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Teaching What You've Learned

I've found that one of the best ways to learn Internet Marketing, or any other topic, is by trying to teach it to someone else. You quickly realize how much more you know than you thought you did. And you get a better idea of what you aren't clear about and need to learn better.

Community Centers are always on the lookout for new programs to offer their members. Why not approach them about teaching a one day workshop or an ongoing course? You may not be an expert yet, but you know much more than the majority of people do.

Right now, I'm preparing content for a workshop I'm doing about
How To Set Up A Free Website. That free site is, of course, Blogger. We've tried advertising it as "setting up a blog", but a lot of people in the offline world still don't really know what a blog is. Since we changed the course title to "website", there have been many more registrations.

A lot of the things you do will change as you test them. For instance, I've often done day long workshops, but I find that most people feel overwhelmed with all of the new info by the end of the day and it's hard for them to concentrate. So this coming year, I'll be teaching in one-and-a half to three hour weekly blocks of time, depending on the course.

I'm doing seven different courses - from "Create a Website" to "Have An Online Radio Show". My most popular is "Start An Internet Home Business For Under $100" and involves registering a domain name after doing keyword research, getting hosting, setting up a Wordpress blog and adding an opt-in form. I stress that it takes time and hard work and I don't pretend I make a lot of money. But it is a business they can do from home with little expense and compared to the time, effort, and risk involved in an offline business it's a good alternative.

I try to have a lot of handouts. People really like them and it makes them feel that they've got their money's worth from the course. My main problem has always been giving too much information and I've been trying to scale back on that. It may take you five minutes to register and set up a Blogger blog, but a beginner might take half an hour. Have enough to do so that faster learners can go ahead and slower ones can continue at their own pace. You don't want anyone feeling bored or pressured.

I've been a bit frustrated that students have purchased products I recommend, like domain registration and hosting, but not through my link. So now I've started telling them that if you buy through my link, you will pay the same amount, but I will help you get started.

I encourage the completion of feedback forms at the end of each course. These help me a lot and like I said, the main negative feedback is usually too much info, too little time. And I also have a projector I hook up to my laptop to show what I'm doing. This has been a big help and I'm really glad I bought it.

Your payment will depend on the community center. One place splits the fees with me 50/50 - nice for a one day if enough registrants, and the other pays me by the hour - even if few in class I still get same amount. Plus I can plug private coaching, etc. as much as I like.

I would love to hear your ideas and how you use this. So go ahead and give teaching a try. If I can do it, so can you! Please keep me posted on your progress.

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