Go Where The Audience Is
Many course creators spend months building a course, polishing lessons, and designing websites—only to launch and discover… no audience. Maybe just a handful of sales. The mistake? They focused on the course but not on audience development.
The good news: you don’t have to build your audience from scratch. While you can build newsletters, email lists, and social followers slowly, there are faster and smarter strategies.
Why This Matters
When you buy a physical product like a couch, you interact with salespeople multiple times, which builds trust. With digital products like online courses, there’s no built-in showroom or sales staff—so you need other ways to develop trust with strangers.
In a previous lesson, we talked about mini-courses and on-ramp products as trust-building tools. Today, we’ll show how to take those products and put them in front of existing audiences to grow your own.
Leverage Existing Audiences
There are millions of learners already gathered on established platforms:
- Udemy – 46M+ students. You can create a small, useful mini-course here. Even if it’s exclusive to Udemy, it’s a way to get discovered and drive learners to look you up.
- Pluralsight – subscription-based model where students access all content. Great for tech-focused courses, especially if companies buy bulk seats.
- LinkedIn Learning – higher barrier to entry, but strong exposure for approved instructors.
- Skillshare – broader topic range (arts, business, lifestyle), making it ideal if your subject doesn’t fit into the “tech lanes” of other platforms.
Strategy: Instead of putting your main flagship course on these platforms (which changes your pricing and distribution model), place a mini-course/on-ramp product. It solves one clear problem, builds trust, and directs learners toward your broader offerings.
Beyond Course Platforms
You can also grow your audience through:
- Podcasts – Share insights as a guest. Provide a link or coupon to your on-ramp product at the end.
- Webinars – Partner with someone else’s audience and deliver high-value content.
- Speaking Engagements – Live or virtual events allow you to drop “gold nuggets” of insight that spark curiosity.
The key is to deliver insights, not pitches. A sales pitch turns people off; a fresh, paradigm-shifting perspective makes them lean in.
The Power of Paradigm-Shifting Thoughts
Your job when in front of someone else’s audience is simple: offer a paradigm-shifting thought that sparks curiosity.
- It’s not your backstory.
- It’s not your “why.”
- It’s not your product or pricing.
It’s a thought that makes people say, “Wait, I’ve never heard it explained that way before.”
Examples:
- Instead of: “More audience = more revenue.”
- Say: “You don’t need to 10x your audience to 10x your revenue. The problem is your leaky funnel.”
That kind of contrast stops people in their tracks and gets them asking questions. And when they’re curious, they follow up with you—turning someone else’s audience into your own.
Why This Strategy Works
Normally, audience-building costs money (ads on Facebook, Google, etc.). But when you place your on-ramp products on platforms or share insights through partnerships, you’re not paying for exposure—you’re getting paid while you grow your audience.
It’s lower risk, creates trust, and pulls in aligned learners who resonate with your perspective.
Your Homework
Go through your course content and frameworks. Identify one or two places where you already think differently than others in your field. Package those insights into:
- A podcast interview angle,
- A talk,
- Or a mini-course/on-ramp product.
Deliver that contrasting, paradigm-shifting idea to existing audiences. Those aligned with your perspective will naturally seek you out, building trust and becoming part of your own community.