Alternative to selling knowledge other than video/course subscriptions?

[CEOMike]

Here's a concept I've been struggling with lately, and I'm going to be a little vague because I want to try to keep this question as open as possible:

Let's say you had a skill that you were trying to market, but did NOT want to sell/market it through any type of high dollar video course, what would be the quickest, easiest and most effective way to do it?

Now I'm not saying I'm against the use of videos, in fact, that would be the best way to convey the information - I just don't want to create an expensive course and/or make people have to subscribe to a long term membership (which a lot of the competition is already doing) as this information can be understood and used fairly quickly, and I think 3 or 4 key ideas would get them off to a good start. That's what I would like my identifiable difference to be: Making a seemingly complex topic easy enough to be understood WITHOUT having to watch 115 videos on the subject, or taking you 6-12 months to get some key concepts.

Here's some more thoughts/details about what I'm thinking this will look like:

• The subject will have 3-4 core topics.
• The information works far better when it's shown to someone as opposed to just reading it or listening to it, but once it's seen I feel a person would "Get it" fairly easily, if that makes sense. For example, if I show you how to make a PB&J sandwich once, I'm pretty confident you'll be able to do it on your own, and maybe even branch off into using different bread types or brands of PB&J that you saw me use without needing a new video showing you how to do it.
• I would like to do, a MAXIMUM of 1 video a week showing the nuts and bolts of the process, and then maybe an additional one that has more in-depth discussion about why I do this the way I do, and maybe even using some analogies from other areas to drive the point home. I want to be able to keep things fresh and current with these videos, but again, the main core videos will be the starting point. The other videos will be more like how this works over time.
• Finally, I would like this to be something where a person could sign-up for a month (or some minimum time frame) and then come back to if they need additional work, or if they are struggling in a certain area.

That's about it.

I'm open to any suggestions from Youtube to Facebook Patreon pages, so please fire away. I'm sure there are things out there I'm not familiar with, and you guys are a great source of information, so I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

Respectfully,
CEO Mike...

 

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[Process]

You could offer to do paid coaching through a live stream/phone call to teach people how to do the high demand skill. You don't even have to wear pants.


You still must know how to position yourself and offer useful unique value. That comes with practice.

 

[FierceRacoon]

I don't get the problem with an expensive course or a long-term membership. If you can explain the concept in a fraction of the time, condense 115 videos into 15, make 3 of them available for free, and sell it for the same high price as the competition. Alternatively, make all of it available for free, build a huge following, and monetize it in some other way.

Also, don't worry about helping people by not forcing them. People are not forced to subscribe to your course — they don't care, because your course doesn't even exist yet. We don't even know yet if people will prefer your videos to 115 offered by the competition. Figure out if anyone wants what you have at least for free.

 

[CEOMike]

You could offer to do paid coaching through a live stream/phone call to teach people how to do the high demand skill. You don't even have to wear pants. You still must know how to position yourself and offer useful unique value. That comes with practice.

I like that idea a lot. I think having the videos as a general base, then adding the coaching for more specific issues is a nice combination.

I don't get the problem with an expensive course or a long-term membership. If you can explain the concept in a fraction of the time, condense 115 videos into 15, make 3 of them available for free, and sell it for the same high price as the competition.

The reason I don't want to charge the same high prices is that I feel it's price gouging, and that's not what I want to do. I want to be the alternative to the high-priced competition, but I feel I need to change my format a bit so they know they are getting something different. Kind of like the difference between a fast food place and a sit down restaurant. Both serve food, but in a different way.

Alternatively, make all of it available for free, build a huge following, and monetize it in some other way.

I think this is what I'm struggling with, as the videos would be the way to monetize the information, but I want to do it at a fraction of the cost of what the competition is charging. I don't think I could do a book or podcast where the information would come across as well. A book might help with the basics, but seeing the process in action and going over the details afterwards is what I think will work best.

Also, don't worry about helping people by not forcing them. People are not forced to subscribe to your course — they don't care, because your course doesn't even exist yet. We don't even know yet if people will prefer your videos to 115 offered by the competition. Figure out if anyone wants what you have at least for free.

That's a good idea, and I think I'll have at least 1 or 2 videos (or some type of info) available for free. I agree that I would need to test this before jumping into the market to make sure there is water in the pool.

Thanks for the advice so far everyone. I appreciate it!

 

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[Boychamp]

Here's another idea - although the ones people have said work great too just another option to think about.

Release the videos for free or extremely low price, build your following. Then to monetize, you offer to help people with the NEXT step rather than "more in depth". So going off the PB&J example: you show them how to make a PB&J so what's their next problem? Well, they need bread, jelly, peanut butter, a knife, etc so you sell THOSE things.

Or another more practical example is say you build someone a website. Okay, well now they need traffic so you help (charge) them for SEO, Google PPC, Facebook Ads, whatever it may be. This also helps a lot with building up like + trust which always play a role when trying to sell something - because you've already provided them with value for free.

IDK how applicable this is to your videos but just try and think "Okay, they know this, what's their next problem that they might run into? What do they need solved next?". This can also apply to having coaching calls like someone else suggested as well for people that want more "hand holding".

My LAST idea is you can have the videos out for free and have a low cost subscription or even free Facebook Group for people that want to connect and learn from one another and build a community around it. This gives you ample opportunity to find other ways to serve and provide value to your audience through both free or potentially paid resources.

 

[ChrisV]

off the top of my head.. books, live coaching, audio, interactive games

Depends on what type of info you're selling, but here are some things I've seen:

Learn R, Python & Data Science Online

Learn Data Science from the comfort of your browser, at your own pace with DataCamp's video tutorials & coding challenges on R, Python, Statistics & more.

www.datacamp.com

swirl: Learn R, in R.

:computer: swirl's official website

swirlstats.com

 

[CEOMike]

Here's another idea - although the ones people have said work great too just another option to think about.

Release the videos for free or extremely low price, build your following. Then to monetize, you offer to help people with the NEXT step rather than "more in depth". So going off the PB&J example: you show them how to make a PB&J so what's their next problem? Well, they need bread, jelly, peanut butter, a knife, etc so you sell THOSE things.

This gave me the idea of doing something like a Facebook Patreon page where there is just a low $ membership, and a bunch of posts. I could do some videos on that page and then have the 1-on-1 coaching as an add-on later on.

I'm not sure, but I thought I remember there being a "tier" system with a Patreon page I saw, so maybe having a certain number of videos/info on that page, then doing some more in-depth, or "what's next" type things on the higher tier?

IDK how applicable this is to your videos but just try and think "Okay, they know this, what's their next problem that they might run into? What do they need solved next?". This can also apply to having coaching calls like someone else suggested as well for people that want more "hand holding".

Yes, I think that's a great idea like you mentioned above: Have something FREE or at least very cheap for the basics, then an added charge for clients that are struggling with a certain area that I could help them with. Nice!

My LAST idea is you can have the videos out for free and have a low cost subscription or even free Facebook Group for people that want to connect and learn from one another and build a community around it. This gives you ample opportunity to find other ways to serve and provide value to your audience through both free or potentially paid resources.

Another great idea!

I think what I'm trying to avoid is having to pump out a huge number of videos for 2 reasons:
1. I don't want all that work, especially right off the bat, but more importantly,
2. I don't want people to feel overwhelmed, or think they need to watch ALL these videos in order to really grasp the process.

That brings me back to your 1st idea of doing some type of free (longer) video that more or less tells the story of what I do, how I do it, and how I can help them do it, too. Then, having some type of membership, or member area where they can watch more videos. Those videos will be shorter, and more focused, as I really don't want to make people to get bored, and again, these concepts aren't rocket-science. They take discipline and patience, not intelligence.

Great ideas and thanks for your help!

 

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[CEOMike]

off the top of my head.. books, live coaching, audio, interactive games

Depends on what type of info you're selling, but here are some things I've seen:

Learn R, Python & Data Science Online

Learn Data Science from the comfort of your browser, at your own pace with DataCamp's video tutorials & coding challenges on R, Python, Statistics & more.

www.datacamp.com

swirl: Learn R, in R.

:computer: swirl's official website

swirlstats.com

@ChrisV
Great ideas as well. I have never heard of "swirl", so I'll have to check that out in more detail.

I like the idea of a book, or even a series of shorter books that could be used either on their own, or as a study guide. That might be a great start as well, doing a book 1st, then using the Patreon page, or some type of video/community membership where they can actually see the process in action. Finally, having some type of 1-on-1 coaching for members that need help with a specific problem.

Great ideas, and thanks for your help!

 

[ChrisV]

@ChrisV
Great ideas as well. I have never heard of "swirl", so I'll have to check that out in more detail.

I like the idea of a book, or even a series of shorter books that could be used either on their own, or as a study guide. That might be a great start as well, doing a book 1st, then using the Patreon page, or some type of video/community membership where they can actually see the process in action. Finally, having some type of 1-on-1 coaching for members that need help with a specific problem.

Great ideas, and thanks for your help!

It's an interactive interface for learning to code:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McoHQIxJd-o

 

[Andy Black]

Let's say you had a skill that you were trying to market, but did NOT want to sell/market it through any type of high dollar video course, what would be the quickest, easiest and most effective way to do it?

I'm a bit confused.

What do you mean by "high dollar"? I created a video course that I've advertised in the forum that I don't consider high dollar. Does selling a video course that isn't high dollar match your criteria?

 

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[FierceRacoon]

@CEOMike , why don't you make 3-4 videos, post a link to them, and then we can all discuss? I feel at this point until there is at least 1-2 hours of footage, any additional time spent discussing strategy is wasted.

 

[StrikingViper69]

What about teaching people in person? If you live in a major city, finding people willing to travel to you for in person coaching, and pay high $$$ for it, shouldn't be too difficult.

A combination of FB lead ads and door to door flyers would get you going quickly.