Just over one month ago, I wrote about the course-hosting site Teachable was getting ready to kick-off their first ever Creator Challenge. If you’ll recall, this three-month promotion not only promised a great community as well as a few fun prizes but also features special Q&A sessions with top Teachable course creators. Now, with the first weeks of the Challenge having passed, I thought it was a good time to reflect on my experience so far — and share some exciting updates:
Teachable U
I’ll admit that, when I first signed up for Teachable and, in turn, their Creator Challenge, I wasn’t 100% sure I was going to build a course. Plus, even if I did, I didn’t really know where to start. That’s where Teachable U comes in.
Teachable U features resources for everything from coming up with a course idea to actually launching a marketing campaign for it. Since I was still mulling a few possibilities, I started with their “Choose a Course Topic” section. While some of the individual videos that make up this course did feel a bit redundant at times (and do they really need an intro on each?), I found much of the advice to be solid and they did help me to develop my idea. I will also note that the ability to adjust the playback speed on these videos to 1.25x was welcome, as it allowed me to consume more material in a shorter amount of time.
Q&A Sessions
One of the aspects of the Creator Challenge I was most looking forward to were the Q&A sessions the site promised. So far, I’ve been able to catch two such sessions: one with Melyssa Griffin and another with Pat Flynn. Thankfully, while both of these interviews were streamed live, allowing attendees to ask their questions in the chat, Teachable also offers replays (that, once again, can be played at 1.25x or even faster if you choose).
Personally, I found value in both of the interviews I watched. In fact, while I thought each participant made some great points about course creation, pricing, etc., I was also happy to get Melyssa’s insight on using Instagram. This is to say that these Q&As manage to explore a number of topics related to growing a brand and aren’t just limited to discussing Teachable itself. Because of this, I’m looking forward to checking out future sessions in the weeks to come.
Facebook Community
To me, Facebook is both a blessing and a curse. Despite finding myself on the platform fairly often, I can’t say I really enjoy using it. Nevertheless, I was intrigued by the idea of Teachable’s Creator Challenge Facebook community as a means of accountability and feedback.
With more than 3,300 members, this Facebook group is — as the youth say — poppin’. Even if I’m not on the page itself, I find plenty of posts from the group populating my feed frequently. Of course, given the high number of members, some of these posts are more interesting than others. It seems a surprising amount of posts simply inquire when the next Q&A will be or how to find it (Teachable sends e-mails with links to each session). Yet it is always exciting to see success stories from those launching their courses and getting their first sales as well as witness other people providing valuable feedback to their peers.
Honestly, I have yet to post or even respond to anything in the Facebook group. Although I believe it’s a good idea and seems to be a benefit to some, I think I personally prefer soliciting opinions more privately. Still, perhaps as I continue to develop my course, there will be an opportunity for me to truly utilize this group as intended.
Coming Soon: My Course
After exploring Teachable’s materials and being inspired by some of the Q&A participants, I’m excited to announce to that I’ve begun planning my own course. While I’ll still working on the details, I can say that my course will teach you how to overcome common stumbling blocks preventing you from starting on YouTube and help guide you toward making your first $1,000 on the platform. While there are plenty of other courses out there that offer ways to make money on YouTube, I’m really excited to share my personal experience of growing a small but profitable channel.
By the way, if you’re interested in getting updates about my course, be sure to join my mailing list (you can find the sign-up form in the sidebar to the right).
Overall Thoughts on the Creator Challenge
As we prepare to enter the second month of the Teachable Creator Challenge, I definitely feel like I’m on the right track. At the same time, I can’t help but wonder if three months is really long enough. For example, in the Teachable U unit I completed, they feature a number of different steps you should take regarding surveying potential customers and building your following. While these are smart tips, it seems like going through each of these steps would mean delaying your launch beyond the timeframe set out for the challenge — but I guess that’s why it’s called a “challenge,” eh?
With that said, so far, the Creator Challenge has succeeded in getting me to think seriously about creating a course as well as provided me with plenty of advice and inspiration to make it happen. Therefore, even if I don’t end up launching during the challenge itself, I do feel I’m well on my way to doing so in the near future. Sadly, that might mean missing out on the cool prizes Teachable is offering, but at least the potential for future profits is still there.
It’s hard to believe we’re nearly a third of the way through the Teachable Creator Challenge. While I still have a ton of work to do before my course is ready to launch, I’ve been really pleased with the resources Teachable has offered, including the insightful Q&A sessions they’ve hosted. Needless to say, I’m glad I decided to participate in the challenge and look forward to bringing you many more updates as I continue to prepare a Teachable course of my own.