If you’re trying to decide between launching an online course or starting a membership, this episode will save you a lot of time and potentially a lot of frustration because this isn’t really a formatting decision. It’s a promise decision.

In this episode of The ART of Online Course Creation, Shannon Boyer breaks down the real difference between a course and a membership in a way most creators never consider.

You’ll learn a practical framework to choose the right model based on three essential factors.

Along the way, Shannon shares a revealing client story that highlights the hidden workload behind “predictable” revenue, and why the best business model is the one that fits your real life, not your aspirational one.

You’ll also get a simple, powerful decision test you can complete in ten minutes. It cuts through trends and helps you build the right offer with confidence.

If you want to create an offer that delivers real results, attracts the right buyers, and supports your long-term capacity as a creator, press play.

At the end, Shannon also shares details about her membership, the Build Lab, which is designed for course creators who don’t just need information, but ongoing implementation support to keep moving all the way to the finish line.

Get started on your own course creation journey or learn how to make your existing course even better at The "Your Best Course" Build Lab, my interactive and supportive online community.

To get started creating your own online course, check out my new freebie that will take you through the steps of choosing a topic that will be profitable for YOU.

To be in the know about new offerings and opportunities, make sure you sign up for my newsletter.

If you’ve ever thought, “I should probably be on Pinterest,” and then immediately felt overwhelmed by the visuals, the time commitment, or the sheer number of pins already out there, this episode is for you.

In this conversation, I’m joined by Tim Adam, founder of Pinterest Skool, who has built a business around helping creators use Pinterest strategically, without treating it like another full-time social channel.

Together, we unpack what makes Pinterest different (and why that difference matters for course creators), how to think about pins when you don’t have an “obviously visual” business, and what it actually takes to build consistent traffic that doesn’t disappear 24 hours later.

This isn’t a “post more” pep talk. It’s a practical look at how Pinterest works as a search engine, and how online educators can use it to funnel the right people into their ecosystem.

In This Episode, You’ll Hear About

• Why Pinterest behaves more like a search engine than a traditional social media platform—and how that changes your strategy
• The real role of keywords on Pinterest (and why it’s the piece most people skip)
• Whether you “missed the boat” if you weren’t an early adopter, and what the data suggests now
• What course creators can pin when their business doesn’t feel visual
• The difference between creating fresh pins vs. constantly needing fresh links
• How Pinterest boards support discoverability and help Pinterest understand what your content is about
• What a realistic timeline can look like for traffic, and what to watch for so you know you’re on the right track
• How to think about using Pinterest within a larger funnel (especially when your paid offer is higher-ticket)
• A quick but important note on affiliate links and disclosures on Pinterest

About Tim Adam

Tim Adam is the founder of Pinterest Skool and has been using Pinterest since its earliest days. He began as a full-time Etsy seller, then started teaching other creators how to grow visibility and traffic through Pinterest. He’s known for practical, clear teaching and for helping people build momentum without relying on followers or daily content performance.

Connect with Tim

Tim’s best starting point is his free community, Pinterest Skool.

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Subscribe to The ART of Online Course Creation and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform. Reviews help more purpose-driven entrepreneurs find the show and build courses they’re proud to deliver.

Get started on your own course creation journey or learn how to make your existing course even better at The "Your Best Course" Build Lab, my interactive and supportive online community.

To get started creating your own online course, check out my new freebie that will take you through the steps of choosing a topic that will be profitable for YOU.

To be in the know about new offerings and opportunities, make sure you sign up for my newsletter.

This podcast is produced, mixed, and edited by Cardinal Studio. For more
information about how to start your own podcast, please visit www.cardinalstudio.co
or e-mail mike@cardinalstudio.co

If your current audience-building plan still starts with “I’ll just open a free Facebook group,” this episode offers a thoughtful pause and a practical alternative.

Shannon Boyer breaks down why the free Facebook group model has lost much of its effectiveness, what’s shifted in the online landscape, and why more course creators are moving toward an ecosystem-based approach that reduces friction for both you and your students. You’ll also hear why Shannon—who resisted Skool for a long time—changed her mind after experiencing it from the student side, and how that experience reshaped how she thinks about lead magnets, community, and course delivery.

Rather than treating “community” as a separate add-on you have to constantly coax people into, this conversation explores a model where the community is the front door—and the course content lives right beside it.

In this conversation, you’ll hear Shannon unpack:

• What changed with Facebook groups, and why “dead group” fatigue is becoming the norm
• The hidden cost of building on rented land, especially when your business relies on consistent visibility and engagement
• Why the biggest issue is not reach, but friction (and how friction quietly kills follow-through)
• How Skool flips the traditional course platform model by making community the main dashboard and coursework the adjacent layer
• The freemium concept as a cleaner “front door” into paid programs, without pulling people across multiple platforms
• The specific features that make Skool feel more like a business hub than a content warehouse (including events, reminders, native video, and member-to-member interaction)
• The tradeoffs worth knowing before you switch platforms, including the limitations that may matter depending on how you sell

The Build Lab (Skool community)
Shannon’s community for course creators who want to build high-quality, high-impact courses that deliver real results.

You can start for $12/year, which includes:

• Access to the Validate Your Best Course mini-course
• A full year inside the Build Lab community
• The option to upgrade later if you want deeper support

Skool free trial + affiliate link
If you want to explore Skool for your own offers, you can access a 14-day free trial here.

If you’ve been questioning where to host your course, how to build community without burning yourself out, or how to replace the old free Facebook group strategy with something more sustainable, this episode will give you a clearer framework for what to do next.

Get started on your own course creation journey or learn how to make your existing course even better at The "Your Best Course" Build Lab, my interactive and supportive online community.

To get started creating your own online course, check out my new freebie that will take you through the steps of choosing a topic that will be profitable for YOU.

To be in the know about new offerings and opportunities, make sure you sign up for my newsletter.

This podcast is produced, mixed, and edited by Cardinal Studio. For more
information about how to start your own podcast, please visit www.cardinalstudio.co
or e-mail mike@cardinalstudio.co

You can feel it when someone’s ready for their next chapter.

In this coaching-style episode, I’m joined by Kathy Kwon, a brand + website designer who helps creativity-driven entrepreneurs stand out authentically through strategic branding and website design. Kathy’s work is rooted in visual storytelling, and after years of delivering high-touch, one-on-one services, she’s ready to explore what it could look like to bring her expertise into the world of online courses.

But she’s at a crossroads that will feel very familiar if you’ve ever thought, “I want to create a course… I just don’t know which direction to commit to.”

Kathy is weighing two strong ideas:

• a practical, foundation-building course that would give website designers stronger visual branding skills
• a more unconventional, expressive course that helps creative entrepreneurs use design to get seen and noticed

And underneath both ideas is the real question most course creators don’t ask clearly enough:

Which one solves a problem people will actually pay to solve—and how do you find that out without building the whole course first?

In this conversation, we talk about what to do when you’re caught between “what would sell” and “what would be fun to teach,” why you shouldn’t build in isolation, and how to start gathering real feedback without needing your course to be “perfect” yet.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• The hidden difference between a course idea that’s interesting vs. one that’s painful enough to create demand
• Why identifying a “gap” in someone’s skill set isn’t the same as confirming they’ll invest time and money to close it
• How to approach student conversations so you get honest insight (without pitching your idea)
• Why building your audience and building your course need to happen at the same time
• A smart progression for new course creators: validate → create something small → build proof → expand

Mentioned in the episode

Build Lab — my community for course creators who want to actually get their course finished and done right. Inside, you’ll get support, feedback, accountability, live calls, monthly challenges, and exclusive tools (including custom GPTs), plus access to the first module of my signature course.

Connect with Kathy

Kathy’s free resource: “5 Essential Pages a Course Creator Needs on Their Website” (checklist)
Website: Bright Matters Studio
Instagram: @brightmattersstudio

Want coaching on the podcast?
If you want to be featured on a future coaching episode, fill out the form here: www.shannonlboyer.com/podcast

Get started on your own course creation journey or learn how to make your existing course even better at The "Your Best Course" Build Lab, my interactive and supportive online community.

To get started creating your own online course, check out my new freebie that will take you through the steps of choosing a topic that will be profitable for YOU.

To be in the know about new offerings and opportunities, make sure you sign up for my newsletter.

This podcast is produced, mixed, and edited by Cardinal Studio. For more
information about how to start your own podcast, please visit www.cardinalstudio.co
or e-mail mike@cardinalstudio.co

If you’ve ever tried to validate a course idea and ended up feeling less confident than when you started—because you found someone already teaching something similar—this episode will feel like a deep exhale.

In this solo episode of The Art of Online Course Creation, Shannon Boyer breaks down what’s actually happening when you see competitors in your space… and why “it already exists” is often one of the clearest signs your course idea is worth pursuing.

You’ll learn how to do market analysis without spiraling, how to interpret “competition” as proof of concept (not a stop sign), and how to differentiate your course in a way that’s authentic, strategic, and built around the value you uniquely deliver.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

• What it really means when you discover someone else already teaching your topic
• Why audiences don’t choose courses based on topics alone (and what they do choose based on)
• The mindset shift that turns “I’m too late” into a clearer positioning strategy
• A behind-the-scenes look at how Shannon differentiated herself from a major course-creation name with massive visibility
• The validation mistake that leads many creators to abandon great ideas too early
• Why quizzes that “confirm” your idea is profitable should raise immediate red flags
• The two big reasons outsourcing market research to AI can backfire—and how to use AI in a supportive role instead

Ready to validate your course idea the right way?

If you want step-by-step guidance to validate your course topic without guesswork, Shannon invites you to check out her mini-course:

Validate Your Best Course Idea — a $12 mini-course that includes a full year of access to her Skool community.

Inside, you’ll walk through a complete market analysis process (what to look for, where to look, how to interpret what you find) and learn how to use tools like ChatGPT to support your research—without replacing your expertise.

Get started on your own course creation journey or learn how to make your existing course even better at The "Your Best Course" Build Lab, my interactive and supportive online community.

To get started creating your own online course, check out my new freebie that will take you through the steps of choosing a topic that will be profitable for YOU.

To be in the know about new offerings and opportunities, make sure you sign up for my newsletter.

This podcast is produced, mixed, and edited by Cardinal Studio. For more
information about how to start your own podcast, please visit www.cardinalstudio.co
or e-mail mike@cardinalstudio.co

A lot of online business advice says the same thing: keep your course short, give people the steps, cut everything else. But what happens when “quick and dirty” stops your students from actually using what they paid for?

In this episode of The ART of Online Course Creation, Shannon pulls apart the myth that faster automatically means better. Drawing on her experience inside a Facebook Ads course that delivered tidy, step-by-step instructions—but left her too uncertain to hit publish—she explores the trust gap that appears when courses skip the “why” and only teach the “how.”

Shannon makes a clear distinction between offers that promise a small, focused win and those that are meant to be truly transformational. One can be short and contained; the other needs depth, structure, and support. Cutting fluff is one thing. Cutting foundations is something else entirely.

Inside the episode, she shares:

• How “do this, do that” teaching creates students who can follow scripts, but can’t make confident decisions
• Why examples, explanation, and transferable skills are non-negotiable if you want your course to stand on its own
• The key difference between a resource vault and a designed learning experience that changes how someone thinks and acts

Shannon also walks you through a set of reflection questions to help you see whether your own course is delivering a true transformation—or just a neatly organized to-do list. (You can grab a copy of those questions as a checklist in the show notes.)

If you’ve ever worried that adding depth will overwhelm your students, or you’ve tried to turn a signature promise into a “quick and dirty” offer, this episode will give you a more honest way to decide what actually belongs in your course.

Download the self-assessment checklist HERE.

Get started on your own course creation journey or learn how to make your existing course even better at The "Your Best Course" Build Lab, my interactive and supportive online community.

To get started creating your own online course, check out my new freebie that will take you through the steps of choosing a topic that will be profitable for YOU.

To be in the know about new offerings and opportunities, make sure you sign up for my newsletter.

This podcast is produced, mixed, and edited by Cardinal Studio. For more
information about how to start your own podcast, please visit www.cardinalstudio.co
or e-mail mike@cardinalstudio.co

Stuck on “Which platform should I use?” Melissa Kara shares a practical, values-aligned way to choose, ship, and iterate without getting lost in tech or design.

You’ll learn:

• A simple order of operations so platform choice doesn’t delay your launch
• How to keep momentum when you don’t have an audience (yet)
• What makes a sales page convert (templates, flow, and micro-decisions)
• Safe ways to customize without breaking your page

About our guest:
Melissa Kara is the founder of The Kara Collections, a studio creating plug-and-play templates with built-in copy prompts for course creators.

The Kara Collections supplies plug-and-play templates with copy prompts and beautiful, high-converting designs — all at affordable prices and easy enough for anyone to use. Our mission is to make it simple for every business owner to choose the right platform and create stunning pages that convert, without the stress or tech overwhelm.

Links & resources:

• The Kara Collections (templates)
• Work with Melissa

If tech is stalling your launch, pick a usable platform, apply a proven template, publish your first lesson, then iterate.

Please Note that Shannon Boyer no longer uses this platform and now hosts everything on Skool.

Get started on your own course creation journey or learn how to make your existing course even better at The "Your Best Course" Build Lab, my interactive and supportive online community.

To get started creating your own online course, check out my new freebie that will take you through the steps of choosing a topic that will be profitable for YOU.

To be in the know about new offerings and opportunities, make sure you sign up for my newsletter.

This podcast is produced, mixed, and edited by Cardinal Studio. For more
information about how to start your own podcast, please visit www.cardinalstudio.co
or e-mail mike@cardinalstudio.co

You’ve got a course. You’ve got testimonials. But no one’s seeing it.

If you’ve ever felt like your incredible offer is just sitting in a corner of the internet gathering dust, this episode is for you. I’m joined by Zach Spuckler, marketing strategist and host of Not Your Average Online Marketing Podcast, who pulls back the curtain on what actually works when it comes to running Meta ads to build your audience and grow your course-based business.

Zach brings 10+ years of experience and breaks down the difference between ads that waste money and ads that grow an email list of the right people - without needing a $10K funnel or a million views.

We get into the realistic starting budgets, how to know if your leads are quality, when to DIY and when to hire, and why the long game is your best bet.

🔍 In this episode:

• Why boosting a post is not the same as running an ad, and what to do instead
• The three types of ads (and why course creators should start with lead gen)
• How to tell if your ad leads are actually worth the money
• A behind-the-scenes look at real numbers: ad spend, list size, conversion windows
• When it’s too early to hire an agency, and what to know before you do
• Why email lists beat social media algorithms when it comes to selling your course
• What not to believe about $37 funnels and the myth of passive income

📌 Mentioned in the episode:

• Zach’s Bootcamp – A 5-day experience for creating your first Meta ad campaign
• Not Your Average Online Marketing Podcast – Zach’s podcast, including his take on the passive income myth
• The Build Lab – Shannon’s community for course creators who want to build high-quality, high-impact programs
• Zach Spuckler on Instagram
• Zach's website - Heart Soul Hustle

🎧 Listen now if you’re:

• Wondering whether ads are worth it (especially with a small list or tight budget)
• Tired of being invisible online and want to build a consistent audience
• Thinking about hiring help but aren’t sure if you’re ready
• Curious about how real course creators use ads to grow their email list and community

Your course deserves to be seen. This episode will help you get it in front of the people who need it without wasting your time or money.

➡️ Subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tag @shannonlboyer with your biggest takeaway!

Get started on your own course creation journey or learn how to make your existing course even better at The "Your Best Course" Build Lab, my interactive and supportive online community.

To get started creating your own online course, check out my new freebie that will take you through the steps of choosing a topic that will be profitable for YOU.

To be in the know about new offerings and opportunities, make sure you sign up for my newsletter.

This podcast is produced, mixed, and edited by Cardinal Studio. For more
information about how to start your own podcast, please visit www.cardinalstudio.co
or e-mail mike@cardinalstudio.co