Close your eyes and take yourself back to August 2020. We were about five months into the pandemic, with no clear end in sight. Many had transitioned to working from home, a novel experience for most, and even more challenging for those leading teams remotely for the first time.
As a freelancer who had been working from home since 2004, the pandemic didn’t drastically change my work life. However, having my family at home was a new dynamic—and that’s a story for another day. What really stood out was that all my clients were now working from home too. While some thrived, others struggled significantly.
Around that time, I noticed numerous social media ads for Amy Porterfield’s masterclass on Creating Digital Courses. Intrigued, I realized the urgent need for my clients—and the world—to improve their virtual meeting skills. They needed not only technological assistance but also guidance on facilitating effective virtual meetings. Many meetings I attended were painful experiences, highlighting the need for better virtual team management, dynamic meeting leadership, and collaborative virtual team creation. With my 16 years of experience in leading and facilitating virtual teams, I knew I could help.
In September 2020, I took the plunge and signed up for Amy Porterfield’s Masterclass for Creating Digital Courses. Despite my skepticism, given my 24 years of experience as an instructional designer, I found immense value in her course. Here are some key takeaways:
- Identifying my ideal client
- Nurturing and building my email list
- Narrowing down my topic based on my ideal client’s pain points
- Creating my course using her methodology (the post-it notes method)
- Crafting my sales page
- Designing my masterclass webinar to promote my course
I was particularly interested in how a “non-instructional designer” like Amy approached content creation. Embracing her methodologies fully, I completed my course, Virtual Meeting Academy. My first launch in January 2021 generated nearly $6000 in revenue and transformed participants’ virtual meetings from dull to dynamic. Since then, I’ve continued to relaunch that course, created two new courses, a 5-day challenge, and a new membership for learning and development professionals.
An unexpected bonus was the relationships and friendships I formed. My accountability pod provided invaluable support, and our online Facebook group offered tremendous learning opportunities.
Amy Porterfield is a brilliant entrepreneur, author, and leader in this field. She provides immense value, helping people grow their email lists, create digital courses, and even build their own empires. Her latest book, Two Weeks Notice, is a testament to her expertise.
In the coming months, I’ll be sharing some of her resources that have been incredibly valuable to me. If you’re curious about her work, I highly recommend visiting her website.