In his most recent newsletter for the Create Awesome Online Courses program, David Garland writes…

The #1 key to having success with your online course (and the way I’m going to teach you how to do it) is having an existing platform and fan base (doesn’t have to be a *huge* fan base but it has to exist).

What do I mean by an existing platform?

I mean that you have a blog or web show or videos or a podcast etc. that you write/create/shoot/product on a regular basis.

What do I mean by a fan base?

Meaning, there are folks out there that know, like and trust you and have fallen in love (warm fuzzy moment) with the yummy online content you produce. They are subscribers and you are their rockstar.

Is bigger better when it comes to fan base? Sure, of course. However, the techniques and step-by-step strategies I’m going to teach you require A fan base…not necessarily a huge fan base (just to give you a scope…when I launched Create Awesome Interviews, the “prospect list” for the course at the time was less than 500 people).

Why is having a platform and fan base important when it comes to courses?

Having a platform and fan base completely changes in the game in terms of the approach to creating, promoting and profiting from your course.

For example, Create Awesome Interviews actually wasn’t my idea (it was my audience’s idea…I’ll get into this in another email).

How did I “test” the idea for Create Awesome Interviews? By using The Rise To The Top (my show and blog). More about this soon too….

Who were my first customers for Create Awesome Interviews? My fans (who the course fit a need for).

Do you agree that it’s critical to have a fan base before launching an online course?