Your course is selling. Your students are excited. But somewhere along the line something happens. Students start to drop off. The results they’re getting are, at best, inconsistent and at worst, nonexistent.
So what happened? You poured your heart and soul into this program. You’ve given it everything, you’ve followed the advice you were given. Your brain has been dumped out onto the computer screen and all your best ideas are out in the world. You’re giving your best to your students, but they’re not seeing the results you know are possible for them. You’re frustrated and discouraged and the self-talk happening inside your brain is less than kind.
If that resonates with you, know this: you’re not alone.
This is something we’re seeing so much of right now … as more and more coaches launch courses, even more students are coming away from the experience disappointed and a little jaded. Paid courses have left a bad taste in their mouths and they’re wary … it’s not surprising we’re all feeling the effects of it.
If you’re in this boat and your students aren’t seeing results, keep reading for the 5 step process toward course correction.
1. Be kind to yourself
This is not easy, even on the toughest of days, but before we dive into all of the ways to move forward, please be kind to yourself. Your knowledge and wisdom are valuable, you want to help people and change lives, you released this course with the best intentions. If you’re here, you’re already ahead of the game. One step at a time. You got this.
2. Interview your students
Feedback can be so hard to receive, but interviewing your students absolutely needs to be a top priority. Since people have different learning preferences, learning needs, lifestyles, experiences, backgrounds, etc., we can’t rely on our experience alone to write an effective course. Asking your students the hard questions–and then taking their feedback into consideration–will help you determine where some of the common sticking points are in your curriculum. Create a survey–be sure to make it anonymous–and ask your students to respond with their most honest opinions. Their answers are gold for you.
3. Dive into the data
As your students are answering their surveys, take some time to inspect your course data, specifically video watch time, but it’s important to look at any of the data available for the opportunities students have to be engaged in the content (downloads, live call attendance, challenges, work submissions, etc.) The data will be able to tell you where your students are getting stuck, where they’re most successful, what’s working, and what’s not. Insights like this are incredibly valuable for effective decision-making, so if you’re not already tracking student data, now is a great time to start.
4. Close the gaps
Now, take your student interviews and the course data and sit with it a while. Dissect it all, make comparisons, ask “why?” As you do this, you’ll begin to notice patterns. You’ll see that students share the same concerns and frustrations. You’ll find that the things that are working well are working well across the board, not just for the occasional student. The data will show you where the weaker areas are and from there, you’ll be able to start forming a plan about how to close the existing gaps. Sometimes this means creating new modules, but other times it simply means providing a new tool or visual. When the data informs your decision-making, you’re able to meet needs well.
5. Repeat
This is not a one and done kind of thing. I typically recommend course creators do a curriculum audit every 3-6 months depending on the life cycle of their course. You can do this yourself or you can hire an educational consultant (like me) to do this for you. However you decide to do it, the most important thing is that it gets done. Courses should be sort of living and breathing. They need to be in a constant cycle of care that involves implementation, evaluation, and revision. Unfortunately, we have been inundated with the idea that courses are great for passive income … I’m here to tell you now, high-ticket courses are anything but passive. They require a lot of work and attention, but implementing an audit system will save you a lot of time and energy, and will keep your students on track to achieve the best possible results.
If you’re overwhelmed with the idea of auditing your course and would like some help, let’s connect now! There is no reason you should sit on this and let the anxiety continue to build.