56: How To Turn Your Expertise Into Education with Squarespace Courses
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[00:00:00] Have you ever heard of the 10 percent edge? It's the idea that you don't have to be the world's leading expert in something to help people understand it. You just need to know 10 percent more than the average person to help them. Your unique experiences, hard earned wisdom and practical know how can be a lot more valuable than you think.
[00:00:25] In this episode of Think Inside the Square, we're exploring how you can transform your knowledge and experience into valuable online education and why I think you should. Welcome to Think Inside the Square, a podcast full of tips and tricks to help you build a website that you're proud of. I'm your host, Becca Harpain, Squarespace expert and educator.
[00:00:43] And in this episode, we're talking about online education. For a transcript of this episode, along with the links to the many resources I'll be mentioning, be sure to visit insidethesquare.co/podcast
[00:00:54] the term Squarespace is a trademark of Squarespace Incorporated. This content is not affiliated with Squarespace Incorporated.[00:01:00]
[00:01:00] If you have a website, odds are you have a business or at least something that you're passionate about. Something that you want to share with the world. But how do you actually teach it and should you? Maybe your industry is full of professionals who already teach a lot of courses about what you're passionate about.
[00:01:16] Maybe you dismiss the idea because you thought that no one would want to learn what you have to share. Well, I've got news for you, friend. You're exactly the person who should be teaching. I want you to think back to your favorite subject in school. Did you have a history or a science class that was super fun?
[00:01:33] I bet the teacher made all the difference. Your twist on your topic might be what it takes for it to click for someone else. Your unique experiences, your hard earned wisdom, your practical know how, all of that All of that can be packaged into online education that could transform someone's life or business, and that's pretty exciting.
[00:01:52] So in this episode, we're going to cover how you can organize your expertise, even if you think you don't have any. We'll talk about how you can turn your [00:02:00] knowledge into a structured course, how to overcome some common roadblocks, and how to leverage existing content that you have to create an amazing course using the features built into Squarespace.
[00:02:10] But more than just practical tips, this episode is about empowering you to share your unique perspective with the world. I want you to recognize the value in your journey and the insights that you've gained along the way. This episode is going to be a high level of all of these concepts of turning your expertise into education.
[00:02:27] And in the show notes, I'm going to have links to some amazing additional resources, so make sure to that have helped me create successful courses for my business. But for right now, let's go ahead and get started by creating a map of your core areas of expertise. I want you to take a piece of paper and in the very center of that piece of paper, draw a circle and inside that circle, I want you to write a core area of expertise, something that you're confidently knowledgeable about.
[00:02:53] Now from that core area of expertise, I then want you to draw a line and create another circle and in [00:03:00] that circle, I want you to write a slightly more detailed version of that area of expertise. What's a topic related to that that you could write a blog post about, that you could give a TED Talk about, that you could at least chat about for more than 20 minutes if you're hanging out with a friend at a party?
[00:03:15] Talk about that sub area of expertise that's related to your core area of expertise. Here's a great example for you from my own perspective. I'm a Squarespace designer. And I love talking about Squarespace features. That could be my main circle right there. Then that next circle that I branch out to could be customizing Squarespace.
[00:03:35] And then from there, you guessed it, we're going into another circle. I could talk about customizing Squarespace with CSS. On this piece of paper, I want you to create as many branches to new circles as you can to really develop a true map of your area of expertise. This is going to give you this bird's eye view visual of the content that you can share with your audience.
[00:03:56] Once you've mapped this out to a degree that you're comfortable with, I [00:04:00] want you to look at some of the circles there and see how many of them are related. For my own example, I love to talk about Squarespace, and then we're talking about customizing Squarespace, and then we're talking about custom CSS, and when we're talking about custom CSS, we can talk about borders, and background colors, and button hover effects.
[00:04:17] Thanks. And as you can see, my mind map starts to get really big. This activity can help boost your confidence in the skills and knowledge that you have. And again, you'll start to get this visual representation of underlying themes where you can combine these topics into an epic piece of online education.
[00:04:35] Now it's easy for me to share this from the Squarespace perspective. So let me give you another perspective for a different type of business. Let's say you're a nutritionalist and you write nutrition in the main circle on your piece of paper. For the next branch, you might have something about meal planning, and you might have something about macronutrients.
[00:04:52] Those could be two additional circles. From those circles, let's say the macronutrient circle, you could have a section that is what [00:05:00] macronutrients are, the role of protein, the importance of carbohydrate, how to balance macronutrients while you're traveling. You've got a lot of different subjects there.
[00:05:08] Then you think about the meal planning aspect, and you could realize, wait a second, I could talk about meal planning with macronutrients in mind. There you can start to see some crossovers between the different areas of expertise and having this bird's eye view of your own knowledge map is so helpful in piecing that together.
[00:05:25] Alright, now that we've got your knowledge organized, let's talk about turning this into a course structure. This is where your course really starts to take shape. First things first, we need to define what your students will achieve by the end of your course. I like to call these your course objectives.
[00:05:41] Take a few minutes to write down three to five clear, actionable objectives for your course. These are going to be your guiding stars while you create your content. Plus, this will help potential students understand the value of your course right off the bat. So we have your knowledge map. We have the destination for what you can teach your students.
[00:05:59] [00:06:00] So how do we bridge that gap? What do they need to know to get to that final point? Generally want to start by sharing foundational concepts and then move towards more advanced topics. But don't stress if you need to shuffle things around a few times. Finding the right flow is a process and it's going to take a few tries to get it right.
[00:06:18] This is when I like to bust out the post it notes. I'll take the post it notes and maybe I'll start with one color and I'll write all of the foundational concepts on individual post it notes in one color. And then, when I move on to advanced concepts, I'll grab another color of post it notes and I'll write down the advanced concepts there.
[00:06:35] Having all of the things I want to teach listed out on post it notes, so I can easily rearrange them and put them in the order I want them to be in, can help me structure that content. And again, it's going to take you a few tries to get it right. That's why post it notes are so helpful for this part right here.
[00:06:51] Now, inside Squarespace, you can organize your course content into sections that are known as chapters, and then lessons, which are like individual pages [00:07:00] inside those chapters. The structure provided by the Squarespace course feature helps you organize your content in a way that's going to be easy for your students to navigate.
[00:07:09] So you've created your knowledge map, you have your overall course objectives, and you've outlined your course structure. Let's talk about actually creating the content for your course, starting with that course structures, the chapters and the lessons. For each lesson, I want you to write a brief description of what you'll cover.
[00:07:27] It doesn't have to be long, and it won't be something read by anyone else. This is just a sentence or two to capture the main idea. Now, underneath that sentence, I want you to think about one to two key objectives that you are going to teach. These are the core concepts that your students will understand when they complete this lesson.
[00:07:47] This step is a really helpful for keeping your content focused and make sure that you're covering everything you need to cover to get them to those final objectives. Now this is where it gets fun. I want you to start thinking about any [00:08:00] activities, quizzes, or resources that you want to include in each lesson.
[00:08:03] Maybe you need to make a worksheets for students to apply what they've learned, or a quick quiz to check their understanding. This is where you can start to dig into the content that you've already created. Think about any popular blog post where you've explained a concept to your audience. And it really resonated with them.
[00:08:21] Think about any Instagram reels or posts that you created, where you conveyed content in a way that your audience really appreciated. Maybe one of your most popular Instagram posts was a checklist. Think about incorporating checklists into your course. Think about the existing content that you've created that have really resonated with your audience to see how you can apply that to your course.
[00:08:42] Now, one more thing I want you to do is to try and estimate how long each lesson will take to complete. Try to aim for about 10 to 20 minutes for each individual lesson, because honestly, once it gets over 20 minutes, that lesson becomes a little too long. This will help your content stay digestible and [00:09:00] prevent overwhelm for your students.
[00:09:02] Now, some of the lessons might end up seeming a little too short, and that's okay. This is your chance to adjust those. Maybe you need to combine two lessons into one. Maybe one lesson needs to be broken out into two. The goal is to create balanced, manageable learning experiences for your student. Alright, now you might be thinking, Becca, this all sounds great, but what if I get stuck?
[00:09:23] What if I sit down to create my content and my mind goes blank? Don't worry my friend, even the most experienced course creators hit roadblocks sometimes. This is totally normal and I've got some tricks up my sleeve to help you overcome them. Now let's talk about some common roadblocks you might be facing here.
[00:09:39] One big problem of mine is perfectionism. I know that perfectionism has stopped me from moving forward with exciting things in my business and I'm pretty determined to not let that happen anymore. I've decided to adopt the mindset that done is better than perfect and I want you to do the same. Your first course does not have to be a [00:10:00] masterpiece.
[00:10:00] You can always improve it and update it later. The most important thing is to get started. And I can tell you that after making many spelling mistakes and having broken link issues, the best way to get your course closer to perfect is to launch the not perfect version and let your students give you feedback.
[00:10:18] So, to overcome perfectionism, be willing to accept feedback and be confident in moving forward knowing that you're going to make mistakes and that's okay. Another roadblock that you might hit is imposter syndrome. That's when you start thinking, who am I to teach this? What if people realize I don't know everything?
[00:10:36] Here's the secret. Nobody knows everything, and some people out there will know more than you on some topics. But that's when it's so important to look at that visual map that we created of your core areas of expertise to see that you do have that 10 percent edge. You do know just a little bit more than the average person about that topic, and your personality and experience is what's going to make your [00:11:00] education incredibly valuable.
[00:11:02] that. You've got valuable knowledge to share and there are people out there who need to learn from you. There's one more roadblock that I want to address and that is overwhelmed. Sometimes you might be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of content that you need to create. When this happens, take a deep breath and remember you don't have to do it all at once.
[00:11:22] Focus on creating one lesson or one module at a time. I'm going to let you in on a little pro tip of mine. I am a content creator, and I create a lot of content here inside the square. At the time of recording this, I'm a one woman show. It's me putting together the tutorials, the blog posts, editing the videos, creating the podcast.
[00:11:41] I do all of this myself. And when I get overwhelmed with the amount of content that I need to create, here's what I like to do. I like to grab a stack of post it notes and a sharpie. And I will write an individual project or thing on my to do list on every single post it note. I get one for each project.
[00:11:58] Once I've got most of the [00:12:00] major important things out of my brain and onto those post it notes, I like to organize them by how time sensitive they are. What are the things that I need to do first? I'll scoot those post it notes to the top and here's where the magic happens. I take the three most important and urgent post it notes, and I go into my office, and I stick those three post it notes on my computer monitor, and I do not get up from my desk until I'm done with those three.
[00:12:24] When I'm done with those three, I take them off my monitor, I do a little stretch, I go back to my stack of post it notes, and I grab three more and do it again. Because the, the truth is that all of this stuff does need to get done. But freaking out about it and trying to organize it and trying to find the best system, that's not how it's going to get done.
[00:12:42] The only way I'm going to get through a big project and the sheer amount of to dos on my to do list is to focus on one thing at a time. Speaking of focus, I should probably wrap this episode up and give you a concise recap of all the things that we talked about. But before we do that, I've got one Squarespace tip that I just [00:13:00] have to sneak in here.
[00:13:01] And this has to do with creating the course content inside your Squarespace website. Squarespace has a unique page type that is specifically for creating course content. It's a collection of lessons and these lessons are organized inside chapters. Now there's some cool features for this unique type of Squarespace page.
[00:13:19] There is a progress bar and a sidebar. For people that have logged in to access the course, they can keep track of their progress on the progress bar to see how much further they have to study. They also have a sidebar for easy navigation on lesson pages. Now, each lesson is focused on video content, but you don't have to have video content.
[00:13:37] All of these lesson pages are made up of page sections, so you can add as much or as little content as you'd like to each individual lesson. But here is the secret. I myself have multiple courses on my Squarespace website, and I do use the course feature for some of them, but I put all of my courses into a member area.
[00:13:56] And here's why. Bye. Each one of my courses has [00:14:00] a collection of resources, and the Squarespace course page does not have a resource section. So inside my Squarespace website, I have a member area that acts like a folder of content inside that folder, you'll find the course full of lessons organized into chapters, and you'll also find a portfolio of projects.
[00:14:19] These individual projects are actually additional resources that can supplement the content of the course. So when you're adding your education to Squarespace, and you've got more to share with your students than what you can fit into lessons and chapters. Create a member area. This will act like a folder that only your students can access when they log in.
[00:14:38] And inside this folder, you can include all kinds of content you want that will complement your course. All right, we covered a lot today and you should be really proud of yourself for making it this far in the episode. Now you've got a solid plan for creating a course that you can feature on your Squarespace website.
[00:14:54] But I know that all this information can be a little overwhelming, so I want to break this down into an action [00:15:00] plan for you. Are you ready? Okay, here's what I want you to do next. First things first, create your knowledge map. Get all that expertise out of your head and onto a piece of paper. The second step is to define your course objectives.
[00:15:12] What do you want your students to be able to do by the end of your course? The third step is to outline your course structure. Decide on your lessons and group them into chapters. Help take your students on a float from foundational content to advanced content that will help them achieve those course objectives.
[00:15:30] Step number four, audit your existing content. What blog posts or other materials can you repurpose for your course? What content types have you shared that have really resonated with your audience and how can you use that to create your course content? Step number five, Create your course content and add it to Squarespace.
[00:15:50] Remember, you can create a member area that not only uses the course feature, but has additional resources available as additional pages. The last step I [00:16:00] want you to do is to test your course flow and make adjustments as needed. You might want to ask a friend to go through it and give you some feedback.
[00:16:06] Make sure that the journey you're taking people on really does make sense to someone who doesn't have your area of expertise. Just remember that creating a course is a journey. Take it one step at a time, and don't be afraid to adjust as you go along. We're working in Squarespace here, and Squarespace can be edited at literally any time.
[00:16:26] You're not going to get it right the first time, but you're definitely not going to get it right if you don't even start. Remember that your course will keep getting better and better. So I want to encourage you to really give this a try. Your knowledge is valuable and there are people out there who can't wait to learn from you.
[00:16:42] Now, if you're feeling excited about diving deeper into course creation and I really hope you are, I want you to check out the awesome freebies that I have. It listed inside the show notes for this episode, head on over to insidethesquare.co/podcast/56
[00:16:57] this is episode 56. There you'll find the [00:17:00] show notes for this episode and links to all kinds of epic resources. And at this point, if you're feeling overwhelmed with all the content that you have to create, just remember, you take it one post it note at a time. Thanks for tuning into this episode of Think Inside the Square.
[00:17:14] I truly hope you enjoyed it. Again, check out the show notes for more information on creating a course using Squarespace. You'll find that at insidethesquare.co/podcast
[00:17:23] And most importantly, have fun with your Squarespace website. Bye for now.
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Freebie #1: Can You Replace Your Income With A Digital Course
Freebie #2: Unlock your digital course idea using AI
Freebie #3: 10 Ways People Earn Money With Courses
Freebie #4: A Free Course on Squarespace Courses
EPISODE SUMMARY
In this episode of ThinkInsideTheSquare, we're diving into an exciting topic that's been buzzing around the Squarespace community lately - creating your very first online course!
When Squarespace introduced their course feature, it opened up a whole new world of possibilities for so many of us. Suddenly, we had this amazing platform to share our expertise with people all around the globe. It's like they handed us a megaphone and said, "Hey, you've got valuable knowledge - why not share it with the world?"
Now, I know what some of you might be thinking. "Me? Create a course? But I'm not an expert!" Well, let me tell you something - you know more than you think you do. We all have unique experiences and skills that others can learn from. Maybe you're a whiz at social media marketing, or you've mastered the art of sourdough bread making. Whatever your passion or expertise, there's someone out there eager to learn from you.
Creating an online course might seem like a daunting task at first. Trust me, I've been there! It's like standing at the base of a mountain, looking up and wondering, "How on earth am I going to climb that?" But here's the thing - just like climbing a mountain, creating a course is all about taking one step at a time. And that's exactly what we're going to explore in this article, a summary of episode 56: how to turn your expertise into education.
I’ll walk through the process of turning your expertise into a well-structured, engaging online course using Squarespace. We'll talk about organizing your knowledge, crafting your course outline, creating engaging content, and bringing it all together on the Squarespace platform.
So, whether you're a seasoned pro looking to share your skills or someone who's just starting to explore the idea of teaching online, let’s gets started!
1. Organizing Your Expertise
Alright, let's start by getting all that amazing knowledge out of your head and onto paper (or screen). You know how sometimes your brain feels like a tangled ball of yarn? We're going to unravel that ball and lay everything out nice and neat.
First things first, let's identify your core knowledge areas. Think about it this way - if someone asked you, "What are the main things you cover in your work?", what would you say? For example, if you're a nutrition expert, you might say something like meal planning, understanding macronutrients, and healthy cooking techniques. Take a few minutes to jot down 3-5 core areas of your expertise. Don't worry about getting it perfect - we can always refine it later.
Now, here's where it gets fun. We're going to break each of these core areas into smaller, more manageable chunks. It's like we're creating a family tree for your knowledge! Let's stick with our nutrition expert example. If one of their core areas is "understanding macronutrients", they might break that down into: what macronutrients are, the role of proteins, the importance of carbohydrates, understanding fats, and how to balance macronutrients in your diet.
Go ahead and do this for each of your core areas. Break them down into 3-5 subtopics. This process is going to help make your complex knowledge more digestible for your future students. Plus, it's going to make the next steps of course creation so much easier for you.
Now, I want you to do something that might feel a little artsy-craftsy, but trust me, it's super helpful. We're going to create what I call a knowledge map. Grab a big piece of paper, or open up a digital drawing tool if that's more your style. Write your main topic in the center of the page. Then, draw branches out to your core knowledge areas. From each of those, draw more branches out to your subtopics.
What you'll end up with is a visual representation of your expertise. It's like seeing your knowledge from a bird's eye view. This map is going to be incredibly useful as we move forward. It'll help you see connections between different areas of your expertise and make sure you're covering all the important bases in your course.
2. From Knowledge to Course Structure
Alright, now that we've got all your knowledge organized, it's time for the exciting part - turning it into a course structure. This is where your course really starts to take shape!
First things first, we need to define what your students will achieve by the end of your course. I like to call these your course objectives. Think about it this way - if you bumped into one of your students a month after they finished your course, what would you hope they'd tell you? Maybe they'd say something like, "I can now create a balanced meal plan for the week," or "I understand how to read nutrition labels." These are the kinds of things we want to define.
Take a few minutes to write down 3-5 clear, actionable objectives for your course. These are going to be your guiding stars as you create your content. Plus, they'll help potential students understand the value of your course right off the bat.
Now, let's think about the journey you want to take your students on. What do they need to know first? What builds on that knowledge? This is where that knowledge map we created earlier comes in handy. Look at your core areas and subtopics and start arranging them in a logical sequence.
Generally, you'll want to start with foundational concepts and move towards more advanced topics. But don't stress if you need to shuffle things around a few times. Finding the right flow is a process, and it's okay if it takes a few tries to get it just right.
Okay, now we're going to start giving your course some real structure. In Squarespace, you can organize your course content into sections (which we'll call modules) and pages (which we'll call lessons). Think of it like chapters in a book, with each chapter containing several sections.
Here's a basic structure you might follow: Start with a course introduction where you'll welcome your students and give them an overview of what they'll learn. Then, create a module for each of your core areas. Within each module, create a lesson for each of your subtopics. Finally, wrap it all up with a course conclusion where you'll recap what they've learned and give them some next steps.
This structure gives your course a clear, organized feel that will be easy for your students to navigate in Squarespace. Plus, it'll make the content creation process much more manageable for you. Instead of facing one big, intimidating course, you'll be tackling it piece by piece.
3. Overcoming Course Creator's Block
Now, I know what you might be thinking. "Becca, this all sounds great, but what if I get stuck? What if I sit down to create my content and my mind goes blank?" Don't worry, my friend. Even the most experienced course creators hit roadblocks sometimes. It's totally normal, and I've got some tricks up my sleeve to help you overcome them.
First, let's talk about some common roadblocks you might face. One big one is perfectionism. You know that voice in your head that says, "This isn't good enough"? Yeah, we're going to tell that voice to take a hike. Remember, done is better than perfect. Your first course doesn't have to be a masterpiece - you can always improve and update it later. The most important thing is to get started.
Another roadblock you might hit is imposter syndrome. That's when you start thinking, "Who am I to teach this? What if people realize I don't know everything?" Here's a secret: nobody knows everything. You know more than you think you do! Remember those achievements we listed earlier? Whenever you start doubting yourself, go back and look at that list. You've got valuable knowledge to share, and there are people out there who need to learn from you.
Sometimes, you might feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of content you need to create. When that happens, take a deep breath and remember: you don't have to do it all at once. Focus on creating one lesson or module at a time. It's like eating an elephant (not that I recommend doing that!) - you do it one bite at a time.
Now, let's talk about some techniques for generating course content ideas. One of my favorites is what I call a "question brainstorm." Grab a piece of paper and write down every question you can think of related to your topic. Don't censor yourself - write down everything, even if it seems silly. Each of these questions could potentially be a lesson in your course.
Another great technique is what I call "day-in-the-life." Walk yourself through a typical day in your field. What tasks do you do? What knowledge do you apply? These can all be potential course topics. You might be surprised at how much you know without even realizing it!
One more technique I love is "problem-solution mapping." List out common problems in your field, then map out solutions for each one. Each problem-solution pair could be a lesson in your course. Plus, this approach ensures that your course is providing real, practical value to your students.
Now, let's talk about mind mapping. This is a fantastic way to generate and organize ideas. Here's how you do it: Start by writing your main course topic in the center of a page. Then, branch out with subtopics or ideas related to the main topic. For each branch, add more specific details or ideas. As you're doing this, look for connections between different branches - these connections can help you structure your course in a logical, flowing way.
The key with mind mapping is not to judge your ideas as you're putting them down. Just let them flow. You can always refine and organize later. The goal is to get everything out of your head and onto paper (or screen).
4. Crafting Your Course Outline
Alright, now that we've generated all these great ideas, let's craft them into a solid course outline. This is where your course really starts to take shape!
Let's start with the course structure we created earlier - you know, the modules and lessons. Now, for each lesson, I want you to write a brief description of what you'll cover. It doesn't have to be long - just a sentence or two to capture the main idea.
Next, for each lesson, list out 3-5 key points you want to make. These are the core ideas you want your students to take away from that lesson. This step is really helpful for keeping your content focused and making sure you're covering everything you need to.
Now, here's where it gets fun. Start thinking about any activities, quizzes, or resources you want to include in each lesson. Maybe you want to add a worksheet for students to apply what they've learned, or a quick quiz to check their understanding. Jot down these ideas next to each lesson.
One more thing - try to estimate how long each lesson will take. Aim for about 10-20 minutes per lesson. This helps keep your content digestible and prevents overwhelm for your students.
As you're doing this, you might notice that some lessons seem too long or too short. That's okay! This is your chance to adjust. Maybe you need to break a long lesson into two, or combine two short ones. The goal is to create a balanced, manageable learning experience for your students.
Now, let's talk about balancing depth and breadth in your course content. It's tempting to try to cover everything you know about your topic, but that can quickly become overwhelming. Instead, focus on what's absolutely essential for your students to know. Think about your course level too - if it's a beginner course, you might cover more topics but in less depth. An advanced course might dive deeper into fewer topics.
Also, consider your time constraints - both how much time you have to create the course, and how much time your students will have to complete it. It's better to thoroughly cover the most important topics than to rush through everything.
To create a cohesive learning experience, try to use consistent language and terminology throughout your course. Refer back to previous lessons to reinforce connections, and preview upcoming content to show how everything fits together. It's also helpful to include regular recap or summary sections. This helps your students see how all the pieces fit into the bigger picture.
5. Leveraging Your Existing Content
Now, here's some good news - if you've been blogging on Squarespace, you've already got a head start on your course content! Let's talk about how to use that existing content in your course.
First, make a list of all your blog posts related to your course topic. For each post, jot down the main topic it covers, any key points or insights, and how it might fit into your course structure. This is like taking inventory of the content you already have.
Now, let's talk about how to turn a blog post into a full lesson. Start by identifying the main topic and subtopics in the post. Then, think about how you can expand on each subtopic. Can you add more detail? Include some examples or case studies? This is your chance to dive deeper than you would in a blog post.
Next, think about how you can make the content more interactive. Could you add some learning activities or reflection questions? Maybe create a summary of key points? You could even develop a quiz or assignment to check understanding. The goal is to transform your blog post from a passive reading experience into an active learning experience.
After you've mapped your blog content to your course outline, you'll probably notice some gaps. Maybe there are areas where you lack content, or topics that need more in-depth coverage. Don't worry - this is normal! Make note of these gaps. This is where you'll need to create new content to round out your course.
7. Bringing It All Together in Squarespace
Alright, we're in the home stretch! Let's talk about how to use Squarespace to bring your course to life.
Squarespace makes it really easy to structure your course with a type of collection page known as - you probably guessed it - a course! This course is made up of lesson pages, organized into chapters; think of chapters like folders. Students have access to a progress bar that updates when they check lessons off as “completed” and there is a sidebar and pagination on lessons for easy navigaiton.
Here is a pro tip from my own experience: a course is never enough! I like to create member areas and add a course inside that member area. That let’s me add additional resources in the form of new pages, portfolios of proejcts and more.
To check out my free course on courses, visit insidethesquare.co/course
8. Next Steps and Action Plan
Wow, we've covered a lot! You should be really proud of yourself for making it this far. You've now got a solid plan for creating your Squarespace course. But I know all this information can feel a bit overwhelming, so let's break it down into an action plan.
Here's what I want you to do next:
Create your knowledge map. Get all that expertise out of your head and onto paper.
Define your course objectives. What do you want your students to be able to do by the end of your course?
Outline your course structure. Decide on your lessons and group them into chapters.
Audit your existing content. What blog posts or other materials can you repurpose for your course?
Start creating your course content in Squarespace. Remember, one lesson at a time!
Set up your course layout. Make it clean, easy to navigate, and visually appealing.
Test your course flow and make adjustments as needed. You might want to ask a friend to go through it and give you feedback.
Remember, creating a course is a journey. Take it one step at a time, and don't be afraid to adjust as you go along. You're going to learn so much in this process, and your course will keep getting better and better.
Conclusion
You've got this, my friend! You now have a strong head start on creating an amazing course on Squarespace. Remember, your knowledge is valuable, and there are people out there who can't wait to learn from you.
If you're feeling excited about diving deeper into course creation (and I hope you are!), I'd love to invite you to check out some awesome freebies from the queen of course creation, Amy Porterfield:
Freebie #2: Unlock your digital course idea using AI
Freebie #3: 10 Ways People Earn Money With Courses
