145: How to hit your income goals with online courses in 2026

If you’re an ambitious entrepreneur who’s ready to turn your expertise into digital products, passive income and time freedom… but you’re feeling overwhelmed by the process (or unsure how to actually bring consistent online course sales to life) then this episode is for you.

Inside, I’m talking about how to hit your income goals with online courses in 2026 and this episode is packed with practical strategies you can apply immediately.

In this episode, I walk you through how to:

• Define your core offer (so you’re not trying to sell five things at once)
• Set clear, ambitious sales targets that actually feel achievable
• Choose a selling method that fits your lifestyle (not one that burns you out)
• Build a repeatable marketing rhythm you can stick to (even when you are super busy!)

I’ll also show you how to break your income goal down, reverse-engineer the plan and map out a focused 90-day action roadmap using my favourite systems and simple planning tools.

So whether you’re currently stuck in client-chasing mode or you’re ready to step into scalable, sustainable growth with an offer that sells on repeat… I’m going to help you get clear, get focused and start the year feeling like, “Yep — I actually know what I’m doing.”

If you’re ready to uncover what’s truly possible for your online business, hit subscribe, check out the show notes for the resources and templates I mention and come back every Thursday for more support as I help you design a business that works for you (not the other way around!).

Transcript

Karen [00:00:01]:
Hello and welcome to Online Business Uncovered. This is episode 145 and in today's episode I've got a special episode for you because I'm going to walk you through how to create your 2026 online course sales map. So let's jump right in and let's get started.

Karen [00:00:26]:
Welcome to Online Business Uncovered, the show that lifts the lid on what it really takes to turn your brilliance into digital products, passive income and time freedom. I am your host, Karen, an online business strategist, course creation expert and your.

Karen [00:00:41]:
Go to for building a business that works for you and not the other way around.

Karen [00:00:45]:
If you are an ambitious entrepreneur, feeling overwhelmed, burnt out, or maybe you're just ready for a smarter, more sustainable way to grow, then you're in the right place. Because each week I'll be bringing you inspiring conversations, practical strategies and step by step guidance to help you create scaling, repeatable digital products that sell even while you sleep. So if you're ready to stop trading your time for money, reclaim your time.

Karen [00:01:12]:
And finally build a business that gives.

Karen [00:01:14]:
You the freedom that you deserve, hit, subscribe and tune in every Thursday. Let's uncover what's truly possible for you, starting now.

Karen [00:01:29]:
Hello and welcome to Online Business Uncovered. This is the show that focuses on helping you turn your your expertise into digital products, passive income and of course, time freedom. I'm your host Karen and I do appreciate you hitting the play button to listen to today's episode. Now today I've got a slightly different episode for you because I am going to be sharing a recording for a master class that I delivered in my membership last week. Now the reason why I'm going to be sharing this is because for those of you who who may have an online course, or maybe you are somebody that is thinking about creating an online course, generating sales can feel really tricky and in order to kind of be successful at generating income, you want to be able to create a map where you can plan everything out, know what you're going to do so you can kickstart the year off, knowing exactly what your intentions are and how you're going to do it. So in this masterclass that I delivered to my members, I thought this content will actually be great for you guys because it's going to give you that roadmap that you're going to need to make 2026 your best year yet. So this is pre recorded. I'm going to hit the play button and I really hope you enjoy this.

Karen [00:03:01]:
If you want the notion template that I share in the masterclass Then go to the show Notes, I will add a link and you'll be able to download the notion template from there. So let's get started.

Karen [00:03:18]:
Hello and welcome to today's masterclass which is all about creating your 2026 online course sales map. So this is for you. If you are wanting to sell your online course, you want a clear step by step plan and you want to be able to sell it confidently, consistently and most importantly, without feeling overwhelmed. Now, what I'm going to cover in this session is your core offer. We're going to look at what that looks like and how to define the offer that you're going to be promoting to your audience. We're also going to break it, be breaking it down and looking at your income and sales targets for 2020 and then we're going to be looking at your selling strategy. So that could be either a live selling strategy, it could be an evergreen, or it might be a little bit of mixture of both. We're also going to be looking at how to create an effective marketing calendar so you can map out your promotions and you can actually get ahead of the game and start planning.

Karen [00:04:32]:
And then we're going to be looking at how to create a 90 day action plan so that you walk away with a roadmap on how you can actually sell your online course. Okay, so why does the sales map matter? One thing that I think is true with a lot of online course creators is that they can struggle to sell their online course because they don't have a plan in place. They haven't mapped out how they're actually going to sell their product. So it might be the fact that they've created their online course and they think, or they have a belief that by having the course there, people are going to miraculously come to their website or wherever it is posted and they're going to automatically get those sales. And it simply is not the case. What they actually need is they need a plan. And maybe making sure that you're mapping out a plan so that you're not creating more work for yourself, you're being effective with the time that you have so you can follow a plan that's actually going to take you to your goals. Now, by having a plan and having a very clear sales map, which is the plan will take you out of that reactive marketing action.

Karen [00:06:00]:
So things like it's Black Friday, I must put an effort out there and then everything becomes last minute. Having a plan will put you firmly in control of being able to generate revenue and being able to do this consistently because you've got a plan to follow. You know when you're going to be running promotions, when you're going to be making offers and doing all kinds of things because you've planned it in advance. So it's about being really effective with your time and with your energy so that you can focus on generating sales in a clearer, more consistent way. Now, when you have a sales map, you know how you're going to get those sales. It means that you don't have to guess on when you're going to make those sales. You can be proactive in selling. This is also going to mean that you're not going to get tired and fatigued by launching to critic crickets and having that inconsistent income.

Karen [00:07:07]:
It means that you can start to map out a plan of generating consistent income. It also means that you can focus your energy on what moves revenue. So for example, you can test the things that are going to work so that you can then focus on the activities that's actually going to generate you that income. It's also going to allow you to build a simple but repeatable system for sales. And I think anybody that has an online course or a digital product to sell needs a simple and repeatable system that they know by executing, they're going to generate those sales. And then the other thing a sales map is going to do, it's going to help you to grow your business. It's going to help you to generate more leads without having to add more hours to your day, because you want to avoid that at all costs. So we need to start with defining your core offer.

Karen [00:08:13]:
Now, what is your core offer? Your offer is what you're selling. So it's the thing that your audience are going to be buying. So you need to map out what that looks like for you. You need to have clarity on what you're selling and why it matters so that you know why your audience are going to buy. Because everything will become easier when your offer is simple, when it's aligned and when it's focused. Now, your core offer should have a clear promise of the transformation. It should be really easy to explain. So you should be able to explain it to a five year old and they should just be able to get it.

Karen [00:09:01]:
Now, it also needs to align with your strengths. So what is it that you're good at? What comes easy? What can you help with? And it needs to be able to really help your audience. So it needs to serve a need that your audience are searching for. There's no point creating something that your audience don't want because they won't buy. So we need to create something that offers a result, that gives your audience a solution to a problem that they are experiencing thing. And that is your offer. It may be your course, it may be your course and bonuses, it may be something else, but your offer is going to be the thing that you're going to be selling. Now remember, your course is a vehicle to a result.

Karen [00:09:49]:
So you don't want to be selling the course. You want to be selling the framework that's going to take your audience from a place of problem to a place of solution. Your course is simply the vehicle. So you need to get really clear on what your offer is. What is it that you're offering your ideal person so that they actually get a result. This is going to help you define the focus of your course. Now, your online course doesn't need to do everything. It just needs to solve one core problem.

Karen [00:10:23]:
So what is that? Okay, the clearer you are, the easier it's going to be for your audience to say yes. So you need to define your focus by answering, what transformation do you deliver? How do you help and how is that going to play out in your audience's life? Who is it for? Like, who is your audience? Who's going to be buying? Because who wants this solution? Why does it matter in 2026? Like, you know, what is showing up for your audience and why is it important that they buy this thing? And what makes this your priority offer? So why is this important to you to sell? Now, I'm just going to give you an example. So I have a product called the Passive Profit Accelerator. What this does, it gets people started with creating passive income in their business. Now, this offer focuses on them planning out what that offer looks like. It doesn't give everything in the kitchen sink. It has three steps to sort it out. What that that passive income offer is going to be.

Karen [00:11:41]:
It's clear, it's simple. It offers a solution to a problem that people are experiencing. Now, for anybody that wants to create passive income in their business, it is a simple yes because it's going to help them to get started. It's easy, it's simple. And the training has been designed to simply guide somebody through that process. What does your training do? What does your course offer? And why would somebody turn around and say yes? What is the value to them if they buy your course? Now, by nailing this down, you'll be able to curate messaging that's going to be compelling, that is going to get you Those sales because it's the, the messaging that you present around your course that's going to draw people in and ultimately get those sales. Now when you have decided your focus, you want to decide on the method by which you're going to sell. And this method needs to match your energy and your lifestyle.

Karen [00:12:58]:
So what I mean is you don't want to choose a method of delivery that is not aligned with the time and the energy that you have. Now you have lots of different options, but I've listed three key options. First one is delivering through live launches. That's where you show up and you deliver an event that you are a part of. And you sell your course at the end of the event. It's known as a live launch. You'll have a pre launch going into the live launch, going into the open cart where you actually sell your course. The second option is an evergreen automation.

Karen [00:13:46]:
So this is when you have your course on your website so that people can purchase at any time. Now with the live launch, it might be that you open the cart for a certain period of time before it closes. So it's not available to purchase at any time. The Evergreen option is when it is available to to be purchased at any time. And predominantly it'll probably sit somewhere like your website, on a landing page, somewhere where it's easily accessible. The third option is a hybrid. This is where you get the best of both worlds. Some of it's live, some of it is automated.

Karen [00:14:31]:
You get to decide what that looks like. But now just know there is no right choice. You can choose either or based on your availability on your, you know the, the time that you have available and like say your energy. Live launches are going to require a lot more than Evergreen because with live launches you're going to have to map it all out. You're going to have to plan it, you're going to be delivering events. There's a lot of moving parts in live launches and you're going to have to be really on top of it so that you can maximize your sale opportunity. But with Evergreen you can take a step back because it's evergreen. So which means that you can create consistent marketing, driving traffic to your course.

Karen [00:15:24]:
There is work involved, but it's less intensive because your course is on an evergreen sort of cycle. So there's no closed day. Hybrid is best of both. So it might be that you deliver part of your course as a, a live program, but then you have automated parts as well. You know, for this it might be that you have a live launch element to it where you, you know, you create all the assets and everything for the live launch, but when you deliver it, part of it's automated. So you need to just decide what is most suitable for you and where you're at in your business journey. What I will say it's really important that you align the offer with your audience because sales become really sort of so much easier when your course solves the problem that your audience are actively looking for. So you need to listen to what your audience are asking because they're probably telling you what they're ready to buy.

Karen [00:16:33]:
So you want to sort of sense check if your offer is a problem that they're experiencing on a daily basis. You also want to ask yourself if this is a priority for them. Is this something that they're going to purchase right now? Have they already been trying to fix this problem? How will you know? That could be a conversation that you have with your audience. And is the outcome that you're offering through your course tangible and desirable? I. E. Do they actually want it? Do they care enough to hand over their hard earned money to get the solution that you're offering. Now if all of this is yes, then you know you have something really valuable that people are going to buy. So then it's about focusing on aligning your offer with your audience by creating the right messaging.

Karen [00:17:36]:
Messaging is everything. Messaging is sales. If you can curate messaging that really speaks to the heart of your audience, then you're going to bring them on board and they're going to be, they, they're going to be ready to buy because you're speaking to their needs. If you can talk about your offer in a way where somebody is sitting there nodding their head in agreement because they resonate with what you're saying, everything that you're saying hits home. Then you know that the offer that you're presenting is the right offer. If you have an offer where people are having to constantly ask questions and maybe it's this would be nice, but you know, it's not really essential, then maybe you have to look at the offer that you're presenting because you want it to be such a no brainer that it's going to be an easy yes for your audience. Now goal setting. God, in business we would talk about goal setting all the time.

Karen [00:18:43]:
But I think when it comes to online course sales or sales on, in any type of product, you have to set goals. Like you have to know what it is that you're after. Because if you can't set goal, if you don't set goals, you can't measure it. If you can't measure it, you don't know how you're performing. So it's really key that you set those goals. And those goals can be really simple. It doesn't have to be overwhelming. What goals do is they, they empower you to take action.

Karen [00:19:15]:
And this is where you have to take action. You're not going to sell your online course by doing nothing. You have to put in the time, the energy and the effort to get those sales. But what you can do is you can set goals and then you can reverse engineer how you're going to achieve those goals so that you know exactly what action is going to lead to, to that income, which is your outcome. So your sales planning steps. You need to choose an income goal. And what I would do is I'd get uncomfortable here and I would choose a goal that maybe feels so stretched that it feels maybe impossible. Because by doing that, you're pushing yourself.

Karen [00:20:03]:
You're going for something that feels unachievable and you want to kind of stretch yourself because there's no point playing safe. You, you know, it's out there for the taking. You know, the great thing about working in the online space is that you have limitless possibility. You know, there's billions and millions of people out there. You have the ability to earn what you want to earn. You have to just be really focused about it and not carry beliefs that you can't have what you want. And I just want to touch on beliefs because often I think when it comes to sales, I think people put those beliefs in their way. Who am I to earn X amount? Who am I to sell this? Who am I to help these people? You know, I've created a course.

Karen [00:20:51]:
I don't know if it's really gonna work. I'm not gonna sell it because I don't want to embarrass myself. I don't want to get judged. And you carry these beliefs around that are actually blocking your progress. The thing that I would say to you, do you have evidence for those beliefs that you're carrying around? And if you do, then those beliefs being evidenced is obviously going to be true. But if you don't have evidence because you've never tried, how do you know? So at this point, when it comes to sales, I would really challenge your beliefs around selling because what you're most likely to find is that you haven't done enough to generate the income that you want. So if you're sitting there feeling like you can't achieve. It's not that you can't achieve, it's just because you haven't tried.

Karen [00:21:48]:
And I'm gonna go in hard here because this is where we block ourselves. So I would encourage you to look at your beliefs around making money. So sell in and really ask yourself, the beliefs that I believe to be true, are they true and can you evidence them? Because if you can't evidence them, they're not true, they're not facts. You know, beliefs that are true are facts. Beliefs that are not true because you can't evidence them are just beliefs and beliefs can be changed. So I would just encourage you to just be really mindful at how you are talking to yourself about what is possible for you. Because I believe that we can all achieve our income goals. We just have to have a plan, we have to be focused, we have to have goals and we have to take action.

Karen [00:22:44]:
And if you're not doing that but you believe you can't achieve your goals, then maybe there's a disconnect there. So really be mindful of that and really bring it back. Is my belief true? If it is, then it could be a fact. If it's not true, it's a belief. And a belief can be changed. How much do you want this to happen? If you really want this to work for you, it's about taking action, implementing and you know, really focusing on the plan that you put in place. So I just wanted to touch upon that here because this is where we get really clear on what that income goal is. But we stretch ourselves so that we get uncomfortable and by being uncomfortable we can take action to make it happen.

Karen [00:23:34]:
You need to know where your course price is so you need to understand what your pricing strategy is. If you don't have a pricing strategy and this pricing strategy is going to be determined to through the delivery method that I've just mentioned because of the different options, then I would encourage you to go into the portal and and do some work around pricing strategy because you're gonna have to have a course price to be able to determine what you need to how many sales you need in order to achieve your income goal. Okay, so we need to get really clear. We need to do the maths here. You know, if you want to make 10k and you're selling your course at 200 pound, how many courses do you need to sell to make that 10 grand? Because if that's your goal, your focus needs to be on X amount of courses. In fact, I'm going to work it out how Many if I've got ten grand. So £10,000 and I want to make my courses 200, I need to sell 50 courses. I need 50 students to give me their money in order for me to achieve my goals.

Karen [00:24:54]:
Okay, that's your focus. So then when it comes down to the marketing, what are you gonna do to make that happen? The moment you have that figure of 50 in your head, suddenly it becomes tangible. It becomes so precise and specific. You can make a plan to make that work. You can create that map on how you're going to reach those 50 people to buy your course. It's simple maths. When it comes down to it, the clearer you are around your math, the clearer you can be on how you're going to achieve it. Now, reverse engineering your income goal is going to help you because it's going to make the plan that you put in place feel achievable.

Karen [00:25:47]:
So this step removes the guesswork and it gives you clarity on what's required. So your formula, it's a very simple formula. You want to map out your 2026 revenue goal and you want to divide it by your course price. That's just what I've done. So I've said £10,000. Divide 200 pound, because I'm going to sell my course at 200 pound. The total sales needed is 50. I have a number.

Karen [00:26:19]:
That number becomes gold because that number is what you're going to work. To everyone that has a course, a product, whatever they're selling, this is the simple formula that they need to use to determine what they need to do. And from that, that is what you're then going to create a plan to bring to life. So your business, when it comes to promoting, needs a rhythm. It needs a system that is not random. Okay, so if you are somebody that is currently sporadically promoting without having a plan at the core, then you're most likely not generating sales because your, your business activity needs a rhythm. So creating a predictable pattern of promotions is going to ensure that your audience knows what to expect. Now, this rhythm can be anything.

Karen [00:27:23]:
It could be one to three live launches per year. So, you know, it could be every few months you're going into a live launch. And, and a lot of course, successful course creators may use this approach. So they'll do, every few months, they'll do a big promotion and they'll do a live launch strategy and they'll, they'll put that in place because they know they're going to generate income off the back of that launch. Becomes predictable evergreen Funnel running all year. So this could be where you run a freebie. Somebody signs up for your freebie, you maybe offer a small trip wire, so a small offer that is presented once they've downloaded the freebie, that aligns with the freebie. And then once they've done that, they're in a funnel.

Karen [00:28:13]:
And it might be through that funnel you lead them to something else, I. E. Your course that will convince them to buy. That's an evergreen funnel because it runs all the time. You just need to offer your freebie. And, and once they've downloaded your freebie, it triggers everything else. And you build that on automation so that you can get that income coming in all year. You may run monthly or quarterly promotions, so you might feed this in as well.

Karen [00:28:48]:
So it might be a seasonal thing. You know, you could, you know, Black Friday is a promotion that is run, you know, once a year because of the Black Friday, you know, promotion period. But you may do other things as well. You may have a new year offer, you may have an Easter offer, you could have a summer offer, you could have, I don't know, a Halloween offer. Doesn't matter. It all just needs to be planned in advance. You can set the pricing strategy in, in terms of each, off each promotion you run, but you need to map this out. What are you going to run when and what is your pricing strategy that you're going to use at that point in time? And then again, you can use short flash offers that could boost conversions as well.

Karen [00:29:38]:
So it might be that you have a birthday promotion because you know you want to boost those sales. Now just imagine running all four of these things throughout the year, you could potentially be generating quite a bit of income if your sales or your, your messaging is effective. And you can test that because if you run maybe a beta or maybe you run a promotion and you write your message in, you can test if your messaging is effective, because if it's not, people aren't going to buy. So you can get an insight as to whether people are clicking to, through people are going to your sales page, whether they're converting. You can test all that. And with messaging, often it does need testing, tweaking, refining to get the, you know, that, I guess the messaging that's going to compel and convert. So that takes a bit of time, but once you've got it, you can then feed it into these activities. And if you are, you know, you know, offering things at different times through the year, you're going to be generating those sales.

Karen [00:30:53]:
But by having a Plan, you will be able to map out exactly what activity you're going to be doing so you can plan for those sales. And when you start making those sales, they will become consistent because you'll get to a point where you'll be able to determine what sales you're going to make. And the thing is, with online business, it is a numbers game. The more people that come through, the more people you're likely to convert. Okay, so then you just have to focus on, okay, if I can convert one person from every 10 people that comes in, because, you know, I'm testing, I'm trialing and this is what my data shows me. If I get a hundred people through, what does that give me? It gives me potentially 10 sales. What if I get 200, 300? Okay, how am I going to do that? It might require some ad spend, it might require some focus marketing online. But then by knowing that you can determine the marketing activity, you can then use to get that, that traffic through into your funnel.

Karen [00:32:08]:
So it just then becomes, okay, how am I going to get those numbers? But the moment you have a plan, everything becomes easier, it becomes more predictable because you know what you're doing when and you'll be able to get those sales for your online course. Now obviously I'm not going to leave you hanging with this. I love a system, you all know I love a system, you all love it. No, I love notion. I have created you a notion course sales map because I want you to get those consistent results, but I also want you to be able to track and plan everything out and where better to do it than in Notion. So in this planner, we can focus on our monthly revenue goal, our sales targets, when we're going to be running key promotions, our lead sources. So how are we going to generate leads into our business? We need to have a plan for that. Are you going to run ads? They go to a tripwire, they go into a funnel, they go into conversions.

Karen [00:33:12]:
We need to map this out. And what are you going to do to make sure that you're taking action, how are you going to be accountable? Because the only way you're going to achieve this is by taking action. So you need to be doing this on a daily basis. And I know that can feel quite tough because I, you know, you might be running a business, you might be, you know, delivering client work, you might be going networking, you might be doing all these things. But how can you make this easy so that it is embedded in your day to day system? You know, maybe it requires you Looking at how you run your day and what you can do to make sure that you're doing this. Because at the end of the day, this is sales, this is scalable income that could be a game changer in your business. So I'm going to say something that's really, that could be deemed quite a little bit controversial. Okay.

Karen [00:34:13]:
And I'm talking about this from my pers, from my own experience, okay? When we chase clients, we get a cash injection because often when a client signs to us, they will be paying for a service that is most likely going to be more than the course that you're going to be selling. I've come to learn it's a, you know it, it's short sighted. This is scalable. So you may be like, okay, if I put all my time to this, I'm only potentially generating less really than maybe what I could be earning, chasing clients and getting client work through the door. Okay. This gives you your time back. This builds a scalable business model that is going to grow your business. Chasing clients and focusing on client work like say, may bring in the cash injection, but you're always going to be limited.

Karen [00:35:15]:
And on that constant cycle of having to find more clients, isn't it better to create a system that generates income on repeat when you're away spending time with your favorite people or doing whatever it is that you love to do outside your business, isn't it better to focus on building a system that affords you that rather than getting so caught up in having to constantly find client work? Now, I know we all have bills to pay, we've got to feed our family, we've got to do the thing. So maybe part of it is client work. What I'm trying to say is it's so easy to fall into that trap of focusing solely on finding client work, delivering services because it feels like an easy win. But what you then do is focus on that over this and this is going to be your path to freedom. So I would encourage you take the time, map out your course sales, how you're going to do it, what system of delivery you're going to use and take the action to making this work. From January in the the portal, I'm going to be releasing launch strategies and how you can actually launch your online course. I'm going to be sharing lots of different things, things I'm going to be building out. The launch hub next year is all about launching and making sales.

Karen [00:36:46]:
I encourage you to come on my journey with me and make this your focus. Because if you can do this, you can generate income and you can get your freedom back and ultimately build that business that you're going to love. And I guarantee it's not going to be being tied up with finding client work on a regular basis because that just leads to exhaustion and burnout. So with that being said, I just want to sort of dive into sales strategy. Okay. Your selling strategy should reflect you as an individual, how you work and what you want to create in the coming year. So you need to have a really good idea on what that looks like for you. Because this business that you're creating through your online course sales is going to support your lifestyle.

Karen [00:37:40]:
You just need to kick start it and get it working. Once it gets working, you can scale it and you can start generating more income, but you'll have the ability to do that. So as I mentioned earlier, think about your delivery method. Is it through live launches, is it through Evergreen Automation, or is it through a hybrid mix of both? You get to choose, you get to determine what that looks like. Live launches. And I've, I've mentioned this earlier, these are ideal if you thrive on energy, community and connection. They create excitement and urgency and this can lead to higher conversions. I've sold through live launches.

Karen [00:38:25]:
When I sold my program Passion to launch, I did it all through live launching. It's great. You get to bring people in, you get to showcase what it is that you can do, how you can help. You get to have those conversations. And they are perfect if you want to, you know, create a big revenue boost. You want to create a community alongside the launch. The your course. They are high intensity selling periods.

Karen [00:38:54]:
So it does require a lot of energy, a lot of time, a lot of effort. But the rewards can really outweigh the work involved. It's just, are you prepared to do that? And that's what I would just ask. Not in a judgmental way. Never do that. Because everybody needs to work to their own. It's not even capabilities, it's their own schedule, what you have. Everyone's got everything going on.

Karen [00:39:21]:
Like we've all got things going on. You need to choose what is right for you in this season of your life. And that's the biggest thing that I would encourage you to think about. What is doable right now? You could just run clear promotions on a seasonal basis and you could put sort of a bit of a live launch element into that. So this could be life challenges, it could be webinars, it could be things where you show up and you are live through that period. Evergreen sales. This is if you want to build out on autopilot. The one thing I would say about this is I would only do this if you have proved that your offer is right, your messaging works and you've got the right audience.

Karen [00:40:09]:
Because there's no point building an Evergreen sales funnel if it's the wrong offer to the wrong people at the wrong time. That doesn't give them the right result because you won't get any conversions. What I would encourage you to do is beta test ahead of time, run it lives, get that insight, get that feedback. And when you are confident that you have all the pieces and they work, then I would put it on an evergreen sales funnel. Evergreen works best if you are looking to generate consistent reoccurring sales. If you want more time freedom. If you don't like live events, not everybody likes to show up live at a webinar. And maybe you want to scare, you know, create a system that you can scale long term.

Karen [00:41:01]:
So this could be you run a Facebook ad to an Evergreen funnel and you grow that way. So something very simple, very easy, but will be, you know, you'll be able to see scale over time. And then the hybrid model is a mix of everything. So this is where you may have Evergreen going on. So your Evergreen funnel, but you still enjoy the momentum of creating live launches. So it might be that you map out an alter, you know, an evergreen for a period of time and then you create live launches at given times of the year. You need to like I honestly, this all needs to be mapped out on a calendar so that you can plan ahead of time. It's going to make your life a lot easier because you'll be able to determine what is necessary, what you need to do, what you need to create and when you need to create it.

Karen [00:42:01]:
I would encourage you to look at your customer journey because a smooth customer journey is going to lead people to your course. And when each step like feels organic, it feels natural, it's going to build trust. And then you'll get, you know, you'll be able to generate those sales. So your ideal journey could be just for example, a freebie that you offer. It could be a low ticket offer that you present. So maybe a trip wire, 27 pound, 36, whatever. It could then lead to the course that you have created. And then through that there may be an upsell.

Karen [00:42:40]:
So it could be the upsell, could be, you know, a, a, you know, maybe your premium coaching package that you are reducing because maybe they've created your course or something. So this is going to be your sales ecosystem that is going to help you to bring people in, convert them, build that know like and trust and generate income from. It might be that you're, you know, you have a very simple freebie to core software and that's absolutely fine as well. You just need to make sure that once somebody's downloaded the freebie, your course is, is literally the next step. There's not a gap there that they need to have before they go onto your course. So you need to map out, okay, if they have this problem, my freebie is going to give them this, but once they've downloaded this, they're going to need this. And this is my course. If you don't have that, then it may be worth thinking about a low ticket offer that bridges that gap.

Karen [00:43:44]:
Because from your audience point of view, they want to be following a journey that is natural, that's organic, and that simply leads them to the next step that gives them that solution that they're looking for. So what does that look like.

Karen [00:44:05]:
Once.

Karen [00:44:05]:
You'Ve mapped that out? And, and this could be as simple as on a piece of paper you literally do a customer journey map. You know, step one's there, step two's there, step three's there, step four's that, you know, it could just be something as simple as that. Once you have outlined what that looks like, then the next step is looking at how you're going to market it. How are you going to get it out there in front of Those people? Your 2026 marketing overview. Now, I'm gonna guess, and I might be completely off the boil here, off the mark, but I suspect most people, or a lot of small entrepreneurs, small micro business owners most likely go into the year without having a marketing or promotion calendar mapped out. If you are looking to generate sales, how will you know when you're going to make those sales if you don't have a plan in place? And I guess if you're going to take anything away from today's session, that is the thing that I want you to take away, is that if you want to achieve your goal, you need a plan in place to achieve it. Now we all know, like I'm, I'm teaching you here to suck eggs. You all know this is needed.

Karen [00:45:30]:
There's a difference between knowing and having something in place, taking that time to create something. Now this session, I'm delivering this at the beginning of December, December, January of the most brilliant time to really think about the following year, what you want to achieve and how you're going to achieve it. And with that you're going to need to work out how you're going to market your online course. So then you need to create a marketing calendar where you can outline everything. Because marketing becomes easier when you break your year down into manageable chunks. And we're lucky we have four quarters. Therefore we can use the 90 day cycle to be able to focus our efforts. Each quarter has one focus.

Karen [00:46:27]:
Choose your focus in the next 90 days. I will. What if I said to you, where do you want to be this time by the 1st of December next year? Think about what that looks like for you because it's definitely something that. It's a conversation that I've been having a lot with people. Where do you want to be 1st of December next year? Not the 1st of January, because 1st of January you're most likely going to be indulging in family fun, you know, enjoying the festive period. And they're probably not even thinking about work, which is absolutely right. 1st of December is a really good mark marking point because you're going to in December you're going to be reflecting, reviewing and planning for the next year. So where do you want to be on the 1st of December? What do you need to do to get to that point? How many sales? What does that look like? By knowing that, you can now break it down into 4, 4 quarters.

Karen [00:47:37]:
What do you need to do on each quarter? So you could plan your year by breaking it down over the four quarters. And it could be something like if you haven't created your online course, it could be building and preparing your course. Quarter two could be focusing on growing and promoting. Quarter three could be reviewing and refining. And then quarter four could be looking at scaling and maximizing four quarters, four focus points. But by doing that in 90 days, you will have a focus. And if you focus in on those activities, you will, you will make incredible progress. It's just about breaking it down into manageable chunks.

Karen [00:48:28]:
I've chosen the 1st of December because I think it's a really nice date to go by. But I would encourage you to pick a day and I, you know, the first of the month is a really good day. Just pick a date next year, where do you want to be? And start mapping that out. By knowing that and knowing your quarters, you can then break it down into promotional dates. So when you're being intentional with your promotions, you are most likely to generate more consistent and controllable income because you're being really intentional with it. Mapping these dates ahead of Time is going to create flow and it's going to give you control and take you out of a state of chaos. So you want to be planning for launch month, evergreen campaign periods, seasonal promotions, monthly or quarterly pushes. Okay, so what I'm giving you in notion, in the notion template is going to give you a place to plan all of this out.

Karen [00:49:33]:
And honestly, I would encourage you. I know we say we're going to do it often there's a discrepancy by, between saying and doing. So take the time, map it out, get really clear on what that looks like so that you can create a plan that's going to work for you. Take advantage of seasonal opportunities, you know, because your audience are going to respond differently throughout the year, tapping into, you know, specific points in the year that they kind of scream for. Like promotions like say Black Friday. That's a really great time to be running a promotion. But also so is the, the beginning of the year as well. You know, mid year promotions, you know, autumn promotions, you get to choose what that looks like.

Karen [00:50:25]:
And this could be things like January motivation, it could be a spring reset, you know, like for your energy. It could be a summer slowdown for low ticket focus, September back to routine Black Friday promotions, or it could be year end planning. Decide what is right for you, for you and your course and then, and then bring in some, some like sort of say some ideas around the different seasons. Your visibility plan. Now this isn't about being everywhere and doing everything. This is about doing the right thing consistently. So choose actions that you can maintain all year long. So your visibility may include creating weekly content.

Karen [00:51:17]:
It could be creating a daily social content where maybe you choose a platform and you show up on a daily basis. It could be you sending weekly marketing content out to your email list. It could be creating a podcast or creating a YouTube channel, or where you deliver weekly content. Or it could be creating content on your preferred platforms where maybe you interview other guests, maybe you create collaborations, you do activity that's going to enhance your visibility. There's lots of things that we could be doing, but it isn't about doing everything. It's about choosing one or two things, doing them consistently, doing them well, and bringing your audience into your world so you can then nurture and convert them. So create a 90 day action plan. Take one of the quarters.

Karen [00:52:16]:
January to March is honestly it's the perfect time to really map out an action plan because it's at the beginning of the year if you're fresh, but hopefully you're ready for the Year ahead, you've got to be some big goals, and you can map out what those 90 days look like. They're going to set the tone for the whole year. So choose the right priorities, because this is going to create momentum and build your confidence. And one thing I just want to say on this point, confidence will not come from doing nothing. Confidence comes from taking action. Because by taking action, you learn and failing, you learn it's okay to fail. In fact, take action, fail, learn, rinse, repeat, and you'll learn what you need to do to get the results that you want to go, you want to achieve. Okay, really important.

Karen [00:53:11]:
I just want to. I've been delivering live events for probably the past couple of years. Okay. When I first started delivering my webinars, honestly, like the first year, I would put them in the calendar, I would send out the invites, I would do a bit of promotion, and then probably days before, I would cancel because I had the fear about delivering the live event. So I would cancel, come up with an excuse to. To feel easy, to feel like, you know, to get to. To get myself off the hook. Problem was that by canceling, I wasn't getting any results.

Karen [00:53:52]:
Second year, I started delivering the live events again, and my numbers started small. But my growth came from showing up, taking action, and doing it. The more I delivered my events, the more confident I felt about my delivery and about my offer. I would be lying if I said that every time I delivered a live event, I nailed my offer. I didn't. There would be events. I made no conversions because I wasn't convinced that my offer was right for my audience. But I wanted to show up, deliver, be there, and present an offer to get myself comfortable with making sales.

Karen [00:54:38]:
I've been doing this now for probably near on three years. I says, you know, it's probably around that time. So I've gone through a real journey doing this. And my sales now are more than ever. The people I have signing up and coming along to my live events are more than ever. And what I've come to learn is that the more I've shown up, the more I've taken action, the better the results have been. It started off slow. It started off where, you know, I had only a few people.

Karen [00:55:09]:
And then I grew. But had I not shown up and taken that action, I wouldn't be making sales and generating income. So I stand here today knowing full well how tough this is. But my confidence has grown every time I've taken action. So if you are sitting there and you're thinking, I Can't do this. I don't have what it takes. This. I don't like being visible.

Karen [00:55:34]:
This makes me feel nervous. I can feel my heart. I can feel the anxiety. Anxiety. I get it. 100. I get it. But what I'd say to you, push past that.

Karen [00:55:46]:
Take action. It will build your confidence and you'll start to learn what works and what doesn't. And when you get that insight, you can, you can then make conscious decisions. That's going to move you towards your goal. And if you don't do that, if you play safe, you'll never achieve what you set out to achieve. So we've got to get uncomfortable and we've got to take this action because we need to achieve our goals. So I just wanted to mention that because this may require you to get uncomfortable. And I'm not going to stand here and you and say this is really easy.

Karen [00:56:24]:
You know, it. It can be. You have to push past that fear first. And I encourage you to do that because the rewards are amazing. When you can start to get those sales in and you're making sales. I was literally on Sunday cleaning my. One of the rooms in my house and I. And I had sales come through and it's such an amazing feeling to get to that point where I know I don't have to do anything because I'm selling and I'm getting those results.

Karen [00:56:55]:
Stick with it. Do the work, take the action. And it will. Honestly, this is the business that will give you that freedom, not chasing clients. So, you know, hopefully what I say makes sense. I don't want to upset anybody or be controversial. I'm just speaking from my own experience. With that in mind, I want you to think about quarter one next year because your priorities may include the following.

Karen [00:57:22]:
It may be that you're creating your course still. That's absolutely fine. Keep going. It may be that you need to update your course. That's fine. Update it. Courses need updating. It may be that you need to focus on building your evergreen funnel your lead magnet to maybe a tripwire or straight to your course.

Karen [00:57:41]:
Take the time. Build it out. Maybe you need to focus on growing your email list. List. That's absolutely fine. Focus on that. Just determine the actions that need to be taken to grow that list. Plan your quarter one launch.

Karen [00:57:57]:
It could be in March. So what does that look like? And set up your system so that you can do this on auto. So system. I talk about systeme a lot. You have all the tools available to yourself. You know, you can go in there you can create an opt in page, you can set the automations, it can bring them into a funnel and you can do what is needed to, to take them where you want them to go. Just map it out and then use quarter one to build out your, your priorities. Obviously we're in December, so what do we need to do before then? We need to prep because this is going to create confidence and confidence sales.

Karen [00:58:43]:
So start thinking about your foundations because then you can go into next year feeling organized and not overwhelmed. You want to feel like this is completely doable. So before January I'd encourage you to think about refreshing your sales page, maybe finalize a lead magnet you've been thinking about or create that trip wire again. In system you've got everything. And if you go into the, you know, build your email list five day course, I show you how to do all this. Think about the content that you're going to be sharing with your audience and think about batching two to four weeks of content so that you get ahead of the game. And then map out your email campaigns. Are you sending an email to your email list? Are you doing it weekly? If not, think about what you could be sharing with them in order to build that connection with them on a regular basis.

Karen [00:59:50]:
If you're only doing it once a month that's fine and, and you've got to create something that works for you. But I would encourage you to think about doing it more frequently because when they need what you have, you want to be the first forefront of their minds and then take the time and build out your notion system because this is going to be a game changer. I live in notion, I have systems for everything. This is going to be the thing that is going to make a difference because once you've got that plan in place, you just need to follow it and then you'll be able to get those results. Think about what it is that you can automate because automation is going to support you because it means that you can deliver your best content consistently. When your systems run smoothly, selling will become a lot more easier and a lot more predictable. So think about what you can automate. Things like welcome email sequences, tripwire checkout flows, evergreen funnels, abandoned car emails.

Karen [01:00:59]:
So somebody puts your product in their car and then they, they, they get busy and distracted. Are you going to follow up with an email and then think about your launch Runway sequence as well? How if you're going to live launch because maybe you fancy doing that, what does that look like? You're brilliant. Needs to get out there. The course that you have created is going to be your brilliance. So you need to get it out there so it grows consistently. Setting clear, accountable goals is going to help you stay focused, stay motivated and it's gonna align you throughout your entire year because you won't then be asking that question, where do I need to put my focus? Because you'll know you've got a plan. You are honestly, you create this plan, you're probably ahead of probably a lot of people out there that are running businesses. So think about setting goals for your email list growth, your content output.

Karen [01:02:03]:
So your social media content, what does that look like? Maybe your launch dates that you're going to run through the year and any quarterly reviews and build in those those goals so that you can put the the right activity in so you can again be ahead of the game. You can goal and be really focused on on what it is that you're going to be doing so that you put your focus and energy where it needs to be. And the great thing about this is when you get so clear on what your goal is, anything that comes your way that doesn't align with that goal becomes a distraction and you will be able to determine whether it's a yes or a no. And then that becomes so much easier because you'll be able to sense check it against your goal. Using your time in a productive way that's going to help build your business is going to be a really smart move. So before I finish, I just want to finish with this final thought. Next year you do not need to work harder. You just need a clearer plan.

Karen [01:03:10]:
When you know what to sell, when to sell it and how to sell it, everything feels lighter, more intentional, and more profitable. Next year is your year to scale with confidence and momentum. Just take the action, do what you need to do, and you'll be able to achieve those goals that you ultimately set for yourself.

Karen [01:03:34]:
Thank you so much for tuning into today's episode. I hope this episode has really helped to give you some clarity and of course course spark some new ideas for your business. 

And if you found this helpful, then I'd love for you to share with a friend or a fellow entrepreneur who's building their online business because this could be exactly what they need to hear today. And if this episode has you thinking about maybe next year is the time to launch your first online course, then I'd like you to check out my membership www.sellyourbrillianceonline.com. 

I will be back next week with another episode, but until then, have a wonderful week. Thanks for tuning into today's episode of Online Business Uncovered. If today's conversation has sparked an idea.

Karen [01:04:25]:
Or gave you a dose of clarity, then please make sure to check out the show notes for all the links and resources mentioned. New episodes land every Thursday, so hit, follow or subscribe to. Stay in the loop. And if you're loving the show, a.

Karen [01:04:40]:
Quick rating or review goes a long.

Karen [01:04:42]:
Way in helping more brilliant entrepreneurs like.

Karen [01:04:44]:
You find this show.

Karen [01:04:46]:
Until next time, keep showing up, keep sharing your brilliance, and remember, freedom in.

Karen [01:04:51]:
Business is possible, and it starts with.

Karen [01:04:53]:
Taking the next right step.