Mar 1, 2021
We may be familiar with the term “flagship,” but unaware of what it means. According to Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary, a flagship is “the ship that carries the commander of a fleet or subdivision of a fleet and flies the commander’s flag.” It is also “the finest, largest, or most important one of a group of things…” Launching an online flagship course is very similar in its importance as the creator of a flagship course takes individuals on a unique journey of transformation, and the flagship course is the finest, largest or most important of the courses offered by the creator. Online courses are becoming more and more popular, and it’s projected that by 2023 they will grow to a $240 billion industry (Source: Sette), and creating a flagship course for our audience may be the best way for us to capitalize on this opportunity. In this episode, we’re going to learn about flagship courses, and why a flagship course may be the next step in your digital monetization.
What is a Flagship Course?
“A Flagship Course is not just any standard online course. It’s something you devote yourself to over time, continually promote and improve, and it becomes your statement education experience. It’s a leadership creation tool, as well as a money-making centerpiece for your online business” (Source: Yaro Starak).
These courses are meant to help others with a problem or focus on a main topic, as well as guide them through some kind of transformation. For example, a flagship course could be on “How to Get Out of Debt,” which takes an individual through a process. To be an effective flagship course, individuals must be able to see clear results at the end, which is one reason why people purchase these courses.
Sarah Cordiner, course creation specialist, encourages businesses to create a flagship course and apply their unique experiences in facilitating growth to their business: “One of the fastest and most impactful ways to get your knowledge out to a global marketplace, making a bigger impact and diversifying your income, is to download that knowledge lying dormant in your brain and turn it into a credibility-building, income-generating, impact-making online course.”
Flagship Course Examples
Here are a few success stories from people who have launched flagship courses:
Yaro Starak
Starak is a well-known entrepreneur and an incredible internet marketer who began his success by writing blogs. He has developed a flagship course to help bloggers grow and monetize their blogs.
Starak sold his first flagship course in 2007. It was a learning curve for him as he learned what not to do, and what to do. After restructuring his course, he learned to put deadlines on the course as well as charge more for it. These improvements lowered his cancellation rates by 20% and his revenue increased (Source: Flagship Course).
Starak has implemented steps that have launched not only his career but his courses. In doing so, he has been able to help many others achieve success. He helped a client, Tien Chiu, who launched a course on color weaving and generated over $200,000 in sales (Source: Flagship Course). He has also had successful clients launch courses in making shampoo, recovering from chronic acne, self-publishing a book, and helping trainers grow their practice.
Russell Brunson
Before Russell Brunson ever sold a book, he sold a flagship course, which I purchased, about funnel building for $997.
Bailey Richert
Bailey is an expert at infopreneurship products. She has developed a flagship course called Virtual Summit School, which I have taken, through which she teaches entrepreneurs step-by-step how to plan and execute a successful virtual summit.
Depesh Mandalia
Depesh is one of the world’s leading experts on Facebook advertising. He created a framework for Facebook Ads called the BPM method, as well as a flagship course to teach that framework.
Monetization from a Flagship Course
Russell Brunson has advised members of his premier Inner Circle program to start their monetization efforts by focusing on a $997 flagship course. Yaro Starak has also recommended pricing a Flagship Course at that same price point. Those sound like two credible sources for me on price point. Yaro started the pricing of his Flagship Course at about $500 and then later doubled the price. He found that it gave him room to pay affiliates enough money to interest them in helping market the course. However, if we choose to price our Flagship Course at nearly $1,000, then it is up to us to be sure we are providing a lot more value than $1,000 in the course. We want to be sure to exceed the customer expectations and not burn the relationship by providing insufficient value.
Some experts advise that if we start our monetization efforts with a product with a mid-tier price point, such as the $1,000 range, it can help our ventures to reach profitability much faster. Then, once we achieve success with a product in this range, we can launch another product at a lower or higher price point.
$1,000 is definitely not the ceiling we can charge for flagship courses. As our credibility and content quality grow, the price can grow as well. It is not abnormal for a flagship product to be priced at $10,000 or more.
Marketing a Flagship Course Requires Credibility
Because flagship courses are often mid-priced products, they are often harder to sell to people who do not know us and trust us yet. In other words, it usually takes some credibility to sell a flagship course. This credibility is often achieved by regularly publishing high-quality blogs, podcasts, or videos and building a following of active followers. Or, the credibility may be achieved through a webinar, or through selling a lower-cost course or challenge course. These lower-cost courses require less credibility to sell. Then, if they receive much more value from the course than what they paid, they will have a much higher likelihood of buying a more-expensive flagship course.
The credibility needed to sell a flagship course can also be achieved through influencer marketing. We can identify influencers who our target audience follows, and we can establish an affiliate marketing relationship with affiliates so we pay them a commission for each course they sell. Often, course creators pay publishers 30%-50% for each course they sell to their followers. This works because the influencer is already credible to many of their followers, and when the influencer markets our products, some of the credibility can flow through to our product.
8 Steps to Create a Successful Flagship Course
Here are 8 steps to create a successful flagship course.
Benefits of a Flagship Course: Individuals & Businesses
Here are some of the benefits of a flagship course for both businesses and individuals:
Key Takeaways
Here are some of my key takeaways from this episode:
Challenge
If we desire monetization we have never before achieved, we must leverage strategies we have never before implemented. I challenge each of us to pick one thing that resonated with us from today’s episode and implement it to help achieve our monetization goals.
Share Your Story
What great flagship courses have you taken and loved? Please join our private Monetization Nation Facebook group and share your insights with other digital monetizers.
Read at: https://www.monetizationnation.com/25-8-steps-to-create-a-successful-flagship-course/