Podcast Summary: "What I Learned Building A 7-Figure Digital Writing Course"
Podcast Information:
- Title: Coffee With Cole: The Digital Writing Podcast
- Host/Author: Nicolas Cole
- Description: Weekly deep dives into the Art & Business of Digital Writing, Ghostwriting, & Self-Publishing
- Episode: What I Learned Building A 7-Figure Digital Writing Course
- Release Date: September 16, 2024
1. Introduction to Ship 30 for 30
Nicolas Cole opens the episode by discussing the impressive growth of Ship 30 for 30, a beginner writing program developed by him and his team. Initially starting as a small free Slack channel, Ship 30 for 30 expanded into a seven-figure and subsequently a multimillion-dollar business, becoming the largest writing program on the internet within a year.
Notable Quotes:
- Dickie: “In just 12 months, Ship 30 for 30, our beginner writing program, grew from a small free Slack channel into a seven-figure business.” [00:00]
- Cole: “Many call it the gold standard for what an online course should be.” [00:19]
2. Structure and Success Factors of Ship 30 for 30
Dickie elaborates on the key elements that contributed to the program's success:
- Onboarding Structure: Effective onboarding processes.
- Educational Blend: Combining education with daily writing assignments.
- Integration with Typeshare: Connecting the course to their software platform, Typeshare, which provides writer templates and personal social blogs.
- Gamification: Implementing gamified elements to encourage a daily writing habit.
Additionally, the program's ability to attract intelligent and diverse individuals globally has fostered a vibrant community of digital writers.
Notable Quotes:
- Dickie: “How we gamified building a daily writing habit. I am extremely proud of what we've built Ship 30 into...” [00:25]
- Cole: “...even more proud of how Ship 30 has this unique ability to just attract really smart, really interesting people from all over the world.” [00:36]
3. Evaluating Program Length: 30 Days vs. Longer Durations
A listener named Stone posed a question about extending the program’s duration to 60 or 90 days for enhanced accountability. Dickie acknowledges the consideration but emphasizes that 50% of participants do not publish daily, highlighting the inherent difficulty of maintaining such a habit long-term.
Instead, the focus remains on providing value within the 30-day framework, allowing participants to either commit further based on their newfound clarity or pivot their priorities based on their experiences.
Notable Quotes:
- Dickie: “The reality is that I'd say 50% of people who join Ship 30 don't publish every single day.” [01:15]
- Cole: “...the ROI positive takeaway from taking Ship 30 is that I don't want to write on the Internet.” [02:07]
- Dickie: “...the real bottleneck isn't really, do people need accountability for a year straight? Maybe they do, but that's not really what the program was intended to solve.” [03:01]
4. Transitioning from Cohort-Based to Asynchronous Models
Katie introduces a question regarding shifting from a live cohort-based model to an asynchronous (async) course format. Dickie explains that both models are effective, but the decision hinges on having a robust traffic engine to sustain high-volume sales. They initially operated as a live cohort, which had slower feedback loops, prompting a transition to an async model that allows continuous enrollment and rapid iteration based on immediate feedback.
Notable Quotes:
- Dickie: “Shape up both the cohort model and selling an asynchronous text and video course, they both work.” [04:13]
- Cole: “...it's really not the course. It's not really, should it be cohort based or could it be asynchronous. The real question is, do you have a traffic engine?” [05:22]
- Dickie: “...we liked the idea of that a lot more because we felt like it allowed us to use our superpowers, which is to move very quickly.” [12:52]
5. Importance of a Traffic Engine in Digital Products
Dickie underscores that unlike services, digital products require a consistent traffic engine, primarily driven by paid ads or organic methods. They caution against skipping the foundational step of building traffic, as it is essential for sustaining and scaling digital product sales.
Notable Quotes:
- Dickie: “If you're selling $100 or $200, $300 digital product, you can't really make 10 grand a month going, well, I'm just going to do cold outreach and try and sell people individually on my $200 course.” [05:18]
- Cole: “...the real name of the game isn't really the course. It's not really, should it be cohort based or could it be asynchronous. The real question is, do you have a traffic engine?” [05:22]
- Dickie: “...the real problem to solve.” [06:50]
6. Scaling from Individual Coaching to Group Coaching
Dean questions the shift from introductory products like Ship 30 to more advanced offerings like PGA (Premium Ghost Writing Academy). Dickie explains that as they scaled, the need for faster feedback loops and the ability to iterate quickly led them to adopt a group coaching model with higher-ticket products. This transition facilitated more immediate and continuous improvements, accelerating business growth.
Notable Quotes:
- Dickie: “...the feedback loop is every hour, you know, every minute.” [12:52]
- Cole: “...PGA has grown so much faster than Ship 30 because our feedback loop is 10 times.” [13:38]
- Dickie: “...it wasn't until two years later and after running 20 cohorts of Ship 30 that we started to look around and educate ourselves on other business models.” [12:03]
7. Evolution of Marketing Funnels
Dickie shares insights into the evolution of their marketing funnels:
- Initial Approach: Direct traffic to the Ship 30 landing page.
- Enhanced Strategy: Introduced an educational email course to provide free value, nurture leads, and collect emails before pitching Ship 30. This change tripled their business by building trust and demonstrating value.
Further refinements included:
- Newsletter Sequence: Transitioned from a general newsletter to a pre-filled evergreen sequence featuring their top-performing emails.
- YouTube Integration: Embedded YouTube videos into emails to drive organic traffic, creating a synergistic flywheel effect that amplified their reach and engagement.
Notable Quotes:
- Dickie: “...we moved from sending traffic to the landing page to sending traffic to an educational email course where... the business, like, tripled because...” [20:28]
- Cole: “They would go into the educational email course that walked them through a lot of the fundamental ideas that we teach in Ship 30.” [20:17]
- Dickie: “...embedding YouTube videos into each of those emails.” [23:35]
8. Structuring and Continuously Updating the Course
Responding to Darshit's question about structuring and outlining the course, Dickie emphasizes the action-oriented approach over mere information dissemination. Instead of organizing content into modules based on topics, the focus is on action steps that lead participants from their starting point to their desired outcome.
Key Points:
- Outcome-Focused: Designing courses based on the specific results participants aim to achieve.
- Iterative Improvement: Continuously updating the curriculum based on participant feedback and evolving platforms (e.g., adding content when Instagram introduced Threads).
- Repetition and Effort: Acknowledging that creating and refining digital products require significant repetition, rewriting, and updating to maintain relevance and quality.
Notable Quotes:
- Dickie: “The problem with that lens is that most people don't actually want to learn. Learning is a vehicle and a means to an end.” [25:24]
- Cole: “I want to learn so I can do something.” [25:26]
- Dickie: “...you have to really internalize that, building great products and especially like maintaining your edge.” [18:32]
- Dickie: “...most creators run into is that they dump so much information into their course... And then they wonder why people aren't succeeding.” [25:36]
- Dickie: “...because you're trying to scale something that you actually haven't done successfully.” [08:34]
9. Overcoming Challenges in Course Development
The most surprising challenge Dickie faced was the extent of repetition and effort required to build and maintain Ship 30 for 30. Contrary to the belief that digital products could be created once and monetized indefinitely, they found themselves constantly iterating the curriculum to enhance its effectiveness based on participant feedback.
Notable Quotes:
- Dickie: “All of these products and programs have required so much more repetition and effort than I originally thought.” [15:48]
- Cole: “Digital products are easy. You build it once, you make money forever.” [18:28]
- Dickie: “You built it once and then a bunch of people went through it, and then we realized all the ways that it could be better.” [16:37]
- Dickie: “...repeating yourself for the hundredth time.” [17:46]
10. Final Insights and Recommendations
Dickie concludes by advising aspiring digital product creators to start small and manual, such as through one-on-one coaching, before scaling to larger groups or asynchronous courses. This foundational step ensures that creators fully understand how to help individuals effectively, which is crucial for successfully scaling their offerings.
Notable Quotes:
- Dickie: “Start with one person, help one person on a coaching call.” [15:54]
- Cole: “They need to hear you talk about these things.” [21:01]
- Dickie: “...you have to go through that.” [29:12]
- Dickie: “You have to just walk them through things and you see where are you stuck? Where do you have questions?” [29:13]
Conclusion
In this episode, Nicolas Cole and Dickie delve deep into the journey of building Ship 30 for 30 into a 7-figure digital writing course. They explore the strategic decisions, challenges, and iterative processes that underpin the program's success. Key takeaways include the importance of a robust traffic engine, the benefits of starting with individual coaching, and the necessity of continuous iteration to maintain and enhance digital products. Their insights offer valuable guidance for anyone looking to create and scale digital writing courses or similar educational products.