Tiny Course Empire Podcast

Quick! What comes to mind when you think of a digital course? Is it a multi-module resource with videos and downloadable PDFs inside Teachable? A big production like Marie Forleo’s B-School? Or something else completely? When I started out online, I thought courses had to follow a specific format, and honestly, that thinking kept me stuck for a while. Later I learned that courses can take many for...

In 2006, Rachel Martin launched what would later come to known as an “OG Mommy Blog.” She wasn’t sure at the time where it would go, or if it would mean anything to anyone else. Today that blog has reached more than 50 million page views, and Rachel’s content has been featured in The Today Show, NPR, and many more—including the Tiny Course Empire podcast. This week, Rachel joins me to talk about h...

For years I told myself I wasn’t ready to create an online course. I didn’t have the skills. I didn’t have the audience. I didn’t know how to sell. I didn’t have anything unique or special to say. My list of reasons to not create a course was long and—I know now—meaningless. While I was waiting to build better skills and grow an audience and learn to sell and create a unique process, other, less-s...

Rachel Rogers tells the story of Noah Kagan asking, “Why isn’t your business at $100 million yet?” She didn’t have a good answer. It’s a thought-provoking question and one I want to ponder (on a bit smaller scale), so I wrote a sticky note and stuck it on the wall above my desk. “Why aren’t we earning $1M?” It’s easy to blame the economy, the competition, or Mercury in Retrograde (whatever that me...

I was chatting with a friend recently about what makes some businesses thrive, while others seem to struggle to build an audience and make sales. Is it the charismatic leader? The innovative ideas? The six-figure ads budget? No, no, and no. Turns out, it’s as simple as the framework they’ve developed to help their clients and customers achieve a goal. Whether it’s to be more organized, reduce clut...

You make as many as 35,000 decisions every single day: whether to get up or hit the snooze, what to wear, what to eat, which route to take to the store, which movie to watch. The list is almost endless. Most decisions are made in a fraction of a second without much thought. The choice between toast or cereal is, after all, pretty inconsequential. Some decisions are much more daunting than choosing...

Relentless. It might have a negative vibe to it, if it makes you think of kudzu, serial killers, and lava flows. Relentlessness is a powerful force for good, though. It allows athletes to train their way to gold medals, and novelists to land seven-figure book deals. It also allows entrepreneurs like you and me to create our own economies with nothing more than a laptop and an internet connection....

You’ve listened to me bang on about email marketing for a few years now. You know how important it is (crucial, in fact). You know how much I prioritize email above all other marketing channels (because it’s the only one you own and control). You know my thoughts on list-building and engagement and staying in touch with your subscribers. And I know that for some of you, my email marketing method f...

This week, I’m joined by my friend, mentor, and one-time coach Kelly McCausey. You may recognize her as the creator of the Stretch Yourself Challenge, an annual event I credit with helping to launch a new era in my business. Kelly recently announced that she’s closing the doors on the content marketing side of her business so she can focus on full-time mindset coaching. To celebrate, s...

Six-Figure Systems has been closed to new members for a while. We’ve made some changes behind the scenes and introduced some new pricing tiers, and to celebrate our re-opening this week, I want to share a recent Q & A call with you. This call recording gives you a sneak peek into what we do inside Six-Figure Systems, and the support we offer to both new and more established business owners. Gi...

There’s something attractive about an online business, and it’s not just because you can work from home in your pajamas and fuzzy slippers. For many online entrepreneurs, anonymity is appealing. The thought—whether conscious or not—of hiding behind a laptop screen, never appearing in public, and even using a pseudonym in place of their real name makes introverted entrepreneurs feel safe. But is ke...

Imagine having the confidence to know your next blog post will hit the top of the search results. Or that your next sales page will convert well. Or that your ads campaign will bring in new subscribers. That’s what having well-maintained SOPs (standard operating procedures) can do for your business… so why do we not make them a priority? If you’ve ever said: I know I need better procedures, but I...

“It takes me forever to write a single email.” That’s what my friend Tish said when I casually mentioned I had written 10 emails that morning. It’s a complaint I hear from other online business owners, too. Content is such a critical part of doing business online, but yet we struggle to create it consistently. Sound familiar? In this episode of the Tiny Course Empire podcast, I have 17 tips I’ve l...

Feeling a little confused about the upcoming Google and Yahoo! email changes? Hearing lots of scary-sounding acronyms and wondering what the heck they even mean? You’re not alone. A few months ago both Google (Gmail) and Yahoo! announced that beginning in 2024, they will impose new requirements on senders of bulk email—in other words, email marketers like us—and if we want to keep our email messag...

One of my favorite podcasters, Mike Schmitz, has a rule for his kids: “Create more than you consume.” This is great advice not just for kids, but for all of us—maybe especially for online business owners. With a never-ending supply of webinars, courses, blog posts, TikToks, YouTube, books, and more, it’s easy to find yourself consuming more than you produce. That’s a dangerous path to follow when...

I’m talking a lot about content lately. It’s the first stop on the Online Business Roadmap , and for a good reason: It’s one of the pillars of your marketing plan. The only question is, what’s your content style? Will you be all business? Will you let your personality determine the direction you take? Or will you approach your content like a scientist, and follow the keyword data to find success?...

The first time I realized that not everyone could easily break big projects into easily finished, bite-sized tasks was when I implemented (what I assumed was) a simple worksheet for tracking and completing a large project. My client—the beneficiary of the project worksheet—was so impressed he shared it with the rest of the team, and asked me to create more workflows for other ongoing projects. Tha...

Congratulations on completing that brand-new course! Everything is ready to go—the videos are edited, the worksheets are beautiful, the transcripts are done, and you’re even proud of the sales page. There’s just one thing missing… testimonials. And that’s the sticky bit, isn’t it? I mean, how are you supposed to get testimonials when you haven’t sold anything yet? And how can you sell anything wit...

As online business owners, we’re no stranger to digital tools. We build websites, edit video, create graphics, develop courses, take payments, host video calls, and even sometimes use pen and paper to organize our thoughts. Always in the back of our minds lurks the question, is this the best tool? Is there something else out there I should be using instead? Is there something better? In this episo...

According to Side Hustle Nation, 39% of employed Americans have a side hustle? And that 30% of those people hope to turn their side hustle into a full-time gig? If you’re building a business along side a more traditional jobby-job, you’re in good company. It’s how lots of small business owners (including yours truly) got their start. That doesn’t mean juggling a business and a job is easy though....

Two and a half years ago I sat down to record the very first episode of this podcast. I’d been a podcast listener for years—right now I’m subscribed to about 25 different shows, and I listen to dozens more on an episode-by-episode basis. So when I decided it was time to really embrace content marketing as a tool in my business, podcasting was my first choice. I knew a few things going in. I knew I...

There are two ways to make more money in your business: You can either sell more products, or you can increase the price of the products you sell. In this episode, we’re going to talk about how simple improvements in your product offers can result in both more sales and in higher revenue. In many cases, you can even make these improvements without adding a bunch of extra work for yourself. H...

One of the biggest lessons I learned in business is that I don’t have to work harder to make more money. I just have to improve what’s already working. It’s all about turning up the dial in a few strategic places so that you can build your list faster, generate more opens, and get more eyes on your offers. Prefer a transcript? Here you go ! What you’ll learn in this episode: How...

Running an online business is a continuous cycle of improvements. That’s how small startups become thriving businesses. That’s what phase two of the online business roadmap series is all about. In this week’s episode of the Tiny Course Empire podcast, we’re going to focus on some small improvements you can make to your opt-in offer so that it begins to turn new subscribers into buyers. Prefer a tr...

Congratulations! If you’ve been following along with the last few episodes of this podcast, then you have made it through phase one building an online business from scratch. So far you’ve established a content publishing routine, created your first opt-in offer, build a newsletter habit, released a paid product, and written a sales page for it. Well done! With that foundation in place, now you’re...