7 YouTube Mistakes You’re Making as a Course Creator

Jul 5

There’s a lot of educational content here on YouTube that shows people how to grow their channels. The problem? Those tips aren’t for business, they’re for people wanting to be YouTubers.

So if you’re selling an online course…it’s no wonder your channel isn’t growing much, and why you aren’t getting the right leads funneled into your offers.

That’s why in this post, I’m going to be showing you the most common YouTube mistakes course creators are making with their videos and their YouTube channels as a whole. Being aware of these seven things, and knowing how to fix them, will make a world of difference in those metrics.

Let’s dig in!

Mistake #1: You’re creating too much “how-to” content

For so long we’ve heard the term, “rank on YouTube!” meaning that you need to be the FIRST person to show up in a search. Back in the day, that was much easier, but the problem now is that every single user’s search results are custom to their viewing behavior. That algorithm has gotten to be a little smarty pants.

In 2023, you still want to show up in searches, but you want to make your content more valuable. Because people will only watch so many base-level how-to videos. At some point, they’re going to want something more in-depth.

The Fix: You can still create how-to videos, but just make sure you mix things up a little bit.

Mistake #2: You’re not promoting your videos

If you’re a course creator trying to hit five-figure months, and you’re a team of one, or maybe one other person, your time is very limited. And yes, I know that creating a YouTube video isn’t just a 5-minute task you can do as an afterthought. But you NEED to be promoting that video if you want it to drive leads!

Just like anything else you want to show your audience, you have to talk about it for people to know it’s there. There’s tons of information online and we’re consuming so much that it’s easy to miss things even from people you keep up with the most.

The Fix: Make sure you tell people about your new videos instead of hoping they stumble across them on their YouTube home page.

Mistake #3: You aren’t tracking any metrics

This is a big one, and it’s a mistake I made for far too long, so I can tell you from first-hand experience how bad it can be for business.

Since YouTube was my only real marketing material for a loooooong time in my biz, I just assumed YouTube was driving my leads. But if you don’t know for sure where your leads are coming from you won’t know if your YouTube strategy is really working.

You could spend years (like me) wasting time thinking what you’re doing is really working…or you could devote a small portion of your attention diving into the PROOF (aka…the metrics).

The Fix: Add some time on your calendar — whether weekly, monthly, etc. — to keep an eye on how things are coming along.

Mistake #4: You’re focusing on the wrong metrics

Not tracking your metrics can be bad news bears, but tracking the wrong ones can be just as detrimental!

And face it — we all love looking at vanity metrics. And it’s not hard to see why. Content platforms have constantly fed us the idea that having more followers or subscribers is a mark of success. We see that number increase and it reassures us that people actually want to see our content, right?

But here’s the thing — it’s a false sense of hope. It’s actually no way to measure leads and the success of those leads at all! That’s why it’s called a vanity metric, because it’s just for show.

The Fix: Instead of looking at follow or subscriber count, or even views, make sure you’re also paying attention to things like audience retention, click-through rates, etc. Those paint a much more ACCURATE picture of what’s going on lead-wise.

Mistake #5: You’re spending too much time on the wrong things

Again, as a solopreneur, I know you are low on time. But you need sales to make a profit. And if you’re not focusing on the things that can help you get there, it’s going to be really hard to do that.

Most people spend so much time worrying about having the right equipment or trying to heavily edit their videos with all the bells and whistles. That stuff can be helpful, yes, but it’s not going to be the catalyst that grows your channel and increases the leads you’re getting from it.

Those things do not ensure ROI.

The Fix: Understanding your target audience. Understand their problems and put your brain power towards finding a viable solution (aka…one they actually want).

THIS will pay off MUCH more than adding a fancy transition to your video editing or buying a fancy camera when you have an iPhone that will take good enough videos.

Mistake #6: You assume your audience knows about your offers

Okay, this is another BIG one. But just because you know you have an online course doesn’t mean your audience does. Again, information, and loads of it, is flying around at light speed these days. There’s just simply too much out there to assume people know everything about what you do.

It’s YOUR responsibility to communicate and educate your audience on your offers.

You don’t need to make it “salesy,” you can actually find plenty of ways to naturally slip it in there while you’re recording.

Like when you share a story or an example about how your process worked for you or a client. This makes the viewer really respect you and take action because you made the transition so effortless.

And I HIGHLY recommend having a clear CTA at the end of every video, and adding it to the description box on your YouTube video description. You need to let people know you have something for you to buy that will SOLVE THEIR PROBLEM!

The Fix: Talk about your course. That’s it.

Mistake #7: You’re not building a community

You can actually build a pretty solid community on YouTube. We often look at it like a search engine, but people have built entire brands off of the community they built on YouTube. And as course creators, that tells us that we need to lean into that a little bit more. Having this community is one of the best ways to warm up your leads!

The Fix: Encourage conversation. Not only in the comments section, but on community posts too. Encouraging your audience to vote on video titles, topics, or potential offers can also help boost engagement. Make sure you actually respond to questions and comments on your videos. Things like that!

Ready to get serious about YouTube?

If you are ready to take your YouTube strategy seriously so you can get more sales for your online course, then I have the thing for you.

I’m going to be hosting an exclusive YouTube Accelerator inside my mastermind, $10K On Replay, in August. Over the course of three weeks, I’m going to personally help you clarify your target audience, help you map out your content, AND get your channel running in the right direction! All so you can drive more of those leads!

P.S. — this is more of a 1:1 style help, so if that’s the thing you’re looking for, you can apply for $10K on Replay here!