CREATIVITY + INNOVATION Page 7 of 38

It’s here! ‘Reach. Teach. Profit. The E-course Creation Masterclass has launched!

Written by

It’s here! After many, many months of work putting our new course together, I am thrilled to announce that ‘Reach Teach Profit The E-course Creation Masterclass’ is open for registration.

Teach anything from anywhere, generate money 24/7 and build a legacy through teaching online to a global audience

This is a digital toolkit for making an e-course that sells and sells. It’s like having me as your virtual producer, and tapping into everything I have learned from creating, producing and delivering millions of dollars’ worth of e-courses over the past half decade. Our courses include the portfolios of courses from ‘Make Art That Sells’, ‘The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design’ and ‘Do What You Love’ and they have reached thousands of students in 100+ countries across the world.

Our extensive knowledge and experience is all wrapped up in one complete package waiting for you here now.

Don’t waste another minute. Your online teaching journey begins here! Register now.

Beth

PS I’ll be available to answer any questions you have during a series of Mastermind Weeks held online throughout the year. The first will take place in the week commencing March 28, so get started now and be ready with your questions!

The one fatal mistake you must avoid when creating your e-course

Written by

One of the best ways to learn is to understand other people’s mistakes, and then avoid them, so I want to save you a whole lot of pain by sharing the single most fatal error people make when creating an e-course. We’ve done it once (never to be repeated) and I have seen it time and time again with other people. I can spot this mistake a mile off, and you probably can too.

So what is the biggest mistake that will prevent your course from being a success, in every sense of the word? It’s to focus on the money.

This can be the difference between a course which flies and a course which flops, because people can sense your intention. I have seen a lot of courses come and go, and it is glaringly obvious which ones have made this serious mistake.

(more…)

You asked. We answered. Our responses to your burning Qs about teaching online…

Written by

Thank you to everyone who completed our recent survey about what is stopping you teaching online. As the responses flooded in we were struck by how many of you see this as an exciting opportunity but have been held back by very similar obstacles. I thought I’d take a moment to tackle your questions, in the form of dealing with the top three major stumbling blocks standing in your way today.

(1) I don’t know how to turn my idea into a series of lessons. It’s just a jumble in my head.

Firstly you need to understand your idea as what I call a ‘Promise of Change’. How will your course transform the life/situation/knowledge/expertise/behaviour of your reader? Then you need to understand how you are going to bring about that change through a curriculum.

Your curriculum forms the bones of your course. It’s the skeleton that everything hangs off. It is the way you ensure your learners progress as the course goes on, and get the outcomes you want by the end. It is also your single most helpful tool for organising your ideas into manageable content chunks.

CB in action2

Demonstrating the Easy-as-pie Curriculum Builder in Reach Teach Profit (Yes, with all the technology available today, I still opt for good old sticky notes when planning a new curriculum!)

(more…)

Will you just make a living or also make an impact?

Written by

When was the last time you asked yourself this important question…

Do you just want to make a living or could you also make an impact?

As we prepare to release ‘Reach. Teach. Profit. The E-course Creation Masterclass’ next week, we have been reflecting on this question a lot, as it is one of the main reasons we took our business down the exciting road of online teaching.

As soon as you put your online course out in the world you become a teacher and a guide. You can approach teaching as simply a way to make a living, or you can approach it as a way to make an impact. Choosing to make an impact is more rewarding, more sustainable, and in the long run more important. It will also result in a better, deeper, richer experience for your students. But it takes leadership, purposeful effort, risk, sacrifice and commitment.

Take a moment to think about how you could turn how you make into a living into something that could also make an impact. What could you teach that would make a difference? And what you are prepared to bring to the table to make your course a success?

By the way, I should add there is nothing wrong with wanting to make a living from teaching online. We do it, and many of our friends and colleagues do it. In fact, just recently a chat with a friend turned into a ‘$100,000 conversation’, enabling her to make a difference in the lives of a lot of people with an idea she had. You can hear me talk a little more about that here:

Please take a few minutes today to ask yourself this question, because it changes everything. Do you just want to make a living or could you also make an impact?

If you want to learn more about teaching online, hop on the Masterclass waiting list here. I’ll be back next Monday to launch this new course and bring you a special early bird discount!

Until then,

Beth

Behind-the-scenes of an e-course that sells

Written by

DWYL filming 2

We get asked a ton of questions about what it’s really like to put an online course together. So as we put the finishing touches on our brand new course ‘Reach. Teach. Profit. The E-course Creation Masterclass’ (launching February 29), I wanted to give you a peek behind-the-scenes of. What does it actually look like when we are in full production mode?

Well, to some extent it depends on whether I am creating and teaching the course myself, or whether I am producing it for someone else (I have done both, many times!) For the purposes of the E-course Creation Masterclass, I have styled myself as your virtual producer, offering the tools, questions, tech advice, moral support and everything else I give my collaborators. The stages of production go something like this:

  • Clarity on who the course is for and what they need
  • Understanding of what change we are promising with the course
  • Building of a skeleton curriculum to facilitate that change
  • Fleshing out the content and organising it in a logical, powerful and effective way
  • Creating the content (video, audio, text, images, worksheets etc)

DWYL filming 3

Of course that is just the creation of the class. We also have to create a marketing strategy, price the course, ensure we stand out from the competition, set ourselves up to sell it online, launch it, deliver it, support the students as they go through it, get feedback and then do it all over again…

The truth is, a whole lot goes into an e-course that sells. So much, in fact, that it can be overwhelming, which is probably why so many people never actually get their course out into the world. But with this new Masterclass you’ll have me by your side as your virtual producer every step of the way, and you’ll be able to ask me anything directly in a series of special Mastermind Weeks I will host in our private online community space throughout the year. So now there are no excuses! Get ready to reach, teach and profit.

Beth

The top 10 things we have learned from five years of teaching online

Written by

Five years ago last week I opened registration for the first ever Do What You Love course. It was terrifying pushing the ‘publish’ button on my blog and the ‘send’ button on my newsletter. I say ‘newsletter’ as if I had a database of people to send it to, but I really mean the email I sent to my friends, and a handful of sweet souls who had stumbled across my blog online and been kind enough to sign up for bits of news from me.

The thing is, I didn’t really know what I was doing. I had spent hundreds of hours and a couple of thousand dollars researching by taking other classes and reading a lot (because research is my default defence when I get stuck on something). But I had one thing absolutely right. I had a burning desire to share something with the world and wanted to make a difference with what I had to say. E-courses were still very much in their infancy, so I had to feel my way in the dark, but I refused to give up and worked things out as I went along.

Five years on that first course is still running (albeit with several updates and a complete image makeover) and I have criss-crossed the globe writing, creating and producing e-courses ever since. Some of those courses have grossed over £1 million each. Collectively they have helped thousands of people in more than 100 countries worldwide to follow their dreams and monetise their passion. I feel really proud of how far we have come, and humbled by the stories our graduates share with us day in day out.

DWYL filming

Filming our latest course: ‘Reach. Teach. Profit. The E-course Creation Masterclass‘

What have we learned in that time? Well, a lot, and most of it the hard way! We have invested thousands of pounds in filming and branding a course only to scrap it in a matter of months. We have changed the names of courses, pulled them apart and put them back together, been trolled, been imitated, had technical meltdowns and more. But we have come through it all still here, still loving it, so I want to share some of the main things we have learned along the way.

  1. You know deep down when something is right or wrong. You know it in your body. You can feel it in your bones, and in your gut. Your heart sings when the answer is yes, and you should start running when you know the answer is no.
  2. Things go wrong, but if you stay focused on why you are doing what you are doing, and who you want to serve with what you are offering, then things always work out. If you get distracted by the lure of more money for the sake of money, or more fame for the sake of fame, it always comes back to bite you. But if you focus on what really matters, your profile and your bank account will grow anyway.
  3. Sometimes the things that seem like the biggest disasters end up being the greatest blessings. (Put that one on the wall to look at next time you are mid-disaster)
  4. Some people will let you down and others will lift you up. You get to choose who you give your energy and attention to.
  5. When you aren’t loving what you’re doing it’s time to change something.
  6. People with technical expertise, particularly website developer knowledge, are worth their weight in gold. And it’s a lot cheaper to invest in good people early on, rather than wait until things go wrong.
  7. Intuition is one of the most powerful weapons in your armoury. It takes bravery to use it but you must. Always.
  8. Celebrating every step of the way is both fun and vital.
  9. That we are blessed to live in a time when we can work from anywhere, connect with anyone and build a flexible lifestyle doing something we love.
  10. That at the end of the day it’s up to you.

Isn’t it funny that hardly any of the really important things we have learned are actually about practicalities. People are so often terrified by technology etc, but in fact it’s the other things that really stand out after all this time. Of course we have learned a ton about the technical and practical too.

If you want to know what we have learned about the practicalities of teaching online (the how tos and what-not-to-dos, the ins and outs, the highs and lows, the lessons learned and fast track ways to do things—in short, a lot!) don’t miss our upcoming new class ‘Reach. Teach. Profit. The E-course Creation Masterclass’ which distills everything we know and have learned into an online course to help YOU get YOUR e-course out into the world. Class launches on Monday February 29. Hop on the waiting list here.

So what have YOU learned in the last five years that could allow you to teach online?

Are you ready to reach, teach and profit? I hope so!

Beth

DWYL_ECM_NEWSLETTER_2_800PX_LR

How I generated over $2000 for new adventures from stuff lying around my house

Written by

At this time of year I always get that feeling that it’s time for a clearout. It might be all the extra ‘stuff’ that comes into our lives over Christmas, it might be that urge to make everything look fresh and clean after the house has been undecorated after the festivities, it might be a hopeful look ahead to Spring. Whatever it is, I want to edit. In doing so I know that I will also miraculously edit my mind, and goodness knows it needs it with so much swirling around lately! And if I make some money in the process, then hello new adventures!

STUFF-WEIGHS-YOU-DOWN-550PX-LR

And so begins the sorting. You have probably heard of Marie Kondo’s bestselling book The life-changing magic of tidying. It’s a bestseller for a reason. The MariKon method is simple but genius. I read it when it first came out, and have rolled my tights and t-shirts ever since. From many years spent in Japan I know how space is at a premium, and as a result their storage solutions are many. But the difference with Marie Kondo is that she focused on reducing the amount of stuff, and keeping only what you really need, or what ‘sparks joy’. So it’s OK to keep that one pink tea cosy that your grandma knitted you when you got your first house, even if you always make your tea in a cup. But in doing so, by allowing yourself to cling onto one or two precious things, you are able to let go many other things that you don’t need or even really want.

I do my sorting in batches, one room at a time. And if there is a lot to sort, then one corner at a time. I am ruthless these days. I have five piles:

(1) Sell it on Gumtree/CraigsList/eBay or to independent shops

(2) Give it to a friend (but only if they really want it)

(3) Give it to charity

(4) Recycle it

(5) Keep it

(more…)

Last chance to join our life-changing e-course Do What You Love (Starts today!)

Written by

DWYL_ECOURSE_4_800X300PX_LR

One of the best parts of my job is guiding people through the Do What You Love e-course journey, because I see them cracking open, unfolding and growing in front of my eyes.

I see people grow in confidence, make bold moves, discover new things about themselves.

They get a ton of ideas for getting paid to do what they love, and put together real plans for moving forward.

Crucially they reorganise their lives around what really matters to them, so they can do more of what they love every single day.

This is the ninth time we have run this course and the results continue to astound us. Just recently one of our course graduates said,

“I can’t believe it’s nearly a year that’s flown by since we took the course and how far I’ve come; physically, emotionally, personally and professionally.”

This is why we do what we do, and I why I started Do What You Love in the first place.

Class begins today, and this will be the last time we run it until the end of 2016 (because I’ll be working on a very exciting project which I will share shortly…)

CLICK HERE to register and begin your journey of self-discovery to find out how to do what you love, every day.

Hope to see you in class for a transformational experience to remember!

Beth

DWYL_ECOURSE_7_800X300PX_LR

 

Happy New Year! Make this the year you do what you love

Written by

DWYL_DREAMONIT_BLOG_800PX_LR

What is it you really want? The courage to start a new career? The time to pursue passions and hobbies? The freedom to travel and have big adventures? Or simply to “feel differently” about your life, just as it is? All of those wants — and so many others — stem from one big desire… The desire to do what you love. 

And if that’s what you want, you’ve arrived in the best possible place you can be. This is your launchpad — and this is your community. And the Do What You Love e-course might just change your life.

Do What You Love is about re-opening doors that you thought were locked shut… re-opening possibilities that you thought were long gone… and illuminating possibilities you never knew existed.

If you find yourself thinking things like: “I can’t afford to _______” … or “I’m too old to _______” … or “I’m going to need years of training before I can _______” … or “It’s just not realistic for me to _______”… or “But what if ______”, Do What You Love will show you that all of your options are still open, no matter what your current circumstances and responsibilities may be.

Inside this course possibility is your new reality. 

Make this year the year you start doing what you love. Find out more or register HERE.

Merry Christmas from Do What You Love (+ 10 alternative gift ideas!)

Written by

DWYL_MERRYCHRISTMAS_BLOG_800PX_LR

Christmas is just around the corner, and we are feeling oh-so-festive in this corner of the world. This is our first Christmas in our new house, and baby Maia’s first ever Christmas. And Christmas Day is Sienna’s birthday, so there is much to look forward to.

2015 has been an amazing year, a challenging year, and a happy year, but also a tough year for many people we know. This time of year brings many things into focus, and we hope that whatever kind of a year you have had, you have a very happy festive holiday.

Here’s to celebration and happy moments

Beth and the Do What You Love team

DWYL_FESTIVEMOMENTS_BLOG_800PX_LR

Our 10 favourite alternative Christmas gift ideas…

(1) Make a memory movie

(2) Write a story (use our free resource Winter Writing Workshop to help you!)

(3) Create a mixtape

(4) Create vouchers for your time (teach someone something, mow their lawn, do the washing up etc)

(5) Create a book of family recipes

(6) Give them a voucher for the Do What You Love course to help them make a major change in their life* (course starts Jan 18, 2016)

(7) Design a scavenger hunt with a map and clues hidden across your town or city, in places that remind you of special times

(8) If you are feeling very generous, and want a gift for someone who loves adventure, this Exploring Mindset trip down the Mississippi would be an amazing present!

(9) Book a ticket to a free event (museum, public lecture, street market etc) and take them along

(10) Write a letter telling someone how much you appreciate them

And if you want some tips on present wrapping, no-one does it like the Japanese!

*If you want to buy a gift voucher please drop a line to [email protected], and be sure to mention the discount code DWYLXM50 to get £50 off, if you book by December 31, 2015