Course Builder's Corner

Owner

Medium

Writer

The Lefkoe Institute

Director of Training & Marketing

Self Influence

Rodney Daut

Elite Educational Institute

Teacher

Carson High School

America Reads - USC

Reading Tutor

Californa Afro American Museum

Docent

Circle K International

Club president

I help experts create tiny courses that your customers love and will actually finish.  So they will want even more from you.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸: 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗲𝗱

A great idea without a name is easily forgotten.

But concepts with great titles are remembered for years. The name becomes a hook that helps people recall the idea and share it.

And the most powerful type of name for your ideas is the branded framework.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸?
A branded framework is a system of ideas or practices with a name, attributed to a person or organization.

𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗽𝗼𝗽𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, The Five Love Languages, OKRs (Objectives and Key Results), SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats).

𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆
Ever heard of the Ten Commandments, The Four Noble Truths or the Five Pillars of Islam? You guessed it, they are branded frameworks. And as such have helped ideas spread to billions of people over thousands of years.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟰 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀
• A branded framework signals that you've done the hard work of distilling your work to its essence.
• It says you have a system created through trial, error and effort.
• It says the system is valuable enough to have its own name.

𝗪𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀?
In my next newsletter, I'll give you the 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗿-𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀.

See the link in my bio to join.

Rodney Daut 🟡

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝟭 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗱𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟬𝟴 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘀

When I was 31, the revenue of the coaching company I worked for dried up.

The 2008 financial crisis caused many of our clients to get laid off, and potential clients were afraid to spend money.

𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝗺𝘆 𝗽𝗮𝘆𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲, 𝗜 𝗸𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝘄𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗲.

Would we ever recover? Would we get our clients back? During this time, my girlfriend who lived with me, also lost her job. Double whammy.

I had money saved so I knew I could make it long enough to find another job if need be, but I really didn't want another job. I worked from home.

𝗜 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗼𝗺 𝗺𝘆 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝗴𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗲.
And losing a work from home job in 2008 would probably mean a nasty commute would be in my future.

But, my boss had the idea of turning his coaching process into a self-help program.

He even borrowed $30k to do it.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝘄𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁, 𝗜 𝗸𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝘄𝗲'𝗱 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿.
Hundreds of orders came in. My boss was able to give me my back pay. And we were able to continue selling this product for years.

Little did I know but the owner's friends had told him to lay me off. Without my salary this tiny company would have been breaking even. But instead, I helped him build a course that changed the lives of thousands of people.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲?
Work creatively to solve problems on your own terms. Don't compromise your values, instead find creative solutions. When you're faced with a difficult either/or choice find a third way that gives the best of both options. And above all, don't give up no matter what others say you should do.

𝗜 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝘀-- tiny courses that grow your influence and income.

Join my newsletter to learn more.

Link in my bio.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘀 (𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗱 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗱𝘂𝗱)

Most courses don't sell more than a few copies, even if they are very good. How do you avoid putting in months of work only to get nothing out of it?

By using the 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 for determining if your course idea has legs.

𝟭. 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺
Find a real problem your course idea solves for your customers. Ideally it's something they complain about or a dilemma they face that keeps them from moving forward.

𝟮. 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁
Define a clear result your course produces. Put a number on it if possible. Kevon Cheung's Make Twitter Friends shows you how to make 10 friends on Twitter who will engage with your content. Sean D'Souza's copywriting course shows you how to write an entire long form sales page in 3 days.

𝟯. 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻
How do you know the problem matters to your customers and that your solution makes sense? You talk to a real person. Describe the problem and the result, then shut up and listen to their response. You'll discover if you're on target or get a better idea.

𝟰. 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗢𝗯𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗹𝗲𝘀
Your course must address the obstacles that make it difficult to get the result. If there were no obstacles, the result would be easy to achieve. Label the hurdles and then in the next step create a ...

𝟱. 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸
Determine the steps that overcome the obstacles and get your customer from Point A to Point B. Give that system a name.  This makes your approach memorable as well as marketable. 𝑴𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑾𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝑽𝒆𝒏𝒖𝒔 became an international best seller in the 90s, not because the ideas were so unique but because John Gray created unique and interesting ways to describe each concept.

The next time you have a course idea, run it through this framework to determine if your idea is a winner or if it needs to be adjusted. You could save yourself months of effort moving in the wrong direction.

𝐈 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐛𝐢𝐠 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭.

Want to know more?

Join my newsletter. Link in my bio.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹

Since 2020, I've marketed and filled five cohort-based courses a year.

In that time, I've discovered three questions that can tell you whether a course idea will succeed or fail before you even begin.

𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝟭: 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗿𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽?
Know who your course is for. Is it muscle-building for 20-somethings? Or is it fitness for the over-forty crowd? If you're selling a copywriting course, is it for the solo creator or someone who wants to make a living selling copywriting? The focus of your course will be different depending on whom you serve.

𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝟮: 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺?
The over-forty man is facing a different set of obstacles than a 21-year-old. He may have a ton of work and home responsibilities that make it hard to find time and energy for exercise. Since his problems are different, so are the solutions offered by your course.

𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝟯: 𝗜𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗼𝗯𝘃𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀?
If yes, find out why, despite using the obvious solutions, they aren't getting results. Is it that they lack motivation? Then you'll need a solution for that. Is it that the other methods have a key flaw? Your course will have to fix it. Whatever you offer, it can't be for them just to follow run-of-the-mill advice. You need to diagnose the deeper problem and solve it.

𝗪𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝘀?
Join my newsletter.
See the link in my bio.

𝟱 𝗦𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗤𝘂𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗧𝗼 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗜𝗻 𝗦𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗢𝗳 𝗙𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗲

Failure can stop us cold.
Or motivate us to try again.

Anytime you feel like giving up, turn back to these 5 simple quotes to reframe failure as a source of motivation, not a reason to give up.

“𝗜 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲. 𝗜 𝗲𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝗿 𝗜 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻.”
-𝗡𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗮
Don't just persist when you fail, learn, then try again. This philosophy helped free a nation.

"𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗯𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱."
-𝗠𝗮𝘆𝗮 𝗔𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗹𝗼𝘂
Assume some bad stuff will happen on the way to your goal, but don't let it turn you against yourself.

"𝗦𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹; 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗹. 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘀."
-𝗦𝗶𝗿 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗹
Said the man who led his nation to defeat an invasion force with more men, money and resources than his island nation could muster. Courage indeed.

"𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗼𝘀. 𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗮𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗳𝗲𝘄 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝘄𝗻."
- 𝗡𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗼
The only way to avoid a typo is not to type. The only way to avoid failure is not to try. Don't achieve a perfect blank screen.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗲𝘁

Creators spend too much time building something and not enough time shipping the goods.

As a result, we lose out on revenue. Each day we don't ship, is like money dripping through our fingers and into the sewer.

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗼 𝘄𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁?
To get it just right, of course.

𝗦𝗼 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝘄𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺?

With the versioning mindset.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗹𝘆.

There's no definitive resting place. There's only version 1.0, 2.0, etc.  There's no perfect. Only good enough for now.

But we have to ship to have a 1.0 or 2.0. We must stop and deliver.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝘂𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗺.

That way we can ship, get feedback, learn, and ship again.  We get things to a good-enough stage of completion to bring in revenue as well as feedback to improve the next version.

𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝘄𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 (𝗼𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁) 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻?
Create a deadline and ship to that deadline. Let your mind create excuses and reasons not to move forward. Then continue shipping anyway.

𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘆?
Yes and no. Yes, your work will be imperfect but it would have been anyway. Look at anything you've produced 10 years ago and you'll see flaws now you didn't see then. I'm even embarrassed by articles I wrote just a few months ago.

Anyone who is honing their craft will find that they're a moving target.  And looking back on the past is as liable to make you proud as it is to make you cringe.

So you may as well ship, get feedback fast and improve more quickly.

𝗪𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀?

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