How To Create A Course in Kajabi

Kajabi is an online platform built to host courses…but that’s just the tip of the digital iceberg. When they call themselves “a complete online business platform for serious entrepreneurs,” they’re actually not exaggerating. Let me explain.

In the beginning of this year, after welcoming many hundreds of online coaches and service providers to The Ultimate Bundle™️ via Teachable, I took the plunge and switched the Bundle—along with all of my workshops and other offers—over to Kajabi. (You can read the nitty gritty about how I came to that decision here.) I haven’t looked back!

I have sold over a million dollars’ worth of online courses at this point, and I am a fan of Kajabi, from the truly impressive all-in-one functionality they offer to the way they give course materials a professional, clean look.

If you’ve been considering Kajabi yourself, read to the end of this article to find out the step-by-step process to create (or move over) your online course in Kajabi.

Why I’m a Big Kajabi Fan

Kajabi is a powerful platform that provides you with everything that you need to sell online courses, plus general and valuable tools for running a business online. Through Kajabi, business owners can host a website, take payments, run email marketing campaigns, create sales funnels, build a community, automate their business, track results, create and sell digital products, and even more. (Whew!) It’s the most feature-rich digital education tool of any platform around, in my opinion, and it’s refreshingly user friendly.

Kajabi is used by over 25,000 course creators including big names like Amy Porterfield, the online marketing expert, and Brendan Burchard, the personal development coach. But in addition to the “big names”, it’s also really easy to set up and start selling courses for business owners like you and me! The platform delivers when it comes to sales and marketing: it comes with its own built-in email list management, sales funnel builder, and marketing automation. It’s the only all-in-one platform with no need for third party tools.

Full transparency though, I do still use an email marketing tool in my business separate from Kajabi because we haven’t chosen to fully switch over yet, and we do use some software tools to run our sales funnel on our website (rather than within Kajabi) for SEO reasons and because their evergreen countdown timer function is still being developed. But as those tools increase in functionality, who knows, I may drop my other tools and switch everything over! Time will tell. 

But even though I’m not taking advantage of their email tool (yet!), I do love everything about the ease of use and customer experience within Kajabi as a course platform.

How To Create A Course in Kajabi

If you’ve been around here for a while then you know this already, but if you’re on the fence about creating an online course, I’m cheerleading you to go for it. Really! The online learning industry’s market value is expected to hit $325 billion (billion with a b!) by 2025. If you’ve got an idea for a course and want to get a piece of that pie, I want to encourage you not to be afraid! There’s really nothing like getting to share your passion and expertise with others, while earning money doing it at home (in your PJs if you want to! I highly recommend it).

Start by dreaming up your course. You don’t need any sort of certification, license, or degree to teach online, but I bet you do have specialized knowledge that people are hungry to learn. You can also tap experts in your field to join you as featured guests or special teachers, growing your network and your credibility by teaming up with people you admire.

Here are the ABCs of creating your online course:

A Step-by-Step Guide to Planning your Course

Step 1: Nail down your niche and your topic

Online educators have built courses around all sorts of topics, from cooking and baking to leadership to personal development…and way beyond. Think about your expertise and your obsessions. What can you just not stop talking about, once you get started? What do you know inside and out, backwards and forwards, with plenty of real-world examples to boot? Think of your niche as an extension of your personal brand.

Step 2: Zero in on your target audience

Creating a course for anyone and everyone is counterproductive. In this case thinking big might not be the best path. Decide who you can serve best, and tailor your course specifically to them. For example, my business is especially designed for coaches and online service providers. Instead of offering a course on planning for your taxes, consider offering a course on tax preparation for freelance artists, for example. Specificity is your friend.

Step 3: Use Google search to help you

Google’s Keyword Planner is a free and super helpful tool. Head over to “Search for new ideas using a phrase, website, or category.” Type in your course topic and you’ll see an overview of what people are searching for. The more searches the better—it’s a big sign people are interested in your niche (hi there, potential customers!). Look for at least 1,000 searches of the keyword per month. You can also take a look at the competition, which gives you more info.

If your topic is not generating much traction in Google, is there another keyword that could work to capture what you’re trying to express? But don’t get too bogged down in keywords, it’s just one tool to help you think through what might really catch on.

Step 4: Create your course content

One of the most important aspects of creating your course topic is leading with specificity and focus. From the beginning, your students should have a solid idea of what and how you are teaching, and what they can expect to get out of the course. Clear expectations lead to happy customers.

Now you’re ready to dig into your course material. Take your time and do your research; you want to make sure you’re offering more than students can get themselves from some time spent googling around. Take an online course or two and make note of your favorite and least favorite aspects. Don’t get too bogged down in small details. Stay focused on delivering the new knowledge and skills you’ve set out to teach.

However you choose to deliver information, make sure it’s unique, actionable, and trustworthy. Bring your personality to the mix; nobody is interested in a monotone robot. Remember that you are the secret sauce here!

Step 5: Choose the perfect theme

Themes help your course and your site looked streamlined, professional and pretty. In addition to its built-in themes, the Kajabi platform gives members the option to import their own custom themes. Pre-made templates allow for easy yet flexible customization using the Kajabi theme editor on Kajabi’s dashboard, so your brand can really shine through.

Kajabi will help you make sure you have every element that goes into building and marketing your course:

• Email opt-in pages
• Thank you pages
• Launch pages
• Webinar registration pages
• And more

Step 6: Price your course

Trying to set the right price for your course can feel overwhelming. Deep breaths, you got this!

Remember to value your own expertise and hard work. How much time did it take you to develop all the aspects of your course? How many hours did you spend recording lessons, creating worksheets, and development resources for the course? Factor in paying yourself for all the work that goes into course creation. Also take into account the money you spent on marketing and tools…that includes your Kajabi subscription.

When pricing your course, remember to consider the value that you are offering to the end consumer. Know your market and the focus on the transformation you’ll provide, from mastering a new skill to the potential to earn more money.

Calculate your bottom line: if your goal is to make $5000 each month and you’re only charging $50 for your course, you’ll need to make 100 sales per month. If the course costs $100, that number changes to 50.

Another thing to consider is offering the option for students to pay in installments, and you can provide a discount to students who choose to pay upfront in full. Tiered pricing might be worthwhile, where you add bonus content and additional resources at higher price points.

Step 7: Get the word out

Once you’ve created your online course, the next step is to spread the word far and wide. If you want to generate sales, you must market your course. Sounds basic, I know, but once you’ve “birthed the baby” of your course it can feel overwhelming to pitch it to would-be buyers too. “What if they don’t like it?” “What if they don’t like me?” “Or what if it doesn’t sell?”

You can’t let those negative thoughts hold you back from what could be possible for you with a little effort and determination! Did I ever tell you the story of how I started my business and sold my first legal template *the day* my online shop went live? Only because I wasn’t afraid to share what I was selling with someone who needed it! 

Kajabi allows you to create and market your mini course in just a few clicks.

After your course is set up, you can start with a dedicated Kajabi sales page and sell it through Kajabi. Your sales page should emphasize the benefits that your mini course offers potential customers. Don’t forget to include things like pricing, deliverables, and details.

End the sales page with a compelling call to action. Make buying your mini course irresistible with clear copy that gets to the heart of what your students want and will get when they take your course.

Promote your course on social media, on your blog if you have one, and through your email list. I have a feeling your excitement will be contagious. 😉

PS As your online business flourishes, you want to rest easy that all your legal ducks are in a row. Hop into my free legal training, 5 Steps to Legally Protect & Grow Your Online Business, to learn how to grow your business while protecting yourself legally. Can’t wait to see you there!

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