#203: Why Certification Courses Are Awesome

Welcome back to another edition of the Course Creation Incubator podcast. I’m your host, Gina Onativia, here to help you get your course out to market, to help you build your audience, whatever lights you up. I’m here for it to help you build up the online based business of your dreams. And today, we’re talking about something that’s on fire on the course creation world, and that’s certification courses.

So if you’ve ever thought about taking your expertise and teaching it to others, to then share it with their own students or clients or customers. Today’s episode is for you. We’re going to talk through why certification courses are so on trend right now. What to consider if they’re right for you. And then a few next steps to get you going in terms of your own certification course.

And this episode is brought to you by our done for you course creation. We do create certification courses along with starter courses, signature live cohorts, whatever course you’re looking for. We build it if you want the leverage of a proven strategist and our awesome team. Go do course Creation bootcamp slash course. To book a call. We’d love to chat you up in terms of building out your certification course or whatever course you have in mind.

Before we dive into the heart of this episode, I want to talk about something that I know is prevalent semi-pro in the course creation world, and that’s this idea of imposter syndrome. Who am I to teach a course? I don’t have a degree in this? Or who am I to say I’m an expert and I’ve said it multiple times that if you get results, if you have a system of repeatable results, you are the expert.

You deserve to be here, especially when it comes to certification courses, by the way. But I know sometimes it might feel like you’re an imposter. And I want you to know if you’re listening to this podcast, you’re in the right place. And I felt a little bit of imposter syndrome this morning. I just ran my second 10-K for the year and I have not been training.

If you listen to the episode last week where I debriefed our successful launch, I say our I mean, Megan O’Leary and I, you would have learned that I did not take care of myself and I got sick. So I’ve been sick. And after the Second Mile, I was thinking to myself, is there a golf cart that will come get me because I can’t finish this race?

It’s a hot chocolate run. They have them all over the country and they’re trying to hand me out pieces of chocolate at the aid station. And I’m about to lose my mind because there’s so many darn hills on this course. So I’m thinking, I’m not going to make it. I’m just. I’m just not. I shouldn’t be here. I don’t deserve to be here.

I’m not a real runner. Somebody come get me in a golf cart. And then I see the 12 minute piece or the runner. So as part of this run, it’s such a big run. There’s 8000 runners. They have people who are in neon yellow pacing you. So if you are in the eight minute mile group, you run with that pace runner.

So I started out with the 12 minute mile group closing. All right. If I can do a 12 minute mile, I can finish this under one hour in 15 minutes, a tank, six miles. I would feel pretty darn good about myself. So the neon yellow 12 minute lady is coming up over my shoulder because I have to walk up this hill.

And I’m like, No, no, no, I am not going to miss the 12 minute mile. And and then I end up running and I’m thinking to myself, this woman will not pass me because I have promised myself that I will make this milestone, that I will achieve this, that I will get to 12 minute miles even if I have to walk the hills.

And sure enough, I finish at one hour and 11 minutes, a little over six miles. And I felt great for doing it because, you know, I wanted to get out of this race two miles in. So here I was finishing and Harris thinking that Pacer really did it for me. She even know she was pushing me. But she was.

And I think we need that for our business sometimes where we say this is the milestone that I agree to. So I’m going to launch my course in 90 days. It might not be perfect. I might have to get rid of one of my bonuses, but that’s okay because I’m going to hit that milestone or I’ve decided I’m going to launch a podcast in the next 60 days, and instead of going four times a month, I’m going to go twice a month.

Okay, that’s fine. Right? So my compromise was I’m going to walk the hills and I’m going to run everything else so I can make my milestones. So what are those milestones for you? So you can get to the finish line, whether it’s your course or with content or a live cohort, whatever it is, I want you to have the target in mind, have your championship set, and then think about who is pacing you in terms of milestones or maybe you have your own pace or checking in on you.

Wouldn’t that be cool? And maybe here she’s wearing some neon yellow socks and a tank top. So whatever that looks like for you, I want to encourage you because I was so pumped after finishing this 10-K when I thought I wasn’t going to make it. All right, let’s dive into certification courses and why they’re so great, why they might be a fit for you and how to get started and all kinds of other criteria and stuff that I want to cover with you guys.

Let’s let’s dig in. Maybe you’ve been thinking about creating a certification course, but you weren’t sure if it was the right fit. Or maybe you’ve noticed a shift in your industry where certifications are becoming a must have. If that’s the case, this is the episode for you. I’m going to break down one. Why Certification courses are booming right now and why they might be the smartest course move you can make to how they position you as the go to authority in your niche.

Three The key differences between a typical online course and a certification course and for how to know if creating one is right for you and what it takes to make it successful. Now, if you’re already thinking, Gina, this sounds exactly what I should be doing. You’re in the right place. By the way, this episode is brought to you by our Done for You services.

We are in the midst of two certification builds right now. We would love to support you and give you big time leverage in terms of building out your certification and marketing it as well. If you’re interested in learning more, go to course Creation Boutique Ecom slash certificate and a link to it in the show notes as well. First and foremost, before we go any further, let’s define a certification course, which is a structured learning program designed to teach some skills or knowledge or competencies in a certain subject or field, with the outcome being a certificate of completion or achievement and certification courses are usually more focused, practical and outcome driven because you are teaching someone

to do your expertise. So you want to make sure that they can go back to their audience, their clients, their students, and teach what you have to offer in a way that does right by you, a way that is worthy of you and your content. And that’s where certification courses are different. So why are they having a moment?

Well, first, let’s talk about credibility and authority. A cert course doesn’t just teach. It provides recognition. And folks love having proof that they’ve mastered a skill, especially in industries where certifications can boost credibility, help secure you a certain role, or open doors to other opportunities. And from a business perspective, a course gives you next level authority. Instead of just offering an online program, you’re actually certifying people in your method, your approach, your expertise, which means your learning, your system and carrying your brand forward.

Also, certification courses tend to be more profitable and create long term engagement. Unlike a one and done course, certifications often lead to repeat business ongoing memberships and can help build deeper relationships. Lastly, what I love about CERT courses is that you can oftentimes go back to your best clients and sell to them. All right. So what’s the difference between a cert and a standard course?

And when I say a standard course, I mean a signature course self-paced, a starter course that we talk about a lot of times on this podcast. Well, the biggest difference is outcome and accreditation. So a standard course, standard online course teaches people a skill or process. Typically, there’s no official validation of their expertise. A certification course, on the other hand, has an assessment component quizzes, evaluations, final projects, provides an official certification or credential, which you can then add to resume is bios.

LinkedIn includes ongoing support, mentoring or community engagement. Because of these added elements or courses, again, create higher price points and long term loyalty. Okay, let’s get to the nuts and bolts of this episode. How do you know if a certification course is right for you? Well, this is the big one. You have a proven process framework like system that gets repeatable results.

And when you create a course that’s a lot of time, the first thing that I ask people, do you have a system, a repeatable system for results? So that to me is a baseline. But on top of that is people saying to you, I want to go out and teach this to someone else. They want to bring it to their people.

So to me, it’s that one two punch. It’s not enough just to have that proven process or framework. So if you have a process or a framework and you are not teaching it on a regular basis, I encourage you to put out a standard course signature. I encourage you to put out start a course, a live cohort. Some of the other examples of courses that we’ve talked about on this podcast.

You might not be quite ready for a certification. Signs that you’re ready is that you’ve been teaching your framework for years and you have a repeatable system for results. So one of my clients has been teaching a class once a month for, Gosh, I don’t even know how long I think it’s been years. And at the end of each class, inevitably someone comes up to him and says, Hey, Wayne, can I take your framework and teach it to my patients?

 

When are you going to allow me to do that? When are you going to allow me to get certified? So ding, ding, ding. That’s a great opportunity. And he’s in the right place to then do a certification. So if you have that one two punch the framework plus want to teach others what you do, certification might be right for you.

Another piece of criteria that you might want to consider is that you want to scale beyond a single course sale and create a system of certified professionals under your brand. So you want to go beyond just having students that learn your skill set, but then have more like facilitators going out on your behalf and teaching. And by the way, another great thing about certifications is there are a lot of different opportunities to make money.

So it’s not just about paying for your certification, paying for your course. There’s a licensing fee that you can charge each year in order to be licensed, continue to be licensed under your certification. You can have affiliates that go out and sell your other courses or products or events, and you can have commissions based on what they’re selling on your behalf.

There’s a lot of different opportunities there. Here’s a great example of a wellness industry. I had Kelly Hill Cove, who was on the podcast, gosh, couple of years ago, and Kelly had a yoga for stress course for nurses that she ended up getting certified. She ended up getting that for credentials for nurses. So that was a great example because nurses are always doing continuous education, are always interested in that.

My client, who is going to teach doctors, can take chiropractors. That’s a wellness area that people are always interested in. Certification. So if you checked multiple boxes of the criteria that I went through, a cert course might be your next big move. So how do you get started if you’re thinking about a course? Well, first, define the outcome.

What will folks do with your certification? How will it add credibility? What’s your framework around it? So you got to have your course outline, but you also want to think about assessments and practical evaluations. You also want to think about your ongoing support. Many successful CERT programs offer a membership or networking opportunities. This keeps engagement high and increases long term revenue.

You’re going to think about what you’re pricing, right? What are your bonuses? What is your credential worth, what your licensing fee be, and then how are you going to market with authority, with testimonials and case studies, and how are you going to position your certification as an industry must have? Now, this all sounds like a lot to you.

This is what we take care of when we do are done for you. We talk through all of those pieces that I just covered in terms of your certification course. So think about applying. You can book a call on our website. If you go to course Creation bootcamp slash course, check out more. Happy to have a conversation with you about building and marketing your CERT class.

Now, I know certification could be a game changer. I’ve seen it for clients if they are built and marketed the right way. So if you think about launching one, now might be a great time. Hopefully this has been helpful. Please make sure you subscribe so you don’t miss one single episode and I’ll see you next week. Until next time, go create, be you and be brilliant and get it done.