe started thinking about how
(04:52):
her course could create lastingchange.
She added accountabilitycheck-ins, she introduced
real-life case studies and shebuilt a thriving community where
her students could share theirwins and their challenges.
And today, emma's course ismore than just a one-off product
.
It's a movement.
Her students not only succeed,but also they refer others to
(05:14):
her program because they believein its impact.
Now, that's the power of legacythinking.
Don't just stop at deliveringinformation.
Ask yourself how can I ensuremy students use what I teach to
get real results?
Get creative, get big picturethinking, because when we think
about building a legacy, it'snot just about numbers or
(05:34):
scalability.
It's also deeply emotional.
It's about how your work makespeople feel, how it inspires
them and how it becomes part oftheir journey.
To show you what I mean, thinkabout your favourite teacher or
mentor.
What made them memorable itwasn't just their knowledge, it
was the way they made you feelseen, supported and capable.
(05:55):
We all have favourite teachersthat stand out in our memories
that, no matter how old we getor how far past education and
school we get, we alwaysremember these teachers in our
memories.
Now you can bring that sameenergy.
And why was that?
Why do they stand out to us?
Well, we know that memoriesthat have highly charged emotion
(06:17):
last the longest.
We remember them becausethey're tied to emotion.
So think about what type ofemotions did these memories
trigger for you?
Why are these teachers somemorable and their learning is
so memorable?
And you can bring that sameenergy into your course.
And here's how.
Think about personalization.
You can use tools like surveysor welcome calls to understand
(06:39):
your students goals and totailor their experience right at
the very start of the course.
So think about your onboardingexperience.
Think about how you onboardstudents into your course, and
is there any way that you canmake that more personalized?
Think about encouragement.
So, throughout the course.
Celebrate their wins, no matterhow small.
A simple acknowledgement can goa long way in boosting your
(07:02):
confidence.
And remember you can do thisfor evergreen courses as well as
live courses.
You can have milestones at theend of a lesson or the end of a
module that they have a maybelike a free download or a
certificate or just an emailthat goes out to them to give
them a well done.
So think about encouragement.
How can you increaseencouragement in your course?
(07:23):
And the third way is to look atempathy.
So anticipate the challengesthat your students might face as
they complete your course andprovide solutions before they
even ask.
Think about commonly askedquestions that you get asked a
lot by students, and how can youincorporate the answers into
the course, where you know thatpeople are going to find a
(07:44):
certain lesson really tricky, ormaybe they're halfway through
the course and they're beginningto lose motivation.
So really use those empatheticskills to fine-tune your course.
And here's something powerfulto remember your course isn't
the end, it's the beginning.
It's the catalyst for biggertransformations in your
students' lives.
(08:05):
For example, if your courseteaches someone how to start a
business, that knowledge canripple out to impact their
family, their community and evenfuture generations.
When you think about it thatway, the work you're doing
becomes so much bigger than justa course.
So think about when designingyour course, think about the
(08:26):
ripple effects.
How does the transformationthat you're offering extend
beyond your students?
How will it affect the rest oftheir life?
What will that ripple effect bein their family, in their
community, in their profession?
In the efficiency, the way thatthings are able to operate?
There is always a ripple effect, and I don't think the ripple
(08:49):
effect gets talked about orthought about enough when it
comes to thinking about how torestructure our courses and
teach our course content.
So let's keep practical for amoment.
To build a course that leaves alegacy, you need a framework
that supports long-term impact,and here are three pillars I'd
like you to focus on when you'rethinking about designing a
(09:10):
course to leave a legacy.
The three pillars the first oneis vision.
So your vision is the northstar of your course.
It's what guides your content,it's what guides your delivery
and it's what guides yourcontent.
It's what guides your deliveryand it's what guides your
student experience.
So take time to articulate toyourself as you're driving or
listening to this podcast orsitting at home?
(09:33):
What is it that you want yourstudents to achieve?
How do you want them to feelduring and after the course, and
what do you want your course tobe known for?
I'll say those three questionsagain, because they're really
important.
What do you want your studentsto achieve?
That's the transformation.
What is it that you want yourstudents to have walked away
from your course with?
(09:53):
How do they experience thetransformation?
How do you want them to feelduring and after the course?
So we're talking about are youbuilding in enough small wins
during the course that they feellike they're making progress or
they're able to measure theirprogress and after the course?
Is there a clear before andafter that they go through?
(10:13):
And what do you want yourcourse to be known for in other,
if you become the go-to in yourniche, what is it that you want
to become the go-to for?
What expert do you want to turninto?
So think about these threevision questions.
They're really really important.
Now, the second pillar that youneed to focus on if you want to
(10:35):
create a course that leaves alegacy is value.
Legacy courses deliver value atevery stage.
This means providing clarity,so you need to make sure that
you have very clear instructionsand actionable steps throughout
your course, in every lessonand every module and every touch
point that you have with yourstudents, whether it's an email
(10:56):
or whether it's the actualdescription on the Kajabi login
when they log into the lesson,or maybe it's a worksheet that
they download.
So be really really super clearwith your instructions and the
way that you would like yourstudents to move through the
lessons, the activities, theactionable steps.
The second thing is to havesupport.
(11:16):
So ensure that you've gotresources like workbooks,
templates, frameworks or evenlive Q&A sessions, if that's
what you're offering.
But make sure that you have gotthat additional support there
that really scaffolds thelearning that they're getting
within the video that they'vejust watched in your course or
listened to.
And the third point to thinkabout when it comes to value is
(11:39):
the engagement, and make surethat you've got interactive
elements built into your coursethat keep your students
motivated.
Milligames, quizzes, littlesurprise, free downloadable
gifts all of these sorts ofthings keeps student engagement
high, which means that yourstudents feel like they're
getting real value for money.
So that's the second pillarvalue.
(12:00):
So we've got.
The first pillar was vision,the second pillar is value.
And the third pillar islongevity.
Now, a legacy course isn'tstatic.
It evolves over time based onfeedback and changing needs and
knowing what works and whatdoesn't.
Cut a module here, add a modulethere, that type of thing.
(12:22):
So when designing your course,you want to ensure you're
building in systems for regularupdates to keep the content
relevant.
Always make sure that you'removing with the times.
You're teaching the mostup-to-date, relevant content
that your students are going tofind most useful for your niche
or for the course topic thatyou're teaching.
You don't just build a courseonce and then let it collect
(12:44):
dust, think it's on evergreen,think, oh great, I've built this
project that's going to run onautopilot and I don't have to
touch it again.
It's still a living, breathingdocument.
It's a living, breathing inputinto society that always needs
to be monitored and tweaked.
So make sure you have got abuilt-in system to make sure
(13:04):
you've got your regular updatesto keep your content relevant.
Make sure that the alumniengagement these are the
students that have finished yourcourse can still work with you.
There's still options there togive them support through
advanced courses or memberships,something that they can go on
to so that they feel likethey're able to continue their
(13:25):
journey with you.
And think about the metrics totrack your course's long-term
impact.
What would those metrics looklike?
Does it come in the form oftestimonials, or alumni students
coming back and becomingmentors?
Or think about some differentways that you can track your
(13:45):
course and how it's making animpact on the world, because
that will also give you insightinto future courses or advanced
courses that you can do down thetrack, knowing what needs to be
taught next once your studentshave completed this course.
So those three pillars aresuper important for a course
built for legacy.
They are vision, value andlongevity, and I think that if
(14:08):
you are designing a course withthose three pillars in mind, you
are off to a great start.
So let's bring this home.
Your knowledge is a gift, butwhen you structure it into a
premium course, you're creatingsomething that lasts.
You're creating that legacy.
By focusing on transformation,emotional connection and
(14:28):
long-term impact, you can builda course that not only changes
lives, but also cements yourlegacy as a thought leader.
How good.
So let's pivot slightly and lookinto how we are going to design
a premium experience thatelevates every aspect of your
course.
Trust me, you do not want tomiss this next part.
So we've all heard the termpremium, but let's unpack what
(14:52):
it really means in the contextof your course.
Premium isn't just aboutpricing high.
It's about deliveringexceptional value an elevated
experience, if you like, andunmatched results.
It's the equivalent of goingfrom economy class to first
class in a plane.
You're turning left, not right,when you enter the plane, and
here at Teaching Mastery Academy, we want to create that
(15:14):
experience for our students.
So premium courses prioritizethe student journey at every
touchpoint.
This means thinking just beyondcontent delivery.
You've got to go a lot deeperthan that, and here are some
unique ways to elevate yourcourse experience.
Let me give you some help.
The first one is transformativemilestones.
So when you're sitting down toplan out your course, structure
(15:39):
it around key milestones.
Celebrate these with yourstudents through progress badges
, shout outs in your communityor personalized emails, because
these milestones will keep yourstudents engaged and excited
about their progress.
You can also think aboutunconventional touch points.
Keep creative with the touchpoints.
You can add surprise anddelight.
(15:59):
For example, send a welcome boxwith physical resources, if
you're so able to, or surpriseyour students with a bonus Q&A
session halfway through, whichis a virtual touch point, so you
don't have to spend a lot ofmoney.
You don't have to spend anymoney at all.
You're just adding extra valueas a surprise to your students,
(16:21):
because these moments make yourcourse memorable, but also your
students will feel they'regetting real value from you.
So always think aboutunconventional touch points and,
finally, think about lifetimelearning opportunities.
Never, ever, ever, forget youralumni students and consider
offering alumni perks likediscounted access to future
(16:43):
courses or invitations toexclusive masterminds, because
premium students want to feellike they're part of an elite
community, not just atransaction, and this can work
for evergreen courses or livecourses.
It doesn't matter the way thatyou teach your course, whether
it is pre-recorded or live it.
It doesn't matter the way thatyou teach your course whether it
is pre-recorded or live, itactually doesn't matter.
(17:05):
It's more about the experiencethat your students get as they
go through the course, so thatdoesn't stop when they finish.
Lifetime learning opportunitiesis so important and so crucial
for premium students becausethey are hungry to learn,
they're here to learn, they'rehere for it all.
So think about those learningopportunities, those lifetime
(17:26):
learning opportunities, for youralumni students.
Now, the way that your course ispackaged influences how
students perceive its value.
So think about branding.
Your visuals, your language,your design should reflect the
premium nature of your offer.
Don't have to spend a lot ofmoney on this either.
You can use free resources likeCanva.
But the key here is beingconsistent being consistent with
(17:49):
your message, being consistentwith the colors that you use in
your branding, being consistentwith the fonts that you use,
being consistent with thelanguage, the type of language
that you use, yourapproachability.
All of it should reflect yourunique voice and your brand
image.
And it should be consistentlike that.
And think about access as well.
So premium courses often comewith unique access to you, like
(18:13):
live coaching calls or officehours.
But if that's not possible,then think about other access
points, like Q&A sessions oradditional frameworks or
templates that students can use,done-for-you resources that
they can plug and play intotheir own courses.
So the access has to be at alevel where things are done for
(18:37):
them or they are easy to use.
In other words, people arewilling to invest in a course if
they feel the experience willmatch or exceed their
expectations.
So curate every detail tocommunicate that their
investment is worth it and thatthey are, as a student, not just
(18:59):
a number.
To you, they are the mostimportant person.
They are the center ofeverything that you do as a
teacher, and a course creator isdesigned around them, not the
other way around.
If we're putting our students atthe center of our course
creation, then we need to makesure that we're building
transformation into yourcurriculum, so into your course,
(19:22):
okay, into the course thatyou're going to sell.
That course we break down intomodules, break them down, break
the modules down into lessons.
That whole course is called acurriculum.
And here's where we get intothe nitty-gritty of designing
for impact.
A legacy course isn't builtaround surface level wins.
It's built to deliver deep,meaningful transformation.
(19:43):
Transformation and I touched onthis a little bit earlier, but
I'd like you to think abouttransformation in levels, and I
have three levels that I teachstudents for transformation.
And the first level is tangiblewins, so these are measurable
results.
For example, a student writestheir first blog post, books
(20:03):
their first client or completesa project, so these are quick
wins that build momentum.
That's the first base level.
And then we have the secondlevel, which is behavioral
shifts, and this is wherestudents start adopting new
habits or mindsets and maybethey become more consistent in
their work or they overcome theimposter syndrome that has held
(20:25):
them back for so long.
So we're really beginning totap into the subconscious with
these behavioral shifts andreally changing your identity
and the way that you show up toteach and the way that you value
the content that you'reteaching and the transformations
that you know that you candeliver for your students.
And then the third level oftransformation is identity
(20:47):
transformation.
Now, this is the ultimate goalfor your students, which is to
see themselves differently, andthis could mean going from I'm
trying to run a business to I ama confident entrepreneur.
So identity transformation isthe biggest shift of all and
it's the most long-lasting shift.
But it's not, it's not easy andit requires a complete identity
(21:12):
shift.
Now, as teachers, we're notpsychologists.
So how do we do this?
How do we get this long-term,lasting transformation?
Well, to create lasting, lastingtransformation, you need to
design your curriculum, yourcourse, with intentionality.
So ask yourself whatfoundational knowledge do they
(21:32):
need?
Okay, so that's like level one.
What are the tangible wins Ifthey learn nothing else from
this course?
What is the very base levelknowledge that they need?
What's the foundationalknowledge?
Then think about whatchallenges your students will
face and how can you supportthem through those challenges?
So, as you get deeper into thecourse and you start to teach
(21:53):
more advanced information orknowledge, how can you support
them through some of those speedbumps that they might have, or
lack of faith or feeling likeit's too hard for them or it's
too much of a commitment?
So what are the challenges thatyour students are going to face
as they go through your courseand how can you support them
through it?
And then, finally, think aboutwhat tools or frameworks you can
(22:13):
give them to make progressfaster.
Remember, we are all time poor,our attention spans are short.
So what can you do?
What can you offer as a coursecreator, as a teacher, to help
them make progress faster?
And that will come in the formof tools or frameworks or
templates or anything like thatthat they can use, they can plug
(22:35):
and play into their own life.
So one way to do this is byincorporating application-based
learning Fancy term, I know,know, but I'll give you an
example.
So, instead of just teaching aconcept, create an assignment
where students implement it inreal time, so they are learning
it for themselves experientiallearning.
(22:55):
Then you can provide feedbackso they can refine their
approach.
So, rather than just sort ofbasically standing and talk,
talk, talk, talk, talk, talk,talk, you are giving them a
small piece of information andthen they are applying it
themselves and then you aregiving them the feedback.
So it's that almost like atennis match, where it goes back
and forth, back and forth,between you and the students,
(23:16):
and the more you connect whatyou teach to real world
application, the more yourstudents will see tangible
results for themselves and theywill rave about your course.
Now, if you want your course totruly leave a legacy, you need
to master the art ofstorytelling, and we all love
stories.
Stories create connection, theyinspire action and they make
(23:37):
your content memorable.
Every premium course shouldhave a core narrative.
Every premium course shouldhave a core narrative that ties
everything together.
Core narrative Think about thatPremium course core narrative.
This isn't just your why forcreating the course.
It's the story that connectsyour students to the
transformation that you'reoffering.
(23:57):
So you can do this in two ways.
You can look at your originstory, your own personal story,
share the journey that led youto create this course.
What challenges did youovercome?
What insights did you gain?
People find origin stories sorelatable because if they
understand the pain and thehurdles and life's challenges
(24:20):
that you overcame, they can seethemselves in their origin story
and they know that it'spossible for them as well.
So origin stories are soimportant and I think I often
think about my own story andabout how I got to the point
where I am now with TeachingMastery Academy, and I started
in the digital course space over10 years ago 2012, I think it
(24:43):
was with my first digitalproduct, and I've still got it
to this day.
But I went through huge phasesof lack of confidence or shiny
object syndrome, where you'rethinking, oh, maybe I should
totally pivot and do somethingdifferent.
You know, the grass is alwaysgreener on the other side.
I mean, I was working with myhusband for many years, which is
(25:03):
completely opposite toeducation.
So I have been there, done that, and I know that it's coming
back to what I love, where myheart is, which is education.
It's helping people, it'steaching people how to teach.
Being able to give the gift ofteaching to others is truly a
passion in my calling.
(25:25):
It's where my heart is.
But it's taken you 10 years toget here, to find that calling,
and sometimes it's not anovernight success situation
where you have this idea, you goout and create a course and
you're a millionaire tomorrow.
It can take many years to getthere and so I think when you
can share your origin story withyour listeners, with your
(25:46):
students, then they willappreciate that vulnerability
that you're sharing and theywill understand and they will
see parts of themselves in thatstory.
So origin stories superimportant.
And the other one is successstories.
So you highlight real examplesof students who have achieved
(26:07):
amazing results through yourmethods, testimonials.
You might even get paststudents to come back and be
mentors as part of yourcommunity.
So you really can think abouthow to start developing your
core narrative Super importantand don't just tell your story
once and leave it.
Integrate storytelling into yourlessons, into your emails, in
(26:28):
your community interactions.
You can use case studies toillustrate key concepts that
you're teaching in a lesson.
Or you could share personalanecdotes in your video lessons
to humanize the content.
Or you could create a hero'sjourney framework where your
students become the heroes oftheir own stories, which is
really cool and I will go moreinto that in a future podcast
(26:49):
episode.
But the key point with all ofthis is that people remember
stories, not stats, notstatistics.
So use storytelling as a way toanchor your lessons and inspire
your students to take action.
Now, once you've created acourse that delivers
transformation, the next step isscaling it to reach more
students.
(27:09):
Scaling isn't just aboutselling more.
It's about extending yourimpact, and the key to that is
automation.
But it needs to feel personal,and here's how to strike the
balance when you are looking atautomation to scale, look at
interactive elements.
So look at using quizzes, pollsor interactive video features
(27:30):
to keep your students engagedand I talk about this a lot in
different podcast episodes in myemails and we go into it in
depth in Teaching MasteryAcademy.
But looking at how to makeevergreen courses interactive
with using these elements issuch an important task, such an
important skill, especially whenit comes to scaling.
(27:51):
Think about pre-recorded contentversus live touch points, so
you can combine pre-recordedlessons, for example, with maybe
a live q, a session at the endof the module, to give your
students the best of both worlds.
Think about how you can balanceboth.
Or even if you have got anevergreen course that's running
throughout the year, you coulddo, every so often, a live Q&A
(28:13):
on social media where peoplejust jump in.
Or you could maybe send out aninvite to your subscribers list,
your email list, to say you'regoing to be doing a random Q&A
session coming up, you know.
So just keep content fresh,keep those touch points fresh
and also think about communitysupport.
So create a peer-drivencommunity.
(28:33):
If you haven't already done so,maybe on Facebook or I know
Kajabi has communities, so yourparticular software that you're
using might have that featurewhere students can support and
learn from each other, even ifyou're not there 24-7.
In fact, it's actually betterif you're not there 24-7,
because the whole idea of peersupport is incredibly powerful
(28:56):
and it's incredibly motivatingfor students to support each
other on.
So community-led support is abig one.
Students to support each otheron, so community-led support is
a big one.
So, getting back to your legacyfor a minute, it's not just
about one course, it's about theecosystem that you build around
it.
So consider writing a book tocomplement your course.
(29:16):
Or consider hosting live eventsor masterminds or retreats to
complement your course.
Or think about offeringcertifications so students can
teach your methods to others.
You can really get creativeabout how to expand beyond just
the course offering and the moreavenues you create for students
(29:37):
to stay connected to your brand, the stronger your legacy will
become.
All right, friends, let's wrapthis up, because we have covered
quite a lot today and we knowthat knowledge is a luxury, but
when you package it into apremium course, you're creating
a legacy that will impact livesfor years to come.
And knowledge is a luxury, butit's a luxury and easy,
(30:00):
accessible demand.
At the moment, anybody cangoogle, anybody can go on chat,
gpt, and we need to startelevating our offering to
premium.
So here's what I want you to donext Reflect on how your course
can create a deeper can createdeeper transformation.
Think about what will make yourstudents not only succeed but
(30:21):
thrive.
And remember this isn't justabout revenue.
It's about creating somethingtimeless, because in times to
come, my friend, when AI andknowledge becomes even more and
more and more accessible andeasy, then we really do need to
ensure that what we are offeringas course creators is that next
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step above is that freemiumexperience for our students.
So, as always, thank you forjoining me today.
If this episode resonated withyou, share it with a friend or
tag me on Instagram at TeachingMastery Academy.
Let's inspire each other tobuild courses that really matter
.
Until next time, keep teaching,keep inspiring and keep
(31:06):
building your legacy.
Bye for now.