Leaving Academia: Becoming a Freelance Editor16 Huhti

My First Online Course Flopped (and What I Did to Sell 120 Seats in the Next One)

You've been sitting on a course idea for months. Maybe years. You know it could help people—but you haven't launched it yet because it doesn't feel ready.

Here's the thing: building your course first and selling it later isn't just inefficient. It might be the reason you never launch it at all.

In this episode of Leaving Academia: Becoming a Freelance Editor, Paulina shares the behind-the-scenes story of a course that completely flopped—and what she learned that made her BAE program a success.

She breaks down why academics are especially prone to the "build first, sell later" trap, and gives you a concrete, step-by-step plan for testing your idea, pre-selling your course, and knowing when to move forward (and when to go back to the drawing board).

In this episode, you'll learn:

🏊‍♀️ Why the expertise trap and the perfectionism trap are killing your course before it launches

🏊‍♀️ The story of Paulina's book proposal course that sold just two copies—and what went wrong

🏊‍♀️ How to test your course idea on LinkedIn before you build a single module

🏊‍♀️ The exact CTAs to use at different stages of pre-selling

🏊‍♀️ What a "good" conversion rate actually looks like (it's lower than you think, and that's okay)

🏊‍♀️ How to use voice of customer research to sharpen your messaging

If you've been thinking about building a course, coaching program, or workshop but feel stuck in planning mode, this episode will help you move forward.

🔔 Subscribe here or on YouTube so you don't miss weekly episodes on building a freelance life after academia.

Want to end burnout and become an academic editor or coach? Go to AcadiaEditing.com/BecomeAnEditor

1:35 - Why Academics Tend to Build First, Sell Later

3:10 - Avoid the Expertise and Perfectionism Traps

5:45 - Why My First Course Flopped

9:30 - The Real Cost of Selling Online Courses

12:15 - Test Your Course Idea: Messaging and Market

15:50 - How to Pre-Sell Your Online Course

19:20 - What Success Really Looks Like: Conversion Rates

23:00 - Pivot or Persevere: Null Results Are Okay

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