Texas Counselors Creating Badass Businesses

90 Unlock Your Success with Online Course Creation Tools: A Guide for Therapists

• Dr. Kate Walker Ph.D., LPC/LMFT Supervisor • Season 3 • Episode 90

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Have you ever wondered how you can expand your reach and boost your income without adding more hours to your workweek? Join me, Dr. Kate Walker, as I recount my transformation from creating DVD training series to launching successful asynchronous online courses tailored for therapists and counselors. Discover the incredible benefits of digital content, from attracting new clients to establishing a lucrative revenue stream. We'll unpack essential concepts such as evergreen content and the crucial role of regular updates. Whether you're a practice owner eager to enhance your services or simply looking for practical insights into online course creation, this episode is packed with valuable takeaways that can elevate your practice to new heights.

In the second half of our session, we unlock the potential of online courses specifically for play therapy. Learn how these courses can not only generate more clients but also build a robust referral network, turning your waiting list into a source of enthusiastic advocates. From choosing a reliable learning management system (LMS) to managing user enrollments and media uploads, we'll guide you through the essentials of setting up an effective online course. Additionally, we'll discuss the importance of including quizzes and certificates for continuing education modules, helping you establish a trusted resource that promotes loyalty and word-of-mouth marketing. Tune in to discover how accessible and effective online courses can be a game-changer for your therapy practice!

Get your step by step guide to private practice. Because you are too important to lose to not knowing the rules, going broke, burning out, and giving up. #counselorsdontquit.

Speaker 1:

Hey, it's Dr Kate Walker. Welcome to your Texas Counselors Creating Badass Businesses slash, step it Up. Weekly group coaching. And today I'm excited because this is kind of my sweet spot. I love talking about course creation. So let me take a second and get people out of the waiting room and into the coaching session. All right, remember, if you're in the coaching session, you can leave your camera on or off. It's totally up to you, and I will save the end for questions. So hang in there and let's get to it.

Speaker 1:

So today's kind of special Again, this is kind of my sweet spot. I'm talking about creating online courses, and the specific purpose that I listed in the title was so that you could get more clients, but I would be remiss if I didn't also talk about how you can use them to create another stream of income. So at the end of this training today, if you're listening to this on a replay, there will be a download for you. So Step it Up, members, you will get the download. But if you're listening live, I won't be able to give you the download today. So I have to process everything, but there will be a today. So I have to process everything, but there will be a download. So I'm going to screen share in a little bit and what I'm going to take you through you listener, reader, watcher, whatever you're doing to consume this on the replay you will get to have the same download. So listen all the way to the end so you get that resource. So let me start off with my story.

Speaker 1:

So here's the cool thing about online courses. I don't know, I guess about 2015-ish, something like that, I decided I was going to make a DVD series. You remember DVDs right? So DVDs, you could pop them into the player and you could have your thing, your media, to consume right there. So I decided I was gonna create a DVD series based on my mistakes and how I fix them in private practice. So the first DVD, I believe, was called my Favorite Mistakes and I bought a green screen off of Amazon. I set it up in my kitchen. I was having and this is remember this was before COVID, so nobody knew how to do any of this webinar stuff, or at least I didn't. So suffice to say I created these three DVDs and I sold them at the Texas Counseling Association Conference, because I always have a booth at the TCA Conference and I sold quite a few and it was kind of cool and I was like, well, that was fun, that was neat, it was a great way to sort of do something different outside the therapy room. It did bring in some income and I think I have one if anybody's interested.

Speaker 1:

But here's the thing With the DVD. You know, I was faced with, you know, a year later going well, that's outdated. Well, that's outdated. Well, this is outdated, right, so we can do so much better now. So, for example, with the online training to become an LPC or an LMFT supervisor in Texas, when the law changed to allow that course to be taught completely online, we were all set. I mean, things were so much better regarding, you know, using things like a Google Drive or a Dropbox or something like that Didn't have to have DVDs in anybody's hand anymore. We could create this asynchronous material. Now, asynchronous just means I record it now, you watch it later. That's exactly what I'm doing now. So I've got some folks watching live and I've got you awesome folks who are listening or watching this on a replay and you're getting the material at a different time than when I recorded it, and that's ideally what an online course is going to do. It's going to allow you to create something at a particular time and you can sell it later.

Speaker 1:

Now, another term to think about is an evergreen content Evergreen, just like the tree. We want that to be content that doesn't have to be updated all the time. And if you think about what you know, your specialty, what it is that you're good at, and you're thinking about creating this online course, it doesn't have to be evergreen. It could be something that you update periodically or annually. I know, with our 40-hour training, I update that once a year just for the big overhaul, but we are constantly going in and having to create updates or we add language to the course that says, hey, on March 20th this rule changed and so you'll want to make sure you update this for your records. So having content out there on the interwebs means you have to be responsible for that content and keeping it updated.

Speaker 1:

So you know, a great example is like a YouTube channel. Right, I have a YouTube channel and I know a few months ago I decided to kind of go through it, like you go through an old closet, and I decided to kind of clean stuff out. Well, there was stuff in there. I was like, oh, set to private set to private. I mean it was old, it was outdated, there was really no way to go in and update it and you know it just kind of cringy. So when you create that online course, that's one of the things to keep in mind. So my story is basically yeah, I started with the DVD set and then when the law changed in Texas and the 40-hour training could go to a completely online format, then that took it to a whole, completely different level and now the majority of my income from my two businesses AchieveBalanceorg, my clinical practice, and Kate Walker Training the majority of my income actually comes from course sales, and mainly asynchronous course sales. Yes, I go out, I'll do the occasional workshop or do something live, but that asynchronous course income stream is pretty significant in my world, so let's talk about that as another stream of income.

Speaker 1:

Third, what I want to do for the second piece of this. I want to talk to you practice owners who want the online course, not necessarily as an additional stream of income, but you want to use it to get more clients and remember what we're tracking. This is part of our summer boot camp series. What I asked you to do in day one of our summer boot camp was to find things to count and if you don't remember what those are, remember one of them was contacts, returned contacts, booked appointments and appointments where somebody actually showed up. So that's what we're tracking, because, with an online course to get more clients, we're assuming that they've contacted you, or that may be a rough assumption. Maybe I shouldn't assume that you, or that may be a rough assumption, maybe I shouldn't assume that. But what we're really looking at is this idea of booked and attended appointments. Right, we want to see that number go up.

Speaker 1:

So let me give you an example. Let's say you've got a waiting list. Let's say you are the hot play therapist in town and everybody's trying to get in to see you and you know you've got a waiting list. Or you don't have a waiting list, but you know there are more people referring to you than you could possibly take on, right? So that means our two KPIs that I just mentioned. Remember KPI stands for key performance indicator the contact and returned contacts. That doesn't really matter, because you're already. You've got more business than you can handle.

Speaker 1:

So when we look at creating an online course, what you're doing is you're actually giving people in your we'll call it, your waiting room. You're giving them a way to interact with you before they ever meet you, so they want you. We know that they want to book with you and you just don't have room. Well, if you have a play therapy related course, let's say it's. You know how to use play therapy with your kiddo, how to get the most out of your play therapy session, the three steps to making sure that your kiddo can transition in and out of play therapy your guide to something like that. It doesn't have to be long. Well, that's a way for those folks who already know they want you to interact with you. And this is the wonderful ethical part of this they're actually getting helped. You have created a resource, whether you charge for it or not, that these folks who need your services and you're awesome, so they need you. It's a way for them to access what you teach. Now, it's not going to be a 10-hour DVD set. This is, I'm talking, just something that they can use until they can get in to see you, right, so it doesn't have to be long Now, if we're still looking at that. So that's one part. That's for the people who know you love you, like you on the waiting list.

Speaker 1:

If you're looking at those KPIs regarding contact and returned contact, well, when you create content like an online course, that helps you in the search engines, right. So you've created a course called how to Get the Most Out of Play Therapy. It's got your name, it's got your location, it's got the information. You post it on your website, but it's also a YouTube video. Youtube and Google are the same thing, so you've got information in YouTube about how to contact you, how to make an appointment. Now you've got this amazing resource that is searchable and it is going to increase your standing in the Google rankings.

Speaker 1:

And when I talk to you in a couple of weeks about exactly what to say to turn a potential client into an actual client or a raving fan, you have something to help people refer back to your website. Now you have become more than just a potential therapist. You are now a trusted community resource. So, for example, community resource. So, for example, if I have, okay, I've got a call from a person and I have returned that call. So KPI one got the call. Kpi two returned the call. Awesome, oh, but now I'm discovering maybe we're not a good fit, right, for whatever reason specialty, cost schedule, whatever reason, this person and this potential client and I are not going to be a great fit.

Speaker 1:

What your online course can do is it gives you a way to say hey, I know this isn't gonna work out with you and I, but I've got a great resource for you. Check out my website. It's called how to Use Play Therapy, or Getting the Most out of play therapy. I think you're really gonna like it. Well, guess what you've just done? You have just created a raving fan. This is somebody who's going to tell their colleagues, their friends, their family about you not about any other play therapist in town, not just about, oh, the merits of play therapy. They're going to talk about this amazing person that, even though they couldn't get in to see you, they trust you because you gave them this resource. They're going to talk to you, to everybody who needs help, right?

Speaker 1:

So your online course can absolutely create more clients, but it can also create people who will be your marketing team. They don't even know they're on your marketing team, right, but they are marketing you because they trust you, they like you and they feel comfortable to refer to you. And it's easy to refer to you. I mean, how much easier is it to like text. You know your friend who you know has maybe a troubled teen, and you text them this link and say, hey, this might be a great resource. It is so much easier for people to refer a resource than it is to refer a therapist, right? If you have a friend with a troubled teen, do you really want to text them and say, hey, you guys need therapy, right? Or would you rather text them and say, hey, here's a resource? So that's what this marketing team that you're creating and remember you're creating it because you are creating resources that people can access, that they trust and they can connect with you to get the resource. They can send people back to your website.

Speaker 1:

So, when you think about creating an online course to get more clients, remember number one we're talking about for the people who already like you and they're in your waiting room, they're on your waiting list. You're going to give them resources in an ethical way so that they can get the help they need while they're waiting. Or we're talking about people who have never met you, that they're going to find you by searching either for a topic or a location or something having to do with their kiddo, and they're going to find you by searching either for a topic or a location or something having to do with their kiddo, and they're going to get that resource. They're going to reach out to you, they're going to like, trust you, they're going to make an appointment or they're going to refer you to their community. So that's the get more clients piece. So let me talk about those of you who may be listening in because you want to create an online course that becomes a continuing education module for colleagues, that I want to go ahead and get the resource that. There we go and I'll put it over here. Remember, if you're listening to this or watching this on a replay, you will be able to get the download and follow along, but if you're watching me live, you're just going to have to bear with me. So, when you think about this idea of creating an online course with uh, if you're delivering the course, if you want that course to be consumed, thank you, thank you, and I was getting to the best part, so I will continue right where I left off and we will. For our step it up members who get the replay of everything, we will somehow use the magic of editing to get that all back together.

Speaker 1:

So, starting or having an online course, starting or having an online course, you need to think about LMS. It's a learning management system. So, when you are and there are tons of them and I know I used this a long time ago when I was working with my mentor, dr Judy Detrude, and we used it to create quizzes. So remember what I was talking about If you're delivering an online course to a client or a potential client for the purpose of building your case, of building your case for a quiz, if you are delivering courses as an additional stream of income to your counselor colleagues, yeah, you're going to need a certificate, but there's so much more than that.

Speaker 1:

So let me go through our list. What do we? This is your make your own here. What do we need in a L-M at learning management system? So, number one put that link right. It's called, you know, an actual learning manager. Number two hosting services. Now, I know, back in the day, I used I still have a WordPress website and I hosted my learning management system, on which I love posts of that content you created, right, you talking over the point, right, but cost, and we did digital fees, that's for hosting. There could be a subscription. I know for me I paid an annual subscription for that learning management tool I usually start with and other. I usually start with two things, and other things that I create are about that. So it could be apps out there, it could be word documents, it could be how to have plays. Thank you, I'm going to keep going.

Speaker 1:

You have to think of a show. That's a good metaphor for thinking about okay, where do I want to put this course? So you also want to look at how many users are allowed. Some of the learning management systems that you'll go research. They only allow a certain number of users and then they'll charge you more money. It's sort of like email your next 100 users. You want to think about everybody. See that your internet connection is unstable, apparently. You want to know enrollment options. So this is important. You want to make sure can users self-enroll, which means you can give someone a coupon and then they can access your course? Remember I talked about YouTube links and PDFs. So one of the things you want to check out is what media uploads are allowed, and these terms Tin Can and SCORM for a very specialized type of online course. So if you're using that, then you want to make sure that the learning management system that you grab is able to handle that type of media Deployment we talked about. Where is it hosted up? Here we were talking about cost for hosting, but if you are dead set on having this hosted on your website, then you're going to want to make sure that you note all of the you know where you're allowed to have your learning.

Speaker 1:

Really important the ease of use for administrator and the ease of use for the customer. I know for a while, when I first changed, if you had just logged in that morning and I was like, oh my gosh, this is terrible. Like people were sending us emails because, of course, the verification codes go to spam, right. So we found a way to unclick that box and that saved Podia for me, that box, and that saved Podia for me Users. I wouldn't have used it anymore.

Speaker 1:

Can we customize? If you are a course, you want it to look like your branding, right? You don't want your color scheme to be orange, but the only thing your learning management system shows the customer is purple, right? So can you customize it for the B2B, for your course to counselors? Options are there. Does it automatically give a certificate whether you pass it or not To take the quiz on their phone. So we had to get rid of that learning management system With a guidance lesson and a school district thinks that's amazing and they want all of their counselors to take your course. Do you have a way for that school district to give you a purchase order or to send you a check and you create vouchers for folks who kind of highlight it and hope Zoom doesn't quit. Kind of highlight it and hope Zoom doesn't quit.

Speaker 1:

Communication You're going to do amazingly well. And if you are constantly having to do the emails, because people want an email when they purchase, people want an email when they're supposed to get their certificate, they want an email if they have to reset their password, so all of those emails can't fall on you. You need to see what the online training to become an LPC or an LMFT supervisor about it all purchasing or accessing process see how easy it is to contact help or new clients. Or if you decide to go ahead and do the B2B the business to business and sell online courses to All right, I think I'm going to stop while I'm ahead. The internet seems to be working. This is Dr Kate Walker. Thank you so much for listening and I will see you guys next time. Keep doing great things.