Finally launch your  
 online course 

You’ve been thinking about creating a course for what feels like forever (maybe even years), but you’ve been so bogged down in client work—the work that pays the bills— that you just haven’t been able to make the time to do it right.

Creating a truly effective online course, one that transforms your students, brings in revenue, and helps you scale your offerings, requires you to get out of your expert head and bring it to your people now.

The key to finally launching your course idea into the world is to
run a learning launch first; a small, low-risk, beta version of your course. It gets you into the market faster, and allows you to be sure you're launching the digital product that you know your audience is craving. 


Don't build your course in isolation. 

Get the guidance, support, and accountability you need to finally get the first version of your course idea launched.

Forget "signature course"; 
start with a learning launch.
Most ambitious course creators start way too big; they try to create a "signature course" that encapsulates everything they know into one giant course. The problem with this approach is that most people:
  • Procrastinate and get stuck for months and even years while trying to build a comprehensive course (that most of the time never ships). 
  • Firehose their learners with information, creating overwhelm and impossible expectations for them.
  • Assume that more content = more value (while learners disappear in shame).
  • Forget what it's like to have a beginner's mind and make way too many assumptions about their customers' experience and needs. (Remember: you are not your customer). 
  • Struggle to sell because they are out of sync with their audience; their course tends to be too general, not solving a real specific and immediate customer need.
  • Never actually launch. The harsh truth is, most people simply don't ship their course because they become overwhelmed with unrealistic expectations they've set for themselves (trying to create a high-value course that replaces their client revenue).

Shipping small always beats never launching at all. 

 Are you ready to 
 Run Your Learning Launch? 
This is MADE for you if:
  • You've got experience selling services or products (and making revenue)
  • You're ready to pursue a specific idea (it's ok if you don't know all the details yet).
  • You're looking to scale up your current service offerings.
  • You have experience creating content assets (blog posts, videos, email newsletters, etc.)
  • You've been thinking about creating a course but aren't sure where to start.
  • You're open and willing to listen to your customer's feedback.
  • The idea of launching a course puts you a little out of your comfort zone
The fact that F*ck Your Elevator Pitch is in the world, selling slowly but surely, has me completely overhauling my services. In a good way. I already have plans to rewrite the original course (Write Your Own Damn Copy) and I'm pitching a speech today based on these ideas. This wouldn't have happened (this soon, maybe at all) if it weren't for your gentle nudges. Thank you!
Helen Tremethick
Communications Distillery
Thinking about launching a new idea? 
Our 5-day email sequence walks you through how to 
launch a course the right way.

SHOW ME THE WAY

Copyright © 2018 Oki Doki Digital

What the heck is a 
learning launch?
A learning launch is an experiment conducted in the real world in order to test drive your idea with real people while solving problems they are experiencing right now. It's purpose is not simply to sell, but to learn as much as possible

A learning launch helps you see how real learners interact with your material so you can measure the value and impact of your course in advance of a larger launch. Some of the many benefits of this approach:
  • Kick-start your idea and start earning right away (no more free beta runs with testers who disappear halfway through) 
  • Launch faster and get relevant feedback, so you can build V2 faster and more effectively
  • Build your confidence while collecting testimonials and social proof, demonstrating the impact your course can make 
  • Create a course that truly engages and transforms learners
  • Break free of your perfectionistic tendencies
Launching sooner—imperfectly—will help you test market interest, write compelling sales copy, price your course, refine your material, and most importantly, check your biases when it comes to what your learners need and want to know.
Together we help you bust through fear, uncertainty, and perfectionistic tendencies through our 10-week bootcamp: 
 Run Your Learning Launch 

Stacey Howe-Lott

Stacey is an instructional designer who eats cognitive science journals for breakfast. She truly understands adult learning (she's got the Masters to prove it!), and has worked on both the learner and teacher side, using her experience and wisdom to help create better teachers. She'll help you make sure you’re on target with your learner’s desires before you shoot 30 videos and create a ginormous workbook that nobody wants.

Marie Poulin

Marie is a business consultant, digital strategist, and co-founder of Doki, a software application for selling courses and coaching programs. With a specialization in Design Thinking + Innovation and training in Agile methodologies, she brings her product development experience to the course development process. She's been launching beta courses, digital products, and signature programs for both herself and clients for nearly a decade. Marie will help you take a customer-driven approach to your course development process so you can be sure you're creating something your audience is truly craving.
YOUR GUIDES
We are Marie Poulin and Stacey Howe-Lott, two experienced entrepreneurs who've teamed up to help make the online course development process more accessible (and way less intimidating).

Our combined experience includes years of instructional design, adult learning, product development, marketing, design thinking, Agile methodologies, and UX design. Together we have coached and consulted with business owners of all shapes and sizes who have sought to integrate online courses into their business offerings.
The Course 
Get ongoing access to the course material, assignments, and our favourite resources dripped out weekly over 10 weeks, along with two implementation weeks.
Feedback / Reviews*
Submit your assignments and Stacey + Marie will review, add feedback, and help you stay focused and on track. 
(*Coaching tier only)
Accountability 
Dripped content and homework assignments are designed with accountability in mind. We're focused on getting you shipped!
1:1 Coaching 
Optional one-on-one coaching if you need additional support with anything from course curriculum to marketing (at a much more affordable rate than hiring us individually). 

WHAT'S INCLUDED:

This is NOT for you if:
  • You're a brand new business.
  • You don't have real-world experience with what you want to teach.
  • You're stressed about your cash flow, or you need your course to become your new revenue stream.
  • You're afraid or unwilling to talk to real + prospective customers.
  • You don't have any previously created content assets (blog posts, videos, email newsletters, etc.).
  • You don't have a few hours a week that you can commit to the process.
Self Study
A great way to get started on a budget.

INCLUDES:

  • Immediate access to all course material, assignments, and resource library 
  • Doki account (3-month extended trial)
BUY NOW • $150
Launch Support
Get guidance and support while launching your course (and beyond!)

INCLUDES:

  • All course material, assignments, and resource library dripped out over 10 weeks 
  • Doki account (3-month extended trial)
  • 60-min Strategy call with Marie
  • Personalized feedback (written and video) on homework and activities
BUY NOW • $450
A FEW WAYS TO JOIN
Honestly, i couldn't have gone this far without a. Your actual help, b. You being a total inspiration, and c. Your wise words and sage counsel! Running a beta was the smartest thing I ever did!!

Shannon Lee Simmons
New School of Finance
Can I really launch an online course in 10 weeks?
Yes! However, your launch is likely to be smaller than you first imagine. This launch won't be your "signature program"; it will be a small first product launch (a Learning Launch) that will get your work in front of your people sooner rather than later. Your course won't necessarily be complete when you bring on your participants (don't worry, we guide you through this process so you don't feel lost!).

What are these Mastermind calls?  (Only during live bootcamp)
Each month we have a minimum of one group mastermind call (facilitated by Marie) where RYLL alumni are invited to join live. This is an amazing way to learn about what is working for other participants, get input and feedback on your progress, and work through any specific challenges you may face as you work on your launch. Calls are live, recorded and allow for up to 4 people on video. Many participants have mentioned that these calls alone have provided the key insights that changed the direction of their course, helped them switch gears, and in some cases, change audience or product focus.


Will I have forever access to the course + community?
Yes, you will have ongoing access to the course.  Community (FB group) is launched twice each year, and allows you to jump in on group mastermind calls anytime.


What does the feedback and review time look like?
Feedback, support, and review time (Coaching tier only) is provided on a weekly basis when assignments are submitted by the recommended completion date. In this program you'll get what you give; if you bring your content, we'll help make sure you're on the right track, and have the guidance and support that you need to launch. This feedback is usually provided through Google docs, email, and sometimes through recorded videos and/or screencaptures, as well as through the Facebook group. 


What if I already have an online course?
We've had participants in the bootcamp who already had some variation of their course launched (or started). This bootcamp is excellent for helping you refine, re-iterate, and re-launch an existing course by learning from what's already working, and getting rid of what's not. Want to make an existing course better? This bootcamp will show you how.


Will I learn how to put all the technical pieces of my course together?
This bootcamp includes a 3-month free trial of Doki, a course delivery platform developed by Marie and Ben to make it easy to distribute online learning in a variety of formats (resource library, evergreen, dripped course, coaching programs, etc). We include training and documentation to ensure you have everything you need to comfortably and confidently deliver your course materials to your participants.

We also make sure you have a number of options for distributing your materials so you don't get caught

I want to thank you so much for putting together such a terrific course! No matter how often I get pulled off working on my course to help my clients, I know I can always come back and dig right back in where I left off.

Nikki Groom
Movement Makers
The insights from Stacey and Marie really helped me when I was in the thick of all my content and couldn’t see past my own experience. I previously thought that more info and tips meant more value, but really my students were looking for simple and achievable wins. I'm so glad I didn't firehose them like I had originally intended!

Lindyn Williams
Whole Hearted Photography
Can I just say that I'm really grateful to be part of this group? I especially appreciate that you not only acknowledge but encourage dialogue around the stress and anxiety that comes along with the whole process of launching, and seem to account for those feelings in the course itself. Thanks for being so real!

Christopher Hawkins
100k Freelancer
When Helen joined Run Your Learning Launch, she had so many great ideas (and expectations) for what her course needed to cover. She was trying to include #allthethings into one big course. The problem was two-fold: the scope of the content (and perfectionism) was keeping her from shipping, and it wasn't solving a specific enough problem for her audience.

Through this bootcamp, Helen was able to hone in on her audience's true need, while leveraging activities she was already doing with her clients to finally launch a highly focused (and brilliantly branded) online course: 
F*ck Your Elevator Pitch.
From this Learning Launch Bootcamp I will have:
  1. Migrated and revised every module of my signature programme
  2. Put together a free 7-video training series on Using Asana
  3. Run my new course idea as part of an online live event. What's next?!?
I can’t wait to create my next learning launch.

Emmy McCarthy
Business and Systems Coach
When Emmy joined Run Your Learning Launch, she already had a successful online course, The Change Maker Programme, which was about to enter it's fourth iteration. 

Through the bootcamp, Emmy majorly overhauled her signature program, moved her materials onto Doki, and created a seriously valuable free video training series to use as her lead magnet (a BIG deal for the introvert who admitted to being scared and procrastinating on it for years!).

We want you to stop procrastinating, 
over-thinking, and assuming you know what your learners want.
 

Most of all we want you bringing your expertise out into the world where it can make a difference to as many people as possible instead of being stuck in your head.

 Run Your Learning Launch is a 10-week online course designed to get you launching, learning, and earning with your very first online course.

FAQs
Marie worked with Shannon Lee Simmons of the New School of Finance to help her launch Sole Prop School, a suite of online courses that educate Canadian Sole Proprietors on how to run their business legally from a financial and tax perspective.
To say Shannon was busy was an understatement, but she knew she wanted to capitalize on this big missing gap in the market quickly. 
We got her pre-selling her very first course pilot which sold out in 15 minutes. With her idea validated, she quickly assembled her V1, with modules delivered via email, videos shot on her iphone, and resources including links to spreadsheets and templates. 

The simplicity of her beta allowed her to make some cash up front, test the content out with a small group, and know that she could safely invest in video production and a new website for V2.

I started out thinking I was going to create a course called "How to build a 6-page Wordpress website in 5 days." I knew I wanted this to be for mamas who were ready to turn their side hustle into a legit business. But after talking with mamas and hearing what they where saying, I knew I needed to evaluate my whole approach. 

Through some trial and error, Sweet and Simple Sites was created!!! *throws confetti!* This took a lot of work and time and I know it would of taken longer if I hadn't of been a part of Marie Poulin's Run Your Learning Launch! (I owe her and Stacy a proper long and mushy letter!)

Kayla Rose
Designer
When Kayla first joined Run Your Learning Launch, she had an idea for a 6-day website course. As she did customer research she noticed an opportunity for a more specific niche: busy mums looking to turn their side hustle into a real thing, and realized that a 6-day course wasn't going to be feasible for her audience.

Kayla adapted her idea/offer through the help of her beta participants, and turned her course idea into a hybrid "done with you" offer that made much more sense for both her business and her audience.
Extended Doki Trial 
We offer an extended trial of Doki, a course-delivery platform that makes it easy to release different versions of your course while you test your material with real participants. 
The truth is, your audience wants small, achievable wins and actions they can take now; they don't want or need to know everything that you can teach. They also don't want to wait until next year to get the help they need today!

Get the guidance, support, and accountability you need to finally get the very first version of your course launched.

What we cover

INTRODUCTION 
Understand what makes a great course, address the fear + challenges of launching and learn how running a learning launch can help propel you into action.


DEFINE YOUR COURSE 
Define your course concept, imagine your learners journey, and create first draft outline of your course.


UNDERSTAND YOUR LEARNER 
Meet your ideal learners, gather intel through conversations and interviews, and identify the key actions your learners will need to take in order to get results.


MAP IT OUT  
Come away with a refined course outline based on real observations and interviews, and a plan for producing the required lessons, activities, and resources. 


GATHER THE PEOPLE  
Create a list and interest page, decide on pricing and format, and begin inviting your ideal participants to join you in the creation of your first course.


CREATE THE CONTENT  
Assemble your required assets and resources, make a content plan, and decide on appropriate technologies and format for your content.


RUN YOUR LEARNING LAUNCH  
Run a small live pilot of your program; observe, interact, and engage with participants, deliver the materials, and be prepared to let go of your assumptions!


WHAT NOW?  
Document your students experiences, collect and filter feedback, and gather testimonials. Assess what stays, what needs to change (or be removed altogether), and make any necessary changes to course content, sales pages, and email.

Questions? Email marie@weareokidoki.com
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