Your expertise in a small box that does big things

No one in their right minds likes a queue.

But wait. Imagine your best client. You know, the one who says nice things about you when you’re not in the room. Now imagine a whole queue of people just like them, already convinced you're brilliant before they've handed over a penny.

Bit more keen on a queue now? Sure. And a micro course can help build one.

A micro course is a small, focused, genuinely tasty slice of your buffet of expertise that you package up and serve up to the world to nibble at. It's not the whole table of treats, it’s the amuse-bouche, or the sample on a silver platter, if you will. One useful thing, done well, that gives your audience a real taste of what it feels like to work with you.

A micro course can be one of the best ways to build advocacy and fans, because when people experience your expertise rather than just read about it, something shifts. They stop being a cold prospect and start being a warm one, much more ready to buy.

Start with this:pick the RIGHT bit of your expertise

Your micro course needs to solve a real, specific, felt problem. Not a vague, wishy-washy problem that you quite fancy working on. You know, the thing that is making your future clients groan at their desk at 9am on a Tuesday whilst gently resting their forehead on their keyboard to see if their face can somehow type the solution.

Ask yourself: what is the one thing my ideal client is stuck on that I could genuinely help them shift in a short space of time? Start there.

No one likes an oversharer (so awkward) so this is not about giving people your entire body of knowledge - find the bit that takes them from where they are (stuck) to one step forward (a little less stuck).

Make sure you describe the place where this piece of learning will take them – this is the outcome of your course. Write this succinctly on a Post-It.

Reflect on this outcome – check that it will be super useful. And make sure the way you articulate it will resonate with your audience.

Then think about this: what are the short, simple learning steps?

Grab some Post-Its.

Draw your stick people audience on one Post-it and jot down the stuckness they are experiencing. Stick that on the wall or in front of you.

Now place the outcomes Post-It about a foot away.

Now put some Post-Its between them as stepping stones  - on each one jot down the key, small bits of learning the course needs to cover.

You may only need three or four.

Once that is complete, you have mapped the micro course content. Now you can create it!

You’re nearly there: what shape should it take?

The good news is that a micro course can take all sorts of forms. Pick the one that plays to your strengths and suits your audience. For example:

• A short email series. Three to six emails, each delivering one idea or action from your Post-Its, plus a final email showing them what to do next. Simple to build, lands directly in the inbox and in front of their eyeballs.

• A series of short videos. We're talking two to five minutes each, not a Netflix special. Film them on your phone because your audience wants to see and hear you, even if they don’t like your wallpaper.

• A downloadable PDF guide or workbook. Perfect if your content involves processes, frameworks or exercises. Give them something to actually do and they'll remember you every time they pick up a pen.

• An audio series. If you're a natural talker recording three or four short audio episodes on a theme is a brilliant option – great if you have an audience who are not keen on other format options (such as busy parents who can listen whilst doing the other 76 tasks they need to get done that morning).

You can mix and match – or pick one you feel comfortable with and test it.

Ready to polish? Put down that cloth

Don't let the fruitless pursuit of perfection be the reason your micro course never sees the light of day. It doesn't need slick graphics. It doesn't need a fancy platform. It doesn't need to be the definitive guide to anything. It needs to be useful, clear and genuinely you.

The payoff

A micro course works for your business around the clock and it can build trust before a sales conversation has even happened. It attracts exactly the right kind of people — those with the exact problem you can solve with your expertise.

So if you've been sitting on an idea for a micro course, or you haven't even got that far yet and the whole thing feels a bit fuzzy and overwhelming, let's fix that.

Book a Seed Sower session with me — If you love the idea of creating a hardworking micro course for your business but hate the thought of getting started, here’s my one nugget of wisdom: book a Seed Sower session with me. It's a one-hour creative thinking session where we'll take your expertise, find the golden nuggets that your audience genuinely needs, and map out a micro course you can actually build. You'll leave inspired -  with a clear idea, a format and a plan. Possibly also an inordinate sense of wellbeing… or at least a tinge of smugness.

Book your Seed Sower session here by emailing me.