From 0 to $10K: The Exact Plan I’d Follow to Sell My First Online Course

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Making your first $10K from an online course might feel out of reach right now — especially if you have a small audience — but it’s more doable than you think. In this video, I’ll walk you through a smart, efficient strategy to hit your first $10K in revenue 💰 (without spending months building your course upfront).

You’ll learn:

✔️ How to validate your course idea before creating anything

✔️ A simple launch strategy to sell your course

✔️ The exact 5-phase plan I’d follow if I were starting today

🎯 Want the complete system with step-by-step instructions, ChatGPT prompts, and plug-and-play templates? Grab my Sell Before You Create system here.

Hit play or read the post below:

Step 1: Believe It’s Possible

Let’s break down the math:

• Price your course at $500 → You only need 20 sales to hit $10,000.

• Price your course at $1,000 → You only need 10 sales to hit $10,000.

It might not happen overnight, but with tweaking, testing, and not giving up, you can absolutely get there. And once you do, it opens the door to many more sales in the future.

Step 2: Don’t Build First — Sell First

Here’s the thing: you don’t need to spend months creating your online course before you make a single sale. In fact, I recommend the opposite: Sell before you create.

Why? Because it lets you validate your idea first so you’re not spending months creating something no one ends up buying.

If you want to go deeper into this approach, check out my $27 Sell Before You Create System - it includes:

✔️ A detailed step-by-step Google Doc so you know exactly what to do

✔️ Strategic ChatGPT prompts to refine your messaging and sell with confidence

✔️ Plug-and-play copy templates for your sales page, emails, and social posts

This system helps you validate, sell, and launch your course without the overwhelm.

Phase 1: Prep Your Course

1. Pick your course topic - Think about the results your expertise can help someone achieve and choose one specific transformation. Avoid teaching everything you know; focus on a simple, step-by-step process to get one clear result.

2. Outline your course - Map out the modules and lessons so you have complete clarity on what’s included. Don’t film anything yet - just create the structure.

Phase 2: Start Marketing

Once you know your topic, start talking about it on social media (or whatever platform you use). Share:

• Tips

• Stories

• Behind-the-scenes content about your course creation

Drop hints like: “Something new is coming that will finally help you achieve X result.” This builds curiosity and excitement.

Create a fast freebie - Something quick but valuable, like:

• A checklist

• A short video

• A swipe file

This freebie should solve a small piece of the bigger problem your course addresses. Its main purpose: build your email list (where 99% of my sales come from). Watch this video here for how to create a fast freebie.

Phase 3: Pre-Sell Your Course

Run a short, impactful pre-sale campaign with an irresistible one-time deal. For example:

• Regular price: $497

• Pre-sale price: $297

For 7 days, be visible every day. Share:

• What your course is about

• Testimonials (if you have them)

• Answers to questions

• Objection handling

Promote through sales emails and social posts.

Your results will depend on your audience size - but even a few sales at this stage is huge. It validates your offer. And as we say in our community: If you can sell one, you can sell 100.

Phase 4: Deliver Your Course

After your first students enroll:

• Film and release one module per week

• Keep it simple - you can pre-record in Descript and email the lessons to students

Focus on value and results - not perfection.

This live release schedule allows you to:

• Get real-time feedback from students

• Answer their questions

• Improve your course content before it’s finalized

Once complete, collect testimonials and results to use in future marketing.

Phase 5: Repeat Your Sales Campaign

To see more sales the next time you launch:

1. Grow your audience in between launches.

2. Run another sales campaign - but this time, make it even better.

Enhancements to add:

• A free live training to connect with your audience, answer questions, and convert at a higher rate

• Updated sales content and assets with real student results

This repeat process forces you to focus on two things many avoid:

• Sales

• Email list growth

And those are the exact things that bring in revenue.

A few rounds of this process and you’ll be well on your way to hitting (and surpassing) that $10K goal.

Final Thoughts & Action Steps

So that’s exactly how to make your first $10K from your online course.

If you want my complete action plan, ChatGPT prompts, and plug-and-play templates, get my Sell Before You Create system - it’s the fastest way to validate your idea, make sales, and finally get your course out to the world.

Your future students are waiting ✨

If you found this helpful, give it a thumbs up, share it with a friend, and subscribe for more tips on launching, automating, and growing your online business. I’ll see you in the next one!

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