Option 1 – Passive income through poorly designed teaching products like online courses, digital downloads and pre-recorded webinars. Result – the proliferation of crap products and dissatisfied customers (evidenced through terrible completion rates). The focus appears to be on ‘quick’ or ‘easy’ income rather than client results or satisfaction. This is short term thinking that impacts business owners. It burns goodwill. That is, no referrals or repeat purchases.
Option 2 – Thoughtfully designed passive income teaching products. Result – supports successful client results (impact), loyal happy clients (referrals and repeat purchases), and community. A sustainable business built on a reputation of trust.
Which do you want? Option 1 or 2?
The potential of ‘teaching from the streets’ through individuals teaching their expertise online is WORLD CHANGING. I believe this is the future of educating adults. Yet teaching is a craft and history shows us that short cuts don’t work.
In the corporate world, ‘eLearning’ or ‘online’ learning was seen as a cost-effective solution to ‘train’ staff. The reality remains, most often, rubbish information pages (PowerPoint slides with a next button), maybe a couple of examples and a quiz to test ‘competency’.
Result. A hoop to jump through that did nothing to impact performance but a whole lot to diminish the reputation of Learning and Development in the corporate world.
Now I’m watching this happen in the online entrepreneurial world. Are you seeing this too?
There’s plenty of people teaching how to launch (sell), write sales copy, and how to use passive products in a business but very few actually teaching how people learn. Learning design matters.
It’s like the Cafe analogy. Just because you drink coffee doesn’t mean you should open a cafe. Just because you’ve been taught, doesn’t mean you know how to teach or how people learn.
This is a lesson we should have learned in the last 20 years. Quality learning design impacts learning.
The idea of ‘passive’ also warrants exploration.
What is a ‘passive’ strategy? This means the client purchases access to the tool with little or no support provided to the client as they work through the product. The appeal is that the product remains for sale 24/7 and the client is lead to the purchase through a series of funnels or other triggers and the ‘creator’ is not involved in implementation.
‘Money earned while at the beach.’ Cue beach image here.
The ‘passive income’ strategies discussed in this blog are actually teaching strategies. There are nuances to designing teaching products, especially if you plan to take the teacher/ learner interaction out of the equation by making the products ‘passive’ or evergreen. (Evergreen means no specific start or finish time. Individuals can buy and complete alone but sometimes with a closed peer group.)
Want to know how you can turn your expertise into teaching tools? Download the Wisdom cheat sheet.
The Rise and Rise of Passive Income Teaching Products
Online courses, pre-recorded webinars, downloadable toolkits etc are a great business strategy. They promise increased reach, scalability, and passive income. The idea of creating amazing products that change people’s lives and allows you to earn money while you play is pretty darn compelling.
The reality is many are burning goodwill for the industry while sabotaging their own future success.
So how does it go wrong, and how can you get it right? Here are 4 key design mistakes and how to get them right.
1 – Focus – client’s results or teacher’s knowledge
Ever attended a workshop/webinar, bought an online course or a book because the sales page promised exactly what you were looking for and yet the product just didn’t deliver?
Me too.
Problem – The sales copy promise was not delivered in the experience.
Solution – Deliver what you promise. Client focused. Teach the client how to achieve what you promise (results).
People buy, then the need/desire is not addressed, the client is disappointed or worse ambivalent and paralysed, and the entrepreneur is disappointed because it ‘just never took off’.
No. The product didn’t provide the experience or result the marketing promised.
Poor content and design is created when the teacher provides what they think the client needs to know broken up into topics, subtopics and activities tacked at the end. This leads to dissatisfaction.
In corporate education – this looks like when the trainer teaches what they know not what the learners need to be able to do. Corporate trainers need to do some form of needs analysis through curious questioning, data searches within the corporate data bases and/or surveys.
Powerful content and design are designed only after the teacher clearly understands –
- this client
- this problem – what they are doing/saying/feeling/understand, what they aren’t doing, why
- the desired future state – what they will be doing, saying, feeling once this is resolved
- mindset challenges – what’s in the way
- novice mistakes
- what actions matter most, how, why
These insights about the client inform the teaching design and delivery (the experience). They also make great sales copy. Two jobs done.
Your sales copy promises what you deliver – tools your clients can use to achieve the results they desire. Reliably. Consistently.
2 – Intention – to serve or to sell
Passive teaching products usually sell through a relationship, such as readership, client list, email list, Facebook/LinkedIn groups or feeds, joint ventures or similar. In most cases, you also pay to advertise.
Passive teaching products are often used as opt-ins such as a pre-recorded webinar series. For example, let’s say 3 videos intended to provide great content to encourage you into a premium experience with the teacher/ expert. That’s great – in theory.
How many of those have you closed down because the first 10 minutes was full of ‘how good am I’ versus ‘what’s in it for me’ and ‘do this now’?
The focus is getting people into the premium package (sale) rather than respecting the listener’s time and providing a win right now (service). Prove yourself. Create goodwill. Stand behind your methods and give one/some away to establish a relationship and trust. You’ve got plenty more where that came from.
Problem – focused on the sale.
Solution – focus on service – creating client focused actions, results and a relationship (maintain goodwill)
When the intention is to serve, you focus on your client and your product/ service ecosystem. The teaching products are your opportunity to impress.
How do your passive income products fit with your other products and how do clients remain with you, in different ways.
3 – Passive – income not learning
Learning is NEVER passive. Learning requires challenge, strategies, change, and feedback. A client must implement the content of the passive teaching product in order to gain the results they want. The teacher role is passive. Not the learner’s.
As creators, we must design in ways that engage, stimulate and support learning. Especially when the notion of ‘passive’ requires that the teacher is not available to the learner.
Problem – too much telling, not enough doing and results
Solution – create activities first, teach how and why to implement them and what to look for (signposts for success and off course) – that’s your design strategy by the way.
It’s also a good idea to provide some form of support. This can be in the form of a closed group where peers interact with your moderation. A place to go to belong and share. These virtual communities can become powerful learning tools to supplement a series of passive teaching tool.
In some cases, access to these peer communities are the real reason people buy the passive product.
4 – Overdeliver – value not content
Size does matter.
Too much is … too much.
Problem – overdelivery of content leads to overwhelm.
Solution – overdeliver value.
What could you add to this product that would delight your client (add value)? It’s rarely more content. It might be a service or a tool that makes achieving their desired result easier/ faster/ more fun. Remember the previous mention of support – closed group with moderation (you or an employee/graduate), local support groups, optional VIP package with services (for a premium).
Your client is paying for your short path from where they are, to where they want to be. That’s your signature system for this problem. Think 80/20. What are the actions/mindset issues that matter most? Only teach those. Your client values their time and is paying for convenience. A quick useful solution.
Anything above this comes with a premium. Eg VIP package, retreat, membership site access
Final word – Get educated about how to educate. It’s fun and rewarding (personally and financially).
Want to identify ways you can teach to grow your business and influence?
Want to know more? Contact me to discuss how we can help each other.
