The offer that made me my first $1,000 online

Context

It's 2021 and I've been teaching how to build Java software on my website and YouTube channel for a couple of years. With regular visitors and positive feedback on my lessons, it's going well. But the question on my mind is this: how to monetize my skills?

I decide to launch a course—first a free mini-course to gather email addresses, then a paid deep-dive. The topic? A niche Java build tool that most developers have never heard of: Gradle. Stroke of genius or a waste of time? I decide to find out.

Want help planning your own course offer? Let's talk.

Effort

At under one hour in duration, the mini-course doesn't take long to put together. In January 2021, I start promoting it in my content and get my first few users. Soon, a few people are signing up daily. Now I decide to focus on the main course.

I outline the main course structure in a Google Doc, with headings and bullets. In March, I begin scripting and recording the first module. Motivation is a struggle. I don't get very far before running out of steam. Then, I stop making progress completely.

A few months pass. Despite my inaction, I remind myself that launching this project could lead to a new, independent lifestyle. So I free up my schedule to work on the course again. It's still hell, but by September, five modules are complete—enough to launch. I upload the videos to my course platform (Thinkific), then hook up my new Stripe account.

The price? $69. I've paid similar for courses myself before, so it feels fair. I email everyone who's signed up to my mini-course, sit back, and pray for an email notification from Stripe.

Results

After sending the launch email, I land two sales that same day. With all the work I've put in, this small success feels special. Over the next few days, I send further emails and get some more sales. After eleven days, I've earned my first $1,000 online.

But I don't want to promote my course like this forever, so I try to automate the process. At the end of my mini-course, I link to my paid course through a short 'upsell'. Then I create my first 'sales funnel' to send promotional emails to new email sign ups.

Fast-forward to today, and I've sold 323 copies of the course, making over $23,000. All from just coming up with an idea for an offer and giving it a go.

Lesson

Although I knew there was interest in my chosen topic, I didn't know if people would actually buy a course on it. To find out, I had to make the offer. In this case, the outcome was positive.

One thing I'd do differently is not build an all-encompassing product to start with. It took way too long. Instead, I'd solve one specific problem. For me, that would be a single module released standalone. This would have helped avoid procrastination, make the offer sooner, and get faster feedback from customers.

Conclusion

The point isn't for you to make a course. It's to dare to imagine something that others might find useful.

Making the offer is the only real way to find out if your hypothesis is correct.