Hi Reader,

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Yesterday, I got to be part of an intimate Q&A with Gumroad founder and author of The Minimalist Entrepreneur Sahil Lavingia.

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He shared many lessons from his entrepreneurial journey that perfectly apply to course creators, too.

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Here are my favorites:

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How do I choose ideas to work on?

Solve your own problems. What do you wish existed?

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What if I have too many ideas?

Pursue every idea you have. It's the only way to find out if they are any good and if you truly want to follow them.

You can't predict what will work and what won't.

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How do I test ideas?

Start a little side project. That's less risky and scary than going all in.

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When should I share it publicly?

Be lazy. Just create a minimum viable version.

Give yourself a hard deadline, e.g., finish it within one weekend.

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When do I know it's time to quit?

First, pick a long enough timeframe to give something a serious try.

If, after that, you lost conviction and realized your idea didn't have the potential you thought it had, quit.

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Fun fact: Naturally, we asked Sahil about his book. He said the most satisfying part about seeing it published was dragging all relevant files on his computer to the trash and emptying it. I found that hilarious!

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Here are a few more things I want to share with you this week.

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✍️ Marketing & Copywriting

Jerilyn | Attorney & Email Copywriter 🚢 @jerilynlaskie Confirm shaming: When an opt-in form's option to decline tries to shame prospects into opting in instead. 100% real examples: - "No thanks, I don't like delicious food" - "No thanks, I'm fine with losing customers!" - "I am a bad person" I'm amazed this is still a thing! November 14th 2021 0 Retweets 1 Likes

This shouldn't be a thing anymore! In my opinion, this type of copy violates the audiences' intelligence.

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​What if you wrote the copy first and created the matching product second?​

I know, this turns the usual sequence of events on its head. But it makes sense (and everything a lot easier) when you think about it.

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🤓 Online Courses

Andrew Barry 🦁 @Bazzaruto You don't have to be an expert. You can "learn in public". If you can help your friend do something, you've got credibility to them. You don't have to be an expert in their eyes. You helped them. That's enough. Start teaching way earlier than you think you're ready. pic.twitter.com/m5L8ebrs3a Andrew Barry 🦁 @Bazzaruto Everyone has an online course in them. Decode what you're doing. Learn how to teach it to others. pic.twitter.com/dAhqoeLY0O October 27th 2021 1 Retweets 22 Likes

This is part of an excellent thread by Andrew Barry with 8 simple ideas to unlock the course inside you.

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​How to structure your online course lessons: 3 essential elements you can't miss ​

It's all about the transformation. Your course has to take your students from point A to point B. And every lesson is a stepping stone along the way. But how should you structure each lesson so that your students make continuous progress and don't get stuck? Here's my answer.

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📈 Productivity

This hit home for me 😅 Found it in Khe Hy's Rad Reads newsletter (highly recommended!).

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It's snowing in Quebec City ❄️,

Julia​
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Your Copywriter & Online Course Specialist

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PS: This week, I started to dive into Procreate, one of the most popular drawing/painting/design apps for the iPad.

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Wanting to create art has always been on my mind, and I'm now taking baby steps to make it happen.

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Here's my first creation (I followed a Youtube tutorial 😁).

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PPS: Missed the last newsletter? I wrote about new tools and resources you can’t miss, finding your audience, and creating breakthroughs for your students. Read it here. ​