A TACTICAL GUIDE TO
BUILDING, SELLING, AND
SCALING E-BOOKS AND
ONLINE COURSES
S h a y n a O l i v e i r a
w w w. e s p r e s s o e n g l i s h . n e t

ABOUT ME
Fr om the U .S. and
now live in Br az il
U s ed to teac h
ESL o fflin e
Lik e to be
ups ide dow n!

ABOUT ESPRESSOENGLISH.NET
Aim: Teac h ESL to bus y people through
e - book s & online c our s es
Jul-12
Aug-12
Sept/12
Oct-12
Nov-12
Dec-12
Jan-13
Feb-13
Mar-13
Apr-13
May-13
Jun-13
Jul-13
Aug-13
Sep-13
1-Oct
Nov-13
1-Dec
Jan-14
Feb-14
Mar-14
1-Apr
1-May
Jun-14
Jul-14
aug/14
sept/14
Oct/14
14-Nov
14-Dec
Jan-15
Feb-15
Mar-15
Apr-15
May-15
Monthly Revenue

THREE STAGES TO A SUCCESSFUL
INFO-PRODUCT BUSINESS
1. Audience-building
2. Course creation and launch
3. Growing and scaling

INFORMATION OVERLOAD?
Self - direct ed e - learning market :
• $35.6B in 2011
• Gr ow ing globally
.

INFORMATION OVERLOAD?
Self - direct ed e - learning market :
• $35.6B in 2011
• Gr ow ing globally
The lar ger the oc ean
of infor mation, the
gr eater the need
for a guide.

AUDIENCE-BUILDING
Finding your pot e nt ia l s t ude nt s

AUDIENCE-BUILDING
People buy courses f rom people
w ho t hey know, like , and t rust !

AUDIENCE-BUILDING
People buy courses f rom people
w ho t hey know, like , and t rust !
Publish & hope Go out and get ‘em
Blogging
YouTube
Podcasting
Social media
Guest blogging
Others’ podcasts
Joint ventures
Advertising
Forums
Cold contacting
Previous customers

AUDIENCE-BUILDING
I just kept publishing & hoping. N ow adays
t here are 300,000 visit ors/mont h, but it t ook
9+ mont hs t o st art t o see any t ract ion.

AUDIENCE-BUILDING
E- mail list = Essent ial!
• Fr om day 1 – no exc us es
Sign up at Aw eber or MailC himp
• My fir s t ever e - mail w ent to 1 2 people
• N ow Es pr es s o Englis h has 5 0 ,0 0 0 s ubs c r ibers

AUDIENCE-BUILDING
E- mail list = Essent ial!
• Mention your s ite & lis t in
ev er y piec e of c ontent you
pr oduc e
• Multiple opt - in oppor tunities :
Pop - u p /in , end - o f- post opt -
in, s tic k y s idebar, etc .
SITE &
LIST

AUDIENCE-BUILDING
W hat t o send?
• Per s onal thoughts
• Your lates t c ontent
• C ur ated r ound - u p o f lin k s

AUDIENCE-BUILDING
W hat t o send?
• Per s onal thoughts
• Your lates t c ontent
• C ur ated r ound - u p o f link s
H ow of t en?
• 1 - 2x a w eek
• Be c ons is tent!

AUDIENCE-BUILDING
W hat t o send?
• Per s onal thoughts
• Your lates t c ontent
• C ur ated r ound - u p o f link s
H ow of t en?
• 1 - 2x a w eek
• Be c ons is tent !
EN GA GE wit h your list while it ’s small!

COURSE CREATION & LAUNCH
Ge t t ing pa id f or your e x pe rt is e

COURSE CREATION & LAUNCH
Popular
content
Surveys
“What’s
your biggest
difficulty?”
email
What topic to teach?

COURSE CREATION & LAUNCH
Popular
content
Surveys
“What’s
your biggest
difficulty?”
email
…but don’t get too hung up on the perfect
t opic or angle; you can alw ays tw eak it lat er.
What topic to teach?

COURSE CREATION & LAUNCH
H ow big an e - mail list ?
• At leas t 100
• Pr efer ably 1,000
• …w ho you’ve been e - mailing
r egular ly and engaging w ith

COURSE CREATION & LAUNCH
A quick mindset check:
Small number s U ns uc c ess ful

COURSE CREATION & LAUNCH
A f ramew ork f or f ree vs. paid
Give away… Charge for…
Less frequent More frequent
More general Specific/detailed
“Basic” format More developed format
Limited interaction with you More interaction with you

COURSE CREATION & LAUNCH
Pre - selling:
Students s ign up and pay fir s t; you deliver
the c our s e in inc r ements over time

COURSE CREATION & LAUNCH
Pre - selling:
Students s ign up and pay fir s t; you deliver
the c our s e in inc r ements over time
C ommunicat e C LEA R LY
Be CERTAIN you can deliver
( creat e sample lessons;
get ahead)

COURSE CREATION & LAUNCH
Pricing:
• The only w ay to figur e out w hat people w ill
pay is to put the c our s e in fr ont of them and
as k them to buy it.
• Pic k a pr ic e that’s r eas onable and
c omparable to other produc ts , and whic h
r eflec ts the value the s tudent w ill get.
• The Ultimate Guide to Pric e Strategy
( Medium.c om)

COURSE CREATION & LAUNCH
D ouble sales w ith a deadline
H ave a s pec ific date w hen…
• Pr ic e goes up
• D oor s c los e
• Bonus es go aw ay
Be hones t – don’t us e fals e s c ar c ity
ALWAYS s end a “las t c hanc e” e - mail!

COURSE CREATION & LAUNCH
D ouble sales w ith a deadline
Course 1 Course 2 Course 3 E-book Course 4
# students

COURSE CREATION & LAUNCH
My launch sequence: 2 - 3 w eeks
Type of email Purpose
Coming soon… Build anticipation
Course launch Get initial sign-ups
Free sample (or lesson list) Whet the appetite
Content + invitation Provide value
Common Qs about course Overcome objections
Last chance Get last-minute sign-ups

COURSE CREATION & LAUNCH
How to sell/deliver it?
Your own WP site
MemberMouse
LifterLMS
LearnDash
Digital Access Pass
3rd-party platforms
Fedora
Pathwright
Ruzuku
Udemy

COURSE CREATION & LAUNCH
• The les s ons ar e your Mos t Impor tant Tas k .
Mak e them dur ing your best creat ive hours .
• U s e a Sta n d a r d Op e r a tin g Pr o c e d u r e

COURSE CREATION & LAUNCH
SOP f or lesson creat ion:
• R es ear c h & w r ite ( 90 min)
• Video s lides ( 30 min)
• R ec or d/edit audio ( 30 min)
• C ombine audio/video ( 10 min)
• Wr ite exer c is es ( 30 min)
• Set up on W P (30 min)
• Sc hedule e - mail ( 30 min )
TOTAL: 4- 5 hours

COURSE CREATION & LAUNCH
B est pract ices:
Use video,
audio, text
Keep
lessons
short
Organize
& guide
Include
activities
Include
interaction
Get
feedback!

COURSE CREATION & LAUNCH
My post - course survey:
• W hat s pec ific ally did you lik e about the
c our s e? H ow exac tly did it help you?
• H ow c o u ld th e c o u r s e b e imp r o ve d ?
• If you c ould r eques t ON E les s on to be added
to this c our s e, w hat w ould the topic be?

GROWING & SCALING
10 advanced strategies for maximiz ing
impa c t a nd re ve nue

GROWING & SCALING
# 1 – C reat e more product s

GROWING & SCALING
# 2 – A ut oresponder
• Show c as e your be s t fr ee c ontent ear ly
• Invite people to go deeper by tak ing a c our s e
• Paid pr oduc ts : “ Alw ays pr es ent, never pus hy”

GROWING & SCALING
# 2 – A ut oresponder
• Show c as e your bes t fr ee c ontent ear ly
• Invite people to go deeper by tak ing a c our s e
• Paid pr oduc ts : “ Alw ays pr es ent, never pus hy”

GROWING & SCALING
# 3 – A dd an “ appet iz er”
• Small pr oduc t ( < $ 1 0 )
that’s a n o - br ainer to
b u y
• Ins ide the “appetiz er,”
enc our age people to
get th e ma in c o u r s e

GROWING & SCALING
# 4 – B undle product s
80% of c us tomers c hoos e this

GROWING & SCALING
# 4 – B undle product s
The “ ever ything” pac k
is r es ponsible for
near ly 30% of my
r evenue.

GROWING & SCALING
# 5 – R aise prices
Improve the course
& raise the price
(include a
“last chance”)
Offer a “regular”
and “premium”
version of the
course side-by-side

GROWING & SCALING
# 6 – Mont hly membership
• C ommunity and/or c ontent s ubs c r iption
• Initial s ign - up number s may be low er, but
you’ll s ee gr eater c us tomer LTV
• Mine had half as many s ign - ups , but 4
months later, 93% ar e s till in the pr ogr am

GROWING & SCALING
# 7 – List segment at ion
• Send mor e s pec ializ ed, tar geted e - mails
tailor ed to s ubs c r ibers’ needs and inter es ts
• “ Tr igger ed” e - mails bas ed on s ubs c r iber
ac tivity (ex. c lic k ed c ours e, didn’t buy)

GROWING & SCALING
# 8 – C onversion rat e opt imiz at ion
• Tes t your MESSAGIN G, not jus t page for mat
and button plac ement
• C ons ider w or k ing w ith a c ons ultant

GROWING & SCALING
# 9 – Paid advert ising
Ad E-mail list Purchase

GROWING & SCALING
# 9 – Paid advert ising
Track your numbers t o make sure your
ret urn on invest ment is posit ive!
Ad E-mail list Purchase

GROWING & SCALING
# 1 0 – Lic e ns ing
• Would s c hools , univer s ities , and
c ompanies benefit fr om your c our s e ?
• R eac h out to them, s end s ample mater ial
• Befor e s tar ting, get a w r itten agr eement
r eview ed by a law yer

NOW GO CREATE AN
AWESOME INFO-PRODUCT
BUSINESS!
GET IN TOU C H :
Sha yna Olive ira
w w w.es pr essoenglis h.net
w w w.adventur ous -soul.com
@ A dvent urous_S