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In this episode, Tara gives the 4 key sections in a digital experience (course or program) audit through the lens of the Learn Academy annual clean-up. Just like cleaning out the clutter of your house, it is best practice to take a critical look at your programs and products to ensure that they are serving your customers and providing the best experience possible.
Interested in the team providing your digital program with an audit, it may be time for The Course Edit™. Check out details here: https://tlslearning.com/step/the-course-edit
Want to watch this episode? Check it out on our YouTube channel.
About Me:
My name is Tara Bryan. I help business owners break into the next level of success by packaging their expertise into an online course experience. It's my passion to help to find the fastest path to results to create a greater impact and income for you and your tribe.
This podcast is 100% focused on support, knowledge and example sharing, and building a community of online course builders who are passionate about building awesome learning experiences.
We do that by building engaging, motivating, gamified, and learner-centered online course experiences. We come up with ideas and strategies to ensure that our learners can thrive and succeed using our packaged products.
To learn more:
Find us at https://www.tlslearning.com
Here are two ways we can help you grow and scale your online course-powered business:
1. NEED TO CREATE YOUR ONLINE PROGRAM or COURSE EXPERIENCE?
Join LEARN ACADEMY - Learn Academy is the best done-with-you On-demand and cohort implementation program that will help you create, sell, and launch your online experience.
2. ALREADY HAVE A COURSE or PROGRAM?
Join THE COURSE EDIT™ - Do you have a course or program that isn't selling or one that people aren't completing (therefore not remaining customers)? The Course Edit™ is a VIP Strategy session that will assess your current online program and give you personalized feedback to take it to the next level. It is time to bring in THE COURSE EDIT.
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Hey, everybody, welcome to today's episode of
Tara Bryan:the course building secrets podcast. I am thrilled that
Tara Bryan:you're joining us today. Hey, today, I want to talk a little
Tara Bryan:bit about kind of the behind the scenes of what happens in our
Tara Bryan:business in the fall. So as you can imagine, because we do a
Tara Bryan:course, the course edit, which is a course audit, or sort of a
Tara Bryan:course makeover, for our clients that we work with, we also do it
Tara Bryan:for ourselves. And so we're in the middle of doing that right
Tara Bryan:now. So I want to just kind of give you some insights and
Tara Bryan:behind the scenes, sort of tips and tricks that we're dealing
Tara Bryan:with, as we're going through this process. So when you think
Tara Bryan:about your online or digital program Experience course,
Tara Bryan:again, whatever you want to call it, it doesn't really matter.
Tara Bryan:But however you're delivering your signature framework, to
Tara Bryan:your customers online, is what I'm talking about, right? So
Tara Bryan:what happens, or what tends to happen is you build your, your
Tara Bryan:digital program. And one or two things happen. One is you build
Tara Bryan:it, and you put it out there and you don't ever touch it again.
Tara Bryan:Or you continuously are adding additional kind of new videos or
Tara Bryan:new content, new things that are coming up or insights that you
Tara Bryan:have gotten over the year. And so what what tends to happen is,
Tara Bryan:it becomes a little bit of a mess, right. And so you know,
Tara Bryan:most of the time when we're going in and auditing courses or
Tara Bryan:auditing digital programs, that's what we find is it's not
Tara Bryan:a lack of content, it is too much content, right? Too many
Tara Bryan:assets, too many things going on, and not enough of a
Tara Bryan:simplified action that someone can use to actually get the
Tara Bryan:results that they're looking for. So our programs are no
Tara Bryan:different, we go through them every single year to make sure
Tara Bryan:that we're not just adding in extra miscellaneous pieces, or
Tara Bryan:repetitive items. And that we're really staying focused on what
Tara Bryan:the message is how we can best serve and show up for our
Tara Bryan:students in a digital way. And, and so again, we're going
Tara Bryan:through that right now it's a bit of a slog. And as it should
Tara Bryan:be, right because we're you need to look at it with a critical
Tara Bryan:eye, when you're building a business when you're growing
Tara Bryan:your business. You don't just like sort of set it and forget
Tara Bryan:it and hope that you know, it, it sustains itself, right? Like
Tara Bryan:your business is a is a living and breathing. entity, right?
Tara Bryan:Sometimes it's a monster, sometimes it's a cranky baby,
Tara Bryan:sometimes it is a freedom creator that allows you to serve
Tara Bryan:people in the best way and get them results, right. So that's
Tara Bryan:where we always want to keep our programs is to not have it be
Tara Bryan:something that's sitting on the shelf, or, you know, something
Tara Bryan:that we're hiding. And I'll be honest, there's been a little
Tara Bryan:hiding for me this year. Because there are some things that I
Tara Bryan:know that I want to elevate in my program, there are things
Tara Bryan:that I know that I want to add or things that are maybe not in
Tara Bryan:the right place based on some additional, you know, teaching
Tara Bryan:or experience that we've had around helping people go through
Tara Bryan:this process. And so I knew that it was time to sit down and and
Tara Bryan:really reevaluate what was happening. Alright, so a couple
Tara Bryan:of different things. Number one, it I just want to validate
Tara Bryan:perhaps your feelings around this being overwhelming, right?
Tara Bryan:Because it is it's overwhelming. It's overwhelming for us. And we
Tara Bryan:do this every single day with our clients. Because here's the
Tara Bryan:reality is that it's really hard to audit and look critically at
Tara Bryan:your own program, because you are looking at it from the lens
Tara Bryan:of an expert, and not the lens of a student. And so when you do
Tara Bryan:that, you want to put in all the things you want to make it this
Tara Bryan:amazing experience where you give them everything. And the
Tara Bryan:reality is is they don't need everything yet they need what
Tara Bryan:they need to solve the problem that you have sold them. And so
Tara Bryan:we just have a tendency to try and put too many things in. It
Tara Bryan:was the analogy of like, it's really hard to see the label
Tara Bryan:when you're inside the bottle, right? You're too close to it.
Tara Bryan:You can't look at it critically, you can't look at it outside of
Tara Bryan:your own expertise. So when we come in and we do an audit, and
Tara Bryan:we provide sort of a new roadmap. It provides that
Tara Bryan:clarity for people that allows them to just sort of peel away
Tara Bryan:all of the things and so if you're in that position, just
Tara Bryan:know that like this is a normal part of the park. CES. And
Tara Bryan:that's why you hire someone to come in and in kind of, you
Tara Bryan:know, cut through some of that. And again, we are no exception,
Tara Bryan:we have people who come in and kind of give us the insights
Tara Bryan:that we need to be able to see the label. Because we know we
Tara Bryan:can't see it, we're too close to it. When I was running the
Tara Bryan:agency, we would, we would have outside people come in and do
Tara Bryan:the quality control, do reviews of things. Because once you get
Tara Bryan:immersed in something, it's so hard to see outside of it. So
Tara Bryan:again, totally normal. The other thing I want to validate is, if
Tara Bryan:you are sort of hiding, like I mentioned earlier, you know,
Tara Bryan:it's okay, and the reason that you're doing that is because it
Tara Bryan:feels so overwhelming. I always think about when I asked my
Tara Bryan:children, my teenagers to clean their room, and they're like,
Tara Bryan:oh, you know, so hard, so hard. There's so many things. And, and
Tara Bryan:so, so often, that's what it feels like, right? And so I go
Tara Bryan:in to check the room, and it looks beautiful, and everything
Tara Bryan:is great on the surface. And then I open their closet and
Tara Bryan:like everything tumbles out, you have, right, like, that's sort
Tara Bryan:of how it feels, sometimes when you have your program is it's
Tara Bryan:like when nobody actually goes through it. Or if nobody
Tara Bryan:notices, how much stuff is in there. Or if they, you know, if
Tara Bryan:they like going through all those things, then you know,
Tara Bryan:it's okay. Right? Nobody will actually notice. And, and so
Tara Bryan:that's when you know that it's time to purge, it's time to go
Tara Bryan:through all of those clothes in the closet and pick out the ones
Tara Bryan:that you need to either toss or keep or donate, right. And so I
Tara Bryan:love this time of the year. Because just like with your
Tara Bryan:house, you have to go through this process of, you know, kind
Tara Bryan:of putting it into the different categories in terms of what
Tara Bryan:you're going to keep, what are you going to toss, what are you
Tara Bryan:going to donate, donate or get rid of, or give away for free or
Tara Bryan:add to your content and YouTube or whatever you want to do with
Tara Bryan:it. But it doesn't belong in in your program anymore. And again,
Tara Bryan:just to reiterate, what your job is when you're creating any type
Tara Bryan:of program is to provide people with a fastest path to results.
Tara Bryan:You are they're trusting you with your experience and your
Tara Bryan:experience, maybe you went down a windy path, it doesn't mean
Tara Bryan:that you're giving them that same windy path, you're giving
Tara Bryan:them the life lessons, the you know, competencies, skill
Tara Bryan:lessons that you've learned, so that you can help them go
Tara Bryan:faster, so that you can help them achieve success in the most
Tara Bryan:efficient way possible. And so we look at four different
Tara Bryan:categories when we're doing an audit. And again, this is in the
Tara Bryan:course edit. And so we we dive deep into someone's business
Tara Bryan:through these four categories, and then provide a roadmap. So
Tara Bryan:let me just give you the four categories. So you can go and do
Tara Bryan:this yourself and look at look at your program, like do an
Tara Bryan:honest assessment. So the first one is your platform. So let's
Tara Bryan:talk about your platform that you have all of your digital
Tara Bryan:assets in. Is it serving you? Are you able to see what people
Tara Bryan:are doing and how they're progressing through your
Tara Bryan:program? So when we talk about your platform, we're really
Tara Bryan:looking at kind of where everything is sitting? How are
Tara Bryan:you delivering the experience? How does somebody log in? How do
Tara Bryan:they go through? What what kinds of data are you getting around
Tara Bryan:each of your students? And how do you use that then to ensure
Tara Bryan:that you're hitting the mark, and you're able to keep them
Tara Bryan:moving? So that's one piece of it is we look at the platform?
Tara Bryan:Is it serving you? Is it is it a cohesive experience that helps
Tara Bryan:people actually get in and navigate? Or are you selling
Tara Bryan:something and nobody's logging in, nobody is participating. And
Tara Bryan:when they do participate, or they do try and log in, it's so
Tara Bryan:confusing that they don't know what to do, or you have things
Tara Bryan:on like four or five different platforms, and so people aren't
Tara Bryan:sure where to log in, or how to how to find this or find that or
Tara Bryan:is this the same as this? Or is that the same as you know,
Tara Bryan:right? It's
Tara Bryan:just too confusing. And so do you have a comprehensive
Tara Bryan:strategy for how you're delivering all of the content?
Tara Bryan:Okay, so that's number one. Number two, is the experience
Tara Bryan:that somebody's has as they are interacting with your assets
Tara Bryan:with you as a coach with other students. How are you leveraging
Tara Bryan:the platform to help that happen because the the way that
Tara Bryan:somebody's experience NCAA is the digital version of your
Tara Bryan:business is very, very important. Again, because are
Tara Bryan:they confused? When they come in? Do they not know where to
Tara Bryan:go? Is it just this disjointed kind of, you know, journey of
Tara Bryan:how do I get from point A to point B? And we want to make
Tara Bryan:sure that that is as specific as possible. So we look at the case
Tara Bryan:experience, how are you helping increase participation and
Tara Bryan:engagement and rewarding people for taking action, providing
Tara Bryan:feedback, providing activities? All these different things are
Tara Bryan:things that we look at in within your program? To see like, how
Tara Bryan:is it coming to life? How are you teaching this in a way that
Tara Bryan:helps people actually get results, learning isn't a
Tara Bryan:passive activity, we have to put them in action, which means that
Tara Bryan:there has to be some type of call to action for them, so that
Tara Bryan:they can apply what it is that you're teaching. Now, let me go
Tara Bryan:into the most important piece, which is the one I'm not doing
Tara Bryan:isn't necessarily in order. But the most important piece that we
Tara Bryan:look at is do you have a signature framework? Do you have
Tara Bryan:a consistent methodology that you're walking somebody through
Tara Bryan:that they see from the beginning, in terms of a path,
Tara Bryan:like a very clear roadmap of I start here, that I go here, then
Tara Bryan:I go here, and then I go here, I'm not talking about how
Tara Bryan:they're getting through the platform, I'm talking about how
Tara Bryan:they progress from having a problem to getting that solution
Tara Bryan:or that transformation that they're looking for. We call
Tara Bryan:that a signature framework, right? So you have a unique
Tara Bryan:methodology that's driving your business. And it is literally
Tara Bryan:the foundation to everything that you're creating, you could
Tara Bryan:do one on one services you could do. done done with you, you
Tara Bryan:could do do it yourself, you could do a book, you could do
Tara Bryan:like all sorts of ways to deliver your framework, your
Tara Bryan:methodology. But do you have one, and if you do not have one,
Tara Bryan:then anything that's in your program is just a bunch of
Tara Bryan:topics and information kind of cobbled together. Adults like to
Tara Bryan:see the big picture, right? They're not satisfied with just
Tara Bryan:getting little parts and pieces of things, they want to see the
Tara Bryan:big picture, the big picture for you, in your foundation of your
Tara Bryan:business is your signature framework. Do you have that? And
Tara Bryan:is it very obvious to someone as they are beginning your program,
Tara Bryan:and then is it consistently applied all the way through. So
Tara Bryan:if you have, say you have seven steps, in your signature
Tara Bryan:framework, what should happen is that you should have a visual
Tara Bryan:map for someone, right? So you have like a treasure map, right?
Tara Bryan:Like you're starting here. And this is where the treasure is,
Tara Bryan:right? This is where the result is. And and they can clearly see
Tara Bryan:each step along the path. Don't be afraid to give them the
Tara Bryan:steps. From a big picture perspective, it doesn't mean
Tara Bryan:that they're not going to go through your program, they're
Tara Bryan:not going to buy, they're not going to do the things because
Tara Bryan:the what is different than the how, right if they had the map,
Tara Bryan:that's, you know, that's a great start. But they need to know how
Tara Bryan:to implement the steps that you're giving them in order to
Tara Bryan:move forward. And so foundationally create that map.
Tara Bryan:If there's no map in a program, we immediately will not go to
Tara Bryan:the other three, because that is the piece that needs to be
Tara Bryan:worked on, before anything else is tweaked. And so that
Tara Bryan:foundationally is the biggest is the biggest thing. And and so
Tara Bryan:again, do you have a signature framework? For me, when I'm
Tara Bryan:going through an auditing my program, I have a very clear
Tara Bryan:roadmap. But once a year, I look at it and I'm like, is this
Tara Bryan:still the roadmap? Is there another step? Can I take out a
Tara Bryan:step? can I combine a step? Is there some other sort of way I
Tara Bryan:want to help them solve the problem in the fastest way
Tara Bryan:possible? Maybe there's there's some changing that needs to
Tara Bryan:happen. And most of the time I do I change it up just a little
Tara Bryan:bit because I can get more clear and more succinct in terms of
Tara Bryan:how I'm teaching it, so that it helps people even get results
Tara Bryan:faster and easier than my prior iteration. And so again, this is
Tara Bryan:the third thing that we look at, in terms of auditing, a digital
Tara Bryan:experience. And in fact, just even auditing a business in
Tara Bryan:general. When you're first starting out, this is the number
Tara Bryan:one mistake that people make is they just say oh, I'm an expert.
Tara Bryan:I'm just going to teach people or I'm going to provide services
Tara Bryan:for people you know, as a freelancer or as a contractor,
Tara Bryan:or we're going to work for hire, and they're just going to pay me
Tara Bryan:to do do different things. And what what happens so quickly is
Tara Bryan:that it morphs into this crazy sort of transactional
Tara Bryan:relationship that you can't win, right? Because they're
Tara Bryan:constantly asking for something, you're not leading them down a
Tara Bryan:clear path. You're like, well, I don't do that, or I don't do
Tara Bryan:this, or, you know, yes, I will do that. But it's more in the
Tara Bryan:end, it's just like this weird conversation that's happening
Tara Bryan:all the way through. So until you own your process, your
Tara Bryan:signature framework, you can't actually provide consistent
Tara Bryan:results for people, which means you can't scale your business.
Tara Bryan:So again, critical foundational piece, this is the kind of the
Tara Bryan:first thing that we're looking at as we go through and audit a
Tara Bryan:program because it's, it's, again, there should be visual
Tara Bryan:roadmap, either on the sales page, in your signature
Tara Bryan:presentation, that you're talking about your program, or
Tara Bryan:immediately when someone comes in, and you're onboarding them
Tara Bryan:that you're like, Alright, here's the map, here's where
Tara Bryan:we're going, right, we're going from Minneapolis to New York,
Tara Bryan:and we're going to follow these roads, and we're not going to
Tara Bryan:end up in a dead end, we're not going to end up in you know,
Tara Bryan:wherever else, because I've got you covered, right, I've got the
Tara Bryan:path, you just need to get on the path with me, and I'm going
Tara Bryan:to teach you how to get there. Okay, so that is the third one.
Tara Bryan:The fourth one is your actual assets, right? The the videos,
Tara Bryan:the worksheets, the activities, the Quizlet, like, whatever the
Tara Bryan:things are, that you're creating to support the path. And so we
Tara Bryan:look at all of those. And typically what happens in this
Tara Bryan:sort of category is, this is where kind of the the, you know,
Tara Bryan:full closet comes out is you have created a new video, for
Tara Bryan:example, on one of the steps. And instead of taking the time
Tara Bryan:to go through and sort of re configure where that video fits,
Tara Bryan:you just throw it in that section. And so what happens is
Tara Bryan:you have like a bulky section that either is contradicting
Tara Bryan:itself, or there's you're repeating is not succinct. It's
Tara Bryan:not clear. And it's not. It's not something that people can
Tara Bryan:consume without getting confused. Remember, I was
Tara Bryan:auditing a program, and I was about 17 or 18 hours in watching
Tara Bryan:videos before they actually even got into sort of identifying the
Tara Bryan:path of how to do what it was they were teaching. And I was
Tara Bryan:like, why am I going through all of this stuff at the beginning.
Tara Bryan:And what had happened is they just put all their marketing
Tara Bryan:videos in, right. So I created a video for this, I did a session
Tara Bryan:here, I did a webinar here. And they just started putting all of
Tara Bryan:that in. And and it's a really common problem, because for
Tara Bryan:whatever reason, there's this idea, and maybe, maybe we blame
Tara Bryan:it on McDonald's, right for supersizing things, but there's
Tara Bryan:this idea that quantity is better than quality. And so if I
Tara Bryan:give them more they're gonna look at and go, Oh, my gosh,
Tara Bryan:this is so great. It's got all these things. And the challenge
Tara Bryan:is that it's not quantity, its quality. And it's how little Can
Tara Bryan:you put in, that still will get people results, right? So think
Tara Bryan:about the fact that like, everyone is so overwhelmed with
Tara Bryan:information, everyone is so overwhelmed with content,
Tara Bryan:everyone is so overwhelmed with all of the things when you're
Tara Bryan:trying to get a result, right. So you have a problem and you're
Tara Bryan:trying to get to a result of the problem. Do you want to take a
Tara Bryan:meandering path to get there? Or do you just want to solve the
Tara Bryan:damn problem? Yes, you just want to solve the problem. And so
Tara Bryan:when you're, you're
Tara Bryan:working with a trusted advisor, right or a trusted guide, you
Tara Bryan:trust that they're going to give you the fastest plate way to get
Tara Bryan:from the problem to the solution. And so, the biggest
Tara Bryan:challenge is like fighting that urge to put all of the things in
Tara Bryan:that your signature program and and so, that is that is a
Tara Bryan:critical element to this. And I will say that I have seen very
Tara Bryan:few programs from a business owners who do not have too many
Tara Bryan:things in there, right? So there's a huge difference
Tara Bryan:between marketing content, so content that's out in the wild,
Tara Bryan:that helps to attract your ideal customer to you and course or
Tara Bryan:program content to totally different things. Once somebody
Tara Bryan:has purchased your program, they don't need you to you know,
Tara Bryan:convince them or give them content around why It's
Tara Bryan:important to do the thing, or to solve the problem, they need
Tara Bryan:their problem solved. So when you're working one on one with
Tara Bryan:someone, say they're in front of you like at your desk, or you're
Tara Bryan:in a live workshop, you're not going to be like, Okay, so we're
Tara Bryan:going to spend, you know, 20 hours in this room, and I'm
Tara Bryan:going to give you every single thing I've ever I've ever spoken
Tara Bryan:on, I'm going to give you all of the things I've ever done in my
Tara Bryan:entire life. And you're going to sit here for 20 hours in this
Tara Bryan:room and in consume it, you're not going to do that, right. And
Tara Bryan:so treat your online presence, your digital presence in terms
Tara Bryan:of your program, whatever it is that you're fulfilling on, as
Tara Bryan:like, remember that they're in the room with you, they are
Tara Bryan:experiencing you, and they're looking for a solution, give
Tara Bryan:them the solution as quickly as possible, and help them overcome
Tara Bryan:the hurdles and challenges that they're gonna have along the
Tara Bryan:way, right. So that's practicing, that's looking at
Tara Bryan:like, Okay, here's where you may have a little bit of a
Tara Bryan:challenge, let's have some conversation around that. Let's
Tara Bryan:work through that particular problem. If you're in, again, if
Tara Bryan:you're in a live room, and you're like, Okay, here's a
Tara Bryan:challenge that you may have, right? Here's a problem, a
Tara Bryan:common problem that you may have around this topic, you're going
Tara Bryan:to put people in groups, you're going to have them work through
Tara Bryan:something, you're going to have some type of way that they are
Tara Bryan:going to try and solve a simulated version of that
Tara Bryan:problem. Do that in your program, right? That is much
Tara Bryan:more valuable when you put them in the driver's seat, than it is
Tara Bryan:just giving them 20 hours of you know, doing different
Tara Bryan:presentations and doing different things, they can see
Tara Bryan:all of that out in the wild, they don't need it behind the
Tara Bryan:paywall. They need you to give them the result. And so, so
Tara Bryan:again, those are the four big things that we look at when we
Tara Bryan:do a course or program audit. And, and we get deep, we get
Tara Bryan:deep in people's programs, which is why I can tell you that these
Tara Bryan:are the four, kind of the four big things that people are
Tara Bryan:struggling with in order to keep their customers and ascend them
Tara Bryan:to their next offer. And to really create a program that
Tara Bryan:they're proud of that can be something that is is their
Tara Bryan:signature program, high ticket premium experience that they're
Tara Bryan:providing for people so that they know that it's a consistent
Tara Bryan:experience, they know it's getting results, and it becomes
Tara Bryan:an amplifier for what they're doing in their business, it
Tara Bryan:doesn't become that thing that you're sort of like, okay, I'm
Tara Bryan:just gonna sell it or whatever else, it becomes the powerhouse
Tara Bryan:that helps you grow and scale your business. So hopefully this
Tara Bryan:served you today I it's just funny because, again, like I
Tara Bryan:said, we do this every year. And we really look critically at all
Tara Bryan:of the different all the different parts and pieces of
Tara Bryan:our program in in these four categories. And make sure that
Tara Bryan:we are not only you know that it's cleaned up, and it's the
Tara Bryan:best experience for people, but that we're using tools that
Tara Bryan:makes sense for what we're doing, where you were looking
Tara Bryan:kind of out there in in the space and making sure that where
Tara Bryan:we are is where we need to be. And so hopefully this serves you
Tara Bryan:gives you a little bit of a sense, if you wanted to do that
Tara Bryan:course audit yourself. It gives you a sense for how to start
Tara Bryan:looking critically at your programs. I will tell you, like
Tara Bryan:I said this is what we do every single day with our clients and
Tara Bryan:what we've been doing for many, many years. And so if you do
Tara Bryan:need help with this, just give us a shout. Happy to have a
Tara Bryan:phone call just to talk through kind of where you are. Maybe
Tara Bryan:there's one of the three or one of the four that you feel like
Tara Bryan:is really where you need to focus and you kind of know you
Tara Bryan:need to focus like you open the closet door and all the clothes
Tara Bryan:are gonna come out. Yeah, so So give us a shout. Happy to have
Tara Bryan:that conversation. All right. There you go. Have a great day
Tara Bryan:and until next time to go out and serve your people.
