Clarity is power… what a true statement! Especially when it comes to creating and launching your online course.
When you know what you’re getting yourself into ahead of time, rather than being completely caught off guard by all the things you didn’t know that you didn’t know, you can plan accordingly.
One of the reasons why planning to create and launch an online course can become overwhelming is because there’s uncertainty around what exactly needs to be done and who’s doing what.
The list below outlines each of the roles involved with creating and launching a course.
Please keep in mind – this list is for those that are creating a top of the line online course. When you’re first starting out, your focus should be on creating an MVP (minimal viable product). Once you’ve validated your idea and are generating revenue from your course you can reinvest in taking it to the next level.
This is when you could benefit from hiring a company like ours to design and develop your course for you.
If you plan to develop your course on your own but don’t want to sacrifice design quality then Online Courses Academy will give you everything you need to create a beautiful and professional looking course all on your own. In addition to getting access to all the course page templates that you can upload in a couple of clicks, you’ll also receive over $877 of WordPress plugins and themes so you have EVERYTHING you need.
Regardless of which way you choose to go about creating your course, always remember that speed of implementation is critical in bussines and done is better than perfect (especially when you’re creating your first course!).
Now that I’ve gotten that little rant out of the way we can get back to our regularly scheduled programming…
It’s very important that everyone on your team has clarity on their responsibilities so I recommend using the list below to get a big picture overview of who’s doing what. This may help you see if there is a position that you did not take into consideration.
When you’re creating your first course there’s a good chance that your name may be in every box and this is totally fine! Yes, it will require some hustle but once you begin bringing in revenue from your course you can start outsourcing some of these roles. When that time comes, update your course organizational chart accordingly.
If you’re creating this with a partner then split the roles between the two of you.
If you’re an established business that’s planning a full-scale launch with all the bells and whistles then I’d advise hiring experts for each of these roles. In addition, it’s best practice to hire a project manager and launch manager to oversee the project in its entirety if you do not have someone on your internal team that can manage this.
So here we go…
1
Expertise Extractor
In this instance I’m referring to the person who is the subject matter expert and will be outlining and teaching the course. Typically the course owner will take on this responsibility. However, if budget permits, often times an instructional designer is hired to help structure the course content in a more efficient, effective, and appealing.
- Course outline and structure
- Video lessons
- Worksheets/Activities
2
Videographer/video editor
- Content marketing videos
- Pre-launch videos
- Sales video
- Video ads
- Course videos
- Testimonials
3
Graphic designer
Designs all graphics needed.
- Worksheet PDF’s
- Video Lesson Slides
- Facebook ads
- Images for emails
- Social media cover photos
4
Website designer
It’s important to realize that design and development are completely different skillsets. One of the top reasons why clients will seek out my company versus another is because they value design and this is probably our most significant competitive advantage. If you take a look at our portfolio you’ll see that we put an extreme focus on aesthetics and user experience (especially on mobile).
This role is responsible for designing all website/membership site pages, including:
- Landing pages
- Pre-launch pages
- Sales page
- Course membership site
- Affiliate members area
5
Developer
Responsible for the development and technical implementation of all website pages and required integrations for the course membership site, and marketing/launch pages.
6
Copywriter
An incredibly important role that is often overlooked and nearly always underestimated by new course creators.
- Copy for all emails
- Copy for all website pages
- Copy for all ads
- Swipe copy for affiliate partners
7
Facebook ad manager
Implements and manages the ad strategy.
- Lead magnet ads
- Pre-launch ads
- Open cart ads
- Last day ads
8
Sales funnel implementation
Sales funnels are built in a marketing automation system such as Infusionsoft. At a minimum you will need the following campaigns:
- Lead Magnet Campaign
- Pre-launch Campaign
- Customer On-boarding Campaign
9
Project Manager / Launch Manager
This role is similar to a director of a movie. Similar to how a director guides the actors through their scenes, a project manager oversees all parties involved with creating the course and keeps things on track.
A launch manager usually takes on a project management role but also has expertise specific to launch strategy.
Hopefully that helps you gain clarity on the big picture and now you’re armed and ready to launch like a pro!
