How to build tension in your marketing without sneaky gimmicks
Tension is everywhere. It’s what keeps you turning pages when you read your favorite book. It forces you to binge-watch that endless Netflix show even though tomorrow you have to get to work early (Downton Abbey, anyone?). It’s what builds (or destroys) your...
How to Overcome a Fixed Mindset When You Teach Online
“These people won’t pay me more than $25 an hour. Why would they? There are many others who charge less and do the same kind of stuff.” In the past several weeks, two of my clients have sold 4-figure packages. These are the same people who just three years ago...
6 Roadblocks That Keep You From Launching Your Online Course (and how to crush them)
Summers are a slow season for online teachers, a time of reflection and creativity. It’s the time to try out something new and begin dreaming new dreams for your business. Maybe you should raise your price? Find new clients? Do something different on Instagram? Maybe...
How to Stand Out as a Radiant Brand When You Teach Languages Online
Dana teaches Italian online. But so does Erika. And Chiara. And Aurora. And Sofia. And Greta. And Federico. And Gabriele. And Lorenzo. And Alessandro. All of them have Instagram accounts called @ItalianWith________ (insert a name). All of them hate...
How Offering Less Will Help You Sell More Online Courses: A Case Study
“I want to create an online course where theater geeks can improve their English by immersing themselves into their favorite plays and musicals,” Denis* tells me. He’s an online English teacher who has a brilliant idea for a niche. He’s enthusiastic and passionate and...
Why I Decided to Delete my Facebook Group After 3.5 Productive Years
In one of her recent podcasts Jocelyn K. Glei shared a quote by Clayton Christensen, “Questions are what opens up space in your mind for an answer. If you don’t ask a question then the answer has nowhere to go.” A week ago we had a lively discussion in the...
A Practical Guide to Deal with Overwhelm When You Run an Online Teaching Business
Do you know that one of the definitions of the word "overwhelm" is to be sucked into the swamp? All my childhood I heard horror stories of people who were sucked into the swamps. Nobody was there to help them, and the swamp devoured them without a trace. The...
An Open Letter to the Exhausted Online Teacher
My Dear Friend, When you read this letter, I will be in a different place. I’m not sure what it will look like and how I get there. You might be frustrated that I left you all by yourself when you’re stuck and overwhelmed, but I had no choice. I felt like both...
How to increase online course sales (and still keep your friends)
Here’s a persistent trend I’ve seen this year: Meet "Jane," a teacher of Japanese who is exhausted from her 1:1 online lessons. She decides to create an online course (priced at $100) and sell 10 of them monthly to boost her income and free up some time. ...