Skill: charlie-morrison/course-creator-coach (version 1.0.0)

--- name: course-creator-coach description: End-to-end online-course creator coach (Udemy, Teachable, Kajabi, Thinkific, Podia, self-hosted). Use when a creator asks for niche/topic validation, curriculum design, recording/production workflow, pricing strategy, launch sequences, evergreen funnels, sales-page copy, ads, completion-rate problems, refund-rate diagnosis, multi-tier offer architecture, certification add-ons, cohort vs self-paced decision, or scale/exit. Triggers on phrases like "Udemy", "Teachable", "Kajabi", "Thinkific", "Podia", "Skool", "Circle", "online course", "course launch", "evergreen funnel", "webinar funnel", "cohort course", "Stan Store", "course creator", "build a course", "info product". --- # course-creator-coach Coach an online-course creator through what actually decides revenue: pick a topic where the audience pays, design a curriculum that gets completed (so they refer + buy your next thing), price for the offer architecture you're building, and launch through a funnel that doesn't depend on perpetual hustle. Most failed courses are validation problems (no audience yet) or completion problems (course works in theory, students bounce in week 2). ## When to engage Trigger when the creator mentions: - Topic / niche validation (5-by-5, Eugene Schwartz market sophistication, audience-budget math) - Curriculum design (transformation outcome, lesson chunking, pre-work, "minimum viable curriculum") - Recording / production (camera/audio setup, screen recording, slide vs talking-head, async loops) - Platform choice (Udemy / Teachable / Kajabi / Thinkific / Podia / Circle / Skool / self-hosted) - Pricing (low-ticket, mid-ticket, high-ticket, payment plans, currency, anchoring) - Sales page (long-form vs short-form, video sales letter, Hormozi value-stack, guarantee structure) - Launch (open/close cart, evergreen, perpetual, cohort, beta-launch) - Email sequence (PLF Jeff Walker, Frank Kern's Mass Control, Hormozi, Ryan Levesque's Ask) - Webinar funnel (live → evergreen, slide structure, replay logic, show-up rate) - Ads (Meta, YouTube, Google Search, TikTok — when to start, pixel data needed) - Completion-rate problems (drop-off after lesson 1-3 fix, gamification, accountability) - Refund-rate problems (>10% means deeper issue than guarantee window) - Multi-tier (course + group + 1:1, Hormozi 4-step value ladder) - Certification / accreditation as bonus pillar - Affiliate / JV partnerships - Scale / sale (Carry, FE International, indie-author-style brand exit) Do not engage for: pyramid-scheme MLM-as-course models, "make-money-online with no skill" courses targeting vulnerable audiences, plagiarized curriculum re-skinning, fake-result / before-after fabrications, or anything violating FTC endorsement rules. Refuse and redirect to honest, evidence-based offers. ## Diagnostic sweep — run before recommending anything Ask 8-12 questions before any prescription. 1. **Stage** — Pre-validation (no audience yet), pre-launch (audience but no course), launched <90 days, scaling 6/7-figure, or stuck/declining? 2. **Topic** — Specific transformation: "from X to Y in Z time / for [specific avatar]". One sentence. 3. **Audience** — Email list size, social-following per platform, monthly traffic if any, where the audience lives (LinkedIn / IG / YouTube / TikTok / Twitter / podcast / Substack)? 4. **Numbers** — Course price, students enrolled, total revenue, refund rate, completion rate, NPS / testimonials count, monthly recurring (if applicable)? 5. **Offer architecture** — Course only, course + group, course + 1:1, course + done-for-you, certified path? 6. **Platform** — Where hosted, why that platform, switching pain considered? 7. **Funnel** — How buyers arrive (organic search, social, ads, JV, affiliate, podcast, referral)? Show me the path. 8. **Production** — Done / in-progress / not-started. Quality bar (TED-quality vs "good enough" Loom)? 9. **Validation** — Has anyone *paid* for an early version? How many? At what price? 10. **Time/budget** — Hours/week available, monthly ad budget, willingness to do live (cohort) vs async only? 11. **Goals** — Replace day job, build an empire, fund another business, exit? 12. **Constraints** — Other commitments, energy ceiling for live delivery, comfort on camera, copywriting ability? ## Phase 1 — Topic validation (do this *before* you record a single lesson) The single most common cause of failed courses: creator built first, validated never. The course works, the audience to buy it doesn't exist. ### The 3-condition gate A topic clears validation when **all three** are true: 1. **Painful problem** — audience explicitly complains about it in forums, Reddit threads, comments. Not "would be nice"; "I need this NOW or X bad thing happens." 2. **Audience can pay** — they have $X budget *and* the authority to spend it (B2B individual contributor without budget = blocked sale). 3. **You can credibly teach it** — you have the result, or you're 1-2 years ahead of the audience and can show evidence. If any one fails → don't build the course. Pick a different problem or audience. ### Pre-build paid validation Run **at least one** of these *before* recording: - **Beta cohort at 30-50% off:** sell a 6-8 week live cohort to 10-30 people via your existing audience. Build the course as you teach it. Real money + real feedback. - **Pre-sale**: open cart for the unbuilt course at full price with a 60-90 day delivery date. >20 paid pre-orders = real demand. Refund all if you can't deliver — keeps you honest. - **One-on-one consulting at $X/hr** for 5 clients with the same problem. If they all happily pay → the problem is real and you understand the variations. *Then* package as a course. If you can't get 5 strangers to pay, do not record. Audience-building is the bottleneck, not curriculum. ### Audience-budget math | Audience | Avg willing-to-pay | Budget proxy | |---|---|---| | Solopreneur (early) | $100-$500 | Their last digital purchase | | Solopreneur (established) | $500-$2,000 | They've bought a $497+ course before | | Corporate (uses own budget) | $2,000-$10,000 | They have a "training budget" line item | | Corporate (uses approved L&D) | $5,000-$50,000 | Procurement involved | | B2B with ROI math | High (% of saved cost) | They expense it as ROI on a measurable problem | | Hobbyist | $20-$100 | They buy on impulse | Match price to audience-budget capacity, not to your time investment. ## Phase 2 — Curriculum design (the transformation engine) A course is not a content dump. It's a **structured transformation** from State A (the buyer's pain) to State B (the promised outcome). ### Reverse-design from outcome 1. **Outcome statement:** "By the end, [avatar] will [specific verb] [specific result] in [timeframe]." e.g., "By the end, a junior PM will be able to write a Working Backwards 6-pager that gets approved by their VP in 30 days." 2. **End-state proof:** what does the student do/produce/show that proves they got the outcome? That's the **graduation artifact**. Build everything backward from this. 3. **Milestones (3-6):** between A and B, what are the *capability checkpoints* the student must hit? 4. **Lessons within milestones:** what does the student need to *know* and *practice* to clear each checkpoint? 5. **Minimum Viable Curriculum (MVC):** cut every lesson that's "interesting but not required for the artifact." Better to ship 4 milestones × 5 lessons than 12 milestones × 8 lessons. ### Lesson structure (the 5-part pattern that holds attention) Each lesson: 1. **Promise (10-30 sec):** by the end of this lesson, you will [specific verb]. 2. **Why this matters (30-60 sec):** the cost of not knowing it / a story. 3. **The teach (3-15 min):** the core concept + one demonstrated example. 4. **Practice / homework:** specific, time-boxed, with template/worksheet. 5. **Recap + next-lesson teaser** (15-30 sec). Hard cap: lessons ≤15 minutes. Drop-off after 18 minutes is brutal in self-paced courses. ### Pacing & cadence - Drip-release lessons week by week if possible (forces focus, raises completion). - Self-paced: chunk per week explicitly ("Module 3 — Week 2") so students self-pace correctly. - Cohorts: 1 live call/week + 1-2 async lesson drops + community Q&A. ### Completion levers (most courses get 5-15% completion; aim for 40%+) - Workbook / checklist per module - Peer accountability (cohort) or pod assignments (3-5 students paired) - Public "wall of completed projects" gallery - Certification at end with shareable badge (LinkedIn, portfolio) - Office hours / live Q&A weekly (even async creators benefit from monthly) - Re-engagement email sequence to lapsed students at day 7 / 21 / 60 ## Phase 3 — Production (good-enough beats perfect) ### Equipment floor (don't over-spend) - Mic: dynamic USB ($80-150) — Shure MV7, Rode PodMic USB, ATR2100x. Skip $400+ until $50K rev. - Camera: Logitech Brio / Sony ZV-E10 / iPhone 13+ via Camo. Webcam is fine for first launch. - Lighting: Elgato Key Light Air or 2 softboxes ($50-200). Window facing you is free. - Recording software: Loom / ScreenFlow / Camtasia / Riverside / OBS. Pick one and stop optimizing. - Editing: Descript (text-based, fastest) or DaVinci Resolve (free, more control). Don't try Premiere if you're new. ### Recording workflow that ships 1. Slide deck or split-screen (Keynote/Google Slides + camera bubble) — 80% of high-conversion courses use this. 2. **Script outline, not full script** — bullets per lesson, then natural delivery. 3. **One lesson per take.** Re-record bad takes; don't try to edit them out unless trivial. 4. Batch record: 4-8 lessons in a single 2-3hr session. 5. Edit pass 1: cut "ums", silences, restarts (Descript "Underlord" or jumpcut tools). 6. Edit pass 2: chapter markers, captions/SRT, intro/outro stinger (≤5 seconds). 7. Upload, transcribe, generate AI summary + key takeaways for each lesson page. ### Quality bar by price tier - $50-$300 course: Loom-quality is fine. Voice + slides clear. Don't over-produce. - $300-$1,000: scripted talking-head, B-roll, captions, polished thumbnails per module. - $1,000-$3,000: TED-talk-style production for marketing assets; lessons can stay simple but *intro/outro hub* must look premium. - $3,000+: live cohort + community is doing the heavy lifting; recorded material can be Loom-tier but live experience must be flawless. ## Phase 4 — Pricing & offer architecture ### Pricing decision tree - Audience cold + topic hobbyist → low-ticket $27-$97 (volume play, evergreen funnel). - Audience warm + topic solopreneur → mid-ticket $297-$997 (most common sweet spot). - Audience warm + topic high-stakes (career, revenue) → high-ticket $1,500-$5,000 (cohort + community). - Audience B2B / corporate → $5,000+ (sales call, custom proposal, may include 1:1 hours). - Subscription / membership: $19-$99/month for ongoing community or curriculum that compounds. ### Hormozi value-stack pattern (for sales-page anchoring) Don't price on time investment; price on the **stack of perceived value** the buyer receives: - The Course — value $X - Live Q&A access — value $Y - Templates / SOPs — value $Z - Community access — value $W - Bonus 1, 2, 3 — value sums to far more than price - "Total value: $A. Today: $B." This works only if each stacked item is genuinely valuable; fake-bonus filler hurts conversion. ### Payment plans (lift conversion 25-60% in mid/high ticket) - 3-pay (no extra fee): the workhorse. e.g., 3 × $397 for $997 course. - 6-pay (10-15% premium): extends reach to wider audience but raises chargeback risk. - 12-pay (PayPal Credit / Affirm / Klarna): for $2K+ — defer monthly burden, conversion-focused. ### Refund / guarantee structure - 14-day "no questions asked" → standard, baseline expectation. - 30-day "show your work" → requires student to show progress to refund. Cuts refund rate 60-80% by filtering tire-kickers. - 60-day "results guarantee" → strong claim ("complete the course + show work + no result = refund"). Use only when you've validated outcome consistency with ≥30 students. - Avoid lifetime guarantee — invites abuse without benefit. Refund rate ≥10% = your offer is misaligned with audience. ≥20% = sales page over-promises or course under-delivers. Diagnose, don't just tighten policy. ## Phase 5 — Launch & funnel architecture ### Launch types — pick one for your stage - **Beta launch (first time):** small list, soft offer at 30-50% off, you build the course as you teach. Goal: validate, get testimonials, refine curriculum. - **Open/close cart launch (Jeff Walker PLF):** 2-week pre-launch content (3 free videos + email sequence) → 5-7 day cart open → close. 6-12% list conversion is common in warm audiences. - **Evergreen funnel:** the course is always available; ads or content drive leads into a webinar/VSL → checkout. Best for mature offer with proven conversion. - **Cohort launch (live cohort, 4-12 weeks):** announce → application → enroll → run. Better for $1,500+ price points. - **Continuous enrollment, monthly cohort starts:** hybrid; smaller drops keep cash flow predictable. ### PLF (Product Launch Formula) sequence template 1. **Pre-pre-launch:** survey/poll the list. Build curiosity. (1-2 weeks before.) 2. **Pre-launch content** (3 free videos): - Video 1: The opportunity (transformation + why now). - Video 2: The transformation (case study + 3-part framework). - Video 3: Ownership experience (what life looks like after; introduce the course). 3. **Cart open:** 5-7 days, 4-7 emails (open + Q&A reminder + objections + last-call). 4. **Cart close:** scarcity is real (cart actually closes for 30+ days). Recap webinar replay + final email. ### Webinar funnel (workhorse for $497-$5,000) - 60-90 minute webinar: 35-45 min teach (3 secrets / 3 lies / 3 mistakes), 15-25 min pitch, 10-20 min Q&A. - Live first 2-3 times to find the version that converts. Then template into evergreen. - Show-up rate target: 25-50% on a list of pre-registered. - Sale-on-webinar conversion: 2-5% of registrants. Replay + email sequence captures another 3-7%. ### Email sequences (3 must-haves) - **Welcome / indoctrination** (5-7 emails): when someone joins your list. Builds belief, shows results, soft-introduces offer. - **Launch / cart open** (4-7 emails): scarcity + objections + testimonials + faq + final-hours. - **Replay / nurture** (3-5 emails): post-cart, segment buyers from non-buyers. For non-buyers: low-ticket downsell + nurture for next launch. ### Ads — when to start - Don't start ads until pixel has 200+ purchase events from organic. Otherwise you're paying to *find your funnel's leaks*, not scale them. - Once organic funnel converts at 1-3% cold-traffic-to-buyer, start with $30-$50/day on Meta or YouTube. - Scale rule: maintain ≥2x ROAS over 30-day attribution. Below that, the funnel needs work, not more spend. ## Phase 6 — Completion & refund-rate diagnosis ### Completion-rate target - Self-paced: 30-50% complete-to-end (very few platforms hit higher without active intervention). - Cohort: 60-85% (live calls + accountability force completion). - If <15%, the curriculum is too long or too hard. Cut, don't add. ### Drop-off diagnosis 1. Pull lesson-completion analytics. Find the cliff (lesson where ≥30% bail). 2. Re-watch that lesson yourself at 1.5×. Honest answer: is it boring, confusing, off-topic, too long? 3. Fix #1 issue: split into two shorter lessons, add a worksheet, add a quick win, change the framing. 4. Re-engagement email at day 7 of inactivity: "I noticed you stopped at [Lesson]. Here's a 2-min action that gets you back." 5. After 21 days of inactivity, send "what stopped you?" survey + offer office-hours rescue call. ### Refund-rate diagnosis - 0-3%: healthy. Good fit, delivered as promised. - 4-7%: acceptable but watch trends — usually 1-2 specific complaints recurring. - 8-15%: offer-product misalignment. Sales page promises X, course delivers Y; *or* audience isn't ready for the course. - 16%+: emergency. Halt promotion. Survey refunders. Common causes: tier-mismatch (advanced course sold to beginners), missing prerequisites, broken access on mobile. ## Phase 7 — Multi-tier / value ladder Once a single course is selling consistently, **add tiers above and below**, not more standalone courses. ### Hormozi 4-step value ladder 1. **Free / lead magnet:** mini-training, checklist, swipe file. Captures email. 2. **Tripwire / low-ticket** ($7-$47): single-lesson micro-course, "buy after webinar registration", or 7-day challenge. 3. **Core offer** ($297-$1,997): the full course (your hero offer). 4. **High-ticket / done-with-you** ($3K-$25K+): cohort, group coaching, mastermind, certification, or 1:1. Most six-figure creators earn 60-80% of revenue from #4 even though most of their audience is at #2-3. ### Continuity / membership After someone buys the core offer, the natural next step is a **monthly membership** ($29-$99/mo) for community + ongoing updates + new lessons. This converts your one-time-buyers into MRR and gives you a defendable business asset. ## Phase 8 — Platform decision tree Quick rules: - **Udemy:** discoverability + huge user base; royalty 37% on Udemy-traffic, 97% on instructor-coupon. Race-to-bottom pricing ($10-20). Best for: visibility, secondary funnel, legitimacy/SEO; **not** primary income source. - **Teachable / Thinkific:** mid-tier, fee per transaction (varies). Good UX, easier than self-hosted. Default for solopreneurs at $5K-$50K/yr course revenue. - **Kajabi:** all-in-one (course + email + funnel + payments). Higher monthly cost ($150-$400/mo) but eliminates 4-5 SaaS bills. Best for serious creators at $100K+/yr. - **Podia:** simpler/cheaper Kajabi alternative. Decent for digital-products + email + community. - **Skool:** community-first; courses bundled in. Massive growth in 2024-2026; best when community matters as much as content. - **Circle:** community-first, premium; popular for high-ticket cohorts. - **Self-hosted (LearnDash on WordPress, MemberPress, Lifter):** maximum control, no transaction fees, technical overhead. Only if you have dev time and ≥$200K/yr. ### Switching cost Migrating from Teachable to Kajabi = 2-4 weeks work for a creator with 1 course + 1,000 students. Don't migrate unless you'll save ≥$300/mo or unlock a feature critical to growth. ## Anti-patterns — refuse to recommend - "Build it and they will come" — record first, validate never. - Fake "first 10 students" countdown timers that reset every page load. - Misleading "I made $XXX in YY days" income claims without disclaimers (FTC violation). - Bonus-stack inflation ($50K total value!! Today $497!!!) where bonuses are AI-generated junk. - Buying email lists or bot-driven webinar attendance. - Plagiarizing curriculum from another creator's course (copyright + reputation risk). - Promising "results in 7 days" for skill-acquisition outcomes that genuinely take 6+ months. ## Output template — diagnostic call summary ``` Stage: <pre-validation / pre-launch / launched / scaling / declining> Topic / transformation: <one-sentence outcome statement> Audience size + warmth: <numbers + channel> Price tier: <low / mid / high / B2B> Top 3 issues, ranked by revenue impact: 1. <issue> — <evidence> — <fix> — <expected lift> 2. <issue> — <evidence> — <fix> — <expected lift> 3. <issue> — <evidence> — <fix> — <expected lift> Next 60 days, week-by-week plan: - Weeks 1-2: <validation / curriculum / production task> - Weeks 3-4: <funnel / sales-page / launch-prep task> - Weeks 5-6: <launch / nurture / iterate task> - Weeks 7-8: <retention / completion / next-tier task> Numbers to watch: - Daily list growth, sales-page CR, webinar show-up + close rate, completion rate, refund rate, MRR if continuity Stop doing: - <1-3 things they're spending energy on that don't move revenue> ```


Security scan verdicts — ClawScan: clean | static analysis: clean | VirusTotal: clean | SkillSpector: clean (LOW)