Shows
Level Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesLUYC 119: Mastering Notion to Keep Productive with Francesco D'AlessioWhat’s up everyone! This week I’m joined by Francesco D'Alessio, productivity expert, YouTuber, and founder of Keep Productive. He’s here to talk about his course, Notion Made Simple, and how he’s helping people find the best productivity tools for their work and life.My mission is to help people find the right productivity software for their life and work.Francesco’s passion for tech and productivity tools paved the way for Keep Productive, a blog and YouTube channel that currently has 105K subscribers and more than 10 million views. His course, Notion Made Simpl...
2019-12-1800 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesLUYC 117: The Peer-Driven Secret to Supercharging Your Business with Ken WallaceWhat’s up everyone! I am joined today by Ken Wallace, online course creator and the brain behind MastermindJam. He’s here to share how he created MastermindJam and discuss the value of peer-led mastermind groups. Mastermind groups help you to have another set of eyes on the problems about your business.The idea for MastermindJam came after Ken joined the the 2015 MicroConf. After some some customer feedback and a few tweaks in pricing, Ken created MastermindJam in 2019. MastermindJam is a platform that helps people find a peer-driven mastermind group or create a new group from...
2019-12-0400 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesLUYC 115: Gareth Pronovost on How to Run Your Business on Autopilot with AirtableWhat’s up everybody! This week I’m joined by Gareth Pronovost, Airtable consultant, founder of GAP Consulting, and creator of Airtable Automation Machine. He’s here to share his course creation story and how Airtable Automation Machine helps businesses build databases and automate their workflows.When we automate processes we can focus on doing the stuff that we love and work less.Having been a financial analyst in a billion-dollar public company, Gareth knows the burden of spending countless hours doing reports manually on spreadsheets. This slow and inefficient process prevented him from doing the wo...
2019-11-2000 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesLUYC 114: Creating Purpose and Profit with Lydia LeeWhat’s up, everybody? This week, I’m joined by Lydia Lee, founder of Screw the Cubicle and creator of 90 Day Launch. She’s here to share how she transitioned from the corporate world to living a life of purpose and doing work that matters, and how she’s helping her students do the same.Stop trying to look good in your business, and start being good.Six years ago, Lydia had hustled her way up the corporate ladder and landed a comfortable six-figure job. Despite her success, she knew she wasn’t happy. After a realizat...
2019-11-1300 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesLUYC 113: Take Control of Your Online Presence with Louise HenryWhat’s up, family! In this week’s episode, I’m joined by Louise Henry, web designer and founder of Solopreneur Sidekick. She’s also the Squarespace specialist behind Website that Wows, a course that helps “non-techie” entrepreneurs build their own website in as little as one week.Having a website is important because it is your digital home.Being a digital nomad herself, Louise knows how important it is to have a digital home that represents who you are and what you do. In Website that Wows, Louise teaches entrepreneurs how to take ownership of their onl...
2019-11-0600 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesLUYC 112: Say Yes to Your Calling with Alisha RobertsonWhat’s up everyone! Today I am joined by Alisha Robertson, founder of Living Over Existing and author of a book by the same title. She’s also the creator of Brand with Purpose, a ten-week mentorship program for women entrepreneurs. Know what it is you want to do - passion, skills, and interest - then build your brand on that.After all the pivots she made, Alisha finally said yes to her calling to write. For over 6 years, she has worked with women entrepreneurs teaching them how to gain clarity in their business. Her group...
2019-10-3000 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesLUYC 111: Impacting Lives with the Magic of Music with David CharrierWhat’s up, family? In this episode, we have David Charrier, multi-instrumentalist, handpan enthusiast, and founder of the online school, Master the Handpan. I love watching my students blossom in their musical journeyAs a musician, David has always been passionate about rhythms and melodies. In 2004, he discovered a unique-looking percussion instrument called the handpan. After traveling to host handpan masterclasses, David created Master the Handpan to bring the joys of the handpan right into students’ homes. He’s now taught more than 3,000 people with his online program. With easy-to-watch, easy-to-follow video lessons, students can now lea...
2019-10-2300 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesLUYC 110: Organize Your Learning for Better Productivity with Tiago ForteHey everybody! Welcome back to our usual programming. I’m joined today by Tiago Forte, writer, productivity expert, and founder of Forte Labs. He’s here to share how he got into optimizing productivity and learning, and how he created his course, Building a Second Brain.Expanding the number of things you can pay attention to and you can manage expands your capacity for lifePrior to creating online courses, Tiago has worked in microfinance, served in the Peace Corps, and consulted for large companies on product development. He has spent more than 10 years researching, deve...
2019-10-1600 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesLUYC 108: Using Content Strategy to Grow Your Business with Kim DoyalHey family! In this episode, I’m joined by Kim Doyal, content marketing strategist and creator of Content Marketing Secrets. She is here to talk about her course and how to develop a content strategy that drives growth.You don’t get good at something by not doing it.Five years after the death of her husband, Kim went all in on online business. Despite wanting to be an information marketer, she started out as The Wordpress Chick, building websites for clients. In 2018, she decided it was time to get back to what she loved and...
2019-10-0200 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesLUYC 107: Teaching Fluff-Free SEO with Joe WilliamsI’m joined today by Joe Williams, SEO expert, founder of Tribe SEO, and creator of Learn SEO Fast. He’s here to share his course and how it demystifies SEO to help small businesses make huge impacts online.My goal is to make SEO easier, fun, and profitable for small businessesJoe got into the world of SEO in 2004. After seeing business owners struggle to make sense of the hype surrounding optimization, and seeing that most agencies weren’t doing anything about it, he launched Tribe SEO. What started as an in-person training in and ar...
2019-09-2500 min
The Fizzle ShowSelling Online Courses: How to compete and succeed in today's saturated info marketShownotes: http://fizzleshow.com/342
What are the necessary steps to take to start selling online courses? Do you need to be at a certain level before you should start thinking about that at all? How do we pitch online courses at the right level and niche to maximize our reach and potential?
The world of learning and the promotion of web-based resources and teaching has evolved very quickly over the last few years and as it has grown and changed, new companies have sprung up and filled spaces some of us never even knew existed...
2019-09-241h 02Level Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesLUYC 106: Ditching Your Impostor Complex with Tanya GeislerWhat’s up everyone! In this episode, I am joined by Tanya Geisler, leadership coach, TEDx speaker, and the encouraging voice behind Starring Role Playbook. Tanya is here today to share her entrepreneurial journey and how she’s helping women bust out of their Impostor Complex with her course and coaching.
Don’t postpone joy. Do the thing you are called to do. Do it!
Tanya came to coaching after years in an outwardly successful but ultimately unsatisfying career in advertising. Her fascination about the Impostor Complex, and as someone who personally struggled with it, Tanya...
2019-09-1800 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesLUYC 105: Decoding YouTube for Business with Philip VanDusenWhat’s up everyone! Today’s episode is a little different. I’m joined by Philip VanDusen, designer, founder of Verhaal Brand Design, and host of brand•muse Interviews. He’s here to share his story and some awesome insight into using YouTube as a marketing channel to grow your business.You have to very quickly start opening yourself up to the feedback of your viewers.Philip came from the corporate world where he worked as the Head of Design for massive companies like PepsiCo. After building a business with a partner, he eventually dropped everything...
2019-09-1100 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesLUYC 104: Leveraging Your Stories for Growth with Kerri TwiggWhat’s up everyone! In this episode, I talk with Kerri Twigg, career coach and job search strategist. Kerri is the founder of Career Stories, which helps people use their stories to land ideal work and grow their careers. She’s here today to share her own journey and how she’s impacting lives with her coaching and courses.
I am allergic to formulas that make you look like everyone else. You are more interesting than that.
Kerri started as a drama teacher, then moved into community art which fueled her love of helping people, buildi...
2019-09-0400 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesLUYC 103: Restructuring Your Online Course to Fit Your Values with Claire PelletreauWhat’s up, everyone! Today I’m speaking with Claire Pelletreau, Facebook ads strategist and course creator. Claire is a returning guest on the show and she’s here to share what’s happened in her business since we last spoke and her new program, Ad Consultant Incubator.
No matter how high I raised the price, the way I was running the program wasn't working
Seeing big opportunities in the world of Facebook ads, Claire transitioned from being a life coach to an ad strategist and eventually a course creator. Pricing her Ad Consultant Incubator has been...
2019-08-2800 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesLUYC 102: Positioning Yourself for Success with Lisa PrincicWhat’s up everyone! In this episode, I’m joined by Lisa Princic, a coach and business strategist who is here to share her business journey and her workshop, Position Your Mastery.
It takes courage to build a business you believe in ... and not just do what everyone else is doing.
Lisa believes in being true to yourself and building a profitable business that fulfills you. Her Position Your Mastery workshop helps business owners who are struggling to make consistent income, figuring out their ideal clients, and building a noticeable brand.
Tune in to h...
2019-08-2100 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesLUYC 101: Overcoming Resistance to Launch Her Online Course with Victoria StithWhat’s up everyone! I am here today with Victoria Stith, a therapist, new course creator, and a recent graduate of my group program, Finish Your Damn Course! After many starts and stops on her own, Victoria joined Finish Your Damn Course to overcome her fears, get unstuck, and create her online course.
In this episode, Victoria shares her experience in the program, how she overcame resistance, and what it was like to finish--and teach--her damn course. Let’s dig in!
Creating the online course allowed me to be more accessible and help more people at o...
2019-08-1400 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesLUYC 100: Managing Personal & Business Growth with Janelle AllenWhat’s up, everybody! It is great to be back! For those just tuning in, I’m back from a two-month summer break and I’m excited to be doing the show again. Before we start this episode, I want to thank my listeners. We’re on the 100th episode of Level Up Your Course! Thank you so much for being here and being part of the Zen Courses family.
Business is just about solving problems.
During my summer hiatus, I realized that I’m in a personal growth period. In this episode, I share the key th...
2019-08-0700 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesLUYC 099: How Josh Doody Uses Online Courses to Augment His BookWhat’s up, everybody! In this episode, I’m joined by Josh Doody, author and founder of Fearless Salary Negotiation. After successfully negotiating his own salary, Josh wrote a #1 bestselling book to help others learn his process. Soon after, he added video courses to help his students better implement the strategies. In this episode, Josh shares how he turned his book into an online course, why he still coaches clients, and what he's learned along the way.
Having a visual component helps people to see in action the things written in my book
Episode Quotes
2019-06-0500 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesLUYC 098: Using Instructional Design to Teach Developers with Joel HooksWhat’s up, everybody? In this episode, I’m joined by Joel Hooks, co-founder of egghead.io. egghead is an education platform built for developers by developers. They specialize in no-fluff, just-in-time online lessons and courses for web developers. Joel and I chat about the importance of instructional design, why it’s often overlooked, and how egghead is using learning design to improve their product--in other words, we geek out. Enjoy!
I want to use these instructional design principles to help people reach their goals.
Episode Quotes
"I want to use these instructional design...
2019-05-2900 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesLUYC 097: Teaching Piano Online with Jacques HopkinsHey, everyone! Today, I am joined by Jacques Hopkins, founder of Piano in 21 Days. After years of piano lessons, Jacques realized that he could only play two songs no matter how much he practiced. Luckily, he soon learned a new approach that allowed him to play hit songs--in minutes.
Jacques decided to teach his piano playing method online. He joins me today to share his course, how he struggled with sales, and the system that eventually helped him generate $40k per month. Enjoy!
One of the biggest reasons that people don't succeed as an online...
2019-05-2200 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesLUYC 096: Big Shifts Happening in Courses, Marketing, and ZenCourses!What’s up, everybody! We’re changing things up this week with a solo episode. I’m excited to share this with you because I dig into some key things you need to be thinking about.
First: the state of online marketing. What’s going on, and how will it affect online courses? I’ll also share a bit about building community and making sales. You’ll hear some of the lessons I’ve learned and the tools I recommend for improving and growing your business. Lastly, you’ll get the scoop about what’s coming up for Zen Courses an...
2019-05-1500 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesLUYC 095: How to Use Pinterest to Boost Your Blog Traffic with Kristin LarsenHey, everyone! In this episode, I’m joined by Kristin Larsen: Pinterest expert, course creator, and founder of Believe In a Budget. Blogging wasn’t an easy journey for Kristin until she discovered the power of Pinterest as a search engine to drive traffic to her websites. Check out this episode to hear Kristin’s journey from blogger to VA to course creator, and how you can use her strategies to skyrocket your own traffic.
Pinterest virtual assistance turned into this new opportunity which I never thought -- in a million years -- would be a thing.
...
2019-05-0800 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesLUYC 093: Effective Client Management with Jennifer BournWhat’s up, everyone? In this episode, I am joined by Jennifer Bourn, designer and owner of Bourn Creative Agency. Starting a business while pregnant was a challenge for Jennifer. Marketing automation was the key to the freedom and flexibility she wanted for her family, and it eventually paved the way for the client management system behind her business. While project management is important, Jennifer stresses that it can’t come at the expense of client management. Her course, Profitable Project Plan, is designed for developers and business owners to support the client-focused side of their business. It’s a 14-w...
2019-04-2400 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesLUYC 092: Legal Planning for Your Business with Rachel BrenkeHey, everyone! I’m joined in this episode by Rachel Brenke: lawyer, MBA, and entrepreneur. Rachel knows the legal challenges that startups face and she’s dedicated to helping small businesses implement strategic legal plans. Her course, Blog Legally, equips bloggers and entrepreneurs with legal information in a budget-friendly medium. It doesn’t just save them time and money; it saves new business owners from being overwhelmed by big law firms or CPAs. Stay tuned as Rachel shares valuable information about protecting your rights, filing your taxes, and writing your disclaimers and disclosures.
As a course creator, the bi...
2019-04-1700 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesLUYC 091: Michelle Ward on How to Create a Fulfilling BusinessWhat’s up, everybody! Joining me on the show today is Michelle Ward: former actress, entrepreneur, and certified coach. After making the tough choice to leave the world of theatre, and after choosing her health over a stressful job, she decided to stop playing by other people’s rules. Now as a career coach, she uses her program, Discover Your Dream Business, to help creative people find a business idea they can be passionate about. Listen to find out more about her online course, her journey and her advice for discovering your dream business.
Your business shouldn’t just...
2019-04-1000 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesLUYC 090: Jennifer Lee on How to Plan and Take Action in Your BusinessWelcome, everybody! I am joined today by Jennifer Lee, bestselling author, coach, and founder of Artizen Coaching®. Jennifer spent ten years in corporate America as a consultant for Fortune 500 companies before going full-time into coaching in 2006. Her first book, The Right-Brain Business Plan, paved the way for her Right-Brain Business Plan® Home Study program, a self-paced course that offers a creative and intuitive way to finish your business plan. She joins me today to share her business journey and a walk-through of the program. We discuss the early stages of her course, the home-study approach, and her powerful tips fo...
2019-04-0300 min
Intersection EducationJanelle Allen - Engaging Adult Learning OnlineThis episode features Janelle Allen, an Instructional Designer who specializes in custom online courses. She started out working with a design agency, but left that line of work to serve entrepreneurs and mid-size businesses. This pivot created her company Zen Courses.Janelle works in the adult learning field and is focused on helping others create actionable, learner-focused online courses that change lives. She has a lot to teach anyone who works in the education field about engagement, developing understanding, creating community, and online education delivery.You can reach Janelle...
2019-03-2836 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesLUYC 089: Mastering Email for a Better Customer Experience with Val GeislerHey, everyone! I’m joined today by Val Geisler, an email marketing conversion copywriter. Val, who has been called an “email savant”, got started in marketing but found her real passion in email-related projects. Her exclusive online course, the Email Masters Incubator, is for copywriters who are looking to leverage email marketing for better customer experiences and retention. She teaches her students how to strategically utilize different platforms, allowing them to work more efficiently with their clients. Val and I discuss her course modules, the challenges she faced when creating the program, and her tips to overcome the “stuck zone”.
2019-03-2700 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesLUYC 087: Saying “Yes!” to Success with Tiffany HanWhat’s up, everybody! I am joined today by Tiffany Han, founder of Say Yes Creative. Tiffany is a writer, teacher, and coach who believes that progress and success are made when we stop waiting for things to be perfect. Her course, Raise Your Hand Say Yes, is designed for smart, driven women who are tired of over-extending themselves in a life dictated by others. She’s here to chat about her journey, her program, and how she says yes to success.
We find success by saying yes to the things that we really want before we are...
2019-03-1300 min
Ask RezzzA259 - What 3 things do you grab in the zombie apocalypse?Janelle Allen of zencourses.co is an Instructional Designer who specialized in custom online course that improve student results invited me to her podcast.I thought that I'd share an answer to a question that she asked me on the show.-------------------👉 For full show notes to this episode & more resources for you.-------------------She asks all her guests this question."The zombie apocalypse has hit. You have 6 minutes to grab 3 essential items and your family is fine. What do you grab?As someone who's watched many zombie mov...
2019-03-0705 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesLUYC 086: Helping Freelancers Feast with Jason ResnickHello everybody! Joining me today is Jason Resnick – web developer, business coach and email marketing specialist. He is here with us to share his journey and his online course (Feast). Feast is a roadmap and a community for freelancers to niche down, specialize their business and build recurring revenue.
**If you keep the WHY in mind, all your decisions that you make on a daily basis will get you there.
**
Episode Quotes
"There is tomorrow. If you fail today, pick yourself up, learn from it."
"There is no...
2019-03-0600 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesLUYC 084: Dorie Clark on How to Create Content QuicklyWhat’s up everyone! Today, I am joined by Dorie Clark, marketing strategy consultant, author and course creator. Dorie and I chat about her business journey, her course (Rapid Content Creation Masterclass) and strategies for content creation. Enjoy!
You don’t have to blog. What’s necessary is a consistent way that you’re committed in sharing your ideas.
Content creation has always been the very big challenge for course creators. Dorie shares three key points where people get stuck: time management, what topic to write and what format to use.
Episode Quotes
&q...
2019-02-2000 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesLUYC 082: Michael Knouse on How to Catalyze Your Business GrowthWhat’s up everyone! Today my guest is Michael Knouse, a business coach and strategist. Having personally experienced the impact of coaching, Michael transitioned from a corporate career into becoming a business coach for visionary business builders. His program Growth Catalyst helps service entrepreneurs grow their business through mentorship and various coaching strategies. Listen as Michael shares his journey as a business coach, and how he structured Growth Catalyst to give his clients the best results.
Coaching has been a big part of my life in allowing me to succeed
Episode Quotes
"I...
2019-02-0600 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesLUYC 081: A Conversation with One of My Students, Ryan Clover-OwensHello everybody! Joining us today is Ryan Clover-Owens – librarian, web designer and course creator. Ryan is a student in my new group program, Finish Your Damn Course. This episode was super fun to create. Ryan and I chat about his online course vision, the mental roadblocks he encountered, and his results from the program.
Education is the best way to get attention, to grow an audience, to make an impact.
Episode Quotes
"Online courses is what propels me into my own learning and it has totally transformed my life."
&qu...
2019-01-3000 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesLUYC 080: Xayli Barclay on How to Get Started with Video and YouTubeWhat’s up everyone! Today, I am joined by Xayli Barclay, video content strategist and course creator. Xayli discovered the power of video through her work as clothing designer and beauty blogger. After getting many questions about creating videos, she pivoted to make video strategy her focus. In this episode you’ll learn about her journey, her course and her tips on creating awesome videos. If you’re thinking about getting started with video or want to know how to run a YouTube channel, this episode is for you. Enjoy!
Video takes away that barrier of being far. I...
2019-01-2300 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesLUYC 079: The Future of Education with Chris DoHey, hey! Joining us on the show today is Chris Do, an Emmy award-winning director, designer and educator. Chris is also the CEO of Blind, a design consultancy in Los Angeles. In this episode, Chris and I talk about The Futur, his online education platform for designers. We also get into a pretty intense discussion about democratizing education. Enjoy!
I want to make a difference on this planet. I'm on a mission to educate the world.
Episode Quotes
"Education, like healthcare, should be a universal right and not a privilege."
2019-01-1600 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesLUYC 078: Vulnerability is Badass...with Conni BiesalskiHello everyone! Today I am joined by Conni Biesalski. Conni is a photographer, digital filmmaker, entrepreneur and marketing mentor. Her course The Art of Vulnerability helps students connect with themselves and other people on a deeper level, develop personal growth, and overcome their struggles and fears.
When it comes to vulnerability I think it's about taking very small steps.
Episode Quotes
"We think vulnerability in sharing our personal challenges is a weakness."
"The biggest surprise was that people loved me more and really appreciated that openness."
2019-01-0900 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesLUYC 077: Bye 2018, Hello 2019!Hey everybody, welcome to the very first episode of 2019! In this episode, I’ll share the highlights of 2018, including the challenges, wins, and lessons learned. This is a follow-up from my Annual Review on the blog, which you can read here. And, of course, we’ll talk about the awesome things coming up in 2019!
Episode Quotes
"If you are going through challenges, I just want you to be encouraged that it's real life."
"Self paced courses are great but I realized I was missing that learner connection."
"...
2019-01-0200 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesLUYC 076: [From the Vault] Podcasting for Course Creators with Daniel J. Lewis(Sometimes you get lucky and find a podcast episode you thought you lost. This is an episode from 2017, when the show was still called The Zen Course Show. Enjoy!)
What’s up everyone! Joining me today on the show is Daniel Lewis. He is an educator, podcast advocate and award-winning podcaster. He’s also the creator of The Audacity to Podcast course. In this episode, Daniel shares how podcasting benefits course creators and how to implement SEO in podcasts.
I believe podcasting is the best way to share your message.
Episode Quotes
&q...
2018-12-2600 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesLUYC 075: Alex Hillman on Trust, Community, and 30x500Hey everybody! We have Alex Hillman on the show today. Alex is the founder of Indy Hall, a coworking community in Philadelphia; he’s also the co-founder of StackingtheBricks.com, along with Amy Hoy. In this episode, Alex and I discuss the essence of trust in relationship building and community building, the story behind 30x500 (he and Amy’s flagship course), and how to identify and close the gap between what is obvious to you and what is obvious to your students.
There’s always going to be a gap, your job is to identify that gap and cl...
2018-12-1900 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesLUYC 074: The Power of Email Marketing with Nathan Barry of ConvertKitWhat’s up everybody! Joining us in this episode is Nathan Barry, the founder/CEO of ConvertKit, an email marketing company for creators. You might expect that Nathan is a huge proponent of using email to connect, grow, and sell. What you may not know is that BEFORE ConvertKit, he was using email as the main channel to grow his blog. In this episode, Nathan shares his story and how to use email courses to connect with your audience and sell products.
I realized the most successful marketing channel was email.
Episode Quotes
&qu...
2018-12-1200 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesLUYC 073: Your Journey is Your Journey...with Justin JacksonWelcome! Joining us on the show today is the fabulous Justin Jackson, founder of MegaMaker, Transistor.fm and the creator of the course, Marketing for Developers. In this episode, Justin and I chat about the importance of interaction with learners in online courses, the challenge of low completion rates of online courses, and how developers can implement strategies that push learners to be interested and complete the course. Oh, and we talked so much that we ran out of time. This is a good one, folks. Enjoy!
What online courses often lack is someone pushing them in...
2018-12-0500 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesLUYC 072: Marcus Blankenship on Teaching LeadershipHello everybody! Marcus Blankenship joins us on the show today. Marcus helps coders become solid leaders and build high-performing teams; he’s also the author of Habits that Ruin Your Technical Team. We’re going to talk about his new course, Software Leader Seminar, and his insights on how to be an effective Tech Leader.
When you are leading experts: get out of the way and empower your team to make decisions
Episode Quotes
"It's about creating a team and an environment that's safe enough where everyone can really contribute."
&q...
2018-11-2800 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesLUYC 071: How to Productize and Scale with Brian CaselWelcome to another episode of Level Up Your Course! Really excited about today’s guest, Brian Casel. Brian is the founder of Productize and Scale and Audience Ops. He’s a master at productizing services.
In this episode, we chat about how to leverage the Productized Service model. He also guides us through his course, Productize and Scale, and how he’s built a thriving community. Let’s go!
Use customer feedback as your direction
Episode Quotes
"I usually start with a very big outline to get the main chapters down jus...
2018-11-2100 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesLUYC 070: Drop Ship Lifestyle with Anton KralyWelcome everybody! Joining us today is Anton Kraly, the founder and CEO of Drop Ship Lifestyle. Anton helps people learn how to start a successful drop shipping business. Today, he’s here to share his eCommerce journey, the challenges he has faced starting out and how he has helped over 10,000 students to implement drop shipping profitably.
The first thing I thought about if someone wants to learn from me is what do they want to get out of this?
Episode Quotes
"Always trust your intuition or gut instinct"
"We...
2018-11-1400 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesLUYC 069: Creating Community with Membership Sites w/ Travis NorthcuttHey everyone! Today, I’m chatting with Travis Northcutt. Travis is a membership site consultant, co-founder of MemberUp and Member Score.
Community is very important in a membership site. In this episode, Travis shares practical steps on how to effectively build the community, how to reduce churn and increase membership engagement.
Come for the content, stay for the community.
Episode Quotes
"You just keep on keeping on. It doesn't come overnight."
"One of the strengths of a membership site is the ability to have that community co...
2018-11-0700 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesLUYC 068: Finding a Niche by Accident w/ Aaron Hultquist of Massage Exam AcademyWelcome to Level Up Your Course! Today’s guest is Aaron Hultquist. Aaron and his wife Ivy are the founders of Massage Exam Academy. Aaron works on the technical side while Ivy focuses on the course curriculum. In today’s episode, Aaron shares how he and Ivy found a business model by accident and used just-in-time learning to build Massage Exam Academy. We also discuss the emotional rollercoaster of entrepreneurship. Enjoy!
Our site is a tool; it's not a magic wand...If you buy it and don’t use it, it's not going to help you.
Epi...
2018-10-3100 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesLUYC 067: How to Turn Consulting into a Course with Michael ZipurskyHello everybody! I am with Michael Zipursky on the show today. Michael is the CEO of Consulting Success, where he helps consultants attract more clients, increase their fees, win more proposals and grow their business. In this episode, he shares insightful advice and tips about the consulting business as well as how he turned his coaching into a successful group program. Enjoy!
One of the biggest mistakes that people make is that they don't take action, they don't put up stuff out there.
Episode Quotes
"Rather than just sitting on ideas, and...
2018-10-2400 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesLUYC 066: How to Pre-Sell Your Online Course with Amy HoyThis is it! The Zen Courses Show is now Level Up Your Course. For the very first episode of Level Up Your Course, I’m honored to have Amy Hoy as our guest. Amy is a software developer, writer, co-founder of Stacking the Bricks along with Alex Hillman, and a course creator. She is here today to share her story and everything about her online course ‘Sales Safari’. Most importantly, we’re going to talk about the V word: validating your idea and why you should pre-sell.
Don’t spend a year making something. Do a tiny product fi...
2018-10-1700 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesZCS 064: The Only Way to Learn is to Fail...with Ben and Marie BorowskiHey everyone, welcome to another episode of The Zen Courses Show. I’m so excited to have Ben and Marie Borowski on the show today, they complement each other so well when talking about skill sets! Ben, being a software developer, is more on the technical side while Marie is into course design and marketing. I know you will love this episode!
It came out of the success of Marie's program
Before collaborating with each other, Ben and Marie were doing their own things: Marie was working on her online course ‘Digital School Strategy’ and Ben wa...
2018-10-1000 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesZCS 062: Teaching Business to Artists with Alyson StanfieldWelcome to another episode of The Zen Courses Show! I am thrilled to have Alyson Stanfield joining us today. Alyson has been working with artists for many years. Today, she’s here to share a behind the scenes look at Art Biz Coach and her Art Career Success System (ACSS), which has helped many of her clients grow their careers. Alyson has a lot to share about building an art career, the challenges she faced in her business journey, and some tips as a coach working with artists.
A quick note from Alyson: Since this interview, Art Bi...
2018-09-2600 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesZCS 061: Creating in Public with Matt RaglandHey, hey! I am excited to have Matt Ragland on the show today. Matt is the creator of the Sketchnote Starter Course. He’s also a member of ConvertKit’s team. In this interview, Matt and I talk about his work, how he created his sketchnote course, and what it’s like being part of ConvertKit. I know you’ll love this episode!
A quick note:
Matt references the course platform Coach, which is now Podia
Listen to the end to get access to the video walkthrough of Matt’s course!
Ideas not art… It’s really about...
2018-09-1900 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesZCS 060: Demystify Your Finances with Dominique BroadwayHi everyone! I am excited to have Dominique Broadway on the show today. Dominique is an award winning Personal Finance Coach, Speaker, Finance Expert and the Founder of Finances Demystified & The Social Money Tour. In this episode, we discuss her course, Finances Demystified Bootcamp. I absolutely love this episode and cannot wait for you to hear it!
Quitting was not a financial worry, I was just over it. I needed a
change.
Before quitting her job and jumping into entrepreneurship, Dominique was into banking and finance. After quitting her job, she was able...
2018-09-1200 min
The Gently MadJanelle Allen on Owning Your WhyJanelle Allen is the founder of ZenCourses.co and is an expert in Instructional Design and online learning. We talked a lot about entrepreneurship and why it's so important to not only know your why, but to own it.
Don't forget to subscribe for access to the bonus episode. We did a deep dive into online course creation, what's working, what's not, mistakes to avoid, and, of course, how to create profitable online courses in 2018.
What we covered in the bonus episode
1:30 - Can someone still create a profitable online course in 2018?
5:50 - Why passive income...
2018-05-011h 21Level Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesZCS 056: Why your idea doesn't matter with designer Jarrod DrysdaleWelcome to episode 056 of The Zen Courses Show! My guest for this episode is Jarrod Drysdale, visual designer and new course creator.
In this interview, Jarrod shares how he launched his first course and what he's learned from ten years of designing and entrepreneur-ing. Enjoy!
In This Episode, You'll Learn:
What he learned from his first failed business
Why he launched his course on a weekend—when everyone says not to!
The incentives that motivated Jarrod’s audience to buy his course
How he balances consulting with creating products
How consulting and design have made...
2017-06-1400 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesZCS 049: Beating Career and Cancer to Teach Audiobooks with Krystal WascherWelcome to episode 049 of The Zen Courses Show! My guest for this episode is the Krystal Wascher, a freelance audiobooks producer and online course creator.
In this interview Krystal shares how she left her dream law career and overcame cancer to build a successful audiobook business. Oh yeah, we chat about her course too. Check it out!
In This Episode, You'll Learn:
How Krystal used Udemy to validate her online course
How her dream job as an attorney led her to audiobooks
Why she thinks 'find your passion' is bad advice
How she decides w...
2017-03-3000 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesZCS 042: You've Got to Teach to Learn with Mackenzie ChildWelcome to another episode of The Zen Courses Show! My guest for this episode is Mackenzie Child, designer and creator of Design for Developers.
In this interview we talk about his course-building process, how he uses YouTube for marketing and why he uses Coach to deliver his online course.
In This Episode, You'll Learn:
Who Mackenzie is and why he started teaching design online
The big mistake that delayed his course launch (and how he recovered from it)
Why he does things before he's any good at them
Why Mackenzie uses Coach for his...
2016-12-1400 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesZCS 040: Coach, the New Online Course Platform for Entrepreneurs with Founder Spencer FryWelcome to another episode of The Zen Courses Show! My guest for this episode is Spencer Fry, serial entrepreneur and founder of Coach, a new platform to help you create and sell your products and courses.
In This Episode, You'll Learn: • Who Spencer Fry is and why he created Coach • How Coach is different from other online course platforms • The features and benefits of Coach • Why you should sign up for Coach before December 5, 2016 • How to get help creating your online course
References and Tools Mentioned: • Coach - https://www.withcoach.com/ • Work with Me - http://zenco...
2016-11-3000 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesZCS031: How to Make Sure Your Course is Successful with Greg Smith from ThinkificWelcome to another episode of The Zen Courses Show! Today’s guest is Greg Smith, co-founder of Thinkific, a platform to host and deliver your online course.
This episode is especially valuable for anyone who is curious about Thinkific, marketing online courses, and pricing. Enjoy!
Free Workshop! Greg and I are Hosting a Free Workshop to Help You Create Your Course! Click here to register: http://get.thinkific.com/zencourses/
In This Episode, You'll Learn: • Greg's story: how law school helped him start teaching online courses • How Thinkific is different from every other online...
2016-06-0100 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesZCS015: Looking Ahead to 2016It's the last episode of 2015! In this episode, I share the exciting things coming up in 2016 and a look back at some of the personal things that were going on behind the scenes in 2015. Plus, a few surprises, including an ending full of highlights from this year. Enjoy!
To stay up to date with the new things coming in 2016, get on The Zen Courses mailing list. You'll also get free updates, plus my email series, 5 Types of Online Courses. Just head over to zencourses.co/newsletter to sign up!
2015-12-3100 minLevel Up Your Course Podcast with Janelle Allen: Create Online Courses that Change LivesZCS007: How Starting an Online DJ School Changed Emma Holmes' LifeNote: Visit zencourses.co/007 to access these notes on the site.
Today’s guest is Emma Holmes aka DJ ShortE from studioscratches.com, where she helps new and experienced DJs learn how to scratch on vinyl records. In this episode, Emma shares her journey into entrepreneurship, including all the starts and stops. She also shares how she built her online school, School of Scratch and how going all-in changed her life.
In This Episode, You'll Learn:
How Emma turned a lifelong dream into an online school
The gradual steps she took to teach her on...
2015-11-0400 min