Course Creators Weekly #51
🗓
June 14th, 2021
- Stop waiting for the ripe idea
Salman talks about farmers and creators, Ashlyn Carter talks launch prep, and Tiago Forte shares the 8 biggest improvements to Building a Second Brain, cohort 12.
Stop Waiting for the Ripe Idea
Such a great analogy and beautifully-written article from Salman.
- Like a farmer, you'll never be certain how your creation will taste when it's harvested
Avoid judging your fruit too soon—practice, so you'll learn to recognise good from bad
Publish imperfect ideas—"an idea doesn’t need to be perfect in order to be ready."
Don't be so picky that your consumers are left hungry—let the people eat
Check out the article to learn more! 
"We often eat fruit that isn’t perfectly ripe. The fruit in the hand today is more filling than the promise of perfection tomorrow. As creators, we mustn’t be so picky that our consumers are left hungry. Let the people eat."
Pre-Launch Workflow: Everything I Do the Week Before I Launch!
Ashlyn Carter shares her tips on how to prepare for going into launch mode:
Prepare to feel like a broken record, repeating the same offer in lots of different ways
Prepare everything before your launch—all the assets, social media posts, bonuses, etc
Clear your schedule so that during launch, your only job is talking to actual people
Have drafts ready to publish, but don't automate it all—mix in some realtime vibe
Think about your environment and visual cues that can help you get in the zone
Use testimonials from past clients/students to fight the inevitable impostor syndrome
Get your household affairs in order—e.g. plan meals + set your family's expectations
The 8 Biggest Improvements in Building a Second Brain 12
In a cohort-based course, every cohort is an iteration and an opportunity for new improvements. Back in April, Tiago Forte shared the biggest improvements to cohort 12 of his flagship course, Building a Second Brain.
Here they are, in actionable terms:
Invest in production quality
Split your curriculum into beginner and advanced tracks
Recruit alumni mentors to help deliver a more intimate experience for students
Offer "Feedback Pods"—small, opt-in groups for accountability, support + feedback- Create a space for community discussions that reflect the split curriculum model
Organise informal social events to help students meet and form new relationships
Create a searchable student directory, enabling alumni to find and meet each other
Create digital workbooks, enabling students to track their progress through milestones
Bear in mind some of these only make sense at scale. For example, investing in production quality for your first course may be a waste of time and money (unless production is the thing you teach.)
Check out Tiago's article for more details!
