• Who: Emily K Thomas
• Website: academy.emilykthomas.com and emilykthomas.com
• Course Topic: Business opportunity
• Interesting Stats: 15K followers on Instagram

Who are you and what course have you created?

I’m Emily K Thomas and I’ve created The Soul Aligned Income Stream.

What market does your online course serve?

This course is for visionaries, go-getters that are ready to learn how to harness their creativity into a profitable online business opportunity. This course is for new and also established entrepreneurs who are ready to press the restart button on their lives and do something that lights them up from the inside, out.

What’s the biggest benefit of taking your course?

This course specifically focuses on gaining clarity and confidence around your big idea. The first phase emphasizes how to extract your personal gifts from your life experiences and utilize them to serve and teach others. Stage two is all about identifying who it is that you want to serve and getting extremely focused on what problems you can solve to create the most value for your clients.

All successful entrepreneurs and business owners SOLVE PROBLEMS! So we do a massive problem reveal and then start making sure that our hypothesis is relevant to the marketplace. Market relevance is key to seeing in your business idea’s value proposition will likely succeed in the market. We do this market research in a variety of ways and throughout the process, we are always doing the deep work of checking in with our internal compass to see if the idea is still ‘soul-aligned’.

The final two stages of the course include creating the offer, building a community, building your email list, receiving your first pre-orders, and implementing a 7-day launch plan. From start to finish your new business will go from ideation to validation to launch (while already receiving pre-orders!).

How did you get into the market?

For the past 5 years, I’ve created courses. This particular course was created in response to COVID-19. I could see the market need and I wanted to deliver something that could make a true impact to lift the overall morale.

Why did you decide to create an online course in the first place?

Right out of college I went on to get my teaching credential. I taught elementary school and LOVED it. There’s always been a teacher within me that wants to educate and help people see what’s possible for them.

Did you have any moments of doubt before you created/ launched it?

Actually, I didn’t. Because again, I came from an educational background and knew how to create lessons and deliver outcomes per curriculum. But as far as branding and marketing, I guess there were some moments when I was certainly nervous.

If so what made you turn it around and do it anyway?

I knew that my desire to share and create change in people’s lives completely outweighed the alternatives. I was something bigger than me, bigger than my fear.

What’s your online course like?

The courses include video, workbooks, meditations, text, voice recordings, and discussion.

How long did it take you to create your course?

Once I had the vision and outlined the landmarks and objectives I wanted my students to receive, I reverse engineered the process and created workbooks, video scripts, and guidebooks. I would say that the videography and editing process is the most time-consuming. All in all, it took me about a month to create the course but the content was created over the course of 8 years through my experience and research.

Tell us a little about the process of launching your course and getting your first sale(s).

I started launching to my warm traffic. That included my friends, clients, even family members that already had the ‘know, like, trust’ factor. I put together a pilot group and had them take the course and give me feedback. Then I went through and made minor adjustments and received testimonials from the students. This helped me gain the confidence and clarity to put my course out in the world in a big way.

I sent out teasers to my list, in my social media channels, and through word of mouth. On the release date, I sent out a special offer and built up even more hype. It was so fun to see the excitement and the enthusiasm of the attendees as they embarked on their journey to build their soul-aligned business!

Do you have a lead magnet?

Yes, I have a few actually. I have a pinpoint your passions lead magnet which is a downloadable e-book with clear tips on how to outline your passions to take aligned action in your life. Additionally, I offer a 30 min free clarity session for new clients to help them start to understand their gifts and visualize themselves as online business owners. If someone is really interested in the course but not positive, I also offer them a sneak peek where they can have access to the first stage for 48 hours!

What’s the traffic strategy that works best for you?

Honestly, Instagram has been the best source of traffic because I do a lot of live training and have built credibility with my community. I always strive to provide value in my content.

What online course platform are you using?

After much research, I went with Teachable.

Check Out Teachable

Teachable is one of the top online course platforms used by successful course creators interviewed on coursemethod.com. It is easy to set up and build your site pages, and the course area looks great. 

• Price Range: $0 (+ transaction fees) to $299/month
• Most Popular Plan: Pro Plan at $119/month
• Annual Discount: Yes, take 17% off!
• Free Trial: Try out Teachable’s core features for free

Try Teachable Free

Do you like it?

I really do.

Are there any features you wish it had?

I wish they had a better membership community platform.

What made you decide to use your chosen platform over others?

I really wanted a platform that would be accessible from a mobile device, that is always updated with the most recent updates and that is dependable. I always found Teachable really user friendly and I also love how they offer an array of training sessions with thought leaders.

What other tools do you use to run your online course business?

I use ConvertKit for email marketing, wordspace for my website, and FB groups for the private community for the courses.

What books or training programs have you found useful on your journey to a successful business owner that others might find valuable too?

I love Marie Forleo’s B-School. I took that about 6 years ago and it’s still fresh in my mind 🙂

Do you have any big mistakes you’ve made along the way that you’d be willing to share?

I’ve made so many mistakes I can’t even count!! I actually love making mistakes because it means I’m taking action!

But yes, I make mistakes daily, most of them are spelling errors ha.

Please share some idea of revenue.

With online courses, especially evergreen courses, there are a lot of lucrative opportunities! I’ve made the majority of income (multiple six-figures) from my online courses and group coaching programs.

Please tell us a little about what the money you’ve earned from your course has done for you.

I like to think of it as BONUS money because it is money that allows me to re-invest back into my business. For instance, I can hire another videographer or an assistant or perhaps invest in a well-performing ad campaign. But yes, sometimes I also love to treat my husband to a nice dinner on the beach (we love the beach!).

In addition to revenue are there any numbers you would like to share?

One of the most important things I wish I would’ve known starting out was to really focus on building out my email list!! I was so focused at the beginning on Instagram followers and vanity metrics that I didn’t really know what I was doing. Sure, IG followers can convert but you don’t own those connections, Mark Zuckerberg does! He could shut down IG or FB tomorrow and all of that would be lost. So now I focus my energy on providing content and value to gain trust and build relationships with my list.

What has creating your course done for you personally?

It has helped me get out of my comfort zone of being on camera!! It has also helped me get my ideas out of my head and in a systematic format to help others understand the process to manage their mind and start their dream life! I love what I do!

Do you have a story of a transformation from any of your clients?

I had someone who was laid off, clinically depressed, and on medication. When she started the Soul-Aligned Income Stream course, she was a little skeptical but she was still willing to give it a shot. In the first week of the course, she was told that her husband had a massive brain tumor so she was discouraged to continue and her depression took a turn in the wrong direction.

Through the connection with our group, she decided to continue the course, and through her journey, she cultivated the strength to truly shine. She embraced the exercises fully by surrendering and trusting the process. She came out of the program with a new website and a blog for her personal brand!

The even greater accomplishment was that she turned her pain into her portal to create a space to serve others, herself, and her husband. Her husband’s tumor was removed a few months later and she reported back to me that this course saved her marriage, her mental health and created a supplemental income stream that supported her family during the rough time. Quite a powerful thing to witness!

What advice do you have for people just starting out?

As I mentioned above, I would recommend that you focus on building your email list!!! Top priority!

You’re welcome to join my community if you’re looking for that little push too.

Learn more about Emily K. Thomas of emilykthomas.com:

• Website: academy.emilykthomas.com and emilykthomas.com
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