How to Build a LEGIT Online Course (2023)

Summary

This script discusses the distinction between legitimate businesses and scams, using Harvard as an example of a reputable institution that sells education. It outlines four key strategies for building a credible business: setting customer screening metrics, avoiding sensational income claims, tracking and publishing customer success data, and maintaining brand integrity by not graduating everyone. The speaker emphasizes the importance of providing value through free content and focusing on implementation for a legitimate and sustainable business model.

Takeaways

• 🚫 The difference between a scam and a legitimate business is based on four key factors: screening customers, realistic expectations, data tracking, and maintaining brand integrity.
• 🏫 Harvard, as a legitimate institution, rejects applicants, ensuring only qualified candidates enter, unlike scams that accept anyone with a credit card.
• 📉 Scam businesses often promise high earnings with little effort, while legitimate ones, like Harvard, do not guarantee immediate financial success.
• 📊 Legitimate businesses track and publish customer success metrics, avoiding sensationalism and setting realistic expectations based on data.
• 🎓 Harvard's value lies in the brand endorsement, experience, network, and character development, not just income potential.
• 🤔 The speaker suggests that to build a legitimate education business, one should provide free content and sell implementation services.
• 🆓 Giving away educational content for free can help monetize the implementation aspect of the education, which is more valuable to the learner.
• 🔑 Only accepting a select few who are likely to succeed helps maintain a high standard and avoids negative reviews and the label of being a 'scam'.
• 📈 By setting and showing data-based expectations, an education business can build trust and a strong brand reputation.
• 🛑 Not every student graduates from Harvard, and similarly, not every customer should receive an endorsement to maintain brand quality.
• 📈 The speaker emphasizes the importance of generating more valuable content than competitors to establish thought leadership and demand for the service.
• 💰 High standards and a focus on quality can lead to a higher price point for educational services, supported by the success of graduates.

Q & A

What is the main difference between a scam business and a legitimate educational institution like Harvard?

The main differences include the presence of screening metrics for potential customers, the absence of unrealistic income expectations, the publication of data on customer success, and the maintenance of brand integrity through selective graduation and endorsement.

Why is it a red flag if a business accepts anyone with a credit card and a pulse as a customer?

It's a red flag because most people may not be qualified to become customers, and this lack of qualification can lead to dissatisfaction, bad reviews, and accusations of being a scam.

How does Harvard set expectations for its students and the public?

Harvard does not give income expectations or immediate results. It emphasizes the long-term benefits of education, such as the brand endorsement that comes with being a Harvard graduate.

What is the importance of tracking customer success metrics for a business?

Tracking customer success metrics helps a business avoid false advertising and sensationalism. It allows the business to report realistic outcomes based on data, such as success rates at various intervals post-enrollment.

Why does Harvard publish data on the outcomes of its graduates instead of individual success stories?

Publishing data provides a more accurate and less sensational representation of the outcomes for the majority of graduates, avoiding the creation of false expectations.

What is the strategy of giving away content for free and selling implementation?

This strategy involves sharing educational content for free to establish thought leadership and credibility, while selling the personalized implementation and feedback that comes with a paid service.

How can a business maintain its brand and avoid being labeled as a scam?

A business can maintain its brand by setting high standards for customer acceptance, providing realistic expectations based on data, and ensuring that its graduates or customers achieve measurable success.

What is the significance of not graduating everyone in a legitimate educational program?

Not graduating everyone helps maintain the quality and reputation of the program by ensuring that only those who meet the program's high standards receive its endorsement.

How can a business create demand for its services by setting high standards?

By setting high standards and only accepting a select group of customers, a business can create a perception of exclusivity and quality, which in turn generates more demand for its services.

What is the role of testimonials and stories in a legitimate educational business?

In a legitimate educational business, testimonials and stories should be based on real experiences and outcomes of the customers who have successfully gone through the system or program.

How does creating high-quality free content benefit a business?

Creating high-quality free content helps a business establish itself as a thought leader, attracts more potential customers, and positions its paid offerings as superior to the free offerings of competitors.