RIP online courses

Hi Reader,

I wanted to make a nice side income selling online courses back in 2015. So, I subscribed to email lists of the net’s biggest marketers to see how they promoted their wares.

Before Netflix and X fame, Ramit Sethi was a big online course guru. I liked reading Ramit’s emails. I could tell he wrote them himself. And even though I’m from Ireland, I enjoyed his contrarian American-style take on personal finance.

Ramit launched various online business courses over email every month. His long-form sales pages were fun to take apart. I replied to one of his story-driven emails with a question about the guarantee, and he sent me back a thumbs up.

So, I bought one of his budget online courses for a few hundred $$$… and then another. Eventually, I ponied up for his premium courses, including his much-hyped Zero to Launch.

I picked up a few things about online business, but Ramit doesn’t teach anything inside his budget or premium courses that you can’t find in a good marketing or copywriting book. And more than one of his courses contained odd bloopers.

The Ramit effect was enough to attract thousands of students and testimonials, including from me. Remember, in 2015–6, selling online courses was much easier. Ramit sold the bulk of his courses without providing much access to himself. (That’s all but impossible for course creators to get away with today)

Then, I paid a whopping $3k for a course from Ramit that boiled down to a simple idea: create content, get leads, and make an offer.

That struck me as generic advice, but perhaps the Ramit effect was wearing off. Or maybe I’d found a business model that worked. So, I unsubscribed from his email list.

Last time I checked, Ramit’s courses still sell. I enjoyed a few episodes of his TV show, too. The online model can work when you’re on Netflix and X famous.

I don’t recommend relying solely on online courses for most creators, though. Instead, treat them like an entry point for clients into your world.

​Watch this​

Write on,
Bryan Collins

PS If you want insights on offers that add $3-5k to your business, join my private Telegram group. Nearly 100 people are already inside. I intend to cap the number of spots soon.