When it comes to selling your online course, you’ve probably heard about two main strategies: evergreen funnels and launching. But how do you know which approach is best for your course, your business, and your lifestyle?

Let’s break down the pros and cons of each and help you decide the best route to take.

What is an Evergreen Funnel?

An evergreen funnel is a sales system that runs automatically on an ongoing basis. It’s always active, which means potential students can discover and purchase your course at any time without waiting for a special launch event.

How it works:

• You create a series of automated emails or ads that guide people through the buying process.
• Sell via flash sales or with Pinterest pins.
• It typically includes a lead magnet (like a freebie) to get people into the funnel, followed by nurturing content that builds trust, ending with an offer to purchase your course.
• Once the funnel is set up, it runs in the background, bringing in passive income.

Pros of Evergreen Funnels:

• Consistent Income: Since your course is always available, you have the potential to make sales every day. Simply add it to your Everything Page.
• Automation: Once you set it up, the funnel works on autopilot, freeing up your time for exposure, not the delivery.
• No Time Pressure: There’s no rush to get everything perfect for a launch date, which takes away a lot of stress.
• Scalability: You can tweak and optimize your funnel over time to increase conversion rates without needing to relaunch your entire course.

Cons of Evergreen Funnels:

• Lower Urgency: Since your course is always available, people may not feel the need to buy right away, which can slow down sales.
• Requires a Solid Funnel: You need a well-crafted funnel that builds trust and effectively sells your course on autopilot, which can take time to perfect.
• Slower Results: If you need quick cash flow, an evergreen funnel might not deliver immediate results since sales tend to trickle in over time.

What is Launching?

Launching a course is when you open enrollment for a limited period, usually accompanied by a lot of hype, live events, and promotional content. It’s all about building excitement and urgency to drive a surge of sales.

How it works:

• You open your course for a specific time (e.g., 5 days to 2 weeks). Remember, all the work is done upfront (3-6 months prior to the launch)
• You promote the launch heavily through emails, social media, webinars, or live challenges leading up to the open cart period.
• After the launch, the course enrollment closes, creating scarcity and urgency for potential buyers.

Pros of Launching:

• Big Revenue Boost: Launches can generate a huge influx of sales in a short time, which is great if you need cash flow.
• Built-in Urgency: The limited-time availability of the course creates urgency, making people more likely to purchase.
• Buzz and Hype: The excitement of a launch can attract new leads, increase engagement, and boost your visibility.
• Great for New Courses: If you’re launching a brand-new course, this approach helps you get a big group of students enrolled at once.

Cons of Launching:

• High Stress: Launches require a lot of preparation and promotion, which can be overwhelming and stressful, especially if things don’t go as planned.
• Inconsistent Income: You’ll likely see a big surge of income during the launch but could experience dips in revenue between launches.
• Exhausting Process: Launches can be draining, and doing them multiple times a year can lead to burnout.
• Relies on Hype: If your launch doesn’t generate enough excitement or doesn’t hit its goals, you might be left scrambling for income.

Which Should You Choose?

Here’s the million-dollar question: should you use an evergreen funnel or launch your course? The answer depends on a few factors:

Choose an Evergreen Funnel If:

• You want consistent, passive income.
• You prefer a more hands-off, automated system.
• You don’t like the pressure of a big, all-at-once launch.
• You’re willing to invest time upfront to perfect your funnel and let it run in the background.

Choose Launching If:

• You want to create hype and excitement around your course.
• You’re looking for a big payday over a short period.
• You enjoy the energy of live events and engaging directly with your audience.
• You don’t mind the intense focus and pressure of a big event (as long as you can recover afterward!).

Hybrid Approach: Why Not Both?

Here’s a little secret: you don’t have to choose one or the other. A lot of successful course creators do both! For example:

• Launch first: Start with a big live launch to generate buzz, build your audience, and enroll your first group of students.
• Then switch to evergreen: Once the excitement of the launch is over, put your course into an evergreen funnel for continuous sales.

By combining both strategies, you can enjoy the best of both worlds: the excitement and revenue boost of a launch, followed by the steady, passive income from your evergreen funnel.

You’ve got an excellent idea for a course, and naturally, when you share your knowledge, you want a successful launch with thousands enrolling in it, right?

Of course, no one wants a failed launch!

Now, you might be questioning yourself, “Should I create a mini version of this course and test the market first?” After all, they say you should start with a Minimum Viable Offer, right?

Well, that’s a great thought! But what I’m about to share with you might surprise you…

What if I told you that you don’t need a high-ticket signature course at all?

Why spend so much time creating one big course when you could split it into several mini-courses and potentially earn more from these bite-sized offers over the long term?

In this blog post, I’ll break down the pros and cons of each option so you can confidently decide which course format is best for your idea.

Let’s Start with Low-Ticket Mini Courses

Mini-courses are perfect for quick-fix content—they’re designed to be bite-sized and deliver a fast, targeted win for your audience.

Mini-courses typically start around $9 (although I don’t recommend starting that low) and can go up to $99. From my experience, having created online courses since 2004, the sweet spot is $27, $37, and $47. These price points are ideal for courses that are quick and easy to launch. So, if you’re pressed for time or resources but want to get something out quickly, a mini-course is the way to go!

Mini-courses are also great for lead generation. Their low price makes them an attractive entry point for new customers, allowing them to experience your method or teaching style. Plus, they’re easy to promote with Facebook ads, helping you build trust and authority in no time.

Drawbacks of a Mini Course

Since mini-courses are sold at a lower price point, you’ll need to aim for high sales volume to generate significant revenue. Otherwise, you’ll want to introduce higher-ticket offers on your upsell page to make sure you’re covering the time, effort, and Facebook ads budget you’ve invested.

Also, mini-courses typically cover just one specific topic or problem. So, if you’re looking to teach something more comprehensive, you may need to either combine multiple mini-courses into one larger offering or consider creating a group coaching program.

Let’s Look at High-Ticket Signature Courses

This is a premium offering, typically priced between $199 and $1,999, though I’ve seen some go as high as $5,000 to $10,000.

These types of courses are designed to provide a deep, transformative experience for your audience, giving them everything they need to achieve a significant outcome.

The great thing about high-ticket courses is that each sale generates far more revenue. Selling just a few spots at $1,999 can easily outperform the revenue you’d earn from selling dozens of mini-courses.

Signature courses allow participants to dive deep into a topic, often following a step-by-step process or framework that requires extensive teaching.

Another important point is that people tend to associate higher prices with higher value. Offering a high-ticket course positions you as an expert in your field and creates a sense of exclusivity around your program.

Drawbacks of a Signature Course

One of the obvious drawbacks of creating a signature course is that it takes time. I know some creators who spend six months developing their signature course. In my own experience, it took me at least three months to create mine, and that was after already creating a few mini-courses.

Another challenge with high-ticket courses is that selling them often requires both courage and a longer sales cycle. If you naturally consider yourself a strong salesperson, you might not need that extra courage or lengthy sales process, but for most of us, we tend to delay creating high-ticket offers because we’re unsure about pricing.

Finally, you need to build trust with your audience before they’re willing to invest a large sum in you. This often means you’ll need a variety of marketing strategies, such as webinars, sales calls, a full launch funnel, and maybe even a sales team to support your efforts.

So, Which One Should You Create?

I could say the answer depends on your goals, audience, and business strategy, but I want to be blunt: don’t start with a signature course—start with a mini course.

Why? Well, if you’re just starting out or want to create something quickly, a low-ticket mini course is likely your best bet. It’s easier to produce and helps you build your audience and revenue without a huge time commitment.

Once you’ve gained experience by creating several mini courses and learned how to drive traffic with paid ads, leveraging your offer into a signature course will be a no-brainer.

Even if you already have an audience, offering multiple mini courses won’t hurt. You can still provide a transformational experience with these bite-sized offers.

And if you’ve run live trainings or group coaching programs before and have enough experience to create a signature course, why not do both?

At the end of the day, both mini and signature courses have a place in a successful online business. Consider creating both—a mini course to attract leads and a high-ticket course to deliver deeper, more comprehensive results.

Happy Course Creating!