APRIL 5, 2024

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Welcome to The Tilt, a twice-weekly newsletter for content entrepreneurs.

Working the workbook

Online courses are a profitable revenue stream.

​The Tilt research ranks it in the top three, with 35% of content entrepreneurs selling them.

But what if you could make your online course even more profitable?

Workbooks can be a great add-on. You can charge a separate fee or increase the overall price of the class. (You can also create a workbook that acts as a marketing tool to attract an audience interested in your content.)

Here are five things to do to create a workbook for your content business.

1. Determine the purpose: Your workbook should align with your online course, but it doesn’t have the same mission as the class. Will the workbook reinforce what students are supposed to learn online? Will you walk through the workbook as you teach the class? Will you spend time during the course for students to complete tasks in the workbook? Or will the workbook serve as “homework” before the next session?

By considering how the workbook fits with the online course, you will improve both content products and deliver a seamless experience for your students.

2. Analyze the audience: You know who your audience is, but do you know how they prefer to learn? Having a workbook complements the online course and allows you to cater to most types of learners. The four predominant styles include:

• Visual: These students learn best with colors and graphics. Demonstrate your lessons with charts and infographics. Pay special attention to colors to ensure they’re conveying what you want them to convey (and they’re legible when viewed digitally or in print.)
• Auditory: Sound usually isn’t a component of a workbook. In most cases, audio learners will do well with the online course. However, you could create a digital workbook, allowing you to embed your voice or other relevant audio to explain or reinforce concepts.
• Read/write: In a traditional education environment, reading and writing are the expected learning style. A workbook works well for these learners.
• Kinesthetic: These learners prefer hands-on activities and physical movement. They also like the practical. While a workbook doesn’t seem like an outlet for action, it can be. Create exercises that require them to go outside the pages (e.g., research other sites or visit a brick-and-mortar store) or, at a minimum, include some activities, like quizzes, inside the workbook.

3. Develop the content: You’ll most likely want to organize your workbook in the same way as your course. Start with lesson one, move to lesson two, and so on. What will the workbook include that the course also incorporates? What will the workbook have that the course does not? Encourage your students to go beyond what you discuss in class by adding supplemental resources, stories, and more.

Think about how to make the text come alive by posing questions for reflection, adding exercises so they can practically implement aspects of what they’re learning, or publishing quizzes to give them the confidence that they really are absorbing the material.

As you design the workbook, incorporate graphics and other visuals to break up large blocks of text for easy reading. Remember, this is a workbook, not a book.

4. Test the workbook: You think the workbook works with your course. But since you’re the one who created both, you’re not the best person to make that conclusion. Do some beta testing or gather a focus group. Ask the students to take the course and use the workbook. Is it easy to follow? What makes them stumble? Is there something that doesn’t make sense or is hard to understand?

To get this feedback, you can ask them to complete a survey (make sure to ask at least some open-ended questions) or interview them about their experience. Use their input to revise the workbook to better meet students’ needs.

5. Publish: If you plan to print a physical version, make sure the course fee (or the workbook add-on price) covers printing and mailing costs and allows for a profit. Don’t forget to ask for their mailing address if you go for this option. Also, select a paper appropriate for someone to write on. Standard (usually 60#) paper works well. Heavier, coated paper can smudge the ink if someone writes on it. Coil binding also works better, so the workbook stays flat.

Even if you print it, make a digital version immediately available upon purchase. Some students may want to start the course before the workbook arrives.

With your workbook published, you should update your course marketing with this new valuable product. Make sure prospective students quickly understand how it works with the course as well as how it provides added value to the experience.

Helpful resources:

• ​How To Create a Workbook: Tips To Enhance Your Online Course [Lulu]
• ​Guide To Color in Graphic Design [Shutterstock]

Exciting news from Tilt Community member and CEX VIP - Bernie Borges

You're invited to participate in pioneering research on midlife fulfillment!
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Contribute anonymously to a groundbreaking survey that explores fulfillment across the essential five pillars of midlife:
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Health, Fitness, Career, Relationships, and Legacy.
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The survey findings will be shared in a forthcoming research report produced by Bernie Borges, Host of the Midlife Fulfilled Podcast in cooperation with Udemy.

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• Chat on release day about The Content Entrepreneur book with author Joe Pulizzi and a co-author Michelle Peterson Clark in the weekly Tilt Your Business podcast at 12 p.m. US EDT Tuesday.
• In this episode, Michelle Raymond and Joe talk about what makes a content entrepreneur successful. (Content Inc.)
• Joe and Robert talk about the business books that impacted them most. (This Old Marketing)
• Matt and Lauren discuss the whys and hows of using Kickstarter to crowdfund your book. (Publish & Prosper)
• Guest Post: How I Ran a Successful Crowdfunding Campaign for My Book​

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