I am (or was) a course junkie and spent way too much on courses over the years. And some courses I never even finished. I always thought I needed to learn more, but in hindsight, it kept me from taking action. I wasted money yes - but some of the courses I am very glad I spent money on. Marie Forleo's Bschool was wonderful. Also Amy Porterfield's courses are amazing. I would recommend Justin Welch courses as well - and Ship 30 for 30 I highly recommend for new writers. I have stopped buying courses. When a new one sparks my interest, I spend weeks contemplating it and I go through my library of courses I own already to see if the topics are already covered there. They usually are. Now is the time to take action on what I have learned. Don't be like me and take every course... be thoughtful and take some time to consider it before shelling out the cash.
They are all good courses, refined through the interaction with thousands of students.
But you are right, without action they're worthless. And without putting the lessons into practice, you can't even say if they're just "interesting info" or actionable advice.
I appreciate your thoughts on courses wasting time and money. I also wasted $2000 last year on 2 courses. The positive that I found was that I needed the structure to get busy writing on a more consistent basis. I also love the support of a community as most of these courses provide a private facebook group to post and read articles. That social group usually ends when the course wraps up.
The negative that I found with both of the courses I took was that pre recorded lessons fell short for me. I also learned that some community group zoom calls are usually dominated by one or two people who really like the sound of their own voices.
What I have discovered is that every "free masterclass" offers good basic writing nuggets that are helpful reminders for me to get back to writing with more structure.
It also ends in a sales pitch that you can buy at a steep discount if you sign up now.
Every course - free or paid, is an opportunity to take one good idea and file it in my writing toolkit. Then I feel better about wasting my time and money.
This happens for books too. You read for 6 hours and bring home 1 or 2 key ideas. But sometimes they are highly impactful. At least books don't cost $1000! 😂
I agree with your thoughts. I’ve fallen for some of these types of courses, but after 2-3, I realized they’re not for me. We all have our own path/struggles. It’s not one size fits all. Thanks for sharing!
This is so true. Timing and luck are something most people don’t talk about in their success. You need your own thing. Create your own niche, as it were. But that won’t sell courses, eh. I got lucky when I started my copywriting business and a few others because I had lucky timing ( early to FB ads, $0.02 cent clicks)… I could claim to be some kind of FB ad expert and run a course on it, but the tactic has already sailed.
Alberto, thank you for sharing your experience. I am very picky with paid courses, paid no more than 5 times in my life, however I do consume loads of free stuff every day. Yes, sometimes courses are useful, but honestly, no miracles yet. All the hard struggle I have put myself through without t he help of any course turned out to be the most meaningful and valuable thing in my life. The greatest gift you can receive is the one you can give yourself. Cheers.
This is quite a challenge indeed :D I do see this path through sharing as much valuable info for free as long as possible to gain visibility. Later a paid option can be introduced. How about you?
Many courses and also many Substack authors offer it.
It may be a Discord server, a Circle community, a Telegram group where you add the paid subscribers. There they can help each other, get your help, maybe hop on group calls, and so on...
I am also in Italy! I have been living in Rome for the past two years.
Glass half empty - I spent (aka. wasted) $800 early on in my writing career on big promises.
Glass half full - it made me realize very quickly how I didn't want to write.
I was also able to "find" a very expensive course offered by a very well known writing guru that I browsed through. I would have also wasted my money there.
These two experiences combined have saved me a lot of additional $$$ I'd have spent on similar deliverings that promise similar outcomes. For me, the two best true writers out there that offer free advice on finding your writing legs are Walter Rhein and Lawrence Yeo. There's a few terrific interviews with Lawrence on Youtube.
I recently was looking into creating my own course (on how to start an online business using the four essential skills, and cutting through the “noise”) 😉… but I figured I’d read up on instructional design, first, to be sure my course could actually benefit others.
I came across a book called “Course Design Formula” by Rebecca Frost Cuevas. And, while the book itself was a bit redundant, I did learn a ton! And I also realized why so many courses are given poor reviews… because, like you said, Alberto, the creators are merely saying, “Here’s what worked to help me build MY thing…”. They’re not teaching you ways to make that info fit YOUR unique context.
Speaking of which, the book, “Break the Wheel” by Jay Acunzo (https://amzn.to/4dQzSSx ) does a fantastic job of encouraging you to “find what works for you and your context”!
I can see why u didn't bite when I said what I did about guru content in an earlier conversation.
I would hope that in their more expensive courses they'd take the time to highlight their assumptions, your current situation and the mindset to move from A to B. Either, they don't realize their assumptions or they're more concerned about making a sale than whether the customer gets anything out of it.
I have been talking for several days with some Hispanic substakers, an Englishman and a Brazilian if it is better to write in English, or in both. The English one tells me that his language is saturated. And the Latinos are also writing in English. I write in Notes 50%, but in my publications in Substack 90% in Spanish. The economy of Hispanic countries is not good either. Maybe the U.S. Hispanic economy is good, but maybe they prefer to read in English, I don't know. What do you think in the case of Spanish?
"There are an estimated 474.7 million native Spanish speakers and about 100 million second and foreign language speakers around the world as of 2022, totaling 574 million Hispanophones in total." - Wikipedia
So, there's a far larger market.
But money limitations can prevent many tactics from working. Also, Italians are far less sophisticated when it comes, for example, to technology and content creation. So many topics just aren't on their radar.
As regards saturation, everything is saturated. It's just not an argument. How many people amassed hundreds of paid subscribers here on Substack starting from zero in English?
I wouldn't write in two languages on the same profile, in any case. Algorithms don't love it.
What I have found is when there is a great YouTube or Skillshare video - I take loads of notes - try things out - ask someone for a bit of help - always yields a better outcome (for me) than any self-guided course and obvs much less expensive.
Or booking a 1-1 session. Pricey but money better spent.
As a beginner, it's hard to adapt advice to your case. But too many people remain stuck in the "I need a course" mindset and don't allow themselves to develop that awareness.
I am (or was) a course junkie and spent way too much on courses over the years. And some courses I never even finished. I always thought I needed to learn more, but in hindsight, it kept me from taking action. I wasted money yes - but some of the courses I am very glad I spent money on. Marie Forleo's Bschool was wonderful. Also Amy Porterfield's courses are amazing. I would recommend Justin Welch courses as well - and Ship 30 for 30 I highly recommend for new writers. I have stopped buying courses. When a new one sparks my interest, I spend weeks contemplating it and I go through my library of courses I own already to see if the topics are already covered there. They usually are. Now is the time to take action on what I have learned. Don't be like me and take every course... be thoughtful and take some time to consider it before shelling out the cash.
Thanks for the sincerity.
They are all good courses, refined through the interaction with thousands of students.
But you are right, without action they're worthless. And without putting the lessons into practice, you can't even say if they're just "interesting info" or actionable advice.
My goal moving forward (because I still have some I will finish) is to put them into ACTION and share/grow from my knowledge.
You may already know this: choose one thing from one course, anyone, and do it.
I appreciate your thoughts on courses wasting time and money. I also wasted $2000 last year on 2 courses. The positive that I found was that I needed the structure to get busy writing on a more consistent basis. I also love the support of a community as most of these courses provide a private facebook group to post and read articles. That social group usually ends when the course wraps up.
The negative that I found with both of the courses I took was that pre recorded lessons fell short for me. I also learned that some community group zoom calls are usually dominated by one or two people who really like the sound of their own voices.
What I have discovered is that every "free masterclass" offers good basic writing nuggets that are helpful reminders for me to get back to writing with more structure.
It also ends in a sales pitch that you can buy at a steep discount if you sign up now.
Every course - free or paid, is an opportunity to take one good idea and file it in my writing toolkit. Then I feel better about wasting my time and money.
Thank you for such a thoughtful comment.
This happens for books too. You read for 6 hours and bring home 1 or 2 key ideas. But sometimes they are highly impactful. At least books don't cost $1000! 😂
I prefer ongoing paid communities, in general.
I agree with your thoughts. I’ve fallen for some of these types of courses, but after 2-3, I realized they’re not for me. We all have our own path/struggles. It’s not one size fits all. Thanks for sharing!
Absolutely. It's better to cover the basics on your own. Then buy something more specific
This is so true. Timing and luck are something most people don’t talk about in their success. You need your own thing. Create your own niche, as it were. But that won’t sell courses, eh. I got lucky when I started my copywriting business and a few others because I had lucky timing ( early to FB ads, $0.02 cent clicks)… I could claim to be some kind of FB ad expert and run a course on it, but the tactic has already sailed.
Thank you for the comment and the honesty!
Skills count, but there are always external factors that are hard to measure.
Alberto, thank you for sharing your experience. I am very picky with paid courses, paid no more than 5 times in my life, however I do consume loads of free stuff every day. Yes, sometimes courses are useful, but honestly, no miracles yet. All the hard struggle I have put myself through without t he help of any course turned out to be the most meaningful and valuable thing in my life. The greatest gift you can receive is the one you can give yourself. Cheers.
Thank you.
Self-learners for the win!
Now the challenge is "how do I monetize this newsletter?" 😂
This is quite a challenge indeed :D I do see this path through sharing as much valuable info for free as long as possible to gain visibility. Later a paid option can be introduced. How about you?
It is the only way this can work.
I like helping people 1:1 or in group settings. But I'm in Italy and the timezone is problematic.
I'm thinking of a community or at least premium threads.
1:1 sounds like a great idea, but if you target US it is problematic. Would you like to expand on the idea of the community?
Many courses and also many Substack authors offer it.
It may be a Discord server, a Circle community, a Telegram group where you add the paid subscribers. There they can help each other, get your help, maybe hop on group calls, and so on...
That sounds like a great idea!
Thanks for sharing, Alberto.
I like your candid approach in this article.
I am also in Italy! I have been living in Rome for the past two years.
Glass half empty - I spent (aka. wasted) $800 early on in my writing career on big promises.
Glass half full - it made me realize very quickly how I didn't want to write.
I was also able to "find" a very expensive course offered by a very well known writing guru that I browsed through. I would have also wasted my money there.
These two experiences combined have saved me a lot of additional $$$ I'd have spent on similar deliverings that promise similar outcomes. For me, the two best true writers out there that offer free advice on finding your writing legs are Walter Rhein and Lawrence Yeo. There's a few terrific interviews with Lawrence on Youtube.
I strive to write like them.
Thanks a lot!
"I was also able to "find" a very expensive course". This sentence is very Italian. You're perfectly acclimated. 😂
Lawrence course is good. It will not turn you into him in an instant, but it's worth the price.
Walter is incredible, too. And very available.
I recently was looking into creating my own course (on how to start an online business using the four essential skills, and cutting through the “noise”) 😉… but I figured I’d read up on instructional design, first, to be sure my course could actually benefit others.
I came across a book called “Course Design Formula” by Rebecca Frost Cuevas. And, while the book itself was a bit redundant, I did learn a ton! And I also realized why so many courses are given poor reviews… because, like you said, Alberto, the creators are merely saying, “Here’s what worked to help me build MY thing…”. They’re not teaching you ways to make that info fit YOUR unique context.
Speaking of which, the book, “Break the Wheel” by Jay Acunzo (https://amzn.to/4dQzSSx ) does a fantastic job of encouraging you to “find what works for you and your context”!
Thanks!
I read every newsletter issue from Jay!
Isn’t it fantastic?! I’m so happy to find someone else who subscribes to him! His newsletters always make me think. 🩵
Thanks for sharing, Alberto. Totally agree—success is more than just following steps; it’s about timing, niche, and luck
Thank you!
I can see why u didn't bite when I said what I did about guru content in an earlier conversation.
I would hope that in their more expensive courses they'd take the time to highlight their assumptions, your current situation and the mindset to move from A to B. Either, they don't realize their assumptions or they're more concerned about making a sale than whether the customer gets anything out of it.
Fortunately, in recent years, I found many hybrid courses, with pre-recorded content + calls and/or community.
Fantastic piece. But, why switch to English 😶🌫️?
There are about 60 million people speaking Italian in the world.
How many speak English as first or second language? A couple billion?
Most niches in Italy are just too small. I learned it by trial and error.
Then the disposable income is very low.
The economy has been declining for 15 years.
Learned helplessness is the norm.
I have been talking for several days with some Hispanic substakers, an Englishman and a Brazilian if it is better to write in English, or in both. The English one tells me that his language is saturated. And the Latinos are also writing in English. I write in Notes 50%, but in my publications in Substack 90% in Spanish. The economy of Hispanic countries is not good either. Maybe the U.S. Hispanic economy is good, but maybe they prefer to read in English, I don't know. What do you think in the case of Spanish?
"There are an estimated 474.7 million native Spanish speakers and about 100 million second and foreign language speakers around the world as of 2022, totaling 574 million Hispanophones in total." - Wikipedia
So, there's a far larger market.
But money limitations can prevent many tactics from working. Also, Italians are far less sophisticated when it comes, for example, to technology and content creation. So many topics just aren't on their radar.
As regards saturation, everything is saturated. It's just not an argument. How many people amassed hundreds of paid subscribers here on Substack starting from zero in English?
I wouldn't write in two languages on the same profile, in any case. Algorithms don't love it.
Thanks a lot
Interesting insights Alberto! A must-read for all ‘small’ creators.
Thanks. I think about them all day.
True,but we pay for “promising” packaging:-) great piece! Thanks
I soooo agree with this!
What I have found is when there is a great YouTube or Skillshare video - I take loads of notes - try things out - ask someone for a bit of help - always yields a better outcome (for me) than any self-guided course and obvs much less expensive.
Or booking a 1-1 session. Pricey but money better spent.
I agree. There's so much good and free knowledge online that often you're just paying for packaging.
Some people like it though.
True, I never had that experience unfortunately.
True!!!
Thank you for this long reply!
As a beginner, it's hard to adapt advice to your case. But too many people remain stuck in the "I need a course" mindset and don't allow themselves to develop that awareness.