
Run an eCourse, they said.Ā Itāll be fun,Ā they said.
The only thing holding me back? I didnāt have a great experience with eCourses in the past. In fact, my response to the hundred and third person that had āitāll be funāed me was: āArenāt eCourses dead?ā
No way,Ā theyād all protested.Ā Itās really only just getting started.
So, with a generous serving of scepticism, I decided to unleash ANNA into the world of designers. Iād spend a bit of time creating an eCourse and, as a result, build a neat little passive income nest egg for myself.
Simples.
THE PASSIVE INCOME MYTH
Now, before I share my experience with creating and running a successful eCourse (orĀ wasĀ it successful? Youāll have to keep reading!) I want to be very clear about something:
There is nothingĀ passiveĀ about eCourse income.
Passive implies that you whip out course material in a day, upload it, create a sales page and then lay back in your hammock and sip pina coladas while the moolah rolls in from dusk to dawn.
Yep. Nope.
Creating an eCourse is bloody hard work.
Marketing an eCourse is bloody hard work.
Launching an eCourse is bloody hard work.
Running an eCourse is bloody hard work.
Itās not passive;Ā itās about as active as you can get, short of sprinting the course material door-to-door.
So if youāre considering creating an eCourse because you think itās theĀ easy way,Ā stop, drop and roll away, my friend.
But more than just being bloody hard work (which I hope has sunk in by now) itās also a complete emotional roller coaster. Thereāll be highs (OMG Iām a genius!) followed by lows (WTF was I thinking?!) chased by reverse drops (FMLĀ anotherĀ setback?!) that leave you feeling like your belly has been left somewhere a kilometre above you.
Donāt believe me? Hereās a real-life play-by-play of the recent launch for my eCourse,Ā Design Biz Bootcamp. If you havenāt heard of it, itās a six-week journey designed especially for graphic designers boss ladies to gain clarity and consistency while making their brand is canāt-say-no-able.
Hereās what happened when I launched itĀ (and how aĀ toadĀ helped me earn five figures).
LAUNCH EVE – Full Moon Magic
It was a full moon and I decided to take advantage of the universeās magic and do a full moon meditation to help me manifest a successful eCourse launch.
(Side note: If you know me well, you will know I am very anti woo-woo. HOWEVER I do believe in the power of manifesting ⦠and meditation is a good excuse to get some sleep while doing it.)
So I popped on my headphones and cuddled up in bed with My Little Sageās full moon meditation. And then ⦠I had a vision. Yes how very woo-woo of me, but the vision was SO clear: it was of me standing on a huge rock and as the moonlight shone on my surroundings I could see I was surrounding by people ā at first it was just a few but as the moonlight got brighter & brighter I could see there was a sea of people surrounding me.
I went to sleep feeling confident, feeling like I was finally being seen and feeling as though this was my time to help people.
DAY ONE – Crickets
My ārefreshā button was clicked so often I practically wore a virtual hole in it. Sadly, it was like the old āa watched kettle never boilsā thing. No matter how much I clicked it, nothing happened. So I made myself a coffee (because I needed to be more jittery, obvs). I cleared my cookies. Refreshed again. Double-checked everything was working. Refreshed again. Started biting my nails. Reread my sales screen. Reread the number ā0ā so many times I started seeing it when I closed my eyes. Went to bed. Did another meditate and manifest session. Didnāt sleep.
DAY TWO – Complete and utter panic with a side serving of toad touching
Any semblance of calm had been flushed down the loo. I was a wreck. Tears, inner accusations, outer tantrums, repeated declarations of āIām a failureā. I second-guessed my course material. My marketing. The name of my eCourse. My entire damn existence.
Before I went to bed, I went into the laundry to do some washing and STOOD on a toad! Yes, a live toad, with my BARE FEET! Uck. In so many ways.Ā Since when did toads come inside? AND in Winter?Ā Out of interest I googled ātoad totemā in case this unfortunate situation was a āsignā and this is what I found:
āIf this creature presents itself to you, it means that the success that you are waiting for is drawing near. It is often a good luck sign but requires action. Much like the story of the frog prince, the toad is a symbol of having to do something that you may not particularly like.ā
My manifesting was working. In very, very mysterious ways!
Went to bed with ā0ā seared into my brain
Didnāt sleep.
DAY THREE – In which I decide to never create anything ever again ⦠and my toads disagree
I wake up (by which I mean I open my eyes after having them pressing them closed all night ā without sleeping) and decide that this is a good thing. This failure? Itās a sign. A sign that I shouldnāt be creating stuff like eCourses. Thatās for other women. Other designers. I should ⦠I donāt know. Possibly move to Siberia.
I walk into the living room and ⦠there are two toads. On the floor. Blinking at me. Grossly.
Once again, I take this as a sign of my super dooper manifesting skills and ask Google wtf is going on.
āA toad is also a continuous reminder not to doubt on our self. Look at him, he is the ugliest creature youāve ever seen, but he ever hesitated to show his presence.ā
Later that day, I go to bed feeling like Iāve gone six rounds with Mike Tysonās tiger. Or maybe his pet toad?
DAY FOUR Ā – Wait.Ā What?
Everything changed. I refreshed my sales screen, prepared for the ritual disappointment, and then did a double take. There were sales.Ā A lotĀ of them.
By the time my registration period had closed, I had DOUBLED my income goals. DOUBLED! I am talking 5 figures here!Ā When a week earlier, Iād thought I wouldnāt even get ONE sign up.
What changed? Nothing.Ā I did everything exactly the same. It just took three days for it to take effect.
And now people areĀ LOVINGĀ my eCourses. (And Iām slightly enamoured with toads).
–Ā RAQUEL SCOTT
The whole 6 week course was an aha moment for me! I particularly liked client communication and processes section. I really learnt a lot from this module as I waste SO much time communicating with clients. It was so great to see how Anna’s processes work and I now have a clear idea how apply elements to my processes to streamline this in my business.Ā
So if you are thinking about signing up for bootcamp – Do it! You’ll get so much value out it. I couldn’t put a price on the things I’ve learnt and just being reassured that I am doing (most) things the right way is so comforting. I had been looking for a course like this for quite a while and was not disappointed! I loved each and every module and could relate to everything Anna was talking about. A serious breath of fresh air!ā
– EMILIE SAUNDERS
– KARINYA STIPTHORP
– CHANTELLE KING
So, yes. I ran an eCourse.
And it was fun  ⦠when it wasnāt almost sending me to the insane asylum. Or dropping a plague of toads into my home.
And guess what? I loved it so much ⦠Iām doing it again in October!
As I mentioned earlier, itās been created BY a graphic designer boss lady FOR graphic designer boss ladies who want to elevate their brand and biz. Itās not for the faint-hearted. And thereās NOTHING else out there like it.
Intrigued?Ā Make sure you are on the wait list here.Ā